⭐️ How to grow your own Carambola

Star Fruit - Carambola Tree (Averrhoa carambola). Growing this tree is a fun and rewarding way to enjoy this unique and delicious fruit right at home.

• 🌟 Star power: slice it, and you get perfect star-shaped pieces for impressing guests or adding some sparkle to your fruit salad. Bright yellow and shiny, the fruit adds a pop of color to any dish. Great in salads, smoothies, desserts, or even as a garnish. Endless possibilities!
• 🌟 Nature's candy and low-calorie treat: a delightful mix of sweet and tangy flavors packed with juicy goodness, a refreshing way to stay hydrated. Guilt-free snacking with hardly any calories. Snack away!
• 🌟 Health benefits: Star fruit is loaded with Vitamin C. Good source of dietary fiber, keeps things moving smoothly. Packed with antioxidants to help fight off those pesky free radicals.
• 🌟 Cultivation of the tree is easy:

• ▪️ Loves full sun. Plant it in a sunny spot for the best fruit.
• ▪️Keep warm and protect from winds. Thrives in warm, tropical climates, but can take some light frost winters as long as protected from winds, wind-free is the key!
• ▪️Prefers well-drained soil. Keep it happy with good drainage.
• ▪️Regular watering but doesn't like soggy feet.
• ▪️Space saver: compact tree that doesn't take up much space. Perfect for smaller gardens. Dwarf varieties available, good for containers.
• ▪️Fast grower: grows quickly. You'll be harvesting star fruit in no time!
• ▪️Pretty blooms: produces lovely pink flowers. Adds beauty to your garden even before the fruit comes.
• ▪️Home harvest: enjoy fresh, home-grown star fruit. Pick them right off the tree!

📚 Learn more: Carambola tree is the Star of the orchard

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🏆 The best tropical fruit tree for container growing, and the fastest to fruit: Annona.

🍏 Annonas (Annona sp) are very much loved tropical fruit. The fruit has smooth, creamy flesh, just like a natural custard - hence one of the common names - "Custard Apple". Growing an Annona tree is a rewarding experience, its a small compact tree that will let you enjoy its creamy and exotic fruit right away.

The best tropical tree suited for container growing, due to its small height. It can be maintained within 6-8 ft tall.

The fastest fruiting tree: 2-3-4 years from seed to fruit, depending on species.

Most species are deciduous: drop leaves during winter-spring.

Thrives in frost-free climate. Some species are cold hardier than others. Container culture is a good way to cold protect these beautiful small trees.

❤️ 6 top most popular Annonas:

• ▪️ Rollinia (Rollinia deliciosa) - the biggest Annona fruit and the most showy
• ▪️ Sugar Apple (Annona squamosa) - the most popular
• ▪️ Guanabana (Annona muricata) - the most cold sensitive but the fruit is so tasty!
• ▪️ Pineapple Annona Golden (Annona costaricana) - cold hardy and easy to grow
• ▪️ Custard Apple (Annona reticulata) - with red flesh
• ▪️ Mountain Soursop or Hedgehog (Annona montana) - mentioned earlier, cold hardy

📚 Learn more:
Horoscope for Guanabana tree
Hedgehog Mountain Soursop - Annona montana
How to grow and hand-pollinate Guanabana Tree indoors (PDF)

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🍊 What is the best fruit in the world? How to grow your own Lychee tree.

Lychee (Litchi chinensis) is often called the best fruit in the world. You've eaten these no doubt in Chinese restaurants: fresh or sun-dried (Litchi Nuts) or canned in syrup. Growing a lychee tree is a rewarding way to enjoy this sweet and exotic fruit right at home!

• 📍 The fruit has been grown in China for over 2,000 years and was once considered a luxury food for the wealthy. Lychee trees can produce fruit for more than 100 years.
• 📍 Lychee fruit is a burst of sweet, juicy and fragrant goodness with every bite. Unique blend of sweet and floral notes, a taste of the tropics! It is delicious on its own or in desserts, drinks, and salads.
• 📍 Packed with vitamin C, has high water content - keeps you refreshed and hydrated. It is a guilt-free snacking with minimal calories. Loaded with antioxidants.
• 📍 The tree loves full sun and prefers well-drained, slightly acidic soil. It needs regular watering, especially during dry periods. keep the soil moist but not waterlogged.
• 📍Space needed: it can grow quite tall and wide, give the tree plenty of space to spread out. Relatively resistant to pests!
• 📍Slow Grower: although air-layered trees start fruiting right in a pot, it takes years for the tree to grow big (approx. 10 years for 20 ft tree).

❓ What other BEST fruit in the world do you know? Mango, Sugar Apple, Mangosteen... What's your favorite? Share in comments.

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🥑 Healthy breakfast, lunch or snack: Avocado toast

Avocado toast is creamy, crisp and so satisfying. It’s a delicious and simple breakfast, snack or light meal!

🥪 Ingredients (makes 1 toast):

• ◾️ 1 slice of bread (thick-sliced whole-grain or rye bread is the best)
• ◾️ ½ ripe avocado
• ◾️ Pinch of salt and black pepper

📝 Instructions

• ◾️ Toast your slice of bread until golden and firm.
• ◾️ Remove the pit from your avocado. Use a big spoon to scoop out the flesh.
• ◾️ Spread avocado on top of your toast.
• ◾️ Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper.

🍿 Enjoy!

🛒 Grow your own Avocado and Pepper plants

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🍍 The most luscious Hospitality Fruit

💥 Pineapple plant (Ananas comosus) produces a delicious fruit treat and is a fascinating plant to grow.

• 🔻 King of fruits. Pineapple is often referred to as the "king of fruits" (along with Durian and Mango). It is cherished for its sweet and tangy taste, refreshing qualities, culinary uses, and health benefits, including high vitamin C content and digestive enzymes.
• 🔻 Bromelain for healthy guts: pineapples contain an enzyme called bromelain that can break down proteins and is often used as a meat tenderizer. It's great for digestion; eat 1 slice of pineapple after every meal to maintain healthy digestive system.
• 🔻 Single fruit per plant: each pineapple plant produces just one pineapple per year.
• 🔻 Growth time: It takes about 18-24 months for a pineapple to mature and be ready for harvest.
• 🔻 Symbol of Hospitality: in many cultures, pineapples are a symbol of hospitality and welcome.
• 🔻 Those are berries! A pineapple is formed from many individual single fruit (technically, berries), which fuse together around the core.
• 🔻 Cultivation. Pineapples are easy to grow. They need only a little water to thrive. Take full sun, shade, semi-shade. For faster production, fertilize with SUNSHINE boosters Ananas - Pineapple and Bromeliad Booster. Perfect container plant, can be grown indoors as a houseplant.
• 🔻 Propagation: pineapples can be grown from the crown of the fruit. If you like the variety of the fruit you just ate, just cut the top off and plant it in potting soil, it will root within a few weeks. Make sure to not overwater it. Many superior varieties are available in selection.

📚 Learn more: The most luscious Hospitality Fruit: Pineapple

🛒 Select Pineapple varieties

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🍊 Top 3 most wanted Papaya varieties

Papaya fruit is one of the superfoods as we mentioned earlier. Below are the top 3 most interesting varieties: a full size tree, a semi-dwarf and a dwarf.

1. Maradol. Vigorous full size plant with high yield. Commercially grown throughout Central Mexico, these papayas are 3 to 5 pounds in weight and the shape of an elongated melon. Soft and juicy, they have salmon pink or red flesh that is very sweet with a slightly perfumed, fruity flavor. Cut them in half lengthwise. Delicious and irresistible with a sprinkle of fresh lemon or lime juice.
2. Solo Sunset, Semi-Dwarf from Hawaii. Commercially grown primarily on Kauai, it has dark pink to reddish-orange flesh. The fruit is medium to small size, shape is somewhat round. This is the sweetest Papya variety we ever tasted!
3. Solo Waimanalo, Dwarf - oval, large size yellow fruit with dark yellow flesh. Low bearing tree makes harvesting easy. Grows wonderfully in Central Florida in both a container or in the ground. Will go from seed to fruit in just one year. Waimanalo has yellow-orange flesh.


❓Do you eat Papaya fresh or you also cook with it? Share in comments👇

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👀 What is the largest tree-borne fruit in the world?

🍈 Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) reaches 80 pounds in weight and up to 36 inches long! It is one of the most fascinating fruit in the world.

• ✳️ The fruit consists of large edible bulbs of yellow, sweet, banana-flavored aromatic flesh. 
• ✳️ The fruit is so large and heavy that the tree has a smart feature to produce only at the base of the trunk.  So the tree can be (and should be) pruned annually to 7-12' producing as much as 200 lbs. of fruit per year!
• ✳️ Seedlings start fruiting within 3-4 years.  Fruit ripen pretty quickly, 4-6 months from flower to maturity. 

📚 Learn more about Jackfruit

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🥭 10 steps: how to grow a mango tree?

Follow these steps and you'll be on your way to growing a healthy mango tree and enjoying delicious fruit:

1. ❗️ Choose the right variety that suits your needs and yard. See earlier posts:
2. most Favorite Mango Varieties
3. Dwarf "Condo" Mango
4. large and vigorous Mango varieties
5. 🌳 Buy a grafted tree from a reputable nursery to ensure better fruit quality and faster fruiting.
6. 🏡 Planting site: choose a sunny location with well-draining soil. Ensure there is enough space for the tree to grow, as some varieties can become quite large.
7. ⛏️ Planting: dig a hole twice as wide and just as deep as the root ball. Mix in organic compost to enrich the soil. Place the tree in the hole, making sure the growth point is 1-2" above the soil line. Fill the hole with soil, pressing gently to remove air pockets. Water the tree thoroughly.
8. 💦 Watering: Water the tree regularly, especially during the first few weeks. Allow the soil to dry slightly between waterings to prevent root rot.
9. 🪵 Mulch: apply mulch around the base of the tree to retain moisture and suppress weeds. Keep the mulch a few inches away from the trunk to prevent rot.
10. 🧪 Fertilize: use a balanced fertilizer formulated for fruit trees. We recommend Sunshine Boosters Mango Tango formulated specially for mango trees.
11. ✂️ Prune to shape the tree to encourage good airflow and sunlight penetration, and to improve the yield.

🎥 Shaping your Mango Tree.

9. 🕷 Pest and disease control: monitor for scale and mealybugs and treat them with systemic pesticides. Keep an eye out for fungal diseases and treat them promptly with copper spray.

10. 🥭 Harvesting: Mangoes are ready to harvest when they change color and soften slightly.

🛒 Shop Mango Trees

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💰Good luck tree that brings money and prosperity? And yet shade, spectacular flowers and edible nuts? It is Guiana Chestnut!

• 🤞 Pachira aquatica (Bombax glabra) - Malabar Peanut or Guiana Chestnut is a beautiful, fast growing flowering tree with edible nuts!
• 🤞 Tropical wetland tree native to Central and South America, known for its large, glossy leaves and its distinctive, braided trunk.
• 🤞 The tree is believed to bring good luck and prosperity to those who own it, and is sometimes referred to as a "money tree."
• 🤞 Pachira aquatica is also used in traditional medicine and often used for bonsai.

❓ What other plants bring good luck? Share in comments👇

🛒 Order Guaiana Chestnut Money Tree online

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🏆 Tropical Fruit Tree Contest: enter to win the Jaboticaba Tree!

Post a picture of your own container grown tropical fruit tree and win this Jaboticaba!

🫐 Jaboticaba (Myrciaria cauliflora) is one of the most popular native fruit of Brazil and is used to produce their famous Jaboticaba Vine. Grape-like purple fruit with a thick skin and delicious melting pulp somewhat resembling Northern Black Currant in flavor. They grow right on the trunk! The tree is very slow growing, so large specimens are very expensive and hard to find.

💰$69.95 Value + FREE shipping 🚚
yes, delivered to your door absolutely FREE! Large, developed plant.

❗️ How to become a winner? It's very simple!
Post a picture of your own tropical fruit tree grown in CONTAINER in comments to this post.
The entry that receives more likes (hearts, thumbs up, etc.) will be the winner!

👨�‍👧 Invite your friends and family to vote: to put their likes and hearts and support your work!

📋 RULES AND TERMS:

1. Must be our Channel Subscriber (click JOIN 👇)
2. Only 1 post per participant. The post should contain 1-3 pictures and a plant name.
3. A plant must be:

a) tropical fruit tree grown in a container. No temperate apples and no in-ground trees at this time.
b) must be a perennial tree or a shrub (annual garden veggies will have their chance in our future contests)
c) your own plant, not in a nursery or botanical garden
d) fruit on the plant is a plus (more likes), but not a must.
4. Delivery - USA addresses only. To receive the prize, the winner will be requested to provide shipping info.
5. Unclaimed prizes will be canceled after 2 weeks.
6. Deadline - July 1, 2024 at 3 pm, then we will count the hearts and pick the Winner.
7. No purchase necessary to enter or win (see full rules PDF)

🏅 Good luck!

Post your entries in comments to this post👇

#Win #Food_Forest

🏵 JOIN TopTropicals and win!