Help Identifying My Mango Tree!

[murahilin]

This topic will be for anyone who needs help identifying their mango tree. I've noticed a few people have had questions regarding which mango variety they have so I think this one post could be helpful.

[amrkhalido]

great topic ,, i will take and post some pics for varieties that i no longer remember ,,

[natsgarden123]

This is a HUGE mango tree behind my office- I haven tasted the mangos yet-last year I waited until they were ready to pick-the next day, they were all gone- this year, Ill pick a bit early. Does anyone know what this is?

[HMHausman]

Regretably, based on the size of the tree and look of the fruit, it is likely Tommy Atkins.  Could be something else, but I would put my money on it being Tommy Atkins.  A  tree ripened Tommy Atkins is far superior to the ones you would buy in the store from out of the country.  But that is about the only thing it is superior to.'

Harry

[bsbullie]

Regretably, based on the size of the tree and look of the fruit, it is likely Tommy Atkins.  Could be something else, but I would put my money on it being Tommy Atkins.  A  tree ripened Tommy Atkins is far superior to the ones you would buy in the store from out of the country.  But that is about the only thing it is superior to.'

Harry

...and a very disappointing mango considering there will be other far superior varieties at the time these are ready to pick.

[natsgarden123]

Thanks-I had no clue-

[lycheeluva]

Regretably, based on the size of the tree and look of the fruit, it is likely Tommy Atkins.  Could be something else, but I would put my money on it being Tommy Atkins.  A  tree ripened Tommy Atkins is far superior to the ones you would buy in the store from out of the country.  But that is about the only thing it is superior to.'

Harry

very oscar wilde-esque
gave me a good chuckle.
incidentally, here is a link f someone in florida eating a locally grown TA and I have to say, looks distinctly edible!

Redlands Florida locally grown Tommy Atkins

[Tropicalgrower89]

The fruit itself reminds me of my old haden.

[fruitlovers]

Regretably, based on the size of the tree and look of the fruit, it is likely Tommy Atkins.  Could be something else, but I would put my money on it being Tommy Atkins.  A  tree ripened Tommy Atkins is far superior to the ones you would buy in the store from out of the country.  But that is about the only thing it is superior to.'

Harry

...and a very disappointing mango considering there will be other far superior varieties at the time these are ready to pick.

I gotta say Tommy Atkins is by far the most flavorless mango i've ever tasted in my whole life. With all the excellent mangos you have in Florida this cultivar should be made illegal. Whoever came up with it should be flogged with a wet noodle! Why it continues to be sold is beyond my comprehension!

[HMHausman]

incidentally, here is a link of someone in florida eating a locally grown TA and I have to say, looks distinctly edible!

No one said it wasn't edible.  Actually, the Fairchild Book I have used for years as a guide, rates Tommy Atkins as Fair to Good on the Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor scale.  So we fruit nuts are being a bit snobbish when when we ridicule Tommy Atkins and those that like them.  So when I say there would be nothing else that it would be superior to I am, of course referring to those that I have in my yard that rate Excellent or at worst, Good to Excellent.  I am sure there are seedlings around that are worse than Tommy Atkins. And on the best of days for a perfectly ripened Tommy Atkins, it can be as good as many other cultivars......just not nearly as good as the best of the best.
 

The fruit itself reminds me of my old haden.

And with good reason as, like many Florida mangoes, it is a seedling of Haden.

[natsgarden123]

Added Bonus- these mangoes are FREE ( at least the ones spilling over to my side of the fence)

[HMHausman]

They say that "free" is one of the best flavor enhancers.

[bsbullie]

Free does not improve a Tommy Atkins...

[Cookie Monster]

Fresh King must have an abundance of TA to sell :-)

[Tim]

Free is always good, doesn't improve taste, but it's FREE 

[puglvr1]

I gotta say Tommy Atkins is by far the most flavorless mango i've ever tasted in my whole life. With all the excellent mangos you have in Florida this cultivar should be made illegal. Whoever came up with it should be flogged with a wet noodle! Why it continues to be sold is beyond my comprehension!

I think they continue to sell because of how "pretty" the fruit looks (and we know that looks sometimes can be very deceiving) plus from what I've read it also ships VERY well.

I've had a few descent Tommy's ripened on the tree before (they were definitely freebies) when I lived in Bradenton...something about being free when you don't have a lot to choose from makes it more tolerable,lol...
Now if I lived in an area where they grow a lot of mangoes like South FL...I wouldn't waste my time or tastebuds on Tommy Atkins...

[fruitlovers]

I think they continue to sell because of how "pretty" the fruit looks (and we know that looks sometimes can be very deceiving) plus from what I've read it also ships VERY well.

I've had a few descent Tommy's ripened on the tree before (they were definitely freebies) when I lived in Bradenton...something about being free when you don't have a lot to choose from makes it more tolerable,lol...
Now if I lived in an area where they grow a lot of mangoes like South FL...I wouldn't waste my time or tastebuds on Tommy Atkins...

It's too bad that growers turn off future prospective customers by continuing to grow the likes of Tommy Atkins. It reminds me of the situation with Red Delicious apples. When they were number one cultivar being grown almost everyone was turned off to apples. Good way to turn kids onto junk food is to give them fruit like red delifcious apples and tommy atkins mango that are totally flavorless.

[Squam256]

Tommy Atkins has survived as the standard commercial mango because of a number of factors. Its productive, disease resistant, survives the rigors of shipping and handling well, has a (relatively) long shelf life, and eye-catching color (unfortunately a very important factor).

The problem is that they take an already below-average mango and make it worse by picking it way too early and then "boiling" it before import. This would be an issue for any mango, and applies to some of the better cultivars that are grown commercially as well (Kent and Keitt). So for that reason among others I'll always contend that you are much better off purchasing mangoes grown domestically.

The success of Ataulfo ('Champagne mango') should offer some hope to people who want to see cultivars other than Tommy Atkins. In Europe, varieties other than Tommy Atkins are in a lot of their markets...Van Dyke, Osteen, Palmer, others.

[natsgarden123]

Tommy Atkins has survived as the standard commercial mango because of a number of factors. Its productive, disease resistant, survives the rigors of shipping and handling well, has a (relatively) long shelf life, and eye-catching color (unfortunately a very important factor).

The problem is that they take an already below-average mango and make it worse by picking it way too early and then "boiling" it before import. This would be an issue for any mango, and applies to some of the better cultivars that are grown commercially as well (Kent and Keitt). So for that reason among others I'll always contend that you are much better off purchasing mangoes grown domestically.

The success of Ataulfo ('Champagne mango') should offer some hope to people who want to see cultivars other than Tommy Atkins. In Europe, varieties other than Tommy Atkins are in a lot of their markets...Van Dyke, Osteen, Palmer, others.

I recently bought some "champagne mangos" for the supermarket -they were mediocre

Does anyone have a suggestion when to pick the tommy atkins fruit in the photos?  Last year I missed out because someone debowed them, before I got to them.

[puglvr1]

You can pick them when they start to get some nice color...I've picked them when they were hard but "plump" at the shoulders and starting to get more colorful...from what I remember you can see the difference between the ones that are really green inside and once you can pick and let it finish ripening inside a brown paper bag or on the counter. The more pretty colors it has the most likely its ready to pick. I've wrapped mine in newspaper and it took any where between a week to 2 weeks to ripen.

[bsbullie]

You can pick them when they start to get some nice color...I've picked them when they were hard but "plump" at the shoulders and starting to get more colorful...from what I remember you can see the difference between the ones that are really green inside and once you can pick and let it finish ripening inside a brown paper bag or on the counter. The more pretty colors it has the most likely its ready to pick. I've wrapped mine in newspaper and it took any where between a week to 2 weeks to ripen.

There is no need to put a mango in a bg or wrap it in a news paper to get it to "ripen" once picked from the tree.  You are better off just keeping it off the counter to naturally ripen (by trying to speed up the off tree ripening you run the risk of not obtaining its potential or actually unevenly or over ripening it.

Most mangoes, if pcked proper;y, should ripen within a week.  The one exception being a Mallika if it was picked mature green.  In this case, it could take 10-14 days to fully ripen sitting on the counter (sorry, most of us here just do not have access to the camel dung).

[fruitlovers]

Tommy Atkins has survived as the standard commercial mango because of a number of factors. Its productive, disease resistant, survives the rigors of shipping and handling well, has a (relatively) long shelf life, and eye-catching color (unfortunately a very important factor).

The problem is that they take an already below-average mango and make it worse by picking it way too early and then "boiling" it before import. This would be an issue for any mango, and applies to some of the better cultivars that are grown commercially as well (Kent and Keitt). So for that reason among others I'll always contend that you are much better off purchasing mangoes grown domestically.

The success of Ataulfo ('Champagne mango') should offer some hope to people who want to see cultivars other than Tommy Atkins. In Europe, varieties other than Tommy Atkins are in a lot of their markets...Van Dyke, Osteen, Palmer, others.

Yes i understand the produce manager's "rationale" behind tasteless fruits. Square tomatoes also very good because you can bounce them off walls. But who in their right mind wants  to eat them? I had a Tommy Atkins in Florida in July, so i assume it was locally grown. Never had such a bad mango. Even unripe Haden here tastes better than that.

[puglvr1]

Gotcha Rob!!

You can pick them when they start to get some nice color...I've picked them when they were hard but "plump" at the shoulders and starting to get more colorful...from what I remember you can see the difference between the ones that are really green inside and once you can pick and let it finish ripening inside a brown paper bag or on the counter. The more pretty colors it has the most likely its ready to pick. I've wrapped mine in newspaper and it took any where between a week to 2 weeks to ripen.

There is no need to put a mango in a bg or wrap it in a news paper to get it to "ripen" once picked from the tree.  You are better off just keeping it off the counter to naturally ripen (by trying to speed up the off tree ripening you run the risk of not obtaining its potential or actually unevenly or over ripening it.

Most mangoes, if pcked proper;y, should ripen within a week.  The one exception being a Mallika if it was picked mature green.  In this case, it could take 10-14 days to fully ripen sitting on the counter (sorry, most of us here just do not have access to the camel dung).

[mangomandan]

Years ago my neighbors shared some of their Tommys with me.  Mediocre, of course.
However, one late July they me gave the very last fruit off their large tree. And it had flavor!  I don't remember if it was tree-ripened.  Maybe spending more time in the Florida sun helped.

[fruit4me]

Hello everyone! Trying to find out what variety mango my friend has. Don't have much info on this tree, except that it is grown in Rosemead, Ca. The tree is about 20-25 feet tall. I haven't got to try the fruit yet. Thanks!

Max

Photo was taken last year around July or August