Lemon Zest Mango

[MangoMan2]

Could some one here that's been growing this mango tell me the growth habit of the tree?
Thinking of planting one, and need to know how much space to give it.

Thanks, Joe.

[Patrick]

Pretty vigorous and upright.  Its no dwarf for sure!

[natsgarden123]

was a bit slow getting going, at least mine- I think others here have had that issue

[gunnar429]

I agree with Patrick.  I have Coconut Cream and Lemon Zest planted next to each other  (2 in 1 hole but planted about 2-3 ft apart).  Both are young--planted in August from 3 gallon pots from Benders Grove. 

LZ is much more upright than CC.  I am trying to prune them to keep them small.  CC seems to take the pruning and put out more lateral branches (maybe like 45 degree angle or flatter.  LZ, on the other hand, responds to pruning by sending vigorous branches straight up in the air.  I have tried a few times to reprune so that it would branch out laterally.  I think I may try tying a rock to the branches to force them horizontally (so a post on here recently where someone did that.  Might work.

Anyway, it is upright and vigorous but I don't get the sense that it is HUGE.

[mikesid]

Of the new Zill varieities I've planted I would say Lemon Zest and Sweet Tart want to grow straight up. Coconut Cream and Pina Colada seem to have similar growth patterns at my house. I actually tied some dive weights to Sweet Tart to try to get a better structure on that one. I'll post some pics on here later. But if youre gonn plant two in one hole I would choose the ones with similar growth patterns.

[Patrick]

Of the new Zill varieities I've planted I would say Lemon Zest and Sweet Tart want to grow straight up. Coconut Cream and Pina Colada seem to have similar growth patterns at my house. I actually tied some dive weights to Sweet Tart to try to get a better structure on that one. I'll post some pics on here later. But if youre gonn plant two in one hole I would choose the ones with similar growth patterns.

Im with you on the PP and CC correlation, they do seem to have the same growth habits.

[Treees]

Does LZ fruit in a container ?

Unfortunately I have no other choice but to keep it in a 20 gal container because of lack of space.

LZ was one of the two that I decapitated to 1.5ft to encourage branching out at a lower point and hopefully keep the size manageable in the container.

[Sleepdoc]

For container growth, I would go for Pickering.

[FloridaGreenMan]

Pickering produced eight delicious full sized fruits in a container last year. LZ in pot produced zero   

[MangoMan2]

Thanks guy's for all the input. I'll move a couple trees around now.

[gunnar429]

Of the new Zill varieities I've planted I would say Lemon Zest and Sweet Tart want to grow straight up. Coconut Cream and Pina Colada seem to have similar growth patterns at my house. I actually tied some dive weights to Sweet Tart to try to get a better structure on that one. I'll post some pics on here later. But if youre gonn plant two in one hole I would choose the ones with similar growth patterns.

I agree.  Lesson learned.  I used to wonder why people would talk about vigor if the trees could be pruned to a manageable height.  Now I understand why vigor/growth pattern matters.  Hopefully the weights will encourage lateral growth.  Experience is the best teacher.

[ClayMango]

Patrick,

Noob Here.... Sure you all know the forum noob by now...I pester Jf, Cookie Monster, and Gary on a regular basis.. You mentioned LZ has an upright growing habbit... Does that mean it mean it will grow large in height verse being widspread... I've been told LZ can be maintained to a certain width with training....Was just wondering how wide do you think this tree will get naturally 15 ft? 20ft? 25ft? etc

[Treees]

Thanks FloridaGreenMan, Sleepdoc.

My Pickering is in ground espaliered to a fence already (unfortunately taking the space that LZ could be taking): http://postimg.cc/image/4me1q568z/

I have run out of space, may need to replant LZ into the front yard if HOA permits.

Sorry MangoMan2 for using your topic for this question.  But wander if Malika and Nam Doc Mai fruit in containers.  I am thinking about buying them and keeping in containers after reading that they are smaller mango trees.

[gunnar429]

Thanks FloridaGreenMan, Sleepdoc.

My Pickering is in ground espaliered to a fence already (unfortunately taking the space that LZ could be taking): http://postimg.cc/image/4me1q568z/

I have run out of space, may need to replant LZ into the front yard if HOA permits.

Sorry MangoMan2 for using your topic for this question.  But wander if Malika and Nam Doc Mai fruit in containers.  I am thinking about buying them and keeping in containers after reading that they are smaller mango trees.

It is my understanding that both will fruit quite well in containers.  I have both (the mallika is in a pot) and plan on keeping them small.

[MangoFang]

Out here in the SoCal desert, my LZ is a very fast upright grower! And yes that means
its habit is to grow upright, vertically, rather than horizontally.  That doesn't mean that
some of the branches won't hang down a bit on the sides of the tree when they get to
a certain size. but it appears to like growing straight up...mine looks a bit top heavy
actually....

Clay - but even so, we don't get the overall yearly growth the Floridians
get, on the average, so  I think you can control it quite easily....that's my
opinion anyway....I should get my first fruits this year...can't wait...

let me find a picture of it....Gary

[HMHausman]

As everyone has alluded to, I would think that Coconut Cream and Lemon Zest would not be compatible, same hole mango trees because of their drastically different growth habits.  I suppose with pruning they could co-exist, but it would be a constant battle to have the Lemon Zest not shade out the Coconut Cream.

[Patrick]

Patrick,

Noob Here.... Sure you all know the forum noob by now...I pester Jf, Cookie Monster, and Gary on a regular basis.. You mentioned LZ has an upright growing habbit... Does that mean it mean it will grow large in height verse being widspread... I've been told LZ can be maintained to a certain width with training....Was just wondering how wide do you think this tree will get naturally 15 ft? 20ft? 25ft? etc

A mango tree can get pretty wide.. Anything can be pruned into control, the problem is when you are constantly pruning how can you expect the tree to fruit? Tipping in early stages to create branching is the most important thing, it doesn't create as much shock to the tree and allows it to still go into fruiting cycles.  If you wait until its out of control and cut heavy limbs, you end up losing a couple years or more of fruiting.  Its better to have less trees and more fruit no?  Unless you are just collecting trees, then plant them five feet apart!

[ClayMango]

I wouldnt say I'm collecting...Just definately want these Florida Zill creations that have the forms buzzing.... Currently have Top Tropicals special ordering Pina Colada from zill. Once they get it i will be purchasing the following.

LZ
Pina Colada
Sweet Tart
Coconut Cream
Carrie   (will attempt to grow in a pot)
Malika ( will attempt to grow in a pot)

I can easily do  8 ft spacing on these trees... However I'd rather not have these trees clumped so close, but space is limited...and i want some  good mangos..So tired of eating these bland  medicine tasting mangos from walmart and Sprouts..

[JF]

Clay

LZ is very aggressive but once you let them fruit they slow down. They are very susceptible to powdery mildew in our climate. We've been having dence fog on and off for the last two weeks and I have lost several flower panicles....I will being spraying them this evening

[Squam256]

This is a row of LZ trees  planted I think near the end of 2011. These trees are no longer being irrigated and receive no nitrogen inputs:



This is the largest one. Its a little under 7 ft tall:




With aggressive tipping I've been able to get the canopies to spread a little more than they other wise would have:




Still too vigorous and upright for me, and more importantly I'm bearish on the production habits based on other observations.

[ClayMango]

I'm not sure i can get away with 5 ft spacing....But i will space LZ and Sweet tart 8 ft apart. Cococnut Cream and Pina colada will have about 12 ft spacing.

JF what color is the Mango on that Pina colada? I'm hoping I'll get a little more eye candy besides Coco Cream...everything elseon my list is a green/yellow mango lol

[ClayMango]

Squam,

NOOB, First time Home owner, Gardner here for a lack of knowledge on some of these terms....

Tipping. are we talking about pruning the outer branches by a few inches throughout the seasons to promote growth or to achieve some other effect?

[Squam256]

Squam,

NOOB, First time Home owner, Gardner here for a lack of knowledge on some of these terms....

Tipping. are we talking about pruning the outer branches by a few inches throughout the seasons to promote growth or to achieve some other effect?

The goal is to achieve growth through the axillary buds rather than the terminals.  Thus you prune out the "tips". Generally this will result in a more spreading vs upward growth habit. With LZ and other similarly vertically-inclined cultivars, the scaffold limbs should be started at a fairly low height, and I tip after each successive growth flush until before the start of the "dormant" season in fall here. With less vigorous cultivars with shorter internodes this isn't as much of a necessity and you can allow multiple flushes before tipping.

Some trees respond to it better than others. Its not uncommon for LZ branches to have only one of the axillary buds swell and flush, creating an "elbow" effect and thus not really getting the intended result. Valencia Pride does this as well, among others.

[JF]

I'm not sure i can get away with 5 ft spacing....But i will space LZ and Sweet tart 8 ft apart. Cococnut Cream and Pina colada will have about 12 ft spacing.

JF what color is the Mango on that Pina colada? I'm hoping I'll get a little more eye candy besides Coco Cream...everything elseon my list is a green/yellow mango lol

Yellow. Do a search on piņa colada Gary had a few in his mango tasting last year. If you want eye candy get spirit of 76 and a wonderful tasting mango

[natsgarden123]

Squam,

NOOB, First time Home owner, Gardner here for a lack of knowledge on some of these terms....

Tipping. are we talking about pruning the outer branches by a few inches throughout the seasons to promote growth or to achieve some other effect?

Check Out Dr Campbell's Mango Tipping Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlhF-YphevA