R2E2

[gabodymod]

R2E2 is an Australian mango cultivar, it is cold hardy (take frost better than other varieties of mango), medium size tree ( some people think they may be dwarf??? ), taste mild to bland, fruit size 2+ lb., seed is polyembryonic and is a progeny of the Florida variety Kent.

I need to know if anybody out there is growing them in Florida, how they do here (disease, when they set fruit, size of fruit, size of tree, etc, etc.) and where can I buy a tree.

Guillermo.

[murahilin]

Wait a second.. you described the flavor as "mild to bland" yet you want a tree? Please explain why you would want that?

[gabodymod]

Taste is like beauty, it is in the eye of the beholder. I have never tasted the r2e2. Maybe it was my mistake to say only mild to bland, I should have said taste is from  very good to bland. Most people say it is better than Kensington Pride ( which I have tasted and like)
Taste is a very interesting subject (when you are talking about food, wine etc), but that is a subject for another post.

Guillermo.

[Ethan]

I've heard of a seedling or two growing here but nothing grafted.

-Ethan

[HMHausman]

Wasn't this mango featured in the Star Wars movie series??

Harry

[Tropicalgrower89]

[Tropicdude]

Yes but the R2E2 is a seedling of R2D2

[bsbullie]

That is not a ripe r2e2 (you can tell by the green on top) 

[murahilin]

R2A6

[Mike T]

It is named after the row position of the original mutant in the orchard.My advice would be that it is hardly worth worrying about.It may be large with reasonable colour but is as plain in flavour as keitt,kent,palmer,brooks and hundred other trashy types.

[mangomandan]

Trashy?!   How dare you Sir!

[BMc]

Most people say it is better than Kensington Pride ( which I have tasted and like)

1 in 10 may rate it as highly as KP. Mostly those impressed more by the look of the fruit over the flavour. It is hands down a winner on the marketing front as people will pick up and buy an enormous perfect looking mango. Unfortunately the taste is rather like unflavored tofu with a slight aftertaste of mango. Probably the biggest 'fruit tease' of all.
There is another mango on the local market here almost as bad - the Calypso. It is smaller, but just as pleasing on the eye. it seems to have a super long season and is reminiscent of well textured cardboard. Except for around two weeks at Christmas, when it rivals the best - full mango flavor with strong coconut overtones.

[Mike T]

KP is a street tree (we cal it Bowen after the town where they began all those decades ago) here and not bad, certainly better than r2e2.Calyso is another imposter bred for looks, non-bruising and transport.It KP genes don't shine through and it is good to throw at the flying foxes raiding nam dok mai fruit.

[fruitlovers]

I think mango is one fruit that Australia is light years behind the USA. In Australia it seems that #1 mango is Kensington Pride, #2 mango is Kensington Pride, and #3 is also Kensigton Pride. Somehow the Aussies are KP obsessed.

[Squam256]

keitt,kent,palmer,brooks and hundred other trashy types.

Man....you really hated on some decent mangoes there. Kent, Keitt and Palmer won't be at the top of my list but I sure wouldn't classify them as 'trashy'. To each their own though.

[Mike T]

That is true KP is everywhere and there are far fewer varieties here than the US.The monembryonic turpy taste taste never gets any air time but slowly things are changing.It is strange as the farmers and buyers just stick to what they know and getting the good types to be accepted has been a struggle.For over 1000 miles of coastline in my state they are 90% of nthe mango crop.It is often a revelation for people travelling to SE Asia when they sample the finest of mangoes. Only the enthusiasts have the rarer and more esteemed types in their yards.

[HMHausman]

On the strength of its reputation in Australia, I bought a Kensingtone Pride tree at the Broward Rare Fruit Council sale a couple of years ago.  It fruited for me for the first time last year. This year, despite the tree being at least 1/3 larger than it was last year, did not even flower.  First fruits can sometimes be somewhat unrepresentative of fruits from the same tree as the tree mature, however, my intial impression of this fruit is........large and meaty, good disease resistance, flavor ranked in the bottom 1/3 of the over 100 cultivars I grow.  Frankly, either Keitt or Kent is far superior in my yard.  Palmer is better, but not far superior....no comment on Brooks as I don't grow it.  This is of course all in my humble opinion and wth the proviso that different growing conditions can lead to vastly different tasting mangoes.  It is my understanding that there are wide variations of this tree/fruit in Australia grown in different parts of that country.  Let's see what happens in my yard next season when my KP will hopefully produce again.

Harry

[Mike T]

I wish I could mail a good 2lb KP to you.It just sounds like parellel universe stuff because KP is sweet,with a good acid/sugar balance and probably will always be the market leader here.That is no matter whether grown at latituide 12 or 30.By contrast palmer,keitt and kent are low value ones in the market.Tommy atkins and van dyke would never make it here or in Asia.Asian folk in markets laugh about all these bland flavourless types.When in Asia you'll see some KP's and oddly enough R2E2's in the markets and I suppose they are a bit closer to okrung,namdok mai and that style.
I wonder if we have the real types here and you have the real KP there.

[puglvr1]

Taste is very subjective...but I personally would never call Kent and Keitt and according to Mike
" hundred other trashy types"...I think that is a bit Harsh!! I happen to like them a lot!

[Mike T]

Sorry pug that was a bit harsh and the wrong word to use off the cuff.There is alot of subjectivity with mangoes and perhaps more than other fruits.The odd thing is that it is 'mass subjectivity' with different opinions in India,philipines,thailand and in fact most geographic regions.People must get imprinted with what they grew up on.

[puglvr1]

Thanks for the apology Mike  ...I LOVE mangoes ('almost' all mangoes that I've eaten) and I guess I took it a little personal,lol...I still have a LOT of varieties I haven't tried yet...SO many mangoes so little time.

You're right that we all do have our own preferences and opinions when it comes to what we like in a Mango and I think like its mentioned where you grow them or how they're grown also factors in the differences in taste and flavor.

[fruitlovers]

Taste is very subjective...but I personally would never call Kent and Keitt and according to Mike
" hundred other trashy types"...I think that is a bit Harsh!! I happen to like them a lot!

I agree. Personally i think of the commonly grown commercial types here Keitt is one of the best.
As to situation in Australia with Kensington Pride, like i said before, i think the Australians are stuck in the mud with that one. Imagine all the mango lovers here only planting one cultivar of mango, and all of them agreeing that is the one and only one to grow, now and forever?!? As with any other fruit there is always some improvement possible. I think the Australians are just not working with continuous mango improvement as is done in Florida.

[Mike T]

There are in fact quite a number of new ones being produced with only letters and numbers for names.A good selection of Asian and American types are also available.The problem is that only the KP seels well and people won't grow anything else or try other types.Only a few mango enthusiasts seem to grow a range of types.

[BMc]

When you've had a mango farmed so extensively for around 50 years it kind of catches on. KP here is much loved and is what everyone here will relate to as tasting like a 'mango'. plus you can get boxes of them for $5 in season, if you or your neighbors dont have a tree and get them for free.
Keitt, kENT, Palmer, Hayden and Brooks dont even get a look in and usually are left to rot at the market. It could be the different growing conditions but I have paid money for these in the past and couldnt bring myself to do so again.
Harry, KP here is not at all happy with much rain. The crops here (south eAST qld) have been light to non existent since breaking el nino the best part of a decade ago. 

Having said that, your development of mangoes for hobby farmers and backyarders is super impressive. All of our development is for industry and focussed on size, colour and shelf life. I would love to try the Lemon Zest, Coconut Cream etc, but do have to chuckle sometimes at the mango-a-minute releases I've heard about. Anyhow, I'm happy on my small block with Kwan, dwarf maha, dwarf NDM, and dwarf red and orange kp.

mike - have you ever been to the farm just out of Bundaberg? He is reported to have among the best collections here.

[Mike T]

No BJ but I have heard about it.The tablelands folk seem to have some good selections and you are right about rainfall.In the 2000mm to 4000mm zone there are fewer good mangoes,anthracnose everywhere and KP 's don't tate as good.I should be packing parcels right now or gardening.I told David I'd send some sam ru du seedlings.