Just got my trees in from Top Tropicals

[BestDay]

Hi all, I introduced myself in the new guys post and now wanted to give back to this forum.  I ordered 4 trees several weeks ago from Plant O Gram and shared that experience on Gareden Web.  Since then I have found this forum and since it appears everyone has switched over to this forum I thought I would share my experience with Top Tropical here.  I know some people in the past have had a bad experience with Top Tropical.  I decided to order from them because they are the only company that I found that ships 7 gallon trees to California.  Plus their shipping is very reasonable. 

They shipped the trees FedEx ground and I received them in five days.  The trees were packaged very, very will.  All tree were rootballed.  I worried about the rootballing process adding stress to the trees but it appears that they just knocked of the loose dirt and then bagged the roots.  Much less soil was removed than I thought would be.

The first tree is a Julie 3 gallon.  It was the smallest of the bunch at about 2.5 feet tall.  It also has what appears to be Anthracnose on it.  No big deal the Anthracnose should clear up fast in our dry SoCal weather.



Southern Blush, 3 gallon is about 3 feet tall.  This is the sorriest looking tree of the bunch.  It just looks old, neglected, with no new growth.  It also is rootbound.



Dot, 3 gallon is about 3.5 feet tall.  This is a very nice looking tree.  Looks like they freshly pruned it to fit it in the box.



Valencia Pride, 7 gallon is almost 4.5 feet tall.  This is a very nice looking tree.  It appears that they pruned it to fit it in the box.  It has nice green growth and several branches.



Ice Cream, 7 gallon is 4.5 feet tall.  This tree is amazing.  It truly is a fully developed tree.  I can't believe how wide it is.  When I ordered this I was excited that a 7 gallon dwarf tree would be almost fruiting size.  My expectations where surpassed.  It has some Anthracnose on it but that is what this tree is known for.  Again I expect it to clear up fast in our dry SoCal weather.



Rosigold, 7 gallon is almost 5 feet tall.  Again this is a very nice tree.  It is very developed with good green growth and lots of later branches.  Very nice size tree.



Edward, 7 gallon is over 5 feet tall.  Again this is a very nice tree.  Very wide trunk that is almost 1.5 inches wide.  Good green growth with many lateral branches.  Sure beats some of the 3 gallon whips I've seen people get in the mail.



So overall I'm very happy with the order.  It is very nice to be able to order 7 gallon trees and the shipping is very reasonable.  The southern Blush and Julie were the least impressive trees in the order.  But with some TLC they should look very nice in a year or so.  The trees have been here about a week and are starting to drop some leaves.  I will let you guys know how they do in shock wise compared to the trees from POG. 

Let me know what you guys think?

Bill

[nullzero]

I have heard some negative reviews about Toptropicals, I am glad that you are satisfied with the order. You sure ordered a lot of mangoes! I have a 'Julie' as well in SoCal, it is slow growing compared to 'Manila' or 'Ewais'. Do you intend to keep these trees in containers?

[samuelforest]

How much did the shipping cost in total? You said you had a good experience ,but some of your trees have disease and are rootbound. I see also that the tips of the leaves are all dried up. I think too that the trees are small for 7 gallons, they look like 3gallon pine island trees. I don't want to offense you, but this is my opinion.

[JF]

Good pick up Bill. Make sure you keep them shaded and wet for a month or so and then fertilize them every 15 days with grow more 15-30-15 and seaweed extract. You can purchase it at Orange County Farm Supply.

JF

[Ant21]

very nice, I am from Carson not to far from you and your mango tree is very nice.You shold have no problem with weather, I also have ice cream mango and does very well and produce fruit yearly for me.Good Luck with your trees!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[fruitlovers]

You might want to know that your Julie is probably the same age as the much larger mangos. Julies just grow about 1/2 as fast, because they are dwarfs. So here they cost more when compared to similar sized trees.
About TT, i'm glad you're pleased with their service. I think we all should realize that businesses are like people...they can change and improve over time, also can change management?

[bsbullie]

You might want to know that your Julie is probably the same age as the much larger mangos. Julies just grow about 1/2 as fast, because they are dwarfs. So here they cost more when compared to similar sized trees.
About TT, i'm glad you're pleased with their service. I think we all should realize that businesses are like people...they can change and improve over time, also can change management?

Agree with this statement but depending on your definition of dwarf, not sure I would agree that them being a true dwarf is 100 correct.

[puglvr1]

Bestday...Wow!! That's a great selection of Mango trees, Best of luck with all  of them.

[RodneyS]

Thanks for sharing your experience w/ Top Tropicals, Bestday.  I've been meaning to order from them, but have been hesitant because of other's bad experiences dealing with them. 

BTW, I live in Cerritos, so I'm very close to you.

[fruitlovers]

You might want to know that your Julie is probably the same age as the much larger mangos. Julies just grow about 1/2 as fast, because they are dwarfs. So here they cost more when compared to similar sized trees.
About TT, i'm glad you're pleased with their service. I think we all should realize that businesses are like people...they can change and improve over time, also can change management?

Agree with this statement but depending on your definition of dwarf, not sure I would agree that them being a true dwarf is 100 correct.

What is your definition of a true dwarf? My 20 year old tree Julie is about 10 ft. tall. I would definitely call that a dwarf! Other mangos planted at tame time, same soil are over 25 ft. tall.

[MangoFang]

ah...Bill....Christmas all over again!  I agree with most that they are fine looking trees, especially that incredible looking
Ice Cream. ..... WOW.....so now the fun begins.....perhaps someday I'll see them in person, on my way in to LA...We're
starting to get quite a few So Cal growers now.....yes yes yes.....

keep us posted as you wean them.....


DesertFang

[JF]

ah...Bill....Christmas all over again!  I agree with most that they are fine looking trees, especially that incredible looking
Ice Cream. ..... WOW.....so now the fun begins.....perhaps someday I'll see them in person, on my way in to LA...We're
starting to get quite a few So Cal growers now.....yes yes yes.....

keep us posted as you wean them.....


DesertFang

Well Gary, with La Verne break through event in FV and these new mango collectors popping everywhere you'll have a lot more friends to visit on your trips up to Los Angeles.

[BestDay]

Thanks for all the feedback guys.  It's nice to hear from all the local people growing Mangos.  Los Cerritos and Carson are practically my backyard!

nullzero, I plan on growing them in pots probably for the first year.  Some will go in the ground sooner.  How big is your Julie?  How slow does it grow here in SoCal?

Samuelforrest, No offense taken.  I don't mind the trees having some brown tips on the end of the leaves.  While these trees won't win any beauty contests they will look very nice next summer and that is what matters to me.  But I will admit that the trees from POG looked better than these from TT.  I don't have the exact shipping amounts in front of me but 7 trees (most 7 gallon) from TT was about the same or less than 4 trees from POG. 

I really doubt that the 3 gallon trees from PIN are the same size as the 7 gallon trees from TT.  PIN has a very good reputation and I can't see them shipping over sized therefore rootbound trees.  FYI the heights I gave are of the trees only and don't include the pots.  I know by pictures it is hard to tell size of objects so this makes comparing size of trees on the internet difficult.  That is why I gave heights of the trees.  I'm just posting this info to help people trying to decide where to buy there trees from in the future.

Ant21, How old and what size is the Ice Cream?  Any pics?  How many fruit do you get from it.  It is nice to hear about other SoCal people growing mangos.  All the info on these forums is about growing mangos in Florida.  Info from local people is more useful.

Rodneys, are you growing any Mangos yet?

Mangodog, stop by whenever you want.  I'm freeway close.  I have 11 different types of mangos now.  All fresh off the Fed Ex truck and still in pots buy you are welcome to stop by whenever.  All you have to do is bring one of those Maha Chanok fruits off your tree to share with me.

Bill

[murahilin]

What is your definition of a true dwarf? My 20 year old tree Julie is about 10 ft. tall. I would definitely call that a dwarf! Other mangos planted at tame time, same soil are over 25 ft. tall.

There was a 100+ year old Julie at my grandmothers house that was pretty tall. I can't find any photos and in the past decade they've hat racked the tree, the idiots (not my grandparents). There was also a Julie that was around 40 years old at my other grandmothers house that was probably around 20ft.

[Squam256]

My friend Wilson next to his 30+ year old Julie tree:

[bsbullie]

You might want to know that your Julie is probably the same age as the much larger mangos. Julies just grow about 1/2 as fast, because they are dwarfs. So here they cost more when compared to similar sized trees.
About TT, i'm glad you're pleased with their service. I think we all should realize that businesses are like people...they can change and improve over time, also can change management?

Agree with this statement but depending on your definition of dwarf, not sure I would agree that them being a true dwarf is 100 correct.

What is your definition of a true dwarf? My 20 year old tree Julie is about 10 ft. tall. I would definitely call that a dwarf! Other mangos planted at tame time, same soil are over 25 ft. tall.

I believe they are somewhat dwarfed due to the growing conditions in SFla (and by your description in Hawaii also) but in the Caribbean they will achieve a height of 20-30+ feet.  I have also seen pics of Julies in SFla of about 20 feet...I will see if I can find the pics and post.

[cuban007]

Bill,congrats nice plants. In time the brown stuff will go away. You may even see some of the trees drop quite a bit of the leaves. Then you will see them push hard. A couple of suggestions....lots of water and liquid fertilizers. Enjoy.

[fruitlovers]

I believe they are somewhat dwarfed due to the growing conditions in SFla (and by your description in Hawaii also) but in the Caribbean they will achieve a height of 20-30+ feet.  I have also seen pics of Julies in SFla of about 20 feet...I will see if I can find the pics and post.

Maybe my Julie will get to be 20 feet when it's 40-50 years old, but almost any other mango of that age here would be 75+ feet tall! So in my eyes Julies are still dwarfs.

[puglvr1]

Wow...that is the smallest 30+ year old tree I think I've ever seen! Talk about the ultimate Dwarf Mango tree!! Maybe, he's pugged it a few times over the years,lol...Great picture Squam!

[Tropicalgrower89]

My friend Wilson next to his 30+ year old Julie tree:

Wow. It's amazing how well the Julie is doing with the florida humidity and moss.  Is that a mamey sapote tree I see in the background?

[BestDay]

A little update for you guys.  My trees have been here for 11 days and most are doing fine.  After dropping several leaves most of the trees now appear to be normal.  One is having a growth flush but the Ice Cream is suffering major shock.  It has dropped many more leaves than the others with many curled up dry leaves.  It had a little anthracnose on it so I sprayed it and the Julie with a soap copper spray about 5 days ago.  The Julie looks fine but the Ice Cream is looking bad.  I'm not worried it's going to die.  It is just having a much harder time than the other plants.  Except for the Ice Cream I would say these trees suffered as much shock as the trees shipped in pots from POG.

Someone was asking about the difference in shipping between POG and TT.  The shipping from TT for 7 trees was $40 less than the shipping from POG for 4 trees.  The trees from Top Tropicals were rootballed but except for the Ice Cream that didn't appear to add any additional stress to the trees.  I will say the trees from POG looked better but overall I think Top Tropicals is a much better value.  Just my 2 cents.  Hope this info helps other trying to decided where to buy their trees.

Bill

[Cookie Monster]

A well-cared-for julie here in FL will reach 15 feet high in 20 years. There are several of them here in Tamarac. Julie trees grown in sub-optimal conditions are horribly stunted. I think I posted a pic of a decent sized julie a while back. Zands also posted one I believe.

I believe they are somewhat dwarfed due to the growing conditions in SFla (and by your description in Hawaii also) but in the Caribbean they will achieve a height of 20-30+ feet.  I have also seen pics of Julies in SFla of about 20 feet...I will see if I can find the pics and post.

[fruitlovers]

I believe they are somewhat dwarfed due to the growing conditions in SFla (and by your description in Hawaii also) but in the Caribbean they will achieve a height of 20-30+ feet.  I have also seen pics of Julies in SFla of about 20 feet...I will see if I can find the pics and post.

Why would Julie be stunted by growing conditions in Hawaii? Also why are none of the other mango trees stunted planted here at same time under same conditions? Don't think it's stunting. Julie naturally grows about 3 to 4 times slower than other mangos, and never will attain size other mango trees attain.

[Ant21]

Ant21, How old and what size is the Ice Cream?  Any pics?  How many fruit do you get from it.  It is nice to hear about other SoCal people growing mangos.  All the info on these forums is about growing mangos in Florida.  Info from local people is more useful.


Bestday,here is my Ice Cream Mango holding fruits last year.This year I will not let it set fruit so it will have a nice growth spurt.


Here is my Nam Doc Mai holding fruit last year also...

[puglvr1]

That's amazing the amount of fruits those small trees held last year. I think it's a wise decision to let them take a break this year and let the tree grow. Great job growing those in pots!