Its too dry. One thing I notice is...the more water they get in the dry season the better they grow. They even like to be flood irrigated. When they get some size that might change.
And mulch that tree. Hot desert sun must evaporate the water faster then it can get to the roots.

Thank you! We will go out there now and give it a bunch of extra water, and keep that up for some time.

We will also put extra mulch on it.

I'd hate to see it die! Looking forward to mangos one year soon!

We added more mulch and gave it a ton of water and maybe it's my imagination, but it is already looking better.

When we first planted it, it kinda went into shock and the top died back. We cut the top, and now it has 4 new branches.

We will make sure it has a lot of water. The guava planted at the same time, is just growing really fast and already fruiting...

I'll try to post an update in a week or so when it starts showing happy growth again.

I've seen them come back from MUCH worse. When it does flush? I strongly recommend you then give it a good feeding of a quality fertilizer. I like the organic types...that lowers the chance of burning the small trees.
Small Mangoes in the west need to be pampered-lol. It really does make a difference.

Hi DD - where in the desert do you live? I'm in Palm Springs....

Anyway, all of Stan's advice is solid. I'm looking at the pictures you posted and knowing that we've had a couple days of 115 and 116 already, and just recently, I'd almost say that is sunburn/heat damage. .....

If you are in the Coachella Valley this might be what your tree could become....

Ooooohh! I even see mangos on your tree! Fingers crossed!

We used to live in La Quinta, but moved to acreage in the hills overlooking Hemet. We are in a microclimate. Not as hot, not as cold. We traded the dreaded HOA for a bunch of gophers, bob cats, and assorted other critters!

It's been 3 days since the original post, and I can see improvement. I'll post an update in a week or so, but the branch tips are longer and definitely green!

I don't expect the burned leaves to recover, but I hope the new ones will look better!

Thanks for posting your tree!

I couldn't stand waiting a week. This is the progress after 4 days. See how green the growth tips on the new branches are? There are 4 new branches in all, but one is hiding under a leaf.

That water is a huge help! Thanks to all of you!

Suzi

Alright! Easy enough solution - water....... Is your soil sandy, DD?

Ah, I see you are right off the 74, kind of behind San Jacinto - I should assume you are at some elevation there??? Oh, yeah, I see about 1500 feet. And you're right cooler nights and not as warm days...but....on the USDA Hardiness map for zips 92543-92545 the zone is 9a.....are you sure it's 9b?

Oh yeah....and mulch, mulch...MULCH!
M.A.D.

Well, you got the wrong side of the 74. I provided a link which shows my microclimate and zone and I choose the road map view so I can pinpoint exactly our zone.

It says our minimum temp is 25-30, and that could be true, but only one day out of the entire year. It's mostly 30-35 min temp, and that is only 1-2 days. It snowed last year, but never stuck. We have the same climate as Temecula. In fact, wine country is creeping this way. Huge vineyard at the bottom of our hill.

Fun to see all the little microclimates though!

We are off Stetson in the hills on the East side of State. Our soil is decomposed granite. Drains well. If a tree can get it's roots under a boulder, it will be fine, and there are tons of boulders here both hidden underground and hugely visable above.

Here is a link that might be useful: ARS Interactive Zone Map

This post was edited by desertdance on Tue, Jul 29, 14 at 9:31

You are the best! You saved my tree! A few days, a few cans of water, two days of tropical storms seem to have helped:

Here is the tree today:

And here is a close up of the growth tip. There are 4 new branches on the tree and they all look like this! YAY!!

Thanks again!
Suzi

More mulch and cover the mulch up with cardboard if you don't mind the unattractive scene. It will keep the moisture in longer and you save water and the mango loves it.

Important: keep the thick layer of wet mulch 1" away around the trunk or it may rot.

Got it!