How to grow Mango

Where to plant

Mango needs a frost-free climate. Mature trees can survive a few hours at 25°F with leaf and twig damage, but young trees may be killed at 29 to 30°F, and flowers and small fruit are damaged by a few hours below 40°F. No variety is noticeably hardier than another.

Plant in full sun in the warmest part of the garden, where flowers, leaves and fruit dry quickly after rain, which reduces disease. Mangos grow in sand and limestone soils but not in poorly drained ground; where flooding is possible, plant on a mound of native soil 2 to 3 feet high and 4 to 6 feet across.

• South Florida and Hawaii: grow outdoors.
• Central Florida: possible in the warmest coastal spots, with frost protection for young trees.
• Elsewhere: mango needs a frost-free site and is not practical outdoors.

Choosing a variety

Low-vigor varieties are the best choice for small gardens, as they are easier to keep low with pruning. Indochinese types, often green or yellow when ripe, tend to resist anthracnose better than the colorful Indian types.

How to plant

1. Buy a grafted tree of a named variety, usually in a 3-gallon pot, that is not root bound.
2. Clear a ring of grass 3 to 10 feet across, dig a hole 3 to 4 times wider and 3 times deeper than the pot, and set the tree with the top of the root ball level with or slightly above the soil.
3. Water at planting, every other day for the first week, then once or twice a week for the first couple of months.
4. Mulch 2 to 6 inches deep, keeping mulch 8 to 12 inches from the trunk, and keep grass 2 to 5 feet back.

Watering and feeding

For the first three years, water young trees once a week during dry spells of 5 days or more. Mature trees need water only in very long dry periods in spring and summer, and little or none in fall and winter. Dry weather before and during bloom actually helps fruit set, and overwatering, including from lawn sprinklers, can cause poor fruit and decline.

In the first year, feed every two to three months, starting with 1/4 pound and building to 1 pound. After that, 2 to 3 feeds a year are enough. Bearing trees need little or no nitrogen and more potash. On alkaline soils, trees need yearly micronutrient sprays.

Pruning and care through the year

• Train young trees to branch, then each year remove a few upper limbs back to their origin to keep the tree low and reduce storm damage. Leave pruning of tall trees to a licensed arborist.
• Never hit the trunk with a mower or string trimmer.
• In cold snaps during bloom, flowers and small fruit are easily lost; cover young trees on frost nights.
• In Florida, the UF/IFAS assessment of non-native plants rates mango caution, manage to prevent escape, in Central and South Florida. Pick up fallen fruit and remove seedlings that come up.

Harvesting

Most Florida mangos mature from May to September, with the most in June and July. Pick fruit when it is firm and mature: the shoulders and the tip broaden and fill out, and colored varieties start to show their color. Fruit can be left on the tree and picked a few at a time.

Ripen picked mangos at 70 to 75°F; they soften in 3 to 8 days. Refrigerate only once ripe, as unripe mangos suffer chilling injury.

Propagation and saving seed

Polyembryonic varieties, mostly the Indochinese types, come true from seed. Most Florida varieties are monoembryonic and must be grafted, usually onto polyembryonic rootstocks such as 'Turpentine'. Unwanted trees can be top-worked to a better variety.