Mallika is a terific Mango, and is easy to keep well under 10'. Just keep pruning it below (6-12")the desired height, and new branches form under the cuts. I'm very, very pleased with my "Condo" Mangos. I have 11 of them now, and they take up little space. They form nice rounded canopies. Very attractive!

There is a useful article about Condo Mangos, with pictures, that Fairchild had on their site. I'll look for it. I've seen a nice Mango tree pruned into an open vase shape at Mounts, that was under 5' tall, and 1 1/2 times as wide.

A neighbor chainsaws off the tops of his mature Mangoes every year. They are HUGE trees, and he cuts them off in a straight line, about 12' high. No leaves are left, just a few large branch remnants on the trunk. Within a month, they regrow, and look pretty. I don't imagine they fruit much, and I think he has given up on fruit, since he won't shoot squirrels. Mango trees are pretty tough to take such abuse.

You can keep your Mallika any size/shape you like. They respond well to pruning.

Congrats on such a wise choice!

Lisa

P.S. Once I get the weeds out of the veggie gardens and replant, I'll post pictures (G).

Is there any "best" time of the year to prune mangos? Is it too late to prune now?

Mango branches have leaves that circle the nodes on each branch.
You can cut the branches just above any node to create more branches and control the height of your tree.
It will be fuller and smaller as a result.
But they do grow fast anyway. Especially after you prune them.
Mangoes bloom during the winter, so if you want fruit next summer don't prune any more this year. Prune after next year's fruit (summer). And maybe another time after that.
Fertilize right after pruning.
I can't keep my two at 10'. maybe 20'.
But I don't have a Mallika.

Thank-you Lisa and Treefrog, and yes, please post pictures! I need to learn much more about edibles and what better people to learn from?

About the topping. Treefrog, I'm glad you mentioned that now is too late to do it. My nam-doc-mai is getting lots of growth right now and I was wondering that. Now, next summer, after the squirrels get all the mangoes, do I just top all the branches straight across, or at the base of selective branches that go up? Lisa, you mentioned the vase shape. Is that better for disease control? Is that the best way to do it or just the topping straight across? Once they are topped, is fruit production reduced significantly? Sorry about all the questions.

Anna

Anna,

Just to give you an idea that these Mango trees take very well to pruning...I have attached a few pictures to show you how well it did...I was very apprehensive in doing this. I have never pruned a mango this drastically before(I was afraid I would kill it). But as you can see it filled out very nicely. I wanted from the very beginning to try and keep it at a manageable size. It was already too tall for being so young. My goal was to start out with a much shorter tree, so that's why I pruned it drastically, from 6 1/2ft, to 2 1/2 feet. Hadens are known to be large trees, which I didn't want. But this was a tree I got on clearance for 75%off. I figured I didn't have too much to lose if it didn't make it...I only left 4-5 leaves and now I have at least 8-10 branches.

Of course you will not be doing this to your Mallika since it is already a semi dwarf/dwarf variety. Just wanted to show you, like Lisa said they are pretty tough trees, thank goodness... Hope that helps.

Appx. 6 1/2 Ft when planted, actually I already cut a foot off(if you look very close you can see the cut)was over 7ft when I purchased it...passed the bamboo stake.
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I Whacked it to appx. 2 1/2 Ft/or less
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Today...filled out nicely, yet a lot shorter than it was. Much easier to maintain
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Wow, puglvr, thanks for taking the time to post all the pics. Love your big trees and park like yard. I can see why you were apprehensive about pruning your mango! It did make a remarkable recovery. Looks really cute now. Now, how do you plan on pruning it when it grows more? Do you know what your parameters will be?

Really, maybe I'm obsessing, but I have so few fruit trees I want to make sure I get it right.

Anna

Hi Anna and Thanks!

Just so you know, I am not an expert by any stretch of the imagination,LOL...but if I can share my experience with my trees, I am happy to help. Believe me, I'm fairly new to growing these also, so I am learning along the way...

Just to give you another visual(Pictures are worth a thousand words, right?). I have two Glenn mango trees, one planted in-ground and one in a container...I pruned these trees at least 2-3 times. I also have a keitt I pruned more often because of its open,lanky habit, which I wasn't too crazy about. Pruning it often, made it grow fuller(in check) and not so scraggly.

I plan on maintaning these trees hopefully around 12-15ft
That is my goal, I would rather have it shorter, but a lot wider. Hopefully the width will make up for the fruits that I will lose growing it taller. But it will be much easier to pick fruit and spray leaves if necessary...

I will trim it again next summer, I've never had fruits from these trees, so I'm hopeful to get a couple next year? What I'm planning on doing is basically favor the horizontal growths and prune the vertical growths to force several growths from each leaf nodes. I will do it after the fruiting season is over. Check out the link below!

By the way no is more obsessive than me when it comes to growing my mango trees, LOL. So no need to explain, believe me I understand...Now if I can just get a least one mango from any of these trees, I would be so happy!

Glenn Mango right now appx. 6ft (tall) 7ft(wide)on one side
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I also apply this to my Potted Glenn(notice how wide it is)
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Keitt, after at least four prunings since April 07
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Here's the link that has excellent tips on pruning...

Here is a link that might be useful: Size Does Matter: Pruning for Perfection

Thanks again for the lovely pics, puglvr! A picture is definitely worth a thousand words. I think I'm getting the idea now. I had seen that Fairchild link, but wasn't totally clear on how to do it. Thanks to your explanation and pics, I think I am ready to attempt it. Gulp. This weekend we will probably plant it. How to explain it to the DH that I'm gonna cut the top off the tree may not be easy. We'll see! Thanks again.

Anna

Anna,

Since you have a Mallika(not real familiar with its growth habit)? Maybe you don't have to prune it right away...You might want to wait a year and see how it's growth habit is and then prune it according to the shape you want to maintain it. Favoring the horizontal growths and trimming the vertical branches....

That way your DH won't have a fit, LOL...just my opinion!I guess I just don't want you to regret it, I would feel bad if it doesn't turn out the way you like. I wouldn't top it off as severely as I did, I don't think you have to go that drastic with your variety. Remember you can do it in stages...a little at a time.

How tall is your Mallika tree?

Puglvr, the tree is about 4-5 feet and kinda spindly. Don't worry, I will think it out well before I prune it. I was talking to the DH and he was actually open to topping it. I might wait just a bit longer. We'll see once it's planted. Thanks!

Anna