mango grafting / topworking ??????????????

[buddy roo]

Hi All, i have a 20 yr. old mango tree that has never been pruned , it is almost done fruiting for the year. I would like to add a few more varieties to it to extend my season different flavors would also be nice,my question is should i do some severe pruning now to get new growth and prune on that or what.??             Patrick

[simon_grow]

Here is a good video on top working a mango tree:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LyDpXouUAiU

How is the fruit from your tree? Can you give as much of a description as possible? The California Rare Fruit Growers association and others out there like myself are trying to preserve good unnamed mango, mostly seedling grown fruit trees. Is the fruit fiberless, sweet, any unique flavors?

If your tree is huge and it is difficult to pick your fruit, you may want to bring the height of the tree down. When adding varieties to an established tree, I like to personally bring down the height and either do a bark graft or wait until there is new growth and work the new growth.

The newly worked portions of the tree will only be a very minor fraction of the established tree unless a lot of the original variety is removed so you must make sure to clear room and divert energy to the new grafts.

Simon

[simon_grow]

I forgot to mention that we are out of the ideal time period for grafting mangos because cold weather will be here soon and sometimes grafts put on too late will have a delayed push next year. It is still very possible but it's just out of the prime period.

Simon

[Future]

I forgot to mention that we are out of the ideal time period for grafting mangos because cold weather will be here soon and sometimes grafts put on too late will have a delayed push next year. It is still very possible but it's just out of the prime period.

Simon

Apologies for hijacking the thread: Simon did you get the PM I sent sme time ago now?

[simon_grow]

Hey Future, no I didn't. I've had several members asking me the same thing. There are messages that I am not receiving. Can you send again?

Simon

[buddy roo]

Simon, thanks for the input and the link is what i got from the video is it is time to do some super major pruning to mu tree.                            Patrick

[pineislander]

I am pruning 50 mango trees in an orchard I did not establish. The trees were not pruned or maintained prior to my purchase of the property so they had grown together and fought for light. One in particular I have a question about is a Haden which was growing next to a very tall Valencia Pride. Of course, they both were getting very tall. I am not particularly excited by the variety and when pruning time came I noticed that most of the lower branches are weak, have rotten parts or are growing out of natural position. The remainder of the tree has a long central leader with the bulk of the tree high & appears very top-heavy.

This seems like a good candidate for top working to a more compact variety. I have a fairly good selection of varieties and will be deciding on one or something new, but would like to get an opinion on exactly how to proceed with pruning cuts to develop new shoots  to graft onto. Here is a picture of the tree:


My choices would seem to be:
A. remove all branches and cut the leader about 1 foot above the junctions of the old branches.
or
B. remove all branches and cut below where the central leader branches off, about 2 feet above ground.

Which would you choose and why, and would you make the cut horizontal or at 45 degrees?

[pineislander]

Truly Tropicals just posted a video extending their discussion on top working, with very informative tips. In it I do see that their pre-top working pruning cuts vary in angle with some being just off horizontal and some on various angles.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjYRH-O5bYQ

In one of their previous videos featuring Walter Zill I do see that the cuts can be even closer to vertical, and they waited a season or more for the sprouts to extend upwards quite a way so that the grafts would be placed high enough so that fruit would not hang too low. I suppose that also makes the grafting area close to eye level for easy access.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fp_QOOLRTcI

I'm tending towards Carrie for the graft. I like the fruit, only have one tree of it, it is a compact grower. My wife enjoys it and a happy wife means a happy life as well!

I'd still love to  see anyone else's input on my question about where to cut and why....

[behlgarden]

Hey Future, no I didn't. I've had several members asking me the same thing. There are messages that I am not receiving. Can you send again?

Simon

some of my and JF's recent grafts from 2-weeks ago have hit the wall, green, semi pushed but stalled out. these are the dangers of grafting in Sep and onwards in So Cal, temps jump all over and night temps dip below 60 frequently.

[Guanabanus]

It probably is not a problem to topwork-graft mangos when night temperatures will be in the 50's, if your grafts are up in the sun--- not likely to sunburn or bake in the Winter.  (This procedure is quite different from grafting onto small juvenile mangos in pots, which don't do so well in late Fall or Winter.)

[Brev Grower]

Hey Pineislander,
If it were my tree, I would cut at a 45 degree angle above the branch going to the left in the picture. Above 3rd branch I believe. I would then wait till next growing season and graft to the new sprouts. You want to leave some of the tree to keep it active. I would not cut below all your branches and try to graft. I think too much can go wrong and why risk it? The other thing I might consider is leaving maybe 6 inches on a branch growing in a good direction, wait for new sprouts and graft to them. The main take away is cut a branch for top working and leave the other branches for the health of the tree. Once a new branch is growing, cut and graft another. Just my opinion:)

[pineislander]

I cut just above the first branch which kept the tree active. The photo wasn't good enough to tell but all lower branches on that tree were poorly formed and had weak/damaged crotches due to the apical dominance of the main leader, which in turn was due to too many vigorous varieties too close together. With heavy pruning the canopy is now open  through the grove. The new growth has started very strong on the stump and will be grafted next spring, probably to Carrie.

[Brev Grower]

Carrie is a good choice! One of my favorite mangos. Hopefully, the anthracnose that some talk about with Carrie, is not affecting their output... Let us know how the topworking goes