TROPICAL sun garden

​We have some delightful things going on in our Tropical Sun Garden. Our Pachystachys coccinea, or Cardinal’s Guard, is blooming right now. This South American plant has beautiful red flower clusters, and if planted outdoors, would be a hummingbird magnet. The Pink Powder Puff Tree, with its unusual flowers, seems to be constantly bursting with blooms. Bees and butterflies are attracted to this plant when it’s found outdoors. Several of our Bromeliad’s are coming into flower, one with a long red spike.
 
Plants that have finished up blooming the past several weeks are now producing some interesting fruit and seed pods. The Noni Tree is now creating fruit that has a very pungent taste and smell. The Chewing Gum Tree has a fruit hanging on a lower branch that can be easily seen. Our Annatto Tree has many seed clusters throughout the tree. These red seeds are used as food coloring in cheese, butter, lipstick and many more products. Our Fishtail Palm recently flowered and its pollen coated any plant that was growing beneath it in a bright yellow color. As a result, we now have impressive, large clusters of seeds hanging from the trunk of the tree.
 
We’re happy to announce that our Cacao Tree, or the fan-favorite Chocolate tree, has produced two seed pods. Orange ribbons hang next to the seed pods so visitors can find them in the foliage. Our Guiana Chestnut Tree produced a beautiful white flower last week that should yield a large seed pod with edible nuts inside. Many fascinating things are happening in the plant world. So the next time you visit, enjoy the beautiful flowers but also look for the interesting fruit and seed pods throughout the Tropical Sun Garden.