TOP TROPICALS, LLC
SEBRING, FLORIDA

How To Tell a Good Company from a Bad One "...If you are like me, you probably have a dozen or two catalogs from various places, some fancy, others plain, and you're wondering who to order from and how to tell the difference between a place that really cares, and a place that is just trying to unload some poor, pathetic bits of green stuff on The Gullible Majority. In this section, I will outline what I think a good mail order company should do, and what you should consider before buying a plant sight-unseen. Keep in mind that this is aimed at the relative neophyte, who needs a little more service than the extremely experienced gardener....there are plenty of companies which provide good plants, but don't offer the level of service than many gardeners need..." What a Good Mail-Order Company Will Do What Top Tropicals does "...Every plant should have its botanical (scientific) name listed. Of course, this doesn't count for things like roses or tomatoes, which everybody knows what that are. This may sound picky, but think about it: if you ever want to get information on this plant from some other source, and they use their own name, you might have a devil of a time figuring out how to get information. A plant's botanical name is unique. I have seen places that will take a standard variety of some plant, come up with a flashy (trademarked) name, and sell it as something special. Needless to say, this is dishonest..." Every plant from our cxatalog is provided with a latin name. We use scientific name as "...A good company will be able to answer questions about their products. Really, this is basic. If you call them, and ask about something, they should be able to answer your question. If they can only take orders, this is a Bad Sign. (By the way, in many places, you can call your local County Extension office to get information about plants, too.)..." Every mail order catalog that I've seen offers some sort of guarantee. This should NOT be a factor in deciding where to buy from. After all, what good does it do if they replace a plant that died because you can't grow oranges in Alaska? The replacement will just die, too, and you'll spend twice as much time on a plant that was Never Meant To Be. Some people have even noted an inverse relation between the quality of the guarantee and the quality of the plants: the louder the company proclaims its "FOOLPROOF 100% MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE," the worse the plants are when they arrive..." "...Will it really look the way I want it to? Keep in mind that the pictures in the catalogs are designed to sell plants, and the plants in your garden will generally not look quite as nice. I have seen a lot of comments from people in rec.gardens about the rose Blue Girl as a particular offender in this respect. Also keep in mind that illustrations (and photographs) can be very deceptive..." Q: We love your website and products. Do you have mango trees with different types grafted on one? We live in Hawaii and have space for an interesting mango. A: Here is the truth about multi-grafted mangos. It is the same issue as with multi-grafted citrus (so-called fruit cocktail trees). In most cases, multi-grafted fruit trees look beautiful and healthy for the first couple years if that long. What happens next - the most vigorous variety will take over others and eventually all other grafts will die off or those branches stay retarded without sufficient production. There is a solution though, if you have limited space and still want to have several varieties to enjoy. Plant 2-3-4 desired varieties into 1 hole! Of course production of each tree will reduce due to the crowded situation, but overall crop will be as much as from one big tree. And you will have all kinds of tastes to enjoy! Very often trunks of such trees grow in together, but because of having separate root systems, all trees will remain equally strong and vigorous. Spring Sales at Top Tropicals ud83cudf37ud83cudf37ud83cudf37ud83cudf37ud83cudf37ud83cudf37ud83cudf37 Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul. (Luther Burbank) Happy Easter Bunny from Top Tropicals! - may take up to 10 days to clear. If you would like to mail your order/payment, please print out shopping cart contents with shipping address entered in required fields. We are unable to process your order without your name and address. Use item names as they appear in OUR online store. Using Top Tropicals Images: TOP TROPICALS CONTACT FORM TOP TROPICALS CONTACT FORM - may take up to 10 days to clear. If you would like to mail your order/payment, please print out shopping cart contents with shipping address entered in required fields. We are unable to process your order without your name and address. Use item names as they appear in OUR online store. Using Top Tropicals Images: