4-5 Best Mango Varieties for Compactness, Flavor Profiles, and Extended Season

[bovine421]

Okay I wish you all the best. You're not in this fight alone I also have an ice cream mango

[JulianoGS]

I think you'll be much better off with a dwarf Hawaiian similar flavor to Julie. Dwarf size and very precocious.
I'm willing to have that fight for Julie because my wife was raised on coconut milk and Julie mangoes. In my opinion even if you could see the ocean from your doorstep you're still going to have to spray for anthracnose and powdery mildew so you might as well just get schooled up on it

Yeah the flavor is exceptional.
I see that you planted yours next to a wall, was it because of space?  Having full sun and in a ventilated area should help against fungus right?

[bovine421]

That is for cold protection on the south side of my house. The wall retains heat sometimes it gets cool up here. Julie is an island girl she's cold sensitive

[bsbullie]

I think you'll be much better off with a dwarf Hawaiian similar flavor to Julie. Dwarf size and very precocious.
I'm willing to have that fight for Julie because my wife was raised on coconut milk and Julie mangoes. In my opinion even if you could see the ocean from your doorstep you're still going to have to spray for anthracnose and powdery mildew so you might as well just get schooled up on it

Yeah the flavor is exceptional.
I see that you planted yours next to a wall, was it because of space?  Having full sun and in a ventilated area should help against fungus right?

Yes, correct.  Keep middle open and lifted iff the ground so air can flow throughout.

Ice Cream is also very prone to  fungus and I have seen the fruit prone to scab.  It will be problematic up against the wall like that.

[bsbullie]

That is for cold protection on the south side of my house. The wall retains heat sometimes it gets cool up here. Julie is an island girl she's cold sensitive

They are no more cold sensitive than any other variety.

[bovine421]

The good news is Dot has prime real estate but yes space is limited so they are prioritized

[JulianoGS]

Would this combination work against fungus and powdery mildew?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFD97jAdtKU

[johnb51]

Are there any fans of Duncan?

[mangokothiyan]

 

Are there any fans of Duncan?

It is very productive and a workhorse year after year, but the mangoes are usually washed out in the first half of the season. It also has a distinctly bitter taste near the skin that I have not seen in any other mango.

[bsbullie]

 

Are there any fans of Duncan?

It is very productive and a workhorse year after year, but the mangoes are usually washed out in the first half of the season. It also has a distinctly bitter taste near the skin that I have not seen in any other mango.

It actually has two crops.  Yes, first crop is not usually good although there are exceptions.  The later crop is usually much better and lacks that offputting taste near the skin.  I am not saying its a great mango, just stating a fact.

ZINC also seems has two crops and similarly the late crop is usually distinctly better.

[johnb51]

To summarize, it would be a tough choice (!) but some combination of five out of the following nominees: Pickering*, Angie, M-4, Sugarloaf, Dwarf Hawaiian*, Little Gem, Guava, Honey Kiss*, Orange Sherbet, Pina Colada, Orange Essence, Phoenix, Mahachanok, and Graham.  I'd like to add Carla (but I'm not sure about tree size) and also Cecilove (if only it were being propagated)! 
*=most votes.

[johnb51]

Back to the 4-5 trees...I think what I would plant might be Dwarf Hawaiian, Orange Sherbet, Sugarloaf, Mahachanok, Phoenix or Carla, and Honey Kiss to get the most flavors and a long season.  Yup, that's six. Maybe I could topwork an extra variety on two trees.

[weiss613]

I’m saying this opinion from my own tastes and if the reader has other tasting opinions please forgive me.
I am converting 4 of my trees by coincidence right now because their fruits aren’t even close to the qualities of some old standards and especially the new Zill’s and they are my 1 Dwarf Hawaiian and my 3 Maha’s. The novelty of the earliness of DH is outweighed by its inconsistent flavors. If you are from the Islands and love strong and spicy like Julie go for it. Maha is perhaps the most beautiful mango but also the novelty of its beauty and shape and color doesn’t make up for its less than great taste. So why waste a space when you can get a “supremely” delicious Zill. 

[johnb51]

I’m saying this opinion from my own tastes and if the reader has other tasting opinions please forgive me.
I am converting 4 of my trees by coincidence right now because their fruits aren’t even close to the qualities of some old standards and especially the new Zill’s and they are my 1 Dwarf Hawaiian and my 3 Maha’s. The novelty of the earliness of DH is outweighed by its inconsistent flavors. If you are from the Islands and love strong and spicy like Julie go for it. Maha is perhaps the most beautiful mango but also the novelty of its beauty and shape and color doesn’t make up for its less than great taste. So why waste a space when you can get a “supremely” delicious Zill.

Thanks for your input.  I consider your opinion and experience to be of great value.  Now.....if I could only grow two mango trees, I think one would have to be Pickering--it's such a foolproof, productive tree--and the other?

[weiss613]

For what it’s worth if you don’t like spicy strong or turpentined flavors everything that  bsullie (Rob) says is gospel not me. Yes for a slow growing smaller tree that makes a lot of mangoes that are pretty good your Pickering is a good choice. The next one is up to you but read all of Robs comments over the years and you’ll make a great 2nd choice too. I based all my decisions for over 200 Mango trees on his comments over the last 5 years and Im happy as heck with what I have. He has an amazing talent which goes way further than just experience.  You can probably start at the 2020 tastings then go back to 2015 forward. Or start at 2015 and go forward looking at his entries.

[JulianoGS]

Unfortunately for me somebody else bought the house on the 9000 sf lot.  When we finally get around to finding a house, it will probably have room for only TWO mango trees if I'm lucky!  Anyway, back to the 4-5 trees...I think what I would plant might be Dwarf Hawaiian, Orange Sherbet, Sugarloaf, Mahachanok, Carla, and Honey Kiss to get the most flavors and a long season.  I know.  I can count.  That's six.

Sorry to hear about the house, if you can only have two I would do an early and a late mango.
But if you can have 2 you can always try to squeeze in a 3rd. 

[johnb51]

For what it’s worth if you don’t like spicy strong or turpentined flavors everything that  bsullie (Rob) says is gospel not me. Yes for a slow growing smaller tree that makes a lot of mangoes that are pretty good your Pickering is a good choice. The next one is up to you but read all of Robs comments over the years and you’ll make a great 2nd choice too. I based all my decisions for over 200 Mango trees on his comments over the last 5 years and Im happy as heck with what I have. He has an amazing talent which goes way further than just experience.  You can probably start at the 2020 tastings then go back to 2015 forward. Or start at 2015 and go forward looking at his entries.

His opinions and comments are always legit and good.  I'm a fan, too.

[johnb51]

The 2020 season in South Florida ended with some strong reviews of Little Gem, so now I'm thinking Pickering (early: COCONUT) and Little Gem (late: INDIAN/W.INDIAN) might be the way to go.  In between should be other flavor groups.  Orange Sherbet for CITRUS?  And how about something representing INDOCHINESE?  Keep in mind "compact, productive, and disease-free."

[bovine421]

The 2020 season in South Florida ended with some strong reviews of Little Gem, so now I'm thinking Pickering (COCONUT) and Little Gem (INDIAN/W.INDIAN) might be the way to go.  In between should be other flavor groups.  Orange Sherbet for CITRUS?  And how about something representing INDOCHINESE?  Keep in mind "compact, productive, and disease-free."

I need to try Little Gem. Hopefully it has some spice to it. What about Cecilove? I have heard it is very manageable  

[johnb51]

Yes, I think Cecilove could be a good choice for INDOCHINESE.  Has anyone tasted or had any experience with Fairchild's Saigon?  (Not Dupuis Saigon)  Mahachanok is not considered INDOCHINESE flavor, correct?

[bovine421]

It seems as though the majority of indo-chinese mango trees are vigorous Growers but if you were my neighbor I would cross my fingers and hope that you would plant Zill indochinese zinc. I really like it chalky tartness

[johnb51]

It seems as though the majority of indo-chinese mango trees are vigorous Growers but if you were my neighbor I would cross my fingers and hope that you would plant Zill indochinese zinc. I really like it chalky tartness

I want to be your neighbor.  I'm tired of SoFlo.  I'm moving up there!

[Satya]

For some reason my Sugar Loaf has grown more wider than taller, so it is compact so far. But others with more aged trees can tell how there's been growing. Disease free for sure but can not say anything about productivity. Fruit cocktail is doing the same but again my trees are 3-4 yrs old and not yet a good example , will evaluate them to see if they stay compact. Both are kind of midseason i think. What about Phoenix? Truly tropical had a compact Phoenix on some rootstock. Phoenix will check the boxes for citrus, complex taste.
I am growing Fairchild Saigon, grafted it from Alex to Glenn, it has very short internodes and certainly a compact grower. However it seems to be prone to anthracnose, saw a lot on branches and i have suspicion the flowers will need heavy spraying as well. Don't know about productivity yet.

[bovine421]

It seems as though the majority of indo-chinese mango trees are vigorous Growers but if you were my neighbor I would cross my fingers and hope that you would plant Zill indochinese zinc. I really like it chalky tartness

I want to be your neighbor.  I'm tired of SoFlo.  I'm moving up there!

Okay but you may get altitude sickness we are 62 feet above sea level. I prefer you do not bring any iguanas with you. How much did Al Gore say the oceans going to rise LOL

[fisherking73]

As someone with limited space and who had advice from BSbullie through my planting, these are my experiences. PPK, first tree we planted, did well for about 5-6 years with a very heavy pruning. But it was definetly affecting total number of fruit. After last couple years the growth was so upright and it was flushing at faster rates to this year had to pretty much pug it back to start it over as we had lost the pruning battle. Takes more than an annual decent pruning to keep I in check. Second tree we planted was coconut cream. While the overall size has been manageable for now, like Rob said, the growth is freaking erratic as hell, and hard to give it a good shape. And the lower branches tend to shoot straight to the ground and either need to be propped up significantly or pruned off. Pickering has been easy to maintain and truly compact. Still takes a good pruning to keep it maintained, but responds well to one pruning. Honey kiss about the same as pickering, although it does seem to grow a hair faster. Fairchild has been easy to maintain at medium sized tree with annual pruning. But the Fairchild has not fruited heavily. Pickering is always a monster producer and the honey kiss does 2nd best. Coconut cream has been super unreliable and has never produced more than 30 fruit on a good year, about a dozen on bad year. PPK always 30-60. Pickering every year has increased crops, this year about 100-120 mangoes and the tree is about 7 ft tall by 7-8 ft wide.