carrie mango tips?

15 years ago

Hello,

Over the weekend I purchased an air layered Carrie mango tree. It is in a large nursery pot and probably 6 ft tall or so already.

I am planting this as an specimen tree between the sidewalk and street where many folks plant relatively ordinary things like crape myrtles, drake elms, palms, etc. I selected this variety because it will grow larger than the smallest varieties (e.g. Cogshall) yet it lacks the ambition to become a 50 ft giant.

Getting fruit is a consideration, obviously. However, form is more important in my case even if it means less fruit or more difficult harvesting. I would like this tree to take on a nice form- not a bush with foliage down to the ground, but a small tree with a nice clean trunk and branching that begins several feet off the ground. (a side benefit here is that difficulty in harvesting will prevent passers by from cleaning the tree of all fruit!) The plant already shows this habit- but how do help it along in the months and years to come? Is it as easy as pruning anything that grows lower than I'd like?

Many thanks.

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Comments (5)

zands
15 years ago
Very good mango but mine is growing low and bushy.I have branches dipping close to the ground. With some pruning you can change that. Carrie mangoes stay green which is unappetizing to fruit thieves. They go yellow for two days then are ready to pick, put in a paper bag to ripen some more or to eat that day

Plant the Carrie but why not plant another mango that grows upward so mango fruits are out of the reach of fruit grabbers. You can prune it to limit the height. You buy a mango basket pole to pick the fruits up high. The fruit grabbers don't bring poles with them (usually)
irun5k
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks, indeed I have seen lots of photos of low and bush Carries. I have also seen a couple pics that give me some hope, however. Below is a pic of the tree I purchased. I hope with some pruning as it grows, I can give it a decent shape. I have limited space since I live in town, so my general gardening philosophy is to not grow more than one of the same thing, and very carefully pick the things I grow. I have cheated somewhat with Plumeria by saying that Pudica, Rubra, and Obtusa are not the same, but I shall not show this weakness again :)

BTW great point on ripening green. I bought a couple this weekend that were grown down in PI, they were pretty ugly and one was completely green w/no color break whatsoever. However, it began to yellow a couple days later and tasted great. This is perfect, few thieves will realize this.

Over the last couple of years I have developed an allergy to mangos but I still eat them anyway. I stay away from handling them now, but I still get a little itchy around the eyes from eating them. A minor inconvenience for getting to enjoy one of nature's best fruits :)

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zands
15 years ago
Just from its looks .....your Carrie will be
branching off higher than mine. I would not prune lower branches for a few years
and maybe never. The trunk needs to be fattened up with fertilizer.
Zill's authoritative directions are here. Think in terms of-- "how many
tablespoons of fertilizer do I apply each month to my mango tree?" I jab a
large screwdriver in the ground 10-15 times and drop a bit of the granular slow
release fertilizer down into each holes. I believe in getting the fertilizer
into the soil.
This way the plant does not get burned by too much nitrogen
No need to measure fertilizer in pounds or half cupfuls
ÃÂ
Zill says no fertilizer November through January because it will just build
up due to the mango tree having less biological activity in those months. Then
get released in a torrent come spring

Here is a link that might be useful: informative carrie mango video
feelgoodcp
12 years ago
Good morning ; I am very new to this mango business . Live in SW florida west coast . I purchased a Carrie mango three gallon . Planted it three weeks ago south side of the house , we can get nasty north winds in the winter . Within The next few weeks I will be planting more trees at least one more mango . Now a few days after planting I clipped off the terminal bud . I see nodes swelling so I expect new branches then this morning I see something strange , to me can you help identify what this is more branching or ? (See attached photo)
Thank you oh how fast a grower are carries and any ideas for a later fruiting mango suited to my area . I am about 5-6 miles inland from coast .
sapote
12 years ago
"see something strange "

What strange? I don't see any tigers nor deers :)

You meant the light green color octopus thing? I never have seen a green octopus before. It's a new grow, congratulations!!!

Sapote