Peat and perlite for starters along with some organics. Earthworm castings if you can get some. PH should be on the acidic side of the scales. Make sure drains well. I'm assuming it's coming as a 3 gallon size. Maybe a 16 to 18" diameter(top) sized plastic pot. I would leave it in the container it arrives in for several days after you receive it. No sense adding to the stress of transplanting after being thrown around in a box in the dark for 2-4 days! Also leave it in the shade for several days gradually getting sun. What variety did you get?? Good luck. J

thanks for the follow-up, it sounds good. I got a Manilla from Lowe's growing in full compost right know, and I wanted to make sure this one has maybe a better potting mixture. I ordered a Malica variety. I read the viewer on Pine Island's website, and the Malica seemed to be pretty tough, especially with the disease resistance, since my Manilla has a pretty bad case of anthracnose.

thanks

Jesus,

If you are really in Riverside (I'm from SoCal)and you have a yard you can put it in the ground. Just make sure it is planted on a mound for better drainage since you get all your rain in the winter primarily.

Mangos do great in Phoenix and they grow them commercially in the Coachella Valley (low desert - Keitt variety - late season).

Good luck, Jesus (ha ha ha). I know YOU won't need luck though.

Yeah , are you the one that has that mango tree in Phoenix? after reading that forum that got me even more excited about growing a mango tree that might actually fruit. Soon as I heard about the Keitt tree's in the Coachella Valley I was pretty blown away, (Commercial mango tree's in Southern California , wow that's crazy!) that's what I was thinking. What took people so long to start growing them out here? anyways I got a question about that mound. How high does it have to be to really have any effect on the drainage? Should I dig a huge whole, like 5x5, and fill with a bunch of good stuff?

ha, ha, actually I need a lot of luck cause I sure ain't Jesus

A mango tree in Riverside will enjoy the heat you get in the summer. You don't seem to really get all that (prohibitively) cold in winter either. May have to cover it on cold nights for the first couple years until acclimated. Many on the coast in SoCal just don't have the heat to grow Mangos or Guavas, etc. If they do 'ripen up' they are rather bland without the heat to produce the sugar in the fruit. Of course, microclimates can make a huge difference (planting on a hot south wall on the coast, for example).

Don't go crazy with the mound. I would suggest just a broad 1 foot mound just so water will never settle against the trunk or in the root line in the winter and stay there for days. That's a sure killer for root rot. The tree will settle and be fine after that. I would recommend using your existing soil and mulching over the top. Don't let the mulch touch the trunk.

Good luck. There are more mangos in Phoenix than you might think. I'm not the only one. Most people just plant whatever the nurseries carry or tell them to. Nonsense.

I would water in some B-1 or Superthrive to get it started. I would not fertilize until established, and even then I would just use Fish/Kelp. Young mangos burn from chemical fertilizers.

Just do the research on varieties and cultural requirements and things work out just fine.

Hi, I think you misunderstood me on the mound. What I meant w

as, digging a 5x5 whole in the ground. The soil in my part of Southern Ca. which is Moreno Valley in Riverside County, is about 99% clay and 1% tiny rock. If I put it straight in that, that's a sure way to get root rot, right? In the 5x5 whole I was gonna put a bunch of organics, and a whole bunch of dessert sand from my pa's place, and mix in some clay. good or no good?