The Tropical Fruit Forum

Wow, 38 degrees for you, my low was 42 and I think the forecast was 48 if i recall.. you really are in a cold pocket..

Never thought about it until the cold started hitting.  We are in a valley like low area near County Line and Ewell.  Not only are we in a cold pocket but after moving in I immediately planted over a dozen mango and other fruit trees to also find that even though our property is sloped, standing water is insane here.  I fought standing water around the trees for a couple of years and finally hand dug close to 300 ft of trench to install perforated pipe which is helping to move the water away.

I am really hoping that this cold triggers some additional panicles and subsequent fruit.

Lakeland, FL area and it has started as a mixed season here.  Cogshall bloomed on east and north sides with a decent amount of fruit forming.  Going south, Carrie is next and that has a more complete bloom but much less fruit.  Than the Mallika with no bloom at all.  Next is the Glenn with some blooms and fruit.  The next one is Choc Anon with nothing, followed by Cotton Candy with nothing, then a Keitt with some blooms all around with a little fruit and finally in that row there is an Ice Cream that was loaded with blooms but very little fruit.

Other side of yard has no blooms at all.

One misconception I have understood about Brassinolide is that the effectiveness is based on multiple sprays of plants starting well before any anticipated freeze.
I jumped in trying it with both feet last winter but did not know about starting early that time.  I also put incandescent lights and had frames and frost cloth last winter.  I live in a colder microclimate in South Lakeland and last year the temperatures hit and stayed for hours at a time in the mid 20's.  I also had issues with the wind and maintaining the covers intact.  At my age I just no longer have the ability to accomplish things like when I was younger.
Out of 13 trees that had been in the ground from one to two years, I completely lost an Ugly Betty about 5 ft tall, and a Lancitilla also about 5 ft tall.  I also lost a really nice Peach Cobbler almost to the ground but it did come back slightly above the graft but will take another year or two to be large enough to fruit.  I also had a Chocanon, Glenn, Keitt and Ice Cream that were significantly damaged but came back.

This year I started spraying earlier but because we were going out of town and just not having the energy to try to cover the trees.  I sprayed the Brassinolide about a month before the cold, again about two weeks before and each of three days before leaving which was five days before the start of the cold front.  We had three days of cold here during that event.  Two of the nights we were at or below freezing from one in the morning until after eight and a significant portion of the time was in the 20's and as low as 27 for hours.  The first night was windy but no frost, the second and third nights included frost.

A week later many of the trees had some leaf burn showing but that was it.  I have continued spraying Brassinolide every two weeks and this past weekend, we had two nights below freezing for several hours and a low of 29 degrees one of the days.  While I am seeing significant damage on the two grafted seedlings that replaced the two trees that were lost, they still look like they will make it and the larger trees, as large as about eight feet, are showing no more damage than from the first front.

Also of note, my Ice Cream Mango was showing panicles prior to the first front.  Those did die but more panicles have been developing and with this cold, they seem to be surviving.

In fairness, this was totally unscientific and the trees are more established this year but the colder microclimate here is confirmed by nearby weather stations that are consistent with mine which averages as much as eight to ten degrees colder than the reported Lakeland Airport temps.

Again just my personal experiences.

There is a place Brackin's Macadamia Farm in Plant City, FL.  They might be able to give you some additional insights.

So sorry for all you went through along with so many others.  We ended up with several mango trees down or leaning severely.  What I resorted to was purchasing some inexpensive ratchet tie down straps from Amazon.  Can be had at an inexpensive price at places like Harbor Freight.  I slipped the straps through pieces of old bicycle inner tube for where they are in contact with the tree.  Then I had some wooden stakes that I cut small notches in and hammered them into the ground.  The notches are to keep the strap material from slipping off and doesn't take much.

Using the ratchets for the straps, I am able to get the trees reasonably straight and then every few days continue tightening the straps to gradually finish getting them upright.

Just a thought and all the best to you and others in recovering from the hurricane.

i thought the storm had passed over us, realizing it was just the eye when the rain and wind picked up again was a chilling moment.

I remember when Charley, Frances and Jeanne all impacted me when I was living in Valrico, FL.  I don't remember which one it was that took out the water line, some roof shingles, and bottom walls of our stilt home, but I do remember going out while the eye was over our house to the street with a couple of wrenches to turn off the county water line.  We lived on a lake and the access to it was about a foot underwater and I kept feeling around for the water meter and shutoff valve, hoping not to encounter a water moccasin or something worse.  Then the eye passed and I wondered why I even moved to Florida.  I felt very fortunate our damage was so limited compared to others.

Now, years later, perhaps in part because I am old and worry a lot more, I was almost in panic mode seeing Ian change course and heading towards Lakeland where we currently live.  To me, part of the scariest effects hit while the hurricane is over and we are in total darkness without power. 

We were fortunate that our damage here was limited to flattening several trees and a lot of cleanup from downed oak tree limbs.

I am too old to move again but am upgrading what I can afford to against hurricanes.

All the best to those who suffered the wrath of Ian and stay safe and patient during the rebuilding process.

Has anyone heard from John Painter of Jay Reynolds or any of our other Pine Island growers? Did they all make it out safe? I'm seeing some terrifying footage of Pine Island and Matlacha and I just hope none of them were trying to ride out the storm on the island.

I got a message back from Jay Reynolds on 9/29 around noon time.  He let me know about the situation with the bridge and roads there.  He and family are ok and their house is ok.  Many trees down and a lot of cleanup ahead.  He said many power poles just snapped off as well in his area.

I wish I were younger and closer so I could try to help out.  My age is really showing however as I did something to my back yesterday trying to get one of my trees back up that were knocked down here in Lakeland.  At least here we can get around and stores are already opening and supplies available.

I hope that FEMA and others with the ability are working out the logistics to get the Pine Island people that stayed the supplies and help that I am sure they desperately need, including any medical related assistance and supplies that might be necessary!

To me, this is such a refreshing thread.  So many out there discourage growing Mango trees from seed claiming it will take an inordinate amount of years to produce fruit and the fruit will most likely not be very good.  They continue on with claims that the only way to get a good mango is to buy a grafted tree or graft one.

More and more I am hearing stories of trees from seed producing at times in as little as 3 or 4 years with fruit that has great flavor.  I have about a dozen from seeds of good varieties that are about a year old and 3 to 5 feet tall after giving away about an additional half dozen to individuals I hope will get to try, enjoy and appreciate potentially different varieties.  It is so personally rewarding to see the trees growing from seed and have the potential to be tasting great mangoes within a few years.  I do have 15 grafted varieties also in the ground which should produce soon.

A month ago, my wife and I were privileged to be able to taste a variety that had a flavor similar to that of a Carrie that had amazing, sweet flavor and is proving to be more disease resistant while also being a late season variety.  The grower of that new variety is a little south of Sarasota, FL.  Hopefully one day I will be lucky enough to be an owner of one of this new variety.

Kudos to those of you pursuing and sharing information about Mango trees grown from seed.  Keep proving that it isn't always necessary to buy a Zill grafted variety to get a great tasting mango.

I do recognize that this is an old thread, BUT, it looks like more than a few of the posts here spoke of growing a number of varieties from seeds for fruit as well as some that grew specific rootstock to graft and grow different varieties.

Considering the significant rise in prices for grafted trees, I would be very interested in the status of these "experiments".  Not only for actual time to produce fruit and the quality of it but also those who grew specific seedlings and grafted known scions.  The latter of which I would also be interested in the successful grafts, how long it took to produce fruit.

Even with purchasing up to a larger grafted tree, I am hearing that it could take a couple more years in the ground to produce fruit. And to me, even if the seedling doesn't turn out to be a clone of a known variety, if it tastes good it is a win, if it isn't good, a known scion could still be grafted to it.

Just received my small order of starters.  They are great and a couple of them are absolutely huge!

Thanks so much for working with my additions at the last minute before shipping.

Great dealing with you and thank you again.

Thanks for your input Galatians, I really appreciate it.  One thing I have started considering is that I have an old wire mesh wagon with wheels.  About 18" wide, by 36" long and about 15" high.  Thinking about lining it with weed barrier making sure it will allow sufficient drainage and then filling it with an appropriate mix and planting a couple of pineapples in it.  That way if I need To, I can move it around if necessary and still allow it to have some good room to grow.

As many of you are well aware, this year has been a bust for so many of us in the great Mango world.  Out of a dozen trees in Lakeland, FL, we only managed one Cogshall Mango due to weather related issues.

So many disappointing experiences purchasing from places in the Tampa Bay Area between Mangoes being picked so early that they would go bad before ripening and those that did ripen just didn't have the real flavor that a good Mango shouid have.

Well a week ago we ordered from Frank and what we received has restored our Mango flavor taste buds.  So many timely picked, great tasting, flavorful Mango bombs and at a very reasonable price!

WE JUST PLACED ANOTHER ORDER AND, IF OTHERS OF YOU HAVE BEEN HESITANT, DON'T WAIT.  FRANK'S MANGOES ARE INCREDIBLE THIS YEAR!

Thanks so much Frank, not only for taking the time to share great Mangoes, but also for not overpricing your product like so many out there.

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