Light gardening brings me joy. Where I live, it is possible to grow many plants that produce fruits and vegetables or beautiful plants that bring joy. Even with this, I never thought that it would be possible to have a small tropical garden that I could keep on my apartment balcony. I also did not realize how easy it is to grow tropical fruits such as citrus and pineapples.

My journey began a couple of years ago when I was gifted a small pineapple plant. At this point, I had no idea how to take care of a pineapple plant. I also thought that this plant was kinda cool and even had a tiny pineapple growing on the top. I decided to name this plant Gus, like from the TV show Psych (I recommend this show if you haven’t watched it, and at the time of this post, it is available on Amazon Prime). I remember that it was later in the summer, and the sunny days were getting shorter, and the “never-ending” heat and humidity started to end.

In the meantime, life continued to get busier and busier, and poor Gus was unintentionally neglected, but I noticed that this plant was not dying. I would water it like maybe once every few weeks, and the plant would continue to grow. After so much research, Googling, and tons of YouTube videos, I realized that pineapple plants are like a cactus or succulent. It prefers a sunny, warm, humid environment. Pineapple plants don’t like to be watered too much, but they do need some water every now and then. Knowing this, I was like, I can take care of this plant.

When winter came, I brought Gus inside to keep him warm and thriving. Where I live, we experience intense summers, but we also experience cold winters. During the short time with very low temperatures, I would wrap the pot I had Gus in a thick plastic bag to help retain heat and prevent freezing. The apartment that I lived in at the time could not stay warm. It was designed to stay cool during the heat of the summer.

As spring began to approach, I realized that somehow, Gus was still growing. At this point, he had outgrown the pot that he came in, but I was still not sure what soil he needed. I ended up going to a succulent shop in my area to get a bigger pot and repot Gus. The moment I brought Gus into the succulent shop, people were amazed, and I was immediately helped. I bought the biggest pot available and was able to repot Gus for no extra charge. With the new pot, I took Gus home and let him enjoy the summer out in the sun with occasional watering. Ever since, he has only continued to grow!

Today, Gus is happy and thriving. I did ultimately have to harvest the tiny pineapple on top as it got too ripe. There are even two new pineapple plants that have begun to sprout, which need their own pots. I was also gifted a small lemon tree that I can keep in a pot to take it inside during winter, and it can live outside on the balcony during the summer. I named the tree Lily the lemon tree, because why not? 

The care of these plants is very similar, but there are also things that are different. One thing I had to combat with the lemon tree is insects infecting the leaves. I had aphids and other insects eating the leaves on my lemon tree. I was able to get rid of the aphids, but I am not sure how to protect the tree from other insects. This plant also needs to be watered about every 3-4 days, which is much more often than Gus. The soil and container the tree is in drains very well, and this plant likes summer weather, but may struggle more in the extreme summer heat. While there are differences, the lemon tree is still very easy to care for, and I even have two lemons currently growing on it that are getting bigger and should be ripe by the end of the summer.

While my tropical garden currently only has two plants, I am excited to see where this journey will take me as I continue to care for and grow these plants. I also can’t have too many plants because I am one person and I don’t live in a big space. 

What plants do you have in your garden? Let us know in the comments below!