Best Zill Mango Variety?

[quesofreshcoh]

Hi everyone,

I know there's a lot of debate on what Mango is the best from Zill's collection. I am trying to find out which variety is most productive, attractive, and generally tasty for a front yard in an HOA (they won't be annoying about it, but I just don't want a lanky grower like Keitt). We have lots of squirrels in the yard that came after every single one of my Wax Jambus, and I would prefer a mango that they didn't come after. I'm currently deciding between Fruit Punch, Carrie, and Coconut Cream. I would prefer it be a vigorous fast grower because I want it to fill in the space rather quickly. I have not been able to taste them, and the only nursery that carries these varieties is an hour and a half away so I am not able to visit often, which is why I sort of have to go in blind with this. I feel that though Carrie is a strong choice for a standard yummy mango flavor, I am leaning toward Fruit Punch because everyone RAVES about it and I would rather have a more "unique" variety growing. Also heard many people say CC takes several years to fruit well, and that it sometimes is a hit or miss in certain areas with production and flavor. I definitely prefer the delicious oddities of the fruit world!

[johnb51]

Carrie is not fast growing and is a small tree, and Coconut Cream is an ugly tree.  So forget those two.

[skhan]

After parsing through your statement you want a

Vigorous Tree
Attractive Tree
Productive Tree
Precocious Tree
Great tasting fruit (not necessarily "top tier")
Squirel resistant fruit


If you are only going to pick one might as well get everything you want in it

[skhan]

Carrie is not fast growing and is a small tree, and Coconut Cream is an ugly tree.  So forget those two.

Agreed

[bovine421]

I actually planted a fruit punch in my front yard. I like the Hawaiian punch fruity taste with the nice subacid aftertaste and it is a large sized mango. It's going to be one of my primary juice mango trees along with my Pickering. I have other desert quality mango trees.My second suggestion would be sweet tart or Phoenix they are vigorous trees.

[JulianoGS]

Fruit punch or lemon meringue seems like a good choice.

[JulianoGS]

I actually planted a fruit punch in my front yard I like the Hawaiian punch fruity taste with the nice subacid aftertaste and it is a large sized mango it's going to be one of my primary juice mango trees along with my Pickering I have other desert quality mango trees second choice vigorous tree would be sweet tart

Good looking tree you got there!

[bovine421]

I actually planted a fruit punch in my front yard I like the Hawaiian punch fruity taste with the nice subacid aftertaste and it is a large sized mango it's going to be one of my primary juice mango trees along with my Pickering I have other desert quality mango trees second choice vigorous tree would be sweet tart

Good looking tree you got there!

Thanks It did until i pruned it

[bovine421]

Fruit punch or lemon meringue seems like a good choice.

Now those are good choices but I don't know if the squirrels could resist the nice yellow fruit of a PPK Would be nice if Doctor Dolittle could ask the squirrel which mangoes he does not like. Might be a shorter list

[johnb51]

I'm not so sure there is a mango tree that squirrels will stay away from.  Why would they?  They like mangos.  I never actually saw them go up into the Angie tree or the Mahachanok.  So I nominate Mahachanok, as vigorous, attractive, productive, and precocious with decent-tasting fruit. (But it isn't a Zill creation.) The flavor will not knock your socks off, but it's unique and VERY pleasant, and I can't think of any prettier fruit.

[skhan]

I just realized i didn't answer the OPs question.

Out of your list Fruit Punch seems to be the best. though it does have problems with MBBS.

As John said i don't think there is a mango that is squirel resistent though.

Others to consider from Gary Zills breeding project are:
Lemon Zest (MBBS issues too, but still a top quality fruit)
Orange Sherbet (Dr. Campbell has been growing them for years)
Sweet Tart
Further down on the flavor spectrum would be Seacrest and Edgar

I'm sure I'm missing some.

We'll find out whats going on with the newer ones when more people have grafted (not topworked) trees over 5 years old.
So i can't recommend those especially if you are only planting one.

[roblack]

LZ is poor choice for someone growing only 1 mango. Too many problems. If you got space for a few, go for it. I'm topworking some with LZ because it is such an amazingly awesome fruit.

Phoenix, orange sherbert, orange essence, edward, kathy, or sweet tart are considerations.

How has Seacrest been doing over the years? What does Rob/BSb say?

Cecilove or guava might be nice too. 

[roblack]

...as for the squirrels...

[quesofreshcoh]

After parsing through your statement you want a

Vigorous Tree
Attractive Tree
Productive Tree
Precocious Tree
Great tasting fruit (not necessarily "top tier")
Squirel resistant fruit


If you are only going to pick one might as well get everything you want in it

Haha yes, I know it's very difficult to get the "perfect tree" but so far I think Fruit Punch is what I am leaning toward. Carrie is just too mainstream IMO and Coconut Cream is a real hit or miss here. I talked to several nurseries that said it's really picky and not necessarily the most attractive. And I wish I had more room for more varieties but I have to give real estate to the other fruits in the yard LOL:)

[quesofreshcoh]

Carrie is not fast growing and is a small tree, and Coconut Cream is an ugly tree.  So forget those two.

I see. I definitely want something vigorous because I have a sapodilla that grows like an inch a year and it is painful to watch something so slow growing and slow fruiting. I do have patience but after several years I begin to lose hope. And yes, I have seen people say coconut cream is a very lanky and unattractive tree. Plus it's a hit or miss here. Thanks!

[quesofreshcoh]

I actually planted a fruit punch in my front yard. I like the Hawaiian punch fruity taste with the nice subacid aftertaste and it is a large sized mango. It's going to be one of my primary juice mango trees along with my Pickering. I have other desert quality mango trees.My second suggestion would be sweet tart or Phoenix they are vigorous trees.

That's a gorgeous tree! How old is it? I definitely like fruits to be complex. I'm already bored of the wax jambus in my yard that taste like watery sponges. They're fine but mostly an ornamental in our house (and I just planted the tree last year). Still refreshing though. I really want a fruit punch now lol. I just grow so bored of things that have a flat toned flavor like Tommy Atkins mangos. I haven't tasted fruit punch or sweet tart but I want to try both. I LOVE Hawaiian punch but it has waaay too much added sugar, so if I had a mango with hints of that it could be perfect. I have zero experience grafting but I might get a fruit punch and learn to graft a sweet tart onto it! I definitely want to try grafting something and get experience lol. Thanks!

[quesofreshcoh]

I'm not so sure there is a mango tree that squirrels will stay away from.  Why would they?  They like mangos.  I never actually saw them go up into the Angie tree or the Mahachanok.  So I nominate Mahachanok, as vigorous, attractive, productive, and precocious with decent-tasting fruit. (But it isn't a Zill creation.) The flavor will not knock your socks off, but it's unique and VERY pleasant, and I can't think of any prettier fruit.

Right!! Squirrels are the biggest threat to fruit in my yard. Not even the birds bother my jambu as much as squirrels. That might be my "decoy" tree and hopefully encourage squirrels to eat those instead of mangoes. But then again, squirrels are greedy. I'll definitely look for a way to keep them away without taking away from the beauty of the tree. Currently leaning towards fruit punch but someone else suggested sweet tart so I'll keep researching. Mahachanok sounds like a good runner up!

[quesofreshcoh]

I just realized i didn't answer the OPs question.

Out of your list Fruit Punch seems to be the best. though it does have problems with MBBS.

As John said i don't think there is a mango that is squirel resistent though.

Others to consider from Gary Zills breeding project are:
Lemon Zest (MBBS issues too, but still a top quality fruit)
Orange Sherbet (Dr. Campbell has been growing them for years)
Sweet Tart
Further down on the flavor spectrum would be Seacrest and Edgar

I'm sure I'm missing some.

We'll find out whats going on with the newer ones when more people have grafted (not topworked) trees over 5 years old.
So i can't recommend those especially if you are only planting one.

I've seen several people recommend Sweet Tart as well, so I think I'll do more research on that one as well. I'm not sure about the new varieties but creme brulee sounds amazing. I have zero experience grafting anything, but if I plant a fruit punch I would love to try grafting on the new varieties, including sweet tart and orange sherbet. Squirrels will have to be dealt with separately LOL!

[bovine421]

If i had room for a big tree i would plant a  Cac if its not top tier it is really close. The fruit is exceptionally rich and sweet, with a brilliant acid component. Good steady producer and largely disease-free.

I like it a lot
https://www.tropicalacresfarms.com/product-page/cac

[weiss613]

Queso
All the contributors about a fast growing trees are leaning on new Zill varieties for choices as per your request.  The beast of all beasts for rapid growth is the Valencia Pride and it’s not a Zill.  It will grow at least 6 feet every year. It is a child of Haden and its fruit is better tasting and bigger and fiberless and very juicy. As for squirrels I’ll teach you something that took me many years to figure out. If you pick your fruit before a certain “inflection point” the point when the squirrels can smell that the fruit is ready to be picked and eaten by them, you will be able to avoid 90%+ of their damage and destruction. If you only will have 1 tree then it will be easy to stay on top of it. And as time goes by you’ll be able to figure out that inflection point of each of you Valencia Prides because you’ll become very familiar with that fruit’s ripening signs which are mostly color changes. Then you just bring it inside and let it ripen. It just so happens that around July 15th in Miami has “normally” been around the time all VP’s should be off one’s tree. But of course this year was crazy early.

[quesofreshcoh]

Queso
All the contributors about a fast growing trees are leaning on new Zill varieties for choices as per your request.  The beast of all beasts for rapid growth is the Valencia Pride and it’s not a Zill.  It will grow at least 6 feet every year. It is a child of Haden and its fruit is better tasting and bigger and fiberless and very juicy. As for squirrels I’ll teach you something that took me many years to figure out. If you pick your fruit before a certain “inflection point” the point when the squirrels can smell that the fruit is ready to be picked and eaten by them, you will be able to avoid 90%+ of their damage and destruction. If you only will have 1 tree then it will be easy to stay on top of it. And as time goes by you’ll be able to figure out that inflection point of each of you Valencia Prides because you’ll become very familiar with that fruit’s ripening signs which are mostly color changes. Then you just bring it inside and let it ripen. It just so happens that around July 15th in Miami has “normally” been around the time all VP’s should be off one’s tree. But of course this year was crazy early.

I wish I had the room for a VP, I've seen some down in the Miami area that would absolutely SWALLOW the front yard LOL. I've seen just how productive they are but I don't know if I would be able to keep it in check. I am still open to it but so far Zills are winning, but I have seen a really beautiful VP here in the Orlando area. Also, I need to work on squirrel proofing the yard. I'm fine with them being in the area but once they start ruining my fruits and seedlings, we have a problem. I definitely have to learn about that "inflection point" because I hate waiting for a fruit just to have something else enjoy it. First I gotta get a tree to worry about though LOL!

[bovine421]

Queso
All the contributors about a fast growing trees are leaning on new Zill varieties for choices as per your request.  The beast of all beasts for rapid growth is the Valencia Pride and it’s not a Zill.  It will grow at least 6 feet every year. It is a child of Haden and its fruit is better tasting and bigger and fiberless and very juicy. As for squirrels I’ll teach you something that took me many years to figure out. If you pick your fruit before a certain “inflection point” the point when the squirrels can smell that the fruit is ready to be picked and eaten by them, you will be able to avoid 90%+ of their damage and destruction. If you only will have 1 tree then it will be easy to stay on top of it. And as time goes by you’ll be able to figure out that inflection point of each of you Valencia Prides because you’ll become very familiar with that fruit’s ripening signs which are mostly color changes. Then you just bring it inside and let it ripen. It just so happens that around July 15th in Miami has “normally” been around the time all VP’s should be off one’s tree. But of course this year was crazy early.

Could not agree more Valencia Pride makes really good juice. My wife knows just when to pick before they give off the smell that attracts birds and squirrels. She put them in a box to finny that Caribbean slang for to finish.

  Valencia Pride

[bovine421]

I actually planted a fruit punch in my front yard. I like the Hawaiian punch fruity taste with the nice subacid aftertaste and it is a large sized mango. It's going to be one of my primary juice mango trees along with my Pickering. I have other desert quality mango trees.My second suggestion would be sweet tart or Phoenix they are vigorous trees.

That's a gorgeous tree! How old is it? I definitely like fruits to be complex. I'm already bored of the wax jambus in my yard that taste like watery sponges. They're fine but mostly an ornamental in our house (and I just planted the tree last year). Still refreshing though. I really want a fruit punch now lol. I just grow so bored of things that have a flat toned flavor like Tommy Atkins mangos. I haven't tasted fruit punch or sweet tart but I want to try both. I LOVE Hawaiian punch but it has waaay too much added sugar, so if I had a mango with hints of that it could be perfect. I have zero experience grafting but I might get a fruit punch and learn to graft a sweet tart onto it! I definitely want to try grafting something and get experience lol. Thanks!

I got it last Satuday from Tropical Acres Farms and picked up 30 lbs of premium fruit. It's a 15 gallon tree
i prefer to buy there because i can trust it is what the tag says it is. 

[bovine421]

Carrie is not fast growing and is a small tree, and Coconut Cream is an ugly tree.  So forget those two.

As far as Coconut flavor my M-4 seems vigorous but u need try one first. I've  had Coconut Cream and barely taste coconut. My wife would give my right hand for one.

[johnb51]

Cac sounds good.