where to get mail order tropicals?

[brian]

I grow a lot of citrus trees in containers that are moved into a greenhouse in the winter.  I am looking to expand into mangoes and avocados because I've read that they thrive in similar conditions to citrus.  I found sources for avocados, but I'm having a harder time finding mangoes.  Any suggestions on where to get them mail order?

I'm looking for atoulfa/champage, because of the varieties I'v tried so far these are by far my favorite. 

[bsbullie]

Mangoes and avocado  will not take the cooler temps that citrus can or actually require to sweeten the citrus up.  They will also need more space.

Don't think you will find any mail order nursery that grows Ataulfo.  The few nurseries that mail order mangoes are in Florida and you will be hard pressed to find an Ataulfo for sale at any nursery in Florida. 

With that being said,  there have been numerous posts about places that ship mangoes that can be found using the search feature. I will not recommend any such nurseries as i dont want to be criticized for posting facts.

[brian]

Thanks, I will search around. 

I thought mangoes and avacados would do well as long as they don't freeze?  I try to keep my greenhouse above 55F in winter but sometimes it goes into the 40s.  I get enough heat in summer to ripen all citrus I've grown so far.

Also, any reason ataulfo trees aren't ready to find?  I see the fruit in stores all the time so they certainly aren't obscure.

[gunnar429]

there's also Logee's in Connecticut.  Mail order tropicals for cold-weather, greenhouse growers--that's what they do.  Not a lot of depth for each variety (probably only cogshall mango for example), but they have a lot of breadth in their selection, in terms of types of fruit trees.  If you have your heart set on ataulfo, you could grow it from seed, since it's polyembryonic.

[nullzero]

I hear cogshall is a good mango, especially for dwarfing condo mango. I planted one in the ground, have not tried the fruit yet. The internodes of cogshall are pretty short.

[bsbullie]

Cogshall can be good but i find its quality to be highly variable.   It does usually  have a shorter internodal space and can be grown quite bushy but like any mango, will need to be kept creatively pruned to fit comfortably in a greenhouse.

Notwithstanding the aforementioned,  the term "condo mango" should be ignored.  It really has no meaning.  In various publications,  there are many varieties  coined as condo mangoes thatvwill reach 20 - 30 feet...

[nullzero]

Picked up the Condo mango term from the pine island website. Anyway, I look forward to trying a Cogshall. Logees plants are healthy but usually trend to be on the smaller side.

[waldi1]

brian,
I'm growing Ataulfo ,so are the whole South of Mexico
Average teps 33C, I don't think Ataulfo is fit for yor climat.

[gnappi]

I will not recommend any such nurseries as i dont want to be criticized for posting facts.

Your posts are always well thought out and insightful. I don't recall you ever being criticized on a post.

[CGameProgrammer]

I've had great experiences with TopTropicals and they have an enormous selection of mangoes and avocadoes so that's a great place to start. Mangoes are subtropical but avocadoes are not - their requirements are similar to citrus, except that pollination is trickier and requires paricular tree combinations.

Logees is a great nursery in general but their fruit selection is limited.

[Jsvand5]

Pine island nursery sells mail order for a good price. Better on shipping if you buy two trees from them though. The reason you won't see ataulfo at mail order places is because there are hundreds of better mangoes so they don't bother stocking ataulfo.

[bsbullie]

Pine island nursery sells mail order for a good price. Better on shipping if you buy two trees from them though. The reason you won't see ataulfo at mail order places is because there are hundreds of better mangoes so they don't bother stocking ataulfo.

The main reason is that Ataulfo will not produce in Florida.   They do thrive in Mexico.

Despite what others might say, I would buy from any nursery but Top Trop.  Seriously  consider  contacting Mickey at Plant-o-gram.

[fruitlovers]

Thanks, I will search around. 

I thought mangoes and avacados would do well as long as they don't freeze?  I try to keep my greenhouse above 55F in winter but sometimes it goes into the 40s.  I get enough heat in summer to ripen all citrus I've grown so far.

Also, any reason ataulfo trees aren't ready to find?  I see the fruit in stores all the time so they certainly aren't obscure.

You need a longer stretch of hot weather to produce mangoes than for most citrus. On the other hand, we have members in Ottawa, Canada fruiting mangoes in greenhouses, so it's certainly doable, just more tricky. Japan also commercially produces greenhouse mangoes where it is snowing outside. So i would encourage you to try it. You might want to learn more about specific requirements for mangoes so you have higher likelihood of success.

[jegpg1]

BS, why such grudge against TT? Seems too personal.

[TropicalFruitHunters]

why such grudge against TT? Seems too personal.

If you search, you will find a majority against Top Tropicals for a variety of reasons.  Jegpg1...Don't get fixated on one mango purchased from the grocery.  you may like the taste of the Ataulfo from the store, but I can promise you...this is a bottom-tier mango compared to many of the Florida mangos you will find discussed here in past posts.  Personally, I don't believe it can even be compared to them.  I would do a search on them and then find a nursery that will ship them...there are several as Rob mentioned and Plant-O-Gram has gotten rave reviews over the years.  You can also find others from the main menu of this site.  My recommendation would be to fly down to Florida at the peak of mango season and try out as many as you can.  You won't be disappointed!  From there you could go visit any number of these nurseries and pick out your own plants.  If traveling to Florida is not an option, we have members that ship fresh mangos.  It's a great way to try out several types of mangos in one shot without leaving the house.

[gunnar429]

BS, why such grudge against TT? Seems too personal.

Some people have had good experiences, but Rob (and others) despise false information.  A couple examples are the "golden sugar apple" which ASaffron says is just a pond apple.  The description says nothing of the sort and leads one to believe this is one of the best annonas out there.

The example that I bet irks Rob the most is the fact that they sell and advertise having orange sherbet mango trees, when some of the people "closest" to the Zills (ie. Rob, Sheehan, etc.) have no access to orange sherbet--and many wish they did.  Then, when confronted by email about this, they claimed that they didn't get it from zills, but from somewhere else.

As I said, many people have been pleased with their purchases from TT, but their information is shady at times, or maybe worse.

[bsbullie]

Jeff - it has little to do with the Orange Sherbert  however between that and Golden SugarcApple it does say something about their reputation.

There is a long history  with Top Trop over the years.   Long before you got into the addiction.   Yes, places can change but little within their operation has.  I am not saying every encounter will be bad however just cause one member was satisfied doesnt mean they are the best either.

Overall, dealing with Mickey at Plant-o-gram will be a much better experience.   Plus, i dont think the shipping cost will be the same issue as it would not be shipped to California.

[brian]

If ataulfo is a bad mango I'd love to taste a great one!  I just don't like the tommy atkins much.  From looking around it sounds like Pickering and Cogshell would be better candidates for a container but I guess the real question is whether it even gets hot enough where I am to ripen fruit.  Are heat requirements published anywhere?  How much higher is mango compared to something like red grapefruit?

[Doglips]

I've always had good luck with PIN. Can't speak to TT and Plant-o-gram. POG was pricey.
If you're in Pennsylvania,  I really wouldn't worry about runaway tree growth, and if it does, good for you by the way, mangos take pruning very well.  I would go in the opposite direction if I were you, get one that does grow fast, big and strong. Because you won't get fast big and strong in Pennsylvania, you might get slow or moderate growth. A Cogshall in Pennsylvania might be a plastic tree.
I'm all for zone pushers!
Therefore you need a Lemon Zest. Not supposed be high yield and it is a vigorous grower.  In Pennsylvania you need to hope for any yield.  Considered by the pros on this site to be at least a top 5 mango, still waiting on mine to fruit.