Which state in the US are you located?

oops. In another thread, I see you're in SoCal. Lots of ppl from that area post here. They'd be able to pin-point the nursery that HD buys from.

Welcome, Cuban! I've had one about 8 years and grow it out here in Palm Springs, California. It's about 17-18 feet high by about 12 feet wide. Over 60 mangos this year. It was my first mango tree. Supposedly it does well in our So. Cal. climate, and mine has. Of course I'm in the desert, but I believe others who have them who live closer to L.A. have also had some success.

Did you know that they have some fiber around the seed and usually weigh about a pound, turning partially yellow (or fully) when ripe? Good flavor, but not complex at all. Mine ripen in August....

mangoD

Thanx everyone for the quick response. I think I'm going to buy another one. They look very healthy. One question to mangoD. How long did it take you to get some from fruit from the Mango tree you bought at HD?

I bought a Manila mango from HD about 4 years ago (it's from LaVerne nursery--I'm sure yours is too). These are seedlings, but Manila mangoes are polyembryonic so (with luck) you get a "clone". For the first three years I kept mine in a large container in my small greenhouse, after chopping it off at about 2 feet (gulp). It branched out just fine and I've kept up pruning to keep it small. This past Spring it moved into a small high tunnel and the ground. In June it flowered on one stem. Then another. There are now a few giant-lima-bean-sized fruits on the second stem and suddenly it's flowering all over the tree!

So....if you're actually in So. Cal., it should be easy. Up here on the Central Coast--and in a fog pocket--it's a little more iffy, but so far, so good.

Welcome double O seven,

Now that you got your Manila seedling out of the way it's time to move up to a grafted mango. Below is a link of nurseries where you could find grafted varieties .I recommend the East LA nursery and in Nov. they have their 50% sale on mangos. IMO, the ideal mangos for Socal are Nam Doc Mai, Glenn and Valencia Pride. Some of us are experimenting with many other varieties but so far from my experience and from what I have read those are the proven winners for our climate.

JF

http://www.crfg.org/nurlist.html

Agent 007 ..... If they look so healthy I would get another Manila mango because I believe in backups and redundant systems. But only if they look so good. I bought Oro Blanco Grapefruit tree (at Home Depot) not because it was my first choice but because it looked so good. LaVerne nursery cultivates all those Manilas and yes they are seedling mangoes. Not grafted. They are a proven winner in SoCal. Your next step is grafted mango as JFernan said

Not that I live I California but you have a unique mango situation out there with dry air and near desert level precipitation but I think LaVerne has nailed it as far as ye old reliable mango to at least start with (I'm in Fl)

I have 4 Manila/Carabao mangos, which are my favorite, at my lemon farm in Guatemala; it is mango paradise, as they grow like weeds.
I grew them from seeds, which by the way for this variety are not polyembryonic. Now I am looking for a seed from the new Calypso variety from Australia; their Kensington Pride is also an excellent fruit; the Calypso is monoembryonic; but the KP is polyembryonic like most of the Caribbean species; that means, if you are careful about separating them, you could get several trees from one mango seed.

Thanx for all of your input. So I guess I got a seedling and it will be awhile before I see any fruit from this guy. I will check out Mimosa and see what Mango trees I can snag at a good price. Thanx again to all.

So I guess I got a seedling and it will be awhile before I see any fruit from this guy.

Not necessarily at all. Reports here are that LaVerne Manila mangoes yield fruits as soon as grafted trees. Other posters can tell you better than I can but LaVerne Manila would not sell as well if it took five years to get fruit.

-- Tip pruning will accelerate the mango tree through the juvenile phase and will bring any mango tree to fruiting sooner

-- Plus contrary to most mango advice, frequent watering of young mango trees will accelerate growth and is not so bad. Only time watering is not a good idea is when tree is in its dormant winter months. Mango trees like a dry winter-early spring. Also you can get split fruits if you water too much (or it rains too much) when fruits are on the tree

But to generalize..... A seedling mango puts more of its young efforts into leaves and branches and roots (vegetative) rather than into fruiting. This is called the juvenile stage. Grafting bypasses the juvenile stage. It's like raising a child and the years 3-14 are bypassed and of course at age 14 boys and girls can produce babies (fruits)

Here is a link that might be useful: LaVerne Manila mangoes

Thanx for the advice. I was planning to tip prune it or graft it this week. I will be looking for a source for some desirable scions. I don't think I would have not bought it if I knew it was a seedling. However it looked very healthy and I did not want to pass it up. I found another nursery today that had 15gal Valencia Mangos for $65. A lot of trees had been tip pruned already and they had some nice growth. I may buy one of those and see how it goes. Once again Zands, thanx for the advice.

Thanx for the advice. I was planning to tip prune it or graft it this week. I will be looking for a source for some desirable scions. I don't think I would have not bought it if I knew it was a seedling. However it looked very healthy and I did not want to pass it up. I found another nursery today that had 15gal Valencia Mangos for $65. A lot of trees had been tip pruned already and they had some nice growth. I may buy one of those and see how it goes. Once again Zands, thanx for the advice.

cuban007

I left out the granddaddy of them all, Haden. The Haden does very well in Socal and you'll get better production than a Valencia. I would definitely start out with a Haden and keep adding, but that's just my opinion.

JF

JF where can I find these varieties of Mangos in SoCal at reasonable prices? I am looking for something that will give this year, if it is not too late, or next year.

cuban007

there are no nurseries in Socal that will sell you a decent 15 gallons, that's the size you need if you want mangos next year, at a reasonable price. Like I said before, the best you can do is Mimosa (East LA) during the month of Nov. they have their stock at half price for ONE month.

JF

hey Cuban,
which nursery did you say has 15-gal Valencia Pride for $65? thanks

Tim

Hey Mr. Bond - my manila produced two little mangos in the 3 year of growth as I remember..and yeah, 007 - where DID you get a 15 Gal. VP for $65 buckos???????

ANd like JF said - there are very impressive trees at Mimosa Nursery in East LA and in Nov. HALF OFF!!!!!

JF - I might go there that month - perhaps we could all meet up????

MangoDaddy

manilla seedlings are one of the few varieties commonly available in California. the nurseries there seem to have become more adept at the Mexican culture of growing SE Asian mangos from seed rather grafting like they do with Indian type South Florida and Caribbean cultivars

Anybody in Miami Fl., I am starting an small nursery in my backyard and would like to exchange ideas and results with some people in my area.
At present I have Mangoes, Avocados and Papaya seedlings, recently I took some classes on Grafting and will start to graft as soon as I get the supplies I ordered.
I have about 80 mango plants from one to three months, 45 small avocado plants from 1 month and some smaller and more than 200 Papaya plants from different varieties.

mango_kush

"the nurseries there seem to have become more adept at the Mexican culture of growing SE Asian mangos from seed rather grafting like they do with Indian type South Florida and Caribbean cultivars"

I think you hit it right on the head, we are not as sophisticated about mangos as you folks in South Florida, too bad Zill's and other Florida famous propagators don't take advantage of the biggest maker in the hemisphere, Southern California, and get some of these famous mangos to us.

JF

Tim, it was a nursery in Chino. I will drive by there next week and give you the info. Not a lot help or knowledge but a huge place with a lot tropical fruit trees. I will get back to you with the info.

Tim and MangoDog I went back to the nursery to buy a few trees. The name of the nursery is Rodriguez Nursery located in Chino. I bought 3 - 15gal mangoes, $78 each and a huge Cherimoya tree for $68. They have a lot of tropical fruit trees. About 5 acres. Tons of Mangoes. They weren't labeled very well. I know two of them are grafted Valencia Pride. All of the plants look very healthy. I have pic but don't know how to post them on this forum. Hope that helps.

Cuban, thanks for the info.

Check out mango kush's picture posting instructions in this thread. Illustrated instructions, can't beat it :)

Tim

This is one of the grafted Valencia Pride

The other grafted Valencia Pride

Cherimoya

Tim, thanx for the info.

Nice trees cubano,

What city do you live in? I need a new mango tree like I need a hole in my head but I'll check out that Nursery next Wednesday with MangoDog.

JF

JF, I live in Norco. I was looking at your pics and your bakyard looks very familiar. I think you live next to a good friend of mine. Do you live next to Juan?

Thanks Cuban - JF and I will check out Rodriguez' Nursury - but not crazy about buying poorly marked mangos - it doesn't leave me confident that what I'd buy there would be what they say it is.....it's got my red flags flying!

MD

I hear you. The plants look very healthy and I thought the price was reasonable so I took a chance on that unknown mango tree. If you notice,the leaves are really different from the Valencia Pride. I need to pick up some other plants as well. If you guys go on Wed. morning, I may be able to meet you guys over there. Take care.

cubano

No Juan next door...Richard and Dino LOL yes, we'll be there Wed. morning.

JF