Advice on pruning Mango trees

[Valar]

Hi Please could I get some advice on pruning these 2 Pickering Mango Trees, They have been planted in the ground for 1 year, They are in Jamaica, They are still fairly small so I am not sure wether to tip prune them or leave them to get bigger first, The photos are taken when I planted it in June 2014 and June 2015... thanks in advance

This is the first one





This is the second one

[simon_grow]

They look like they are large enough to prune. Some people feel it's better to not keep them too low to the ground but it depends on your personal preference and what you are trying to accomplish. If you get lots of fungal disease, you may want to keep the lowest branches off the ground by at least one foot to increase air circulation. If you are not worried about disease or low hanging fruit being nibbled by ground animals, you can start tip pruning for a low bushy tree.

I believe Dr Richard. Campbell prefers to start pruning when the trees are very young in order to establish low scaffold branches. It is easier to correct the shape of a tree that was tip pruned young as opposed to correcting the shape of a tree that was just let to grow naturally for a long time. This is because if you tip prune early, you will have more branches to work with and thinning them out is easier than trying to encourage new growth of branches lower down the trunk of an already established larger tree.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=S_4_dQgG2s4
Simon

[Jani]

Valar,

Just curious, how did you get Pickering into Jamaica?

[Valar]

Hi Jani
I did it all online and by Telephone

I bought the trees from Pine Island in Florida... Actually I bought 2 Nam Doc Mai, 2 Pickering, Maha Chanok, Cogshall, Mallicka and a Sweet Heart Lychee

I registered on the Jamaican Government website for a Import Permit specifying the trees

then I just liased with the lady from pine Island who arranged all the transports needed and then when I went to Jamaica on holiday I went to customs and got them cleared

It sounds easy but it was actually quite difficult getting them out of customs

[mangomanic12]

Valar, great job in getting these to my country of birth. Promise me when these get larger to spread, spread , spread Budwood as much as you can. The island needs a lot more diversity in mangoes. Too much stringy / fiberful mangoes. Sweet , but very stringy ones. We need more diversity over there !

Mike ...phx az

[bsbullie]

No need to prune...as a matter of fact, I will change and say not to prune.  Those trees are very small.  Let them grow.  They will naturally branch out like they have been doing.  Once they get larger, say in the 4 foot plus range or even higher, you could tip prune if you want more branching at that time.

[MangoFang]

Valar - is the ocean in the background in the second pic???

Gary

[wslau]

Valar - is the ocean in the background in the second pic???

Gary

Gary...I think its a structure...LOL.  4th picture shows cracks in the stucco.

Valar... the already low branching tree seems too short to tip prune now.  I generally like low branching, but further tipping at this low height seems unnecessary unless you want a shrub looking tree.

[Valar]

OK thanks everyone thats what I wanted to hear... I will just leave them and see how they grow

Hi Gary..  no its not the sea its the bottom of the garden wall thats been painted grey