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Index > Garden Blog

Date:

What is coffee made of?

Coffee berries (Coffea arabica)

Coffee berries (Coffea arabica)

Coffee beans (Coffea arabica)

Coffee beans (Coffea arabica)

☕️ What is coffee made of?

☕️ Coffee beans are actually the seeds of red or purple cherries that grow on Coffee Trees (Coffea arabica). Once harvested, the beans are dried, roasted, and ground to make the coffee we drink. The roasting process brings out the rich, aromatic flavors that coffee lovers enjoy!

📚 Learn more from previous posts:
Coffee tree is the best gift
Top 10 fruit you'll ever need for your health benefits: #2. Coffee Tree
The best Gift plant
The most popular and the easiest tropical fruit tree grown as a house plant

📱GROW your own COFFEE plant - Free Coffee Everyday

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Date:

Why is it called Star Apple?

Star Apple - Chrysophyllum cainito

Star Apple - Chrysophyllum cainito

🌟 Why is it called Star Apple?
  • ⭐️ Caimito Tree, or Star Apple - Chrysophyllum cainito - is a rare and exotic gem of tropical fruit world, related to Sapote and Sapodilla.
  • ⭐️ Exotic & Rare: Hard to find, this tree is a favorite in the Caribbean, Central America, and Southeast Asia.
  • ⭐️ Unique Fruit: The fruit has a mild, grape-like flavor and is best enjoyed fresh. When cut, the inside reveals a star-shaped pattern.
  • ⭐️ Attractive & Delicious: A great addition to your garden with both aesthetic and edible benefits!


🛍 Shop Caimito trees

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The fruit tree that every garden must have

Fig Tree (Ficus carica) leaves

Fig Tree (Ficus carica) leaves

Fig Tree (Ficus carica) fruit

Fig Tree (Ficus carica) fruit

😊 The fruit tree that every garden must have
  • 🍎 Fig Tree (Ficus carica) is a great addition to your garden or patio, offering delicious fruit and attractive, lobed leaves with minimal care.
  • 🍎 Delicious Fruit: Figs come in violet, brown, or black colors, offering a sweet flavor with health benefits.
  • 🍎 Nutrient-Rich: High in Iron, Fiber, Potassium, and Calcium - perfect for a healthy treat!
  • 🍎 Beautiful Leaves: Large, lobed, green leaves provide landscape value even when the tree isn’t fruiting.
  • 🍎 Cold Hardy: Sensitive to frost during active growth but can withstand up to 10°F when dormant.
  • 🍎 Low Maintenance: Grows easily with minimal attention, prefers alkaline soil (unlike most tropical plants!), and can tolerate wet conditions.
  • 🍎 Prolific: Bears fruit from early summer to late fall, with fruits maturing quickly. It is self-fertile and low-maintenance, perfect for growing at home.


🛍 Shop Fig Trees

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Why this plant is called Bird of Paradise

Strelitzia reginae - Bird of Paradise

Strelitzia reginae - Bird of Paradise

🌈 Why this plant is called Bird of Paradise

Strelitzia reginae
- Bird of Paradise - is known for its striking, bird-like flowers that resemble a vibrant bird in flight. Native to South Africa, it's a popular ornamental plant that thrives in sunny, tropical gardens.

🛍 Plant Bird of Paradise

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What is the easiest Gardenia

Gardenia (Kailarsenia) vietnamensis - Vietnamese Gardenia

🌸 What is the easiest Gardenia
  • 🥰 Gardenia (Kailarsenia) vietnamensis - Vietnamese Gardenia - is one of the easiest and hardiest Gardenias in our collection is the Vietnamese Gardenia. This plant is much easier to grow than many other Gardenias. It can handle overly moist soils much better, is quite drought tolerant once established and has a high resistance to the typical Gardenia woes.
  • 🥰 Fragrant & Beautiful: Creamy white, 3-inch flowers with an unforgettable fragrance. Flowers are very unusual shape, work of art!
  • 🥰 Hardy & Easy to Grow: More resistant to typical Gardenia issues like root rot, mildew, and bud drop. Tolerates moist soil and is drought-tolerant once established.
  • 🥰 Cold-Hardy: The most cold-hardy of all tropical Gardenias, perfect for various climates.
  • 🥰 Perfect for Containers: A compact, bushy shrub that thrives in pots or the ground.
  • 🥰 Low Maintenance: Prefers well-drained, acidic soil and some afternoon shade. Prune after flowering for best shape.
  • 🥰 Evergreen Beauty: Blooming year-round. Ideal for beginners who want a reliable and fragrant plant!


🛍 Shop Gardenias

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What trees are fruiting and blooming right now?

Tabebuia chrysotricha - Dwarf Golden Tabebuia

Photo above: Tabebuia chrysotricha - Dwarf Golden Tabebuia

Q: What tropical trees are fruiting and flowering in March?

A: There's always something blooming and fruiting, especially with spring on the way! Our garden is buzzing with bees and butterflies, and in the nursery, you'll always find plants in bloom or bearing fruit. Here are a few standout winners of the season.

Orchid Trees

Bauhinia alba (candida) - White Orchid Tree

Orchid trees are among the most spectacular trees in Florida, flowering from late winter through spring. They are fast-growing, not fussy about soil or water, and bloom for several weeks in a stunning display of white, purple, pink, or red flowers. In the photo: Bauhinia alba (candida) - White Orchid Tree - the most cold-hardy of all Bauhinias, tolerating temperatures as low as 26F. You can see them in full bloom across Florida right now!

Carambola - Star Fruit

Starfruit (Averrhoa carambola)

Starfruit trees (Averrhoa carambola) have been fruiting in our garden since fall, and they just keep producing! We've had so many starfruits that we ended up making lots of jam.

Calliandra

Calliandra tweedi With Love - Red Tassel Flower

Calliandras are known to be spectacular winter bloomers, but in our garden, they seem to flower year-round. They make fantastic ever-blooming hedges or striking small specimen trees.
In the photo: red-flowering Calliandra tweedii "With Love" - Red Tassel Flower, yright now, this beautiful bush is covered in red blooms in front of our office at Sebring Farm.

Mulberry Trees

Mulberry fruit on the tree

Yes, it's Mulberry season! Some varieties have already ripened, while others are just about to. We're competing with the birds to see who gets the first fruit, but honestly, there's plenty for everyone! These trees are very cold hardy and highly productive.

Loquat Trees

Loquat tree Eriobotrya japonica

Loquat trees (Eriobotrya japonica) are loaded with fruit right now! We've started picking them and have already made some delicious preserves - you can only eat so many fresh. Loquats continue fruiting through April and May, making them one of the most rewarding, easy-to-grow, and productive fruit trees.

Tabebuia Trees

Tabebuia impetiginosa - Dwarf Pink Tabebuia, Pau DArco, Taheebo

Tabebuia trees put on a spectacular show from late winter through spring! Golden and pink Tabebuias are small, compact trees that fit any yard and deliver a breathtaking display year after year.
Check out these short videos of blooming Tabebuias:
Tabebuia chrysotricha - Dwarf Golden Tabebuia
Tabebuia impetiginosa - Dwarf Pink Tabebuia, Pau DArco, Taheebo

Date:

What is the most beautiful winter flowering tree for Florida snowbirds?

Tabebuia impetiginosa - Dwarf Pink Tabebuia, Pau DArco, Taheebo

🌸 What is the most beautiful winter flowering tree for Florida snowbirds?
  • 🌸 It's not a cherry blossom! It's one of the most beautiful Florida trees - Tabebuia impetiginosa - Dwarf Pink Tabebuia, Pau DArco, Taheebo. It is in full bloom now, and it's a spectacular view!
  • 🌸 This tree is a Florida favorite that's sure to make your garden stand out. This beauty is a winter-spring bloomer that'll have your landscape looking fabulous with bright pink flowers and a splash of yellow in the throats.
  • 🌸 These gorgeous blooms pop up before the tree even puts out new leaves.
  • 🌸 Perfect for smaller yards, this compact tree brings a burst of color without taking up too much space. Plus, it's the ideal choice for snowbirds visiting Florida in winter - when you're craving some color!
  • 🌸 But this Tabebuia isn't just pretty - it's also practical! This tropical beauty is cold-hardy down to the upper 20’s, making it a great fit for Central Florida.
  • 🌸 It's been a prized medicinal tree for centuries! Pau DArco (Taheebo) bark is brewed to make a smooth, earthy, and subtly sweet tea that contains compounds like lapachol and quercetin, used for centuries by indigenous South American tribes. A tree that's not only lovely to look at but also useful? That’s a win-win!
  • 🌸 Starts flowering in very small size - see next post ⬇️


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Why Adeniums are the most popular container plants

Adeniums in pots

What is the easiest and most showy plant for your patio or poolside?

Q: Can you recommend a compact, showy plant for a container by the pool that will bloom with minimal care and survive if I forget to water it? I need 4-5 of them... Does such a plant even exist, or is that too much to ask?

A: Surprisingly, such a plant does exist! Meet the Desert Rose - Adenium - the perfect flowering plant for low-maintenance beauty. Just look at those colors!

Why choose Adenium for your container garden?

Desert roses - Adeniums - are among the most popular container plants for both indoor and outdoor settings. Here's why:
- Easy to grow - Thrives in sun or shade, indoors, and in low humidity.
- Drought-tolerant - Requires minimal water and can go long periods without it.
- Not picky about soil and pH.
- Spectacular blooms - Produces vibrant, showy flowers.
- Unique and eye-catching - Forms a curious, swollen caudex with unusual shapes.

How many varieties and colors are out there?

- At Top Tropicals, we offer over 200 varieties of Adeniums, with more than 100 in stock at any time.
- With so many stunning hybrid colors, you'll want to collect them all!
- Enjoy double flowers, red, purple, yellow, striped, dotted, rainbow, and even black flowers!

The secret to a large, swollen caudex:

- Raise the plant slightly each time you repot it, exposing the upper part of the roots - this encourages the plant to form more roots that grow downward.
- Unlike most tropical and houseplants, Adeniums prefer neutral to hard water, have very low water needs, and can thrive in full sun or shade.

Adeniums truly check all the boxes for a carefree, long-blooming, and striking poolside or patio plant!

Adeniums caudexes

Date:

What is your favorite blue tropical flower?

Eranthemum pulchellum - Blue Sage, Lead Flower

👏 What is your favorite blue tropical flower?
  • 💙 In full bloom right now: Eranthemum pulchellum - Blue Sage, Lead Flower that we mentioned earlier.
  • 💙 It is the brightest gentian blue flower - very unusual color in the tropics!
  • 💙 Winter heavy bloomer
  • 💙 Attracts butterflies and bees 🐝
  • 💙 Compact shrub, responds well to pruning.
  • 💙 Shade lover. Will happily bloom in the shade!


🛍 Order oline

#Hedges_with_benefits #Shade_Garden #Butterfly_Plants

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What are the most beautiful ornamental Banana varieties and which one should I plant?

What are the most beautiful ornamental Banana varieties and which one should I plant? What are the most beautiful ornamental Banana varieties and which one should I plant? What are the most beautiful ornamental Banana varieties and which one should I plant? What are the most beautiful ornamental Banana varieties and which one should I plant? What are the most beautiful ornamental Banana varieties and which one should I plant?
🚩 What are the most beautiful ornamental Banana varieties and which one should I plant?

Continued for the previous post🔼

❤️ The most popular ornamental banana varieties

  • 🔥 Blood Leaf, Musa x sumatrana Zebrina Rojo - a striking banana variety with green leaves splashed with red, burgundy undersides, and small red fruit, thriving in containers and overwintering well in colder climates.

  • 🔥 Musa coccinea - Scarlet Red Flowering Banana - is a rare, compact tropical banana from China and Vietnam, prized for its stunning red flower bracts with yellow blooms, glossy green leaves, and small ornamental orange fruits, making it a vibrant choice for gardens, pots, or cut arrangements.

  • 🔥 Bordelon, Red Striped - a hardy ornamental banana variety with 10-15' tall stalks, striking red-striped leaves, and red undersides, discovered in Bordelonville, Louisiana, and capable of flowering and producing seeded fruit if protected in winter.

  • 🔥 Banana Red Leaf, Musa x sumatrana - is a striking ornamental banana with large variegated leaves, red stems, and a solid maroon underside, growing 3-5 feet in containers or up to 8 feet in the ground, making it a stunning focal point or tropical backdrop.

  • 🔥 Banana Siam Ruby - a striking ornamental banana with beautiful ruby-red leaves splashed with bright lime green, intensifying in color with sun exposure, thriving in hot, humid areas, and perfect for tropical backdrops or large patio containers.


📚 More about ornamental Bananas:
Musa Zebrina Rojo - Blood Leaf Banana

🛍 Shop Banana varieties

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