I have NO idea...but I think its pretty 'freakin' amazing that you're growing a Mango tree in Iceland,lol...Congrats!

Maybe and its just a theory, most potted mango trees are pretty slow to acclimate and get growing. Maybe while you were in Iowa the tree was concentrating on growing roots and when you moved...it kicked the foliage growth into gear? There's also No substitute for 'real' sunshine, so I'm sure that helped as well.

Just know that I've killed a mango tree or two myself with root rot and I live in FL,lol...

Lots of luck and please keep us updated on its progress.

I think the main thing with Mangoes in pots is to not let them get too wet, letting the soil dry out before waterings.

I have not tried the "Gritty Mix" folks on the forum seem to have had good results with it with mango trees , you may want to try and make your own.

And by the way, I think its soo cool your growing all these tropicals in Iceland, the locals be amazed when you show them your home grown fruits. I can just imagine their faces when you whip out a Rollinia, probably something they have never seen or heard of.

Agree with everyone - AMAZING what you are doing Karen...But you poor soul, do you HAVE to live in the land of ice and snow?????

Next move you make, head south!

but wonderful what you are accomplishing now...and I have NO explanation for why they are all doing so well......flabbergasted acually.......

mangowoofwoof

Great job with all your plants!! You Carrie looks SO pretty with all her new growths! Best of luck to you!

How long do you plan on living in Iceland?

@TropicDude: Thanks for the tip! Huh, I think I may accidentally have made something that's almost a gritty mix due to all of that "hekla" volcanic gravel I added to the soil to try try to make it less organic (you can't see it that well because I added a thin layer of plain soil over the top of the pot to make it look prettier). Woohoo for accidents! :) Gotta keep that in mind for whenever I need to pot up (I think I'll have to do that one more time before she's big enough to fruit). What other plants besides mango is it recommended for?

Hehe, not only am I sure that pretty much nobody here has ever seen a rollinia... I discovered that most people here have never had corn in the husk! I brought some from the US, just as an afterthought, and I even had a *chef* ask me how to cook it. That's really strange, btw, because in most regards Iceland is very modern, international, and rather Americanized.

I'm sure I'll also get some neat reactions to the jaboticaba, bacupari, dragonfruit, barbados cherry, cashew apples, and some of the other tropicals that you just don't find here. :) And Iceland has a huge coffee culture (world's 4th highest per-capita consumption), so I'm sure that'll be a big hit. My largest coffee plant that came with me, judging from experience, will probably flower in about six months.

@MangoDog: Lol, I chose to move up here - specifically went out to find a job in Iceland, found one, got my permits, and moved! I just love this country. The food (excepting fruits and vegetables) is sooo good. The hot water is ridiculously abundant (even my local neighborhood pool has a full-sized heated indoor pool, full-sized heated outdoor pool, large indoor spa, two outdoor spas, one of which has these awesome high power massage jets, a kiddy pool, a large water-park-style waterslide, and a steam room). The country is so heart-wrenchingly beautiful (go to Google Images and search for the words "Iceland" and "nature" - it really looks like that). There's an amazing creative culture here, especially when it comes to music (just the main heavy metal festival alone draws over 40 Icelandic heavy metal bands per year -- yet whole country has less people than the city of Santa Ana, California!). Concerts are usually cheap or free. The night life is crazy -- doesn't even usually start until after midnight and is still busy at 5 AM. It never gets dark during the summer and at winter the whole city is lit up brightly. It's never hot and humid, and the winters, while wet and very windy, don't get that cold (less than NYC). Workplaces here are so nice (everyone in the country gets about a month off per year, the mother and father of a child can get (between them) up to 9 months paid leave and 9 unpaid, your vacation time doesn't count as vacation if you get sick while on vacation... heck, at my job, we have two great chefs on staff and I've even gotten a massage while on paid work time!). And as for the plants, power's dirt cheap, it's easy to cool a grow room, and I've got ~10 foot ceilings. :)

@puglvr1: Permanently, which is why I went through all the effort to come with my precious plants! And my parrot too, lol :)

well then, Karen of the Cool Hinderlands....if hot water is so cheap, WHY not erect a greenhouse and heat it with that stuff circulating through it, so you can really see what will grow? That's what I would do...that is unless you don't have a house yet, and are only renting a flat/apartment....

And thanks for the Iceland update - I stand duly educated!!!!!!!

mangoYipper

@mangodog: You hit the nail on the head; I'm renting right now. They call it an �b�� (apartment), but that gives the wrong impression. It's common here that houses have a design where part of it can be rented off easily if the owners want; I'm renting perhaps 1/3rd of a normal house.

Now, in the future I plan to buy or build a house, and an attached greenhouse is definitely in the list. In fact, I enter my current place *through* a two-story greenhouse that's part of the house - but it's the owner's greenhouse. Still, always nice to come home to the smell of flowers :)

Ae, looks like Gardenweb doesn't like Icelandic characters, because it kind of mangled my post. Oh well, that's not important. :)

Wow! I am totally amazed. And your cacao plant looks better than mine!

Tomas

I would guess that part of the success is due to the relative lack of insect pests and maybe microorganisms that would be more common further south. Sounds like your tropicals don't mind those super long summer days. Sure the light quality is purer and less hazy than further south. Soon you'll be sprouting coconuts up there. My hat's off to you, I can barely make it at 40 degrees North lat.! :)

Peat is nutritionally wonderful. The drainage properties is where it fails.

Wow, beautiful photos and great learning experience about Iceland and her people Karen. Any updates? Did you get or build a house yet? How are those plants looking today?

Sounds like besides your usual good care,the warmer nights spurred the mango. In pots indoors..it takes warmer temps since their is no hours of UV sun raining down. You provided warmer,and the healthy plants took advantage.
Mangoes are great. 100' tall in Hawaii,and yet they can have the same sweet fruit in a pot at 3' tall. Cant get Avocado to do that!

Thanks Karen,

Thanks for your very interesting post on growing tropicals in Iceland!

I've been fascinated with growing Avocado trees in Vancouver, Canada the past 2 years. From my studies and experience, I believe that it is possible to grow an Avocado tree OUTDOORS in Iceland. I base this on the following facts:

1. During many winters (In Reykjavic) the temperature doesn't get colder than -10°C (14°F). There are several varieties of Avocado trees that will survive to -10°C (14°F) during any winter, and still produce a crop of fruit the next Summer. (I searched the Reyjkavic temperature records for the past 6 winters on TimeAndDate.com .)

2. During the occasional winter where it gets too cold for a cold-hardy Avocado tree to survive without help, all you need to do is to provide some simple protection for the tree, (for example wrap some Christmas lights around the trunk (and lower branches) of the Avocado tree, and also put a protective cloth over the tree at the same time. Continue this until the super-cold period is over.

3. I have written several articles on the science and techniques of growing Avocados in colder climates (like Vancouver, BC) on Medium.com. Here is one article that I wrote on the possibility of growing an Avocado tree in Iceland:

https://georgestancliffe.medium.com/can-you-really-grow-an-avocado-tree-in-iceland-a45dcc441181

If this article interests you, you can check out my other Avocado articles on Medium. I'm pretty sure you could do a good job at growing an Avocado tree in Iceland, based on your success in growing those other tropical plants there!

--George Stancliffe