Yard Update 5/18/12......some good, some not so good

[NewGen]

Sorry for the mango loss, love all your photos, especially the inground Rollinia, how old is is? Not sure if my Rollie can survive in the ground through the cold winter here.

[zands]

sorry about the duncan Harry. those Rollinia's look awesome. and boy, are you a softie or what. there is very little I wouldnt do to a squirrel but then again they decimate my stone fruit crop year in year out

I have lived in NYC (Queens) and Florida and there are more squirrels per acre in NYC than FL. The acorns they feast on in NY hypes up their sex drive which makes them reproduce faster. Plus the winter hardens them, makes them smarter so more difficult to get rid of. Meanwhile in FL our real nemesis is pythons. We are forward looking and are hoping & praying for a cold winter to kill off 70% of the non native Burmese pythons which are eating their way through the Everglades which is one big Chinese dim sum buffet for them. We are concerned that after they are done with the Everglades they are headed for the population centers of Florida.

[HMHausman]

Harry, that Cogshall looks giant, or is it the angle of the photo?  I was under the impression the Cogshall is a semi-dwarf tree, growing 12 to 15 feet max.

There is somewhat of a camera illusion.  This Cogshall was my original Cogshall planting.  It was planted way to close to other, more established mango trees.  It grew column-like upward and is now about 12 feet tall. I have since planted a second and now grown much wider and about as tall Cogshall at a better location in the yard.

Is your mamey sapote holding any small fruits?

No, Alexi, sorry to say. Two blooming cyckes and no fruit set as of yet.

Harry

[MangoFang]

Harry...I actually meant to add this to my other reply:  As much as I hate to say it since I am in your more "natural" growth camp........ but ....annual (semi-annual?) tip prunning at the younger stage of that Duncan's life might have thickened, widened and shortened it enough so that this kind of damage might have been avoided. 

But I imagine you of all people probably don't have time to do this to all your acres of trees....was it only the weight of the fruit that did this or was it some gusty breeze that kicked the camel to its knees?  By the way, I was just at a neighbor's house picking ALL of their peaches and nectarines as they live for 6 months in Seattle every year, and was going to send some to them and keep most and found many of their branches bent right to the ground with fruit...

so, the moral of the story is....sometimes she bends, sometimes she breaks...

 

Gary-the Semi-Pruner

[HMHausman]

Sorry for the mango loss, love all your photos, especially the inground Rollinia, how old is is? Not sure if my Rollie can survive in the ground through the cold winter here.

This seedling Rollinia has been in the ground for about 3 years....best as I recall.

Harry

[behlgarden]

Harry, very nice pictues. Now seeing damage that you got, I am thinking about my immature tiny 4' Nam Doc Mai that is a high graft and has may be 6 leaves but plant wants to product 10 mangoes, LOL, forget the tiny branch, its root stock is less than 1/2". I am amazed at my tree's willingness to produce fruit.

[HMHausman]

Harry...I actually meant to add this to my other reply:  As much as I hate to say it since I am in your more "natural" growth camp........ but ....annual (semi-annual?) tip prunning at the younger stage of that Duncan's life might have thickened, widened and shortened it enough so that this kind of damage might have been avoided. 

But I imagine you of all people probably don't have time to do this to all your acres of trees....was it only the weight of the fruit that did this or was it some gusty breeze that kicked the camel to its knees?  By the way, I was just at a neighbor's house picking ALL of their peaches and nectarines as they live for 6 months in Seattle every year, and was going to send some to them and keep most and found many of their branches bent right to the ground with fruit...

so, the moral of the story is....sometimes she bends, sometimes she breaks...

 

Gary-the Semi-Pruner

Not sure how much wider, thicker and shorter you could get a mango tree.  This one was to a stump in 2006 post Huirricane Wilma.  At this time it is about 7 feet tall, by about 6 feet wide.  The branch that broke was quite thick....about 1 inch in diameter. With all due respect to the pruning crowd, I don't think it would have prevented this break.

Harry

[DuncanYoung]

Sounds to me like the branch had a dog leg in it

[HMHausman]

Sounds to me like the branch had a dog leg in it

I fear you are correct.....one way or the other.

Harry

[zands]

Harry, very nice pictues. Now seeing damage that you got, I am thinking about my immature tiny 4' Nam Doc Mai that is a high graft and has may be 6 leaves but plant wants to product 10 mangoes, LOL, forget the tiny branch, its root stock is less than 1/2". I am amazed at my tree's willingness to produce fruit.

You probably know this but the current #4 Nam Doc Mai is tilted towards producing fruit at the  expense of leaf and branch so it grows slowly. The older Nam Doc Mai spent more on leaf and branch and delayed fruiting. If I remember correctly the new #4 NDM is more prone to split fruits if you have rain at the wrong times

[fruitlovers]

Sorry for the mango loss, love all your photos, especially the inground Rollinia, how old is is? Not sure if my Rollie can survive in the ground through the cold winter here.

I would suggest planting it up on a mound, covering with black plastic, to help heat up the soil. If possible close to a wall for reflected heat. Best would be a heating coil in the soil. Long time of temperatures of soil in the 50's will do the rollinia in.

[behlgarden]

Harry, very nice pictues. Now seeing damage that you got, I am thinking about my immature tiny 4' Nam Doc Mai that is a high graft and has may be 6 leaves but plant wants to product 10 mangoes, LOL, forget the tiny branch, its root stock is less than 1/2". I am amazed at my tree's willingness to produce fruit.

You probably know this but the current #4 Nam Doc Mai is tilted towards producing fruit at the  expense of leaf and branch so it grows slowly. The older Nam Doc Mai spent more on leaf and branch and delayed fruiting. If I remember correctly the new #4 NDM is more prone to split fruits if you have rain at the wrong times

Zands, that is one problem that I dont have to worry, rain! It rains here in So Cal in Winter time, and mangoes are ready in late fall.