Getting some new mango trees "update, pics"

[Donkeys4hire]

I'm in northern area of south Florida. I'm going to be adding a few mango trees. Trying for an extended fruit supply in the future, with an early, mid, and late season varieties. Southern Blush, Carrie, and Kent are what we're looking at. Have lots of size options to purchase here from 3 to 7 to 15 gallon sixes available. Will I get fruit production from 7 or 15 gallon sizes next year? What are the pros and cons of planting the different sizes other than cost to purchase?

[Tropicdude]

I am sure most will recommend that you do not let the tree put out fruit the first year, even if it wants to.  I think that one year after a 15 gallon, is probably ok,  2 years for a 7 gallon.   but this really depends on the size,  I have seen some plant in a 7 gallon , that really look big for the size container they are in, and then some that look a bit small for the 15 gallon.

In any case, you want the tree to get its roots established, once you transplant, 

As for varieties,  you know your opening a can of worms in this forum, everyone has their favorite, and  some love/hate the Carrie for example,  personally I like it.  safe to assume you have tried these,  if not, I recommend you do specially the Carrie If you tried it and like it,  wonderful.   Kent, is a good late variety, Keitt is a bit later but I prefer Kent.  for mid season.  you have tons of varieties to choose from.

[bsbullie]

Kent has too many issues, I would not recommend it.  Go with Venus, Providence, Beverly or Honey Kiss  (Honey Kiss is not available now but will be later this summer).

I dont recommend Carrie but many do.  Its a subjective thing.

Others to recommend, Lemon Zest,  Mallika,  Sweet Tart, Fairchild,  Fruit Punch,  Peach Cobbler,  Juicy Peach,  Mahachanok,  Kesar, Guava,  Frances Hargrave and Pina Colada...to name a few.

[savemejebus]

Honestly it's April. Wait a couple months and gorge yourself on 50 varieties this summer before deciding what to plant. I should have done that and had to deal with taking trees out/topworking as a result.

[Donkeys4hire]

Kent has too many issues, I would not recommend it.

What kind of issues do they have?

[Donkeys4hire]

Honestly it's April. Wait a couple months and gorge yourself on 50 varieties this summer before deciding what to plant. I should have done that and had to deal with taking trees out/topworking as a result.

We've been tasting and contemplating the varieties we want for years, I'm pretty sure we are going with SB, Carrie, and Kent. My questions are more about the size to get and not the variety.

[savemejebus]

Honestly it's April. Wait a couple months and gorge yourself on 50 varieties this summer before deciding what to plant. I should have done that and had to deal with taking trees out/topworking as a result.

We've been tasting and contemplating the varieties we want for years, I'm pretty sure we are going with SB, Carrie, and Kent. My questions are more about the size to get and not the variety.

Gotcha. As long as you know those are the varieties you want, other people's opinions don't matter.

As for size, I recommend 3 or 7 gallon as they are easier to shape, easier to plant, and they get established faster. The 25 gallon lychee I planted was the first and last experience doing that.

[bsbullie]

Kent has too many issues, I would not recommend it.

What kind of issues do they have?

Internal breakdown,  splitting/cracking and if picked too ripe they are nasty and too early, they are pretty bad and on the acidic side in a bad way.  The Providence is a very good substitution for an Kent.   Tsste is similar and so is ripening season.

[johnb51]

I tasted Providence last summer and found it a good substitute for Kent--VERY similar in flavor.  I bought a 3-gal. tree from Excalibur, and it's doing great.  So far it's staying compact and bushy.

[Cookie Monster]

Yep. Anthracnose also tends to be quite fond of Kent. If you get lucky and happen across a clean Kent fruit without internal breakdown and at just the right stage of ripeness, they are excellent. But, in my experience those are somewhat rare.

Internal breakdown,  splitting/cracking and if picked too ripe they are nasty and too early, they are pretty bad and on the acidic side in a bad way.  The Providence is a very good substitution for an Kent.   Tsste is similar and so is ripening season.

[mangomaniac2]

I'm in northern area of south Florida. I'm going to be adding a few mango trees. Trying for an extended fruit supply in the future, with an early, mid, and late season varieties. Southern Blush, Carrie, and Kent are what we're looking at. Have lots of size options to purchase here from 3 to 7 to 15 gallon sixes available. Will I get fruit production from 7 or 15 gallon sizes next year? What are the pros and cons of planting the different sizes other than cost to purchase?

Go with the largest you can afford to plant. You will be happy you did because they are much easier to care for the older they are, and you can get a descent amount of fruit from a 15 gal tree if you get a nice sized one. Southern blush is really awesome, my wife's favorite. One thing to keep in mind is that many of the newer varieties are much more disease resistant. A lot of the older varieties tend to be more prone to fungus and disease. As the others have suggested you may want to wait until you can get a good sample of some newer varieties first before making the commitment. A lot of the newer varieties have a lot more flavor than the older ones as well. Carrie and Kent are easily beat by many newer varieties, Southern blush not so easy to beat and is pretty easy to care for. Pickering is one tree everyone should have. Super productive, easy to care for, dwarf, and great tropical flavor. Lemon Zest, Maha Chanok, Sweet Tart, Peach cobbler, and dupuis are very tough to beat with excellent disease resistance.

[JF]

I recommend sweet tart, mahachinok and angie. There are others excellent varieties but these are great tasting and super productive mangos.

[bsbullie]

I dont agree the best size is as  you can afford.  Unless it is the perfect specimen,  larger trees are harder to establish and tend not to be the greatest shape/look due to being raised as a nursery stock and not someone's tree.

As has been said a number of times by a number of people, growi v fruit trees takes patience.   You will wind up with a much better tree overall by going with a 3 gal or a 7 only if the right specimen.   With patience,  this will reward you in the long run.

As to Pickering,  I wohld not consider it a dwarf.  When not left to be potbound and restricted by having it hd fruit at a young age when it shouldn't,  it will be a nicely shaped compact grower but not a dwarf.

[mangomaniac2]

I dont agree the best size is as  you can afford.  Unless it is the perfect specimen,  larger trees are harder to establish and tend not to be the greatest shape/look due to being raised as a nursery stock and not someone's tree.

As has been said a number of times by a number of people, growi v fruit trees takes patience.   You will wind up with a much better tree overall by going with a 3 gal or a 7 only if the right specimen.   With patience,  this will reward you in the long run.

As to Pickering,  I wohld not consider it a dwarf.  When not left to be potbound and restricted by having it hd fruit at a young age when it shouldn't,  it will be a nicely shaped compact grower but not a dwarf.

Bigger trees are more cold tolerant, much more forgiving of conditions, and able to hold fruit right away. A good 15 gal size tree will dig right in. Well worth the extra money. I don't buy your harder to establish theory. By your logic it would be best to plant a seed. I would not waste time or money with anything less than a 7 gal. ....3 gal trees are like a 4 or 5 year plan unless you pick a really vigorous variety. Most people do not want to formulate a 5 year plan to have fruit someday, they want a fair amount of fruit in a year or two.  There is a lot of value in a 7 gal tree if you find specimens that are close to being potted up. That's pretty much the sweet spot.

[bsbullie]

So you are talking about Arizona or South Florida?   The original poster is in South Florida.   No cold risk to mangoes here.  I have personally witnessed the problems of larger trees establishing.  Sorry but growing fruit trees is not a sprint.  You will wind up with a much better tree by raising it as a smaller tree under more optimal conditions vs ignored, aged and oversized trees in larger pots grown in a nursery. I will take a year and a half in a pot and then 3.5 years in the ground over a tree that has been couped up in a nursery pot for 5 years.

But hey, what do I know...to each their own...

[StPeteMango]

Three gal. ones are ideal. All but one of my mango trees were that size when I planted them. The ones approaching their 4th summer (NDM, Mallika, Cogshall, Neelam, Pickering and Graham) are in full bloom. They all carried a fruit or two to full size last year. The ones I got from Rob/Excalibur in Jan. 2015 (Honey Kiss, Providence, Angie, Fairchild and Maha) have settled in, grown a bit, branched out a lot with tipping, and are flowering. Other than the Maha, they are proving to be fairly slow growers. The Maha's growth is quicker, but with tipping it is growing more wide than tall.
The Pickering I have is the smallest, still barely 4 feet tall but very bushy and healthy. Couple of tasty fruits last year.

[WGphil]

My Providence looks clean and very healthy.     Should be easier to care of than some other finicky types if this continues.   Water, fertilizer and one round of tanglefoot so far and it looks great.  Still in its first year in the ground so a long way to go.   I would recommend it also based on the lack of problems so far. 

[JF]

So you are talking about Arizona or South Florida?   The original poster is in South Florida.   No cold risk to mangoes here.  I have personally witnessed the problems of larger trees establishing.  Sorry but growing fruit trees is not a sprint.  You will wind up with a much better tree by raising it as a smaller tree under more optimal conditions vs ignored, aged and oversized trees in larger pots grown in a nursery. I will take a year and a half in a pot and then 3.5 years in the ground over a tree that has been couped up in a nursery pot for 5 years.

But hey, what do I know...to each their own...

I've tried both ways and I agree with Rob the smaller 3 gallon trees establish themselves much better than a 15 gallon trees. If there is a risk of freezes protect them and let them establish their young roots on the ground rather than a nursery.

[johnb51]

I've had great success with 3-gal. trees.  I've always felt their roots have the chance to develop better.

[zands]

#1---  I would get one more tree to make four in all. One from the poly-embryonic side like Nam Doc Mai/NDM or Maha Chanok. There are others. This amounts to more insurance against various problems fungus and otherwise. You can keep an NDM small while Maha Chanok mango trees are very impressive when they have their elongated fruits hanging and ripening. Maha Chanok would impress neighbors if in the front yard. Same for NDM where I have one but Maha Chanok is more dazzling.
#2---- I have done well with mango trees of all sizes be they 3,7,15 gallon. If I saw a 15 gallon that looked very leafy and branched out I would buy it. In fact I bought a 15 gallon avocado tree based on this last fall. Planted it.
In the past I would go to a nursery intending to buy one variety mango but would be disappointed at what I saw. So I bought a different variety that looked very healthy as in>>>> covered with green leaves and not missing a sh*tload of lower branches.
#3---  I would get at least one of your "dream" mangoes in 15 gallon so you get fruits sooner. But it has to look good and healthy and not as though it has been trapped in a pot too long and has been lingering in the nursery too long. Trapped in a pot is visible. Leaves and low branches  are missing so the tree looks stringy and a bit skeletal.
#4-- You could get one mango tree each in 3 gallon/7 gallon/15 gallon or otherwise diversify, Say two 3 gallons and one 15 gallon
#5--before planting a pot-bound mango tree cut lightly at the roots with a serrated steak knife (Ginsu!!) if it is pot-bound

Don't be rushed. Any mango tree you are thinking of buying....eyeball any size (3-7-15 gallon) potted mango tree in the nursery long and hard with health/vitality being the prime consideration.
A thick trunk is good. The thicker the better at say 3"-4" above the 3-7-15 gallon pot's soil level. This means your new tree has a broader highway for nutrients and fluids to travel from roots to branches and leaves

[Donkeys4hire]

#1---  I would get one more tree to make four in all. One from the poly-embryonic side like Nam Doc Mai/NDM
#3---  I would get at least one of your "dream" mangoes in 15 gallon so you get fruits sooner.
#4-- You could get one mango tree each in 3 gallon/7 gallon/15 gallon or otherwise diversify, Say two 3 gallons and one 15 gallon

Good advice, we do have a 3G nam doc already in our yard. It's on the small side. Stared as a 3G. We are thinking of 2 at 15g as they look good, healthy and ready to be planted, while one variety looks better in 7g.

[zands]

#1---  I would get one more tree to make four in all. One from the poly-embryonic side like Nam Doc Mai/NDM
#3---  I would get at least one of your "dream" mangoes in 15 gallon so you get fruits sooner.
#4-- You could get one mango tree each in 3 gallon/7 gallon/15 gallon or otherwise diversify, Say two 3 gallons and one 15 gallon

Good advice, we do have a 3G nam doc already in our yard. It's on the small side. Stared as a 3G. We are thinking of 2 at 15g as they look good, healthy and ready to be planted, while one variety looks better in 7g.

Hi
I would stare hard at the 15 gallon ones and think--- "Is this how it would look in my yard if it had been planted a few years ago at three gallon?" Or lets say and allow 80%-90% of how good it would look
Some nursery owners have the skills to make potted trees of all sizes look healthy and be healthy.
Some don't. First mango tree I bought in 2008 and I have bought them at many different places, even big box Lowes and Home Depot. I have seen the good, bad, ugly along the way. I have seen them stringy and neglected, have also seen the very healthy. Highly variable!!!! 

I have bought and worked with sub-optimal nursery potted mango trees and gotten good results. But mango trees that looks great & healthy & leafy and have that green leafy branched out vitality right off the bat will grow faster and give fruit sooner. This is common sense.

[mangomaniac2]

#1---  I would get one more tree to make four in all. One from the poly-embryonic side like Nam Doc Mai/NDM
#3---  I would get at least one of your "dream" mangoes in 15 gallon so you get fruits sooner.
#4-- You could get one mango tree each in 3 gallon/7 gallon/15 gallon or otherwise diversify, Say two 3 gallons and one 15 gallon

Good advice, we do have a 3G nam doc already in our yard. It's on the small side. Stared as a 3G. We are thinking of 2 at 15g as they look good, healthy and ready to be planted, while one variety looks better in 7g.

You will be happy you got the nice bigger ones when you are picking fruit in the near future.  Great idea to let the specimen determine which size to go with. You are right sometimes the 15's can look worse than than a good 7. I let the nursery do the waiting game with the small stuff. The years you save by going with 7's and 15's goes a long way in your enjoyment of your new additions. The yard always looks a lot better with a nice full tree in the ground and much more fun to watch grow.

[bsbullie]

The years you save by going with 7's and 15's goes a long way in your enjoyment of your new additions.

Not really, you will usually wind up with a better tree when you raise it and control/determine its shape from the getgo.  Nurseries usually do very little to enhance a tree's growth or shape, all they do is keep them in pots and try to maintain an adequate water and fertilizer supply as economically sufficient as possible.

The yard always looks a lot better with a nice full tree in the ground and much more fun to watch grow.

Again, disagree 100%, and as most in this thread have stated, planting that 3 gal and having the owner (not the nursery) raise it and manipulate its shape will almost always provide for a healthier and overall better productive tree in the short to mid term (3-5 years) and beyond.  I guess the question is, what are you after, a possible 5 or so fruit next year (a sprint) or potentially 100 or so fruit in 3.5-5 years (a marathon)?

[phantomcrab]

I have always bought 3 gallon plants if possible. I usually cut them back at planting and shape them as they grow out. They are easier to transport and plant and are easier on the wallet too.