S.T. Maui / ST Maui Mango

[Tropicdude]

Last year I had a chance to taste the ST Maui mango for the first time,  I really liked it a lot,  if you like the variety "Ice Cream" you will probably like the ST Maui.
again this year I had another chance to try one out, and was just as delicious as the one I had last year.


This year I took a picture of the tree,  as you can see the tree is loaded with fruit,  the fruits are attractive also.  they almost looks like apples.


But there seems to be a mystery here,   Fairchild website, said it comes from Hawaii, but nobody in Hawaii seems to know it.  where did it come from?, what is its pedigree ?   who else is growing this?  what have been your experiences?  productivity, disease resistance etc.

[Squam256]

I'm growing it. Have a production size tree in Loxahatchee Groves and a smaller one planted in West Palm Beach. it is a pretty vigorous grower; I have had trouble getting the big tree to bloom completely. This year it has about 15 fruits that ought to make it to maturity. I think it needs to be sprayed to produce reliably in the western communities of Palm Beach county.

The eating quality is superb. A top tier mango in my book.

But there seems to be a mystery here,   Fairchild website, said it comes from Hawaii, but nobody in Hawaii seems to know it.  where did it come from?, what is its pedigree ?

Richard Campbell had told me that it definitely was from Hawaii, that the "ST" was somebody's initials and that Dick Hamilton had evaluated it. I hadn't found any reference to it until recently while reading Hamilton's paper on the Origin and Classification of Mango Varieties in Hawaii. On page 32 (pg 5 of the pdf), you'll see a reference to "S-T" under the "tested but not presently recommended" table.

http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/HITAHR_04-06-93_28-33.pdf

I speculate, without any other supporting evidence, that it has White Piri in its parentage based on its shape, flavor profile and the predominance of White Piri in Hawaii.

[HawaiiFruitGrower]

Never heard of the variety... But sure looks delicious!!!

[wslau]

I speculate, without any other supporting evidence, that it has White Piri in its parentage based on its shape, flavor profile and the predominance of White Piri in Hawaii.

That's interesting squam256....since White Piries do not exhibit any red color.  I wonder if it is crossed with Irwin.  I need to try one of these ST Maui's one day.  I think the only place that sells trees of this variety to Californians is TT.

[fruitlovers]

I'm growing it. Have a production size tree in Loxahatchee Groves and a smaller one planted in West Palm Beach. it is a pretty vigorous grower; I have had trouble getting the big tree to bloom completely. This year it has about a dozen fruits that ought to make it to maturity. I think it needs to be sprayed to produce reliably in the western communities of Palm Beach county.

The eating quality is superb. A top tier mango in my book.

But there seems to be a mystery here,   Fairchild website, said it comes from Hawaii, but nobody in Hawaii seems to know it.  where did it come from?, what is its pedigree ?

Richard Campbell had told me that it definitely was from Hawaii, that the "ST" was somebody's initials and that Dick Hamilton had evaluated it. I hadn't found any reference to it until recently while reading Hamilton's paper on the Origin and Classification of Mango Varieties in Hawaii. On page 32 (pg 5 of the pdf), you'll see a reference to "S-T" under the "tested but not presently recommended" table.

http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/HITAHR_04-06-93_28-33.pdf

I speculate, without any other supporting evidence, that it has White Piri in its parentage based on its shape, flavor profile and the predominance of White Piri in Hawaii.

Assuming that the S-T listed is the same as ST Maui in this thread then you would be right. Seems like it is a cultivar that fell out of favor a long time ago. Never heard any reference to it before. But the same is true with a lot of the mangos in that list of 'not recommended'.

[TnTrobbie]

Few claimed it to have a "guava" taste about it. Any truth to that claim?

[Squam256]

Few claimed it to have a "guava" taste about it. Any truth to that claim?

Not to me. Found it to be rich, sweet and complex, with a medium resin note.

[JF]

Had a California grown St Maui last and was very impress. Firm, rich, fiberless mango with some complexity....if I had the room I would defiantly plant out a tree excellent quality mango.

[Tropicdude]

Few claimed it to have a "guava" taste about it. Any truth to that claim?

Not to me. Found it to be rich, sweet and complex, with a medium resin note.

I am not very good at describing taste,  but what you said, is exactly my experience,  that "resin" is not overpowering its just enough to make it interesting.  I spoke with the groundskeeper there at the orchard and plan on getting scion for the Maui.  as soon as the tree are in a better state to get them, growth phase.

[Dexter_FTG]

Its a vigorous grower, but can it handle being kept relatively small and still fruit reliably?

[fruitlovers]

If S-T is really a vigorous grower and so great tasting, then why was it eliminated and not recommended? I'm starting to think, given the comments here, that this might be a different cultivar than what is being called ST Maui?

[CTMIAMI]

I planted 5  mangos in 3 gal last year and the ST. Maui is the biggest of the 5. At least 50% bigger. Good looking, clean growing tree. Did not flower this year.

[Squam256]

If S-T is really a vigorous grower and so great tasting, then why was it eliminated and not recommended? I'm starting to think, given the comments here, that this might be a different cultivar than what is being called ST Maui?

Maybe it just didn't perform well enough in Hawaii to garner recommendation from UH.   There are other good tasting mangos on the not recommended list along with plenty I've never heard of either.

[gunnar429]

I planted 5 avocados in 3 gal last year and the ST. Maui is the biggest of the 5. At least 50% bigger. Good looking, clean growing tree. Did not flower this year.

ST maui is an avocado as well?  Do you mean that you planted the ST Maui mango at the same time as avocados?

[Tropicdude]

If S-T is really a vigorous grower and so great tasting, then why was it eliminated and not recommended? I'm starting to think, given the comments here, that this might be a different cultivar than what is being called ST Maui?

I am thinking the same thing.  If S-T was a person or station, its safe to assume there may be other mangoes with this tag.  also using a dash instead of periods, and no mention of Maui.  could be the same mango, but I am not fully convinced.

looking over that list I see many varieties that have been successful commercially in other parts of the world, I mean, they have Neelam, Kent, Nam Doc Mai, Palmer and a few others that are still being grown commercially.

Keitt Mangoes have been around a long time, but all of a sudden they are like one of the preferred commercial varieties.  why were they not chosen decades ago for this purpose?   One report/study where a particular variety is not selected, is later rejected as candidates for evaluation in other places.

[noochka1]

Hi all,

I'm new to this forum, and I have an S T Maui tree approximately 3 ft tall that I'd like to take out of its container and plant in the yard.  I have no idea how much space this tree is going to require once it is mature, and I can't seem to find any information regarding growing height of this variety on the web.  Is there anyone out there who can give me some guidance?  I am also growing a Maha Chanok, which I understand will get quite large, so my space is limited (so little space, so many mangoes.....)  Please help 

[CTMIAMI]

I planted 5 avocados in 3 gal last year and the ST. Maui is the biggest of the 5. At least 50% bigger. Good looking, clean growing tree. Did not flower this year.

ST maui is an avocado as well?  Do you mean that you planted the ST Maui mango at the same time as avocados?

Sorry has been corrected. 5 mangos. I think of avocados all day long.

[bsbullie]

Hi all,

I'm new to this forum, and I have an S T Maui tree approximately 3 ft tall that I'd like to take out of its container and plant in the yard.  I have no idea how much space this tree is going to require once it is mature, and I can't seem to find any information regarding growing height of this variety on the web.  Is there anyone out there who can give me some guidance?  I am also growing a Maha Chanok, which I understand will get quite large, so my space is limited (so little space, so many mangoes.....)  Please help 

Mahachanok will not require as much space.  It is not a vigorous variety.  Both can be kept in check, size-wise by an annual pruning maintenance system.  If possible I would allow for 12+ feet spacing.  You can get away with less (8-10 feet) if you dont mind them growing into each other or keep them in check by pruning.

[gunnar429]

I planted 5 avocados in 3 gal last year and the ST. Maui is the biggest of the 5. At least 50% bigger. Good looking, clean growing tree. Did not flower this year.

ST maui is an avocado as well?  Do you mean that you planted the ST Maui mango at the same time as avocados?

Sorry has been corrected. 5 mangos. I think of avocados all day long.

haha!  no worries! 

[fruitlovers]

If S-T is really a vigorous grower and so great tasting, then why was it eliminated and not recommended? I'm starting to think, given the comments here, that this might be a different cultivar than what is being called ST Maui?

Maybe it just didn't perform well enough in Hawaii to garner recommendation from UH.   There are other good tasting mangos on the not recommended list along with plenty I've never heard of either.

You're probably right. But still not fully convinced this is same cultivar. Another unusual thing is that the tests were done at Poamoho experimental station, which is on Oahu, not Maui. Anyway i'd like to find out more about this variety. I will ask at Poamoho station and see if they still have it and whether they have any records on it.

[bulldawg305]

I did get a guava or raspberry flavor. definitely a unique tasting mango to me.

[simon_grow]

Does St Maui taste better than Ice Cream Mango? I'm not worried about production, only quality of fruit? I've tried Ice Cream and really like it so I'm hoping St Maui will be similar or better in terms of flavor.

Simon

[JF]

Does St Maui taste better than Ice Cream Mango? I'm not worried about production, only quality of fruit? I've tried Ice Cream and really like it so I'm hoping St Maui will be similar or better in terms of flavor.

Simon

no, it's not in the same level as ice cream, It's in the class of Angie,sunrise.

[bsbullie]

Does St Maui taste better than Ice Cream Mango? I'm not worried about production, only quality of fruit? I've tried Ice Cream and really like it so I'm hoping St Maui will be similar or better in terms of flavor.

Simon

no it doesn't have the finest of ice crean, It's in the class of Angie,sunrise.

I wonder what, if any, taste difference there is with the Ice Cream grown in Florida vs California.   I say this cause I, and others i know, feel it is not of very good quality.  Its not a clean tree gere and if it weren't for its compact/smaller growing size, I feel there would be very little demand for it.

[simon_grow]

Thanks for your input JF and Rob. Rob, the Ice Cream grown in SoCal is an excellent tasting fruit that is very unique and has a very subtle complex flavor that is difficult to describe. I've recently had the pleasure of tasting many different varieties of mango and Ice Cream is on my top 10 list even though it is a slow grower and I'm trying to grow ginormous trees.

It was a smaller mango that was not pretty and it had a firm texture and a very sweet taste. It had a Brix above 20, I can't remember exactly what it was but it was sweet enough. It had a complex mild Indian Resin taste that I have not experienced in any other mango. The Resin taste is not as strong as Alphonso or Kesar, it was mild and very different with a lot of depth.

The Ice Cream mango was very well received by all tasters and I believe most had it on their top 3 list. I believe it was Tropicdude that mentioned that if one were to like the Ice Cream mango, they may also like the St Maui. I'm hoping that the St Maui has that same complex hard to describe resin note as the Ice Cream. I feel that the Mangos we grow here in SoCal are less washed out, for susceptible varieties, due to the less frequent rains we receive and also perhaps due to the longer amount of time the fruit ripens on the tree. My Glenn's for example were anything but mild and had a Brix into the 20s.

Simon