PS : The mango trees were all strategically located and are all spaced a minimum of 28 ft apart. And although the Kent and Valencia Pride will indeed be 60 ft trees twenty years from now, the Glenn and Nam Doc Mai are supposed to be only 15 - 20 footers.

In my mind , you did good. I have 15 year old keitt and hayden. Both are large trees, but I keep them topped at about15-20 feet because I placed them on the SE side of buildings for frost protection. You will not have any trouble getting rid of the fruit IMHO. Most farmer's market guys will grab local tree ripened fruit at any opportunity.
bernie

You did great! You will have NO problem getting rid of excess mangos...you can even sell them for a nice profit if you are so inclined. Prepare to fight the squirrels for your crop though.

You can NEVER have too many mangoes IMHO! Like everyone said you can get a little extra $$ for them. Four trees is not what I would call a problem at all. You can trim the larger varieties so they stay more manageable and it will be that much easier to pick the fruits!

You can always send your extra mangoes to me...or I can drive the two hours and pick them myself,lol...

The Nam Doc Mai is superb, I recommend you get a 'haden'. Did you check the 'season' for each type? so that you could schedule an early, middle and late season variety and have your mango stand selling for at least 6 months?

To ben in sofla : Yes I did plan for a spread of harvest times. The Glenn is an early season mango, both the Nam Doc Mai and the huge Valencia Pride are mid season fruits, and my favorite of all, the Kent is a late season mango. Are you suggesting I get ANOTHER mango tree ? Yikes, my well meaning friend who critiqued me, will have me committed !!! LOL. I think I'll be fine with 4 trees, although I do have more than enough room for another.(smile )

puglvr : Thanks, I sense you are a mango maniac like I am !

flyingfish2 & bluepalm : There just happens to be a big Farmers Market place only 1/3 mile away from my home. Are you serious, would they buy my home grown mango's ? Also, about squirrels, another aquaintance who has a 60 ft tall Vanencia Pride mango tree, told me I'd need a good pellet rifle to kill those agressive pests. How yo you all deal with them ?

jofus,You have done very good. I wish,I could grow mango trees here but winter would kill them.
Eating mangoes under a mango tree is something that I remember doing as a young kid and hope to do it again. I love mangoes!
Felix

Well... Jofus, now you have a couple of years of thought process into 'how you're going to keep the critters' away from your fruit. Start examining the local wildlife, squirrels, raccoons, rats, possums, birds,etc. See if anyone in your 'hood' has mature fruit trees and inquire about such wildlife affecting the fruit.

My experience has been pretty much a 50/50 split. I have seen all the above mentioned animals eat my mangos. I am especially annoyed at squirrels for taking a nibble and knocking the fruit down to ground for the lazy climbers.

Best of luck with your mango trees, I mulch my trees heavy(keep mulch a couple of inches away from trunk), easy on water and light on fertilizer once trees are established.

I had a large haden on the lake in WPB where I used to live.
The main problems were 2 legged varmits and rats with fuzzy tails. Never fiqured how to keep the 2 legged ones away. Firearms were illegal:>) Probably not worth going to jail for anyway. The rats I took care of with a pellet gun. We had a pooch who loved to take care of the wounded ones, she would quickly finish them off and lay them at the back step. I had a streak of 10 straight going, and the last one was running across the telephone line when I picked him off.
Like Ben said you have a few years to fiqure how to protect your fruit, but first you should cover the trees when there is a threat of frost for the first few years. Later you may lose the bloom, but not the tree.

Currently I have no problems with "rats", live with palmettos and pine which they do not like. I must've been nuts to put out oaks 15 years ago because they are now monsters, but thank goodness no rats, just racoons which I trap.

good luck, bernie

Hi Jofus,

Yes, you can definitely call me a Mango Maniac. If it makes you feel any better I planted 7 mango trees between spring of 07 to last summer...plus I have one in a container. I live north of you so I have to protect mine for the few days of frost. I almost lost several of them this past Jan. freeze. It's a pain in the neck to cover them and put lights on them...but worth it to keep them alive. So here's to hoping for a cold...but "frost free" winter. I'm looking forward to cooler weather just like most of us...just NO FROST would be nice. Good luck with your trees.

Yes I do have two years to think about how I am going to deal with the 2 legged and 4 legged " rats." Have a couple of ideas up my sleeve, will see.
As far as cold, we seldom get a winter night dropping down to 50 deg, but it has happened, as low as 22 degrees in 1962. If that happens this winter, it'll be all over for all my trees. These trees should easily handle a 45 degree night if I put a bed sheet over them, right ? An ex gardner told me to turn on a garden hose and let it trickle at the base all night, would this work ? That'd be my last resort for an under 45 deg night. I feel that if I can get thru this coming winter with no blackened blooms, I'll be fine. Had a new 4 ft tall Glenn's blooms all turn black on me in Jan, 2005, after I planted it in the ground a few weeks earlier. That tree is still almost as small and has never borne any fruit. The early mango trees are the most fragile I am thinking, as they bloom first, before the mid and late season trees.
Am a bit smarter now, waited until March to plant these trees in the ground. Hopefully the 9 + months of establishment will bode well for the few really cold nights ahead.

Hi Jofus from another Englewoodian

My next door neighbor has a huge mature mango tree on a 50x100 lot and I can't imagine 4 of them, lol. But a lot can happen from now to when yours are mature. He gets TONS of mangos, unfortunately we have to say no thanks to the free fruit due to allergic reactions. So sad.

Yes there are squirrels and raccoons. One even came into their screened lanai (opened the door) one time when the first ripe one was sitting on a table. Freaked them out to find just the pit until they figured out what happened, they assume a raccoon or a super-intelligent squirrel.

We had one of the most severe winters here in 15 years and their mango crop is heavier than normal.

Denise

Hey Denise, I am not allergic,...care to tell me where in Englewood that huge tree is located ? lol

Hey Jofus,

I'm familiar with your area, I have a small lot near Port Charlotte(love to reitire there one day) Living in Englewood...you shouldn't have to worry too much about freezing temps unless its one of those like last year
"record breaking". Hopefully we will only have those once every 15 years or so,lol...

Your Mango trees should be fine w/out protection as long as the temps stay above 32°. Although, just to be on the safe side I would cover them up with a blanket if the temps are forecasted to be 35° or below since they are still very young and the roots have not been established. Blooms and fruits can be killed below 40°...Just my humble opinion.

Here's a link you might find useful...

Denise, I'm not allergic either...please send some our way,lol...

Here is a link that might be useful: How not to Kill your Mango trees

My experience is that a sheet (NOT PLASTIC) with a 150 watt bulb near the base of the tree will keep it safe down in the 20's for a few hours. I did this many times and unless you are on the SE side of a body of water, would expect you will see some temps in the high 20's over the next several winters.

bernie

i share your sickness. on a 1/4 acre lot i am currently growing

Nam Doc Mai
Rosigold
Pickering
Po Pyu Kalay
Carrie
Chocanon
Julie
Alphonso
Alampur Baneshan

and i probably have about a dozen or so seedlings going (i already planted an ataulfo seedling in my neighbors yard)

most of them are around my property line, so my yard will only contain half of their canopies.

we should start a 12 step program!

Here is a link that might be useful: must have book

Hi puglvr,
Yes I agree, I do live in a relatively moderate winter climate as far as South Florida is concerned. I appreciate your expertise, and will use as a yardstick, a night time temp of 40 degrees or lower, as my panic mark. I honestly do not think we will even approach that this coming winter, but will be on guard. Nice to live on the border of 9b and 10 !
After moving here from the upper Keys, ( where anything will grow ), I was surprised by how few mango trees I encountered. I will do my best to correct that deficiency, LOL.
I am finding this a valuable forum for a novice like me, - lots of great advise.
I think we both scared off Denise, what do you think? LMAO !

I live in grove city.(ENGLEWOOD) My trees were severly damaged this year. I had a 15x15 hayden, an 8ft carrie, 8ft namdocmai, 8ft mallika, 8ft popuykalay, 6ft icecream, and a quidnow. The hayden the only one I did not protect and it froze to about 3ft just above the graft. Very sad but all the others I protected with 150 watt lights and they are around 6ft now. They did lose all their leaves but are recovering. No fruit except for 3 on my icecream which is in a container. I brought that one inside. I also have a house in cortez bradenton which I planted a 6ft. valencia pride in 2007. It is now 20ft high and 15ft wide and full of fruit. It suffered no damage and it is 50 miles north. Go figure. good luck

ekimllabmik : Great to hear your mango story. The beauty of this site, first hand feedback is so valuable.
I know exactly where you are, I am in a mobile home park just across 776 from Wally's. An update on the gorgeous, lush four mango trees mentioned above ; they all died in the early January cold spell, except the smallest, the now 6 foot Nam Doc Mai. That survived because I covered it with an old bedsheet and draped Christmas tree lights through out it's branches. The old fashioned big bulbs, worked like magic. That tree didn't lose a beat, - it's now lush and thriving, still has one immature mango still hanging on. Next year at this time will maybe have a half dozen keepers.
I replaced the other 3 trees and will cover them all next time it dips below 38 degrees. Puglyr's coverage design is great, will buy the rebar and pvc pipes before next winter hits. Live and learn.
Simply amazing you have a thriving Valencia Pride in Bradenton,..gives me hope that I might succeed yet, with at least one of my young trees. LOL

I could argue perhaps you need two more :)

Perhaps an early season and late season mango, like Florigon or Rosigold for early, and Beverly or Keitt for late season. This way you have some from late May to September.

I have around 15 varieties. The best problem on earth is too many mangos or jakfruit.

Gary

You are in good company. I have 8 mango trees in pots and in the ground. There are several things you cannot have too many or too much of:

1. Hugs from my daughter.
2. Key lime pie.
3. Those new Bluebell ice cream popsicles.
4. Sunsets over the Gulf of Mexico.

To those let's add 5. A ripe, fresh-picked mango off your own tree.

Jofus, I'm very happy to share a couple of pictures of my Mango tree that survived the 2010 freeze and so did the blooms! My very first crop since I planted it three years ago! This one I covered and added 150 watts of halogen work light underneath. I'm guessing the location also had something to do with its success(micro climate maybe). I lost one young mango tree and a lyccee tree and the rest suffered severe damages...one lychee tree went from 7ft to about 18"...so sad!
Hoping the fence will keep some of the critters away?

Best of luck with your new mango trees!

Has anyone tasted Cogshall? Was hoping to get some feedback on the taste...of course for me there's very few mangoes I don't like :o)

Ekimllabmik, sorry about losing some of your trees, its such a bad winter. But,that's a great story on your Mango tree in Bradenton...I used to live Off Cortez Rd for 12 years. I grew a couple of mango trees the last few years I lived there, never got very large as the storms kept breaking the branches off.

Billbrandi, I agree with your 5 great things!

Gary, how many of your trees had fruit this year? Brutal winter...hope we don't see another one for 30+ years!

I have tried the cogshall. It was very good. I purchased at least 20 different varieties lat year in pine island. I recall cogshall be one of the better varieties. The most outstanding for me was the himsager. I have about 20 more varieties I plan on purchasing over the next two weekends. I hope I can get more of the himsager. I also would like to try Julie, grahm, alphonso, angie, dot, phillipine, mun khun si, choconan, golden nugget, golden lippens, and lippens( Not sure what the difference is between the last 3). My favorite mangos so far are the carrie, mallika, nam doc mai, po pyu kalay and himsager, so I plan on getting as many of those as I can. This is only the second time I have posted anything on this site. I will try to post some pics once I figure it out. I try to spend more time with the mangos than with the computer.

pug: no fruit for me from my mangos, in fact several died and had to be replaced. I can definitely do without a winter like the last two.

Himsager mango, who is selling that one? Also Mun Khun Si?

Julie is my fav by the way, great coconut flavor.

Gary

Ekimllabmik, wow, sounds like you've tried a bunch of different ones...so many varieties I've never even heard of. May I ask where you find those different varieties to buy? Thanks for the positive feedback on Cogshall...I can't wait to taste mine for the first time. All I ever find around here are the ones they sell at the grocery store...Tommy Atkins I'm pretty sure?

I'm so sorry Gary, its heartbreaking! This was really a terrible winter, one I hope we don't see again for many decades. I also lost a few, but was very fortunate that I didn't lose much more.

There is a fruit nursery on Pine Island called the treehouse nursery. They have an excellent variety of tropicals for sale, especially mangos and lychee. I have purchased all of my mango trees there except my mallika which I found at lowes. It had scale and I got that tree for $4. One spray with neem oil cleaned it right up. It was 8ft and full on bloom prior to this years freeze. It lived but is much smaller now. That tree had the Pine Island Nursery tag on it. The pine island nursery is on Pine Island rd in Homestead. I have been to that nursery as well. I was not as impressed with them as The treehouse. Too commercial. The treehouse nursery has a fruit stand opened June - at least August. It is not at the nursery but on the way. That is where I have found the different varieties of fruit. There are a couple of other stands that people have at there house as well. The key is to get there very early when they open. There are alot of people that get their early to get there favorite mangos as well. Steve and Jessie are the most knowlegeable. I did call Steve to see what varities they had and they had a very poor year for mangos. The asian varieties did the best. They have nam doc mai, florigon, bram kai meu, po pyu kalay, mun khun si, and so on. They also have the Kent and Tommy Atkins, although they say Tommy Atkins are best to through at cars. I plan on going the next two weekends so Ill post what I find in a couple weeks. They did say they had 4 varieties of lychee.

Thanks for the info! I wish I lived closer so I can check them out. I've been to the Mango mania on Pine Island Rd in Cape Coral last July. Probably won't be able to make it out this year though...

Here is a link that might be useful: Mango Mania in Cape Coral...

set your mower to cut the grass a bit taller around your mango trees, then buy some bear traps and spray paint the traps green to match the grass color. Set the traps in the taller grass all around your mango trees. When you come back from your weekend you'll see a couple sprung traps, some mashed down grass, and a tree still full of fruit. The two legged mango tree raiders seem to come at dusk and don't notice the traps hidden in the tall grass until too late. I can only imagine the cussing that went on while I collect the traps, wash the blood off, and store them for the next long weekend.

Lou

Mango mania is ok, but I have found a much better variety and quality at the nursery. I did find carrie mangos last year 4 for a dollar at the festival. I bought 60. I probably wont go back to the festival. It was interesting once but that was about all I needed.