# Anyone with experience growing Mango Trees?



## lunarae (Aug 28, 2016)

Anyone have any experience in growing mango trees? I started this one I want to say earlier this year? Or maybe it was last year.....*thinks* I have a hard time with keeping things chronological. Really should write these things down. But I have been steadily growing a mango tree from a mango seed I got from a mango from walmart XD. Some how I found the idea of a mango tree in montana to be thrilling. Needless to say it's doing well indoors. But I'm wondering if my T room which I keep in the 80's might be a little to hot for it. Anyone have experience raising mangos at all?


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## The Snark (Aug 29, 2016)

You big problem is they are sun lovers. As much as they can get. They don't mind the heat at all but are subject to several kinds of rot and fungus. They won't bear fruit without direct sunlight.
Preferred temperature range, 70F up. Goes semi dormant below that. You will benefit from studying up on their diseases.


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## lunarae (Aug 29, 2016)

weird. I have moved mine out to where it's in a window to get direct sunlight and it keeps wilting on me and not being happy until I close it up. But that could be because it's to hot perhaps? I've used supplemental lighting through the winter months and such. It's about 2.5ft tall at this point. It does great during the day with the curtains open when it's not getting direct sunlight, but soon as it gets direct sunlight the new growth starts to take a fall pretty bad.


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## lunarae (Aug 29, 2016)

The tomato cage is there because the new growth wilted so bad it limped over. I rigged it to help hold it up so it would grow straighter when it came back. Then I just left it there as its not really wrapped around anything to restrict growth.


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## The Snark (Aug 29, 2016)

The only thing that comes to mind is the greenhouse phenomenon. Where plants have to go through a transition phase to get into the sun.
The leaves that fall off, are they mature or the yellow young ones? Yes, the new growth does wilt naturally. The photosynthesis engine is still getting fired up. It looks like a healthy plant.

On the doom and gloom end of things, many commercial orchards cull out 30-50% of the seedlings / saplings for being unthrifty. Perfectly healthy plants for the most part but will be slow growers, non competitive and poor fruit producers.

On the even gloomier side, enjoy your mangos while you can. The orchards are going away. Mangos typically only have a heavy fruit burden once every 4 years. With the price of land rising many farmers are cutting down the orchards and putting in more productive and reliable money makers. I'd guess half the mango orchards around here have been cut down or sold to developers.


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## lunarae (Aug 29, 2016)

The Snark said:


> The only thing that comes to mind is the greenhouse phenomenon. Where plants have to go through a transition phase to get into the sun.
> The leaves that fall off, are they mature or the yellow young ones? Yes, the new growth does wilt naturally. The photosynthesis engine is still getting fired up. It looks like a healthy plant.
> 
> On the doom and gloom end of things, many commercial orchards cull out 30-50% of the seedlings / saplings for being unthrifty. Perfectly healthy plants for the most part but will be slow growers, non competitive and poor fruit producers.
> ...


Oh yeah that's new growth. I found it fascinating that the new leaves come in yellow and then turn green. They seem backwards with their coloring. When it first started out they were red with the new growth. Honestly I'm not overly bit when it comes to mangos. I like mango flavored things but fresh mango? ehhhhh. I thought it would be nice. I wanna grow an apricot tree the most right now. That's a fruit I really like and my grandmother knows how to make apricot jelly's and jams.

In general though I simply like growing new things and when I bought the mango it was so my son could try it and see if he liked it. And well I always try and see if I can grow from the seeds just because I find it really fun and this managed to take off.


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## The Snark (Aug 29, 2016)

Well keep in mind the young leaves do not have the stems developed and are very limp.  Up to 3 to 5 feet tall the entire plant is pretty floppy.
I don't think people in Europe and the US know what the delicious mangoes taste like. The only ones that get shipped are those that stay hard as a rock for most of the trip and are never naturally ripened. There are about 25 varieties of mangoes and the tastiest ones get covered in a little diaper on the tree to aid in the ripening and keep the bugs off.
I'd ease it out into the sun and see how it does. Only the main stem staying stiff is your concern. They like well drained soil though mature trees sometimes stand in swamps for several weeks with no ill effects. The main enemy is a fungus that invades stem and trunk causing a black sticky ooze to come out of cracks in the bark. Once you develop that the tree is history. That usually occurs in trees that don't get enough sunlight.


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## lunarae (Aug 29, 2016)

The Snark said:


> Well keep in mind the young leaves do not have the stems developed and are very limp.  Up to 3 to 5 feet tall the entire plant is pretty floppy.
> I don't think people in Europe and the US know what the delicious mangoes taste like. The only ones that get shipped are those that stay hard as a rock for most of the trip and are never naturally ripened. There are about 25 varieties of mangoes and the tastiest ones get covered in a little diaper on the tree to aid in the ripening and keep the bugs off.
> I'd ease it out into the sun and see how it does. Only the main stem staying stiff is your concern. They like well drained soil though mature trees sometimes stand in swamps for several weeks with no ill effects. The main enemy is a fungus that invades stem and trunk causing a black sticky ooze to come out of cracks in the bark. Once you develop that the tree is history. That usually occurs in trees that don't get enough sunlight.


Thanks for the info. And when it wilted before it was the main stem that went down which was why I had concern because of the heat. It bends some if it's not happy but it's doing better now. I let it get full morning sun but once the sun passes over and is directly on it I close the curtains and it gets supplemental so that it doesn't have that heat on it so much. Seems to be working.


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## The Snark (Aug 29, 2016)

What would probably be the most helpful is if I took some pictures of seedlings and saplings so you could compare. Do keep in mind the mango is purely a tropical tree that loves hot and humid. Unfortunately so does the fungi that attacks it so mango trees are always in a race trying to survive.
Where it is most obvious they are sun lovers is pruning. Mature trees get pruned back severely. I mean a trunk and 5 or 6 branches; from 30 feet tall to 6 to 8 feet. After pruning if they don't get full sunlight they die.
If you want a more hardy and quite remarkable tree check out the Longan or sub, Lamyai. Grows like a weed, can be cut right back to the dirt and will sprout back up, tolerant from full shade to full sun and the best part, the wood is HARD. Ultra dense. The gleanings from a small pruned Longan orchard are often enough to keep a family warm all cool season. Even a 1 inch branch gives a good all evening fire. They also make fantastic turning material in a lathe but use of steel cutting and shaping tools are preferable. Growth wise they prefer the same conditions as mango and often the orchards are planted side by side. 
Which reminds me I have to try murdering our Lamyai tree again. How such a hard wood tree grows so  fast is a mystery.


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## schmiggle (Aug 30, 2016)

Perhaps this is what Snark meant by the greenhouse effect, but even plants that do best in full sun have to be acclimated to it over a fairly considerable period of time.  For example, a few years ago I had pitcher plants that I had (stupidly) moved into a mini-greenhouse over the winter.  The greenhouse got only partial sunlight on a windowsill, and the plants grew slowly throughout the winter.  When I tried to move them outside for the summer, however, I put them on a deck with full, bright sun throughout the day.  They were seriously burned within days.  

To be clear: these were _Sarracenia_, which, to grow in the long term, need exactly the kind of sun I was giving them.  But because they had become adapted to short, partially-sunless days, they were shocked (for lack of a better term) by the bright sunlight outdoors.  It seems to me that you're actually acclimating your tree by giving it somewhat brighter sunlight, and that eventually it will be quite happy with full sun.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## The Snark (Aug 30, 2016)

schmiggle said:


> Perhaps this is what Snark meant by the greenhouse effect, but even plants that do best in full sun have to be acclimated to it over a fairly considerable period of time.


Exactly. The big nurserys usually use lath houses or screen roof transition areas. The period of time and the degree of transition(s) depends on the plant. Some annual plants just take a few days. Orchids to be acclimated to near full sun can take a year or more. Farmers often give their crops a head start by putting a screen mesh over the seedlings for the first couple of weeks rather than greenhousing and transition zones which few have access to.


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## lunarae (Aug 31, 2016)

Ah. I don't have anything fancy here. Just a warm T room that has two huge windows that lets the sun in to keep it warm. I keep the T's in the shaded parts of the room and the plants in the sunny parts basically. The mango seems to be doing ok now that I've adjusted, it also just can get pretty hot, and with there being no AC........and it get difficult to have proper air flow because I have to keep the house closed up tight due to the smoke around here it's been a tough last month.


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## The Snark (Aug 31, 2016)

Oh yes. One little anti joy to owning a mango. When they start to mature, during the spring especially, the leaves exude and even drip a sticky substance that turns black. Will attract ants and other pests. Sort of like the dog peeing in the corners to thank you for all the love and care you have given it.


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## lunarae (Aug 31, 2016)

The Snark said:


> Oh yes. One little anti joy to owning a mango. When they start to mature, during the spring especially, the leaves exude and even drip a sticky substance that turns black. Will attract ants and other pests. Sort of like the dog peeing in the corners to thank you for all the love and care you have given it.


lol. I'll have to collect that on occasion then and give it to my ant colonies and see how they like it XD


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## The Snark (Aug 31, 2016)

lunarae said:


> I'll have to collect that on occasion then and give it to my ant colonies and see how they like it


That would be an interesting experiment. I have no idea why the trees produce that stuff. But rest assured, at the wrong time of year, parking a car under a mango tree reduces it's resale value to zilch. That crap only comes off with a chisel. Sort of like organic tar. Asked my other just now. She has no idea why it drips the stuff. Attract bugs for fertilization? Repel the wrong bugs? Attract or repel ants or both? She's going to ask the gardener where she works who owns an orchard. Feel free to ask other questions which she said she'd be happy to relay to him.
(Comedy. That gardener can expertly prune 15 mangos a day but try to get him to neatly mow the lawns where she works with a power lawnmower and the lawns look like a military live fire exercise came down.)


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## lunarae (Aug 31, 2016)

Well I know that some excrete things to attract some insects in order to have those insects defend it against other insects. Others do it to repel. Like Mint just tries to repel all insects it's why it's a good wasp deterrent. (I'll take fresh mint leaves, mix them in with hot water to make a 'tea' and then spray that in the rafters during the seasons they look for places to make their nests. Keeps them from nesting all the time, you just have to reapply every few days to keep the scent strong) It might attract insects or ants to try and have them feed on that fungus you suggested they can have a serious issue with as well maybe. Or something along those lines. I'm not sure. Be interesting to find out.

Reactions: Informative 1


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## schmiggle (Sep 1, 2016)

Sounds like it might be the urushiol in the sap.  Urushiol turns black and hardens in the presence of moisture, and it's in mangoes:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urushiol

In general, I think resin is usually to clog injuries in trees until they heal.

Reactions: Informative 1


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## lunarae (Sep 1, 2016)

Quite possibly. I don't know. Mine is a itty bitty tree and is only just now forming that barky like layer so it'll be a bit I think before I ever find out.


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## schmiggle (Sep 1, 2016)

And thank god for that...


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## The Snark (Sep 1, 2016)

schmiggle said:


> Sounds like it might be the urushiol in the sap. Urushiol turns black and hardens in the presence of moisture, and it's in mangoes:


Comes the dawn. Hey!! Cut slack! It only took me about 15 years to 1+1+1. Duhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Been coping with odd anaphylactic symptoms on and off for the past 15 years. Been handling and eating lots of mangoes for 15 years. In the past I developed a pseudo allergic sensitivity from cutting back poison oak and getting lungfuls of smoke from it while fighting So Cal brush fires. Wonder in that kind of slow might qualify for a world record.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## lunarae (Sep 7, 2016)

Just going to make a note here....when I switched to it getting full sun and the like. Yeah. the new growth leaves fell off. Sooooooooo I'm going to go back to what I was doing and wing it lol. It was doing better with me doing that I think then trying to suddenly change what I was doing. Thought maybe some advice would help it have better growth but.....well just out here in montana mountains I may have to settle for just winging it and listening to the plants or some such.


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## schmiggle (Sep 7, 2016)

Two unconnected responses to this posting:
lunarae--you should definitely not do anything that will kill your plant.  I agree that if full sun isn't working, winging it might be the best option.  However, I think you should also consider switching daylight hours more slowly, like perhaps an hour more of direct sun every week or two (although if that doesn't work, again, don't kill your plant). 
Snark--I think this quote is the most appropriate in this situation:
I have seen slower people than I am -- and more deliberate people than I am -- and even quieter, and more listless, and lazier people than I am. But they were dead. (Mark Twain)

Reactions: Creative 1


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## lunarae (Sep 7, 2016)

Thanks for the input, and yes, just the way this house gets lighting and how hard the sun bears down. We are in higher altitudes and I think that makes a big difference as well. It gets plenty of light where I put it now, but it doesn't get that full brunt of it now. We will see. It's not dying, just lost it's new growth. I can see it building up already for another growth spurt so we will see.


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## The Snark (Sep 7, 2016)

I've collected some additional and probably useless contradictory information which isn't likely to help.
Three growers:
1. You want to wait until they are 6 months old before planting them out. (Putting them in the sun). Or maybe a year.
2. Just stick them in the ground. They lie down and look dead for a while but that's normal. (Pointing out an orchard just down the road that did just that and 2 years later they are hardy 5 footers)
3. Give them little sun hats. (Literally, make little shade umbrellas for each one. This school of thought is probably also the people that carefully wrap each individual fruit with newspaper as they ripen.)
4. They will probably die. Just shove some new ones in.
5. If you keep them in the shade too long they grow thin and spindly. (With a mango that could be a problem as it is a very hard heavy wood but brittle. Branches could break off during the monsoons.)

These people remind me of my reservation. We never agree on anything. But the orchard down the street looked like 50 dead trees for about a year, full sun, and is now thriving. I think part of the rules of them come from wanting to avoid the tree growing gigantic. Long thin branches, can't easily reach the fruit and branches do break off in high winds.
I'm also pretty sure they cycle different parts of the tree. Root growth phase where the top is all limp looking. They do need massive root structures as that is one VERY heavy wood. It's almost unheard of to see the entire tree knocked over from the wind. A two foot long chunk of branch or trunk about 8 inches thick weighs around 50 lbs. Not exaggerating.

PS They make lousy firewood. Even seasoned for a year or two they exude sap goo that will put your fire out. But they make fantastically beautiful turned wood products like bowls. Deep dark red loaded with swirls of grain and often little spiky voids.


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