Nancy, great to see you gettin' your hands on some roots ;-)

The height looks fine, although you might want to very lightly mulch those exposed roots...
just until they've "hardened off" a bit.

After a significant bare-rooting, I protect my trees for about two weeks. I also wait to resume
fertilization for that first two weeks while the roots bite into the new mix.

Josh

great job Nancy. I second all that josh mentioned.

mike

Thanks Josh and Mksmth! Appreciate it...

We've been and will be in the 80's for the 10 day forecast and after that I'm sure more of the same.

I will have to pay close attention to the watering as well, guess I better do the wood dowel thing for a while till I figure out how fast its drying. Just in the last few hours the top looks dry already but of course I know the bottom is still quite wet. I'm much better at the smaller plants, ones that have been in the gritty ix for a while than I am with Large newly repotted trees,lol...

Am I too late to THIRD that Nancy?:-)Josh has never dissappointed me.

Great job by the way. Knowing you, it will be just fine. Yes I wish you luck too and I hope you keep us updated!

Many hugs to you long time friend!

Mike:-)

Looks fine, Nance. I agree with the guys. You're in good hands. ;-) Take good care, too.

It was 80* today - warmer than you were? I've got soooo much stuff coming on all at once (to repot). Just came in to take a break & saw your email - now I'm headed back into the garage. TTYL!

Al

Thanks so much you guys! I feel better...still nervous but feel a little better with ALL your approval :o)

I can't believe you were 80 degrees today Al...so was I!! Unreal the warm weather you guys are having. You know there's something weird when MI and FL have the same temps in March,lol...Don't work too hard Al, but I'm sure you will
:o)

Hugs right back at you Mike...give your Mom one for me as well.

Hi Nancy,
IM SO JEALOUS! I have wanted that 'Pickering' for some time now..I have a feeling this will be the year I can get it too! I should be in Tampa area this July(keeping fingers crossed), so hopefully I can find one. The later in the year it is it seems to get a lot harder to locate these trees unless your in S. FL.

Were expected to hit mid 70's here during these next few days! BIZARRE ha!Great job on your bare rooting and repot!!

Andrew

Thanks Andrew...I'm betting you will have a Pickering before Summer is over,lol...

My tree looks a little stressed today...I'm keeping my eye on it. The mix is still wet I've been using the wood dowel to test it, but the leaves looks a tad droopy to me? Its under a shade tree right now recuperating. I hope it does okay :o(
I'm a little nervous with this one.

Hi Nancy,

I LOVE your potted mango! Can you tell me again how long you've had in a pot, whether you keep outdoors all year, and how tall it will get? I would love to try to grow a dwarf mango indoors but know nothing about its care.

Have any of you guys in colder zones grown one successfully? Thanks in advance!

Tim

Hi Nancy:

Bare rooting IS a bit intimidating at first. I went to a seminar on container growing by a "commercial nurseryman" once, and it was great problem solver. He stressed over and over the fact that the root hairs, mostly invisible, begin to die when they start drying out, that is after about 5 min of being bare rooted. These are the organs that actually take up the soil water and its nutrients, and take several days to replace if destroyed. If the plant lives.

The best thing you can do in a situation like this is to have a 5 gal bucket handy prefilled with water* and drop it in in case you loose the potting mix like this or even if you know it will happen. *Note "water" may contain your special favorite additives. His favorite was fish emulsion which he claimed would coat and protect the root hairs, especially if used also as a pre-drench. There are a lot of potential problems that you may run into when repotting and the extra bucket is insurance that your tree is protected while you scare up the equipment and supplies to do an emergency fix, like root pruning larger pot, etc.

Now I would is just add enough mix to barely cover the top of the roots. You could even do that in a day or so after it settles some.

Larry

Hi Tim, that particular one I just purchase a week ago. I do however have another one that I've had in a pot for over 5 years. Yes, I keep mine outside except when a frost or freeze is predicted, then it goes in the garage.They can get as big as you want them to. If you want them to stay small I would start with a dwarf or semi dwarf variety. Here's a few suggestions for Condo Mango from Pine Island nursery
Condo Mango List...out of the ones listed I would go with Pickering as far as the best for its dwarf characteristics and it I like the flvor. I'm not a big fan of Carrie, but many love it. Taste is subjective so keep that in mind. Also even though Lancetilla is listed under condo mango, I've heard they can get pretty large. As long as you can keep them pruned once a year you can keep it within bounds.
I also posted a video below of how to tip prune your mango tree. I enjoyed seeing how they recommended doing it. Good luck!

Here's a link that might be worth reading...
Container Mango

Also have you been to the Tropical Fruit Forum? Try doing some searches under Container or Potted Mango I'm sure you'll have many posts to read,lol...many members grow them in pots from all over, some up North in their basements, garages, or living room. Andrew is one of them that grows a Mango in NY.
Tropical Fruit Forum on GW

Tip Pruning Mango Video

Hi Larry...thanks for the great suggestions. I used some Kelp in my water and soaked/dunked the root ball and kept it moist at all times the whole time I was bare rooting it. I tell you...I probably won't do another mango again...its a LOT of work and very difficult to remove all that Peat!!

Thanks again...I'll maybe spray the top of the potting mix with some mild kelp solution? Unfortunately, I just ran out of Fish Emulsion a couple of weeks ago...Appreciate your help!

Nancy

Here is a link that might be useful: Tip Pruning Video

I need a little help please. I noticed more leaves looks very stressed "drying out" starting to get crispy on the mango I repotted 6 days ago. I put a couple of (wick) yarn on the bottom of the pot yesterday so I can keep track of the moisture. The yarn is very wet but yet when I stick the wood dowel in the soil the wood dowel comes out pretty dry. What do you suppose is going on? Should I water it again tomorrow or wait till the yarn wicking dries out somewhat? I'm at a loss here...any ideas?

Nancy, I found you!

Is it still out of the full sun? Keep in in dabbled light.

Some plant take a bare root a while to adjust and I think this is still going on.
I won't question your mix since I am pretty sure you know how to make it so that most of the particles are about the same size and dry out effectively.

What I would do is water if the dowel is showing dry at least half way down. Your roots are going to take a while to occupy that container while the ones closest to the top will go dry if you don't water. That is why Josh suggested using some kind of mulch on top so that the top would slow in drying while the bottom catches up.

I would water the top half of that plant then throw some kind of mulch on the top of your mix so that the top few inches stays moist longer. I hope you understand what I mean:-)
I know the weather in your area has been quite hot and sunny these days.

I hope this helps. Have a good night dear friend and we shall chat soon.

Hey, Mike and Nancy!

Nancy, I think watering the mix is right. Recently re-potted plants need to be kept moist
more moist than established plants (so that the delicate new roots don't dry out).

There could be more going on, of course, but I would just keep the moisture up for now.

Josh

Thanks Mike and Josh for the help and good advise/support. I put the wick just before I watered it on Sunday and couldn't understand why yesterday (Monday) the wood dowel was coming up pretty dry yet the wick was very wet?

Oh, yes it is still in Full Shade. It has been breezy and in the mid 80's just about every day since I repotted but its located near my house under a big palm tree but still getting the air flow and very warm and dry conditions.

Something about Mango trees, they seem to really resent all that root disturbance, again, I wasn't the most gentle because it was really difficult to get all that peat off the roots and I knew I had to do it. I recall this happening to me about 5 years ago. Its been so long I don't remember all the details? After looking at my old records I realized I've bare rooted another mango a few years ago and didn't have any issues with that one...so I'm at a total loss here. I guess I will water it again since the moisture seems to be only on the very bottom of the pot (according to the wick).

I just hope I don't lose the whole plant, I can live with no leaves for a while as long as the tree itself makes it.

Thanks again for both your help!

I just (now checked the mix again...this time I inserted the wood dowel at an angle and placed it on my cheek and it felt cool...so the mix isn't as dry as I originally thought. I was really having a very hard time believing the mix would be dry only after 24 hours...this is a big plastic pot (14") and like I said before the WICK is very wet...so I knew there had to be moisture in there especially since its in a plastic pot and not clay plus, its in the shade...I rooted around a "little" moved the top couple of inches and the mix is definitely "not" dry under the first inch or two...I also pruned about one third of the leaves to help it along...but the leaves that are left are stressed as well :o(...

Do you guys think This would help...covering the plant in clear plastic like an ICU? trapping some humidity to help with the transpiration or will the plastic do more harm that good. Its in full shade. Its been breezy again today and like I said the leaves are looking wilted/crispy. Thinking its from lack of moisture in the leaves? Guess at this point there's not much else I can do but wait it out.
{{gwi:572239}}

I also added a layer of Pine Bark nuggets on top of the mix so it won't dry out too quickly as per your and Josh's suggestion. Wish me luck!

Now, one more question...do you suggest I water it again once the "wick" is just slightly moist or wait the wick is almost DRY?

Hey Pug, I am keeping my fingers crossed for you and you keep yours crossed for my Guava, please?

You know my feelings on this from previously chatting. But lets' see what others have to add:-)

I think it will make a come back. You repotted right and sometimes for certain plants, they can rebel tremendously as yours did.
Once the roots realize they are much better as is and that you spared their life from the garbage they were once in, they will reward you, at least we hope!:-)

Are the wicks dangeling? It looks like the pot is sitting on something flat.

Mike

Thanks Mike, at this point all I can do is "wait it out" and see if it survives. I appreciate the support and well wishes, same goes for your Guava!

The wick is dangling...its hard to see from this angle but its actually sitting on top of two pieces of landscape blocks about 3-4" off the ground so the wick can drain.

Now, one more question...do you suggest I water it again once the "wick" is just slightly moist or wait till the wick is almost DRY?

Nancy, from all the friends I have growing in containers, they say that Mango require lots of waterings. They like to be moist.

Some even question if the gritty mix will hold moisture long enough to be adequate for that tree. Well, you and I know it will work but don't let wait for the wick to go dry with Mango. Water when it's just barely moist:-)

Mike

Hello, Nancy and Mike!

Keep it moist! Don't let it dry out.
I would be spritzing the top of the mix every other day, maybe even a little every day.

You and Mike have much more experience with tropicals than I do, so take my advice with a grain of salt ;-)
When I re-potted my Avocado last time, I made the mistake of leaving it in the morning sun for a few hours,
eventhough I'd placed it below a deck rail to receive filtered light. Well, the leaves wilted and would not perk up.
I moved the Avocado into deeper shade and watered, but still the leaves were limp. It wasn't until I started watering
every other day that the tree finally responded by lifting its leaves. I'm convinced that roots dried out and died
that day after re-potting, which is what made for such a long recovery with my Avocado.

So, with large-leafed plants, my experience is that watering after a re-potting is a must!

Josh

Hey Josh, Thanks for your comments and advise.

Well...last night I made the decision to let it ride and see what happens. This morning when I woke up...I had a change of heart. I checked the wick and it was still pretty wet, at this point I figured I really need to see what the bottom of the pot looks like. I decided to remove the tree and check what was going on...I did this inside the garage so the wind wasn't a factor. It was indeed VERY wet on the bottom...somehow the smaller particles seeped to the bottom of the pot (Mike suggested I check to see if this happened), Thanks Mike! The rest of the mix was moist, just the top inch or two was dry. So I don't know why the first time I checked it with the wood dowel it came up dry? Guess I didn't do it right...

I've now come to realize the mistakes I made were human error on my part...thinking back...I don't think I screened the ingredients well enough since I was a bit of a hurry.I didn't premoisten the mix before I added it...I only wet it once I started adding it to the pot. I take full responsibility for the predicament I'm in, plus in my experience Mango does not like their roots disturb and bare rooting them is the worst thing I can do to it at least that's been my experience...(more so than any trees/plants I've ever done).

I noticed as soon as I removed the tree from the pot that some of the roots are starting to rot/die off...again the mix was very wet on the bottom...few of them were turning dark brown/black :o(...I don't know "if" its too late to save this poor tree, but all I know is I had to try...

I dumped the potting mix into a wheel barrow and re-do the mix a little to make it a little less moisture retentive(did some re-screening) and mixed it up really well...repotted it back up. Now I wait...if it dies at least I know I've tried and did my best to to save it. It was going to rot anyways if I hadn't redone it.

I will leave it in the shade for another week and slowly acclimate slowly to sun (if its still alive by then,lol)

Wish me luck...thanks again for your help Mike and Josh! Much appreciated. Its a lesson learned for me, hopefully I won't make the same mistakes again.

Good luck! And great catch!

Those small particles will indeed migrate in the mix, especially if the pieces of bark
are on the large side (over 1/4 inch). Once you've re-mixed, be careful not to let the
roots get too dry ;-)

There's a good chance that the tree will recover, even if it drops all its leaves.

Josh

Hey Josh and Nancy!

I am SOOOO glad you caught it Nancy!
It is easier for us to suggest what to do, but VERY difficult to follow through for fear of furthering an already rather sensitive issue. You just may of saved your tree just in the nick of time!

I praise your courage for following through with our suggestions and even more so for having a watchful eye!
My hats off to you and to Josh, Mike, Larry, Tim, and Andrew for being there when you needed them the most!
You know you can always come here for good cheer and help!

I am confident it will be ok, even if it looks bad now. You do have a way with plants that most I know struggle with.:-)

I learned the hard way too Nancy. I lost a many of a tree by not sifting correctly and using the mix dry. We are keeping our fingers crossed for you. Keep us updtaed, please. It seems everyting and everyone, even when under the weather find a way to get better easier in the sunny state of Florida!

Mike