2020 Mango Season (Florida)

[MangoCountry]

Rosigold second bloom, Sugarloaf blooms emerging, Carrie second bloom, first was minor, Peach Cobbler and Sweet Tart close

[Cookie Monster]

Looking forward to seeing this, Alex.

We did “ok” on the first bloom all things considered. Edward trees had a full bloom, along with most “bloom sensitive stuff”, with plenty of trees with partial/incomplete blooms and too many with zero, to be expected with such weak winters. Spotty is a good description for most of south Florida. Larger, older trees saw majority blooms but most younger mangos saw incomplete blooms or no blooms at all depending on variety and tree condition.

The rain in December was so heavy and frequent that we were unable to protect the earliest opening blooms from fungal damage and so the early crops on Rosigold and Jean Ellen will be reduced compared to last year.

Male flower ratio is a huge problem with a number of varieties and will be a major reason why the early crop will be a bust for many in south Florida. The flowers that opened first on Edwards, Carrie, Julie, Dwarf Hawaiian and some others were almost exclusively male. Flowers that opened a week or so later had better female flower ratio and consequently set well. I’ll try to remember to take some pics later.

MBBS incidence is indeed likely to be increased over 2019. That it is showing up on small fruit already is a strong indicator, as these lesions will stay on the fruit, expand and spread rapidly to other fruit once rainy season begins again. The amount of spraying and sanitation removal to attempt to limit it exceeds what most backyard growers are willing to commit.

If the season was going to be based solely on what is on the trees now, then we would be looking at the worst south Florida mango crop in at least a decade. Fortunately, we are very likely to see a secondary bloom occur in the later part of this month. Already we are seeing some new bloom activity on Carries, Dots, Okrung, Rosas and others stemming from minor cool weather in the first half of January. We have had 15C and below nights on 11 of the last 16 days, which is what will trigger the larger bloom we’ll be seeing in a few weeks. The question will be how extensive it’s going to actually be given all the late vegetative flushes that occurred at the end of 2019 because of the ridiculously hot October we had. With the lows climbing up into the upper 60s/low 70sF the next few weeks, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a good amount of mixed panicles, morphing to vegetative growth in stuff that Takes too long to initiate following the relative cool of the end of January. Will also be interested to see how much “re-bloom” we see , vs new bloom on stems that did not flower in January.

A great crop is pretty much out of the question. But we could still have an “acceptable” crop (or at least what has become acceptable over the last 10 years in south Florida).

Any Pics Yet.............
"Male flower ratio is a huge problem with a number of varieties......... vs. female flower ratio.......................... I’ll try to remember to take some pics later. "

No, but we shot some video where I talk about it comparing varieties . Needs to get edited and uploaded.

[johnb51]

Second bloom on all three mango trees: Pickering, Angie, and Providence.  This neighborhood, just west of Intracoastal Waterway, has been the perfect location for growing mangos.  Never any issues.  Always healthy trees.

[mangomongo]

Peach cobbler starting to bloom, the first bloom only has two pea size mangoes on it.

[BR]

Second blooms on my two big trees: Haden and Glenn. The Glenn set a ton of fruit on the first bloom and has a ton of new blooms now. My ~10 Zill's varieties all bloomed and set fruit but I'm not letting them carry fruit this year.

[Jani]

Looks like next Thursday to Sunday we may get 4 pretty chilly nights esp for late feb/early March ...upper 40s. What are the chances of 3rd bloom a few weeks after the cool stretch?

I'm also on second bloom for my trees like many here, and for one well established NDM tree in particular, I hoping for a 3rd as the first two blooms only covered about a 3rd of the tree.

[Squam256]

Looks like next Thursday to Sunday we may get 4 pretty chilly nights esp for late feb/early March ...upper 40s. What are the chances of 3rd bloom a few weeks after the cool stretch?

I'm also on second bloom for my trees like many here, and for one well established NDM tree in particular, I hoping for a 3rd as the first two blooms only covered about a 3rd of the tree.

Decent possibility there will be some bloom response on stems that weren’t aged enough for the first two waves. The more nights under 60F, the more greater the response.

We’re seeing plenty of what you’re describing as well: partial blooms rather than full on some varieties. We’re even seeing vegetative growth on a number of things that took too long to initiate.

[Weboh]

My Pickering mango tree had a ton of flowers and now has about 30 fruits starting to set, with the rest of flowers drying up and falling off. It's only about 5 feet tall and in a pot. How many mangoes can the tree support at that size?

Should I trim off some mangoes, or will the tree just abort the ones it can't support anyway? The new branches that the mangoes are on don't look like they'd be able to support more than one mango apiece, but I guess since mangoes only grow on new growth anyway, the branches will just get thicker as the mangoes get bigger.

What do you guys think?

[Orkine]

I have a couple of trees that tried a second bloom, many have very confused flowers.  Half vegetative flush and half flower panicle.  Or should I say panicles with some leafs.  Are those goners?

[Das Bhut]

my sugar loaf has half blooms on it's windy side, honey kiss/orange essence no blooms. My oro negro is starting to bloom too but I'm not sure if it's because of  the cold or not

[FloridaBoy]

Found an older gentleman whos from guyana with 3 Blackie seedling trees.  Hes had fruits ripe on the tree since the first week of february.  He said it always does that and it bears twice.  The sap smells similar to Madame Francique but more towards the Carabao.  Ive had the mango of one of the other trees last year when I first met him.  Very hair mango but juicy so its easy to just suck all the flesh without getting fiber stuck in your teeth.  Super sweet with equal parts spice.

Im holding this mango like its a newborn puppy.

[palmcity]

Found an older gentleman whos from guyana with 3 Blackie seedling trees.  Hes had fruits ripe on the tree since the first week of february.  He said it always does that and it bears twice.  The sap smells similar to Madame Francique but more towards the Carabao.  Ive had the mango of one of the other trees last year when I first met him.  Very hair mango but juicy so its easy to just suck all the flesh without getting fiber stuck in your teeth.  Super sweet with equal parts spice.

I see you have your location South Florida... So what city, county, or country if not in the U.S. is the tree located?

I like some turpentine mangos and if the same type of taste, I would be happy to plant those seeds.

I see Truly Tropical also grows a turpentine mango tree for those desiring the taste. If a nice taste & if this mango bears earlier & twice a year, I assume others like myself would want to grow it. Any more information on other "Blackie"  trees being sold at nurseries etc.?

[FloridaBoy]

He doesnt have a grafted Blackie tree.  Theyre 3 seedlings of the Blackie Mango he brought back home years ago.  South Broward county, FL.  Let me say he literally has a jungle in his backyard.  It definitely handles fungus well.  Im still in awe to have a mango in February lol.

[skhan]

Found an older gentleman whos from guyana with 3 Blackie seedling trees.  Hes had fruits ripe on the tree since the first week of february.  He said it always does that and it bears twice.  The sap smells similar to Madame Francique but more towards the Carabao.  Ive had the mango of one of the other trees last year when I first met him.  Very hair mango but juicy so its easy to just suck all the flesh without getting fiber stuck in your teeth.  Super sweet with equal parts spice.

Im holding this mango like its a newborn puppy.

Are you sure this is Blackie?
Look just like Black Spice/Buxton Spice mango (the main mango from Guyana).
Also, the flavor is the same as you described.

I know multiple people in Florida that claim they get two crops from their Black Spice tree.
One of them is in St Pete.

Anyways it's great to have a mango at this time of year, enjoy

[FloridaBoy]

Whats up Sayyad,  the pickering is doing great at the garden by the way. Hope all is well brother.

I have that community garden in Miramar I told you about and Miramar is an extremely caribbean community so they keep us honest lol.
Guyana Trinidad and Jamaica all have an influx of ancestory from India so a lot of their resources and lingo get mixed up. 
I wouldnt doubt the confusion but its one of my projects for this year is to clear that up. 

Buxton Spice is Black Spice and Black Spice is whats its called by the people.  But there is a much sweeter mango called the Blackie. I have Black Spice and the sap smells bland compared to what this Blackie seedling trees smell like. Theres 3.

The multiple bearing thing is actually something a lot of caribbean varieties do.  Remember in the caribbean they actually like the black spots and sap running.  They selected seedlings for yield and flavor back then.  Aesthetics is a lie to many folks from the caribbean 😏

All in all 2 trees bearing ripe fruit in February is nuts. 
But yea definitely not Black Spice.  Now I have another guy with the hairy mango which is what I believe many Jamaicans call Blackie because they actually look the same other than the fact that the Hairy Mango is smaller.

[skhan]

Whats up Sayyad,  the pickering is doing great at the garden by the way. Hope all is well brother.

I have that community garden in Miramar I told you about and Miramar is an extremely caribbean community so they keep us honest lol.
Guyana Trinidad and Jamaica all have an influx of ancestory from India so a lot of their resources and lingo get mixed up. 
I wouldnt doubt the confusion but its one of my projects for this year is to clear that up. 

Buxton Spice is Black Spice and Black Spice is whats its called by the people.  But there is a much sweeter mango called the Blackie. I have Black Spice and the sap smells bland compared to what this Blackie seedling trees smell like. Theres 3.

The multiple bearing thing is actually something a lot of caribbean varieties do.  Remember in the caribbean they actually like the black spots and sap running.  They selected seedlings for yield and flavor back then.  Aesthetics is a lie to many folks from the caribbean 😏

All in all 2 trees bearing ripe fruit in February is nuts. 
But yea definitely not Black Spice.  Now I have another guy with the hairy mango which is what I believe many Jamaicans call Blackie because they actually look the same other than the fact that the Hairy Mango is smaller.

Glad to hear your project is going well.
Everything is doing well here. Just hoping for a good crop.

Reason I mentioned black spice is that my parents are Guyanese and have a few trees.
Also I know a bunch of other people with black spice trees in my locality.
I've tasted many of these fruits from many trees and they all have cac/zinc sap smell, small green fruit and black spots.
All these trees were grown from seed directly from Guyana.

Surprisingly, after the establishment not much resources were shared.
For instance Julie is not really common in Guyana but it is in both Trinidad and Jamaica.

With that being said, if your guy calls in blackie, that's cool.
He grew the tree so he can call it whatever he wants in my book.

I wouldn't be surprised if different subcultures in Guyana call things different names though.
Everything I'm saying is based on my Guyanese/Indian heritage.

Sorry for the long post.

[Jani]

Whats up Sayyad,  the pickering is doing great at the garden by the way. Hope all is well brother.

I have that community garden in Miramar I told you about and Miramar is an extremely caribbean community so they keep us honest lol.
Guyana Trinidad and Jamaica all have an influx of ancestory from India so a lot of their resources and lingo get mixed up. 
I wouldnt doubt the confusion but its one of my projects for this year is to clear that up. 

Buxton Spice is Black Spice and Black Spice is whats its called by the people.  But there is a much sweeter mango called the Blackie. I have Black Spice and the sap smells bland compared to what this Blackie seedling trees smell like. Theres 3.

The multiple bearing thing is actually something a lot of caribbean varieties do.  Remember in the caribbean they actually like the black spots and sap running.  They selected seedlings for yield and flavor back then.  Aesthetics is a lie to many folks from the caribbean 😏

All in all 2 trees bearing ripe fruit in February is nuts. 
But yea definitely not Black Spice.  Now I have another guy with the hairy mango which is what I believe many Jamaicans call Blackie because they actually look the same other than the fact that the Hairy Mango is smaller.

So to be clear blackie in Guyana is not the blackie I know from Jamaica?

Sidenote- Miramar resident here,  very cool about the community garden I heard about it a few years back but thought it was only about veggies...is that the same City run community garden?

[FloridaBoy]

Whats up Sayyad,  the pickering is doing great at the garden by the way. Hope all is well brother.

I have that community garden in Miramar I told you about and Miramar is an extremely caribbean community so they keep us honest lol.
Guyana Trinidad and Jamaica all have an influx of ancestory from India so a lot of their resources and lingo get mixed up. 
I wouldnt doubt the confusion but its one of my projects for this year is to clear that up. 

Buxton Spice is Black Spice and Black Spice is whats its called by the people.  But there is a much sweeter mango called the Blackie. I have Black Spice and the sap smells bland compared to what this Blackie seedling trees smell like. Theres 3.

The multiple bearing thing is actually something a lot of caribbean varieties do.  Remember in the caribbean they actually like the black spots and sap running.  They selected seedlings for yield and flavor back then.  Aesthetics is a lie to many folks from the caribbean 😏

All in all 2 trees bearing ripe fruit in February is nuts. 
But yea definitely not Black Spice.  Now I have another guy with the hairy mango which is what I believe many Jamaicans call Blackie because they actually look the same other than the fact that the Hairy Mango is smaller.

So to be clear blackie in Guyana is not the blackie I know from Jamaica?

Sidenote- Miramar resident here,  very cool about the community garden I heard about it a few years back but thought it was only about veggies...is that the same City run community garden?

Im working on figuring this all out lol.  The number 11 is in the mix too.  No its not run by the city.  Its a private garden a buddy of mine Hans started and he asked me to join him and since then we've loaded the place up. 

We'll be hosting mango tastings and providing space for a small farmers market/festival soon.  The goal is community and to raise awareness of the land and bring the city back to the roots.  Its tough because its in a rough pocket of Miramar so balancing all the stuff that comes with that and trying to focus on growing for the community is complicated.  I've had to scare off bad people and sometimes it becomes a headache but what can you do...

I dont care though because trees have always been bigger than people.  Ive met some really good people here like this Guyanese senior citizen and the community needs help.  Hans took it to heart and Ive made it my passion to watch over it.  Its not easy but the Honeymation Mango seed will be pulled from this ground one day.  Honeymations Miramar Community Garden.









First Honeymation Tree: Super Julie/Orange Sherbet/Wester(EdwardxEarle Carabao)

Neelam & Francique are the only trees fruiting on site this 1st season.
Soon when I get things organized I'll be inviting everyone from here. 

[FloridaBoy]

Whats up Sayyad,  the pickering is doing great at the garden by the way. Hope all is well brother.

I have that community garden in Miramar I told you about and Miramar is an extremely caribbean community so they keep us honest lol.
Guyana Trinidad and Jamaica all have an influx of ancestory from India so a lot of their resources and lingo get mixed up. 
I wouldnt doubt the confusion but its one of my projects for this year is to clear that up. 

Buxton Spice is Black Spice and Black Spice is whats its called by the people.  But there is a much sweeter mango called the Blackie. I have Black Spice and the sap smells bland compared to what this Blackie seedling trees smell like. Theres 3.

The multiple bearing thing is actually something a lot of caribbean varieties do.  Remember in the caribbean they actually like the black spots and sap running.  They selected seedlings for yield and flavor back then.  Aesthetics is a lie to many folks from the caribbean 😏

All in all 2 trees bearing ripe fruit in February is nuts. 
But yea definitely not Black Spice.  Now I have another guy with the hairy mango which is what I believe many Jamaicans call Blackie because they actually look the same other than the fact that the Hairy Mango is smaller.

Glad to hear your project is going well.
Everything is doing well here. Just hoping for a good crop.

Reason I mentioned black spice is that my parents are Guyanese and have a few trees.
Also I know a bunch of other people with black spice trees in my locality.
I've tasted many of these fruits from many trees and they all have cac/zinc sap smell, small green fruit and black spots.
All these trees were grown from seed directly from Guyana.

Surprisingly, after the establishment not much resources were shared.
For instance Julie is not really common in Guyana but it is in both Trinidad and Jamaica.

With that being said, if your guy calls in blackie, that's cool.
He grew the tree so he can call it whatever he wants in my book.

I wouldn't be surprised if different subcultures in Guyana call things different names though.
Everything I'm saying is based on my Guyanese/Indian heritage.

Sorry for the long post.

Heres a picture from google.  Look at the consistent white markings in the green.  I really feel theyre all just different seedlings of the same things.  Like all the Haden crosses for example. 




Hit it on the money with the Cac smelling sap.  Youre probably right and maybe its the same thing you know...Black Spice and maybe the Rasta came back and said Blackie 😏.  I love this stuff because it shows people how connected our ancestors were.  Still pretty crazy to eat mango in February that actually has flavor 😂  God bless you brother

[Jani]

Whats up Sayyad,  the pickering is doing great at the garden by the way. Hope all is well brother.

I have that community garden in Miramar I told you about and Miramar is an extremely caribbean community so they keep us honest lol.
Guyana Trinidad and Jamaica all have an influx of ancestory from India so a lot of their resources and lingo get mixed up. 
I wouldnt doubt the confusion but its one of my projects for this year is to clear that up. 

Buxton Spice is Black Spice and Black Spice is whats its called by the people.  But there is a much sweeter mango called the Blackie. I have Black Spice and the sap smells bland compared to what this Blackie seedling trees smell like. Theres 3.

The multiple bearing thing is actually something a lot of caribbean varieties do.  Remember in the caribbean they actually like the black spots and sap running.  They selected seedlings for yield and flavor back then.  Aesthetics is a lie to many folks from the caribbean 😏

All in all 2 trees bearing ripe fruit in February is nuts. 
But yea definitely not Black Spice.  Now I have another guy with the hairy mango which is what I believe many Jamaicans call Blackie because they actually look the same other than the fact that the Hairy Mango is smaller.

So to be clear blackie in Guyana is not the blackie I know from Jamaica?

Sidenote- Miramar resident here,  very cool about the community garden I heard about it a few years back but thought it was only about veggies...is that the same City run community garden?

Im working on figuring this all out lol.  The number 11 is in the mix too.  No its not run by the city.  Its a private garden a buddy of mine Hans started and he asked me to join him and since then we've loaded the place up. 

We'll be hosting mango tastings and providing space for a small farmers market/festival soon.  The goal is community and to raise awareness of the land and bring the city back to the roots.  Its tough because its in a rough pocket of Miramar so balancing all the stuff that comes with that and trying to focus on growing for the community is complicated.  I've had to scare off bad people and sometimes it becomes a headache but what can you do...

I dont care though because trees have always been bigger than people.  Ive met some really good people here like this Guyanese senior citizen and the community needs help.  Hans took it to heart and Ive made it my passion to watch over it.  Its not easy but the Honeymation Mango seed will be pulled from this ground one day.  Honeymations Miramar Community Garden.









First Honeymation Tree: Super Julie/Orange Sherbet/Wester(EdwardxEarle Carabao)

Neelam & Francique are the only trees fruiting on site this 1st season.
Soon when I get things organized I'll be inviting everyone from here. 

Good stuff I had a similar idea here a few years back about an project to introduce the Caribbean varieties to south FL for many of the same reasons, for the diaspora esp the second and third generations to know some of the fruit from their heritage. Keep it up!

[FloridaBoy]

Whats up Sayyad,  the pickering is doing great at the garden by the way. Hope all is well brother.

I have that community garden in Miramar I told you about and Miramar is an extremely caribbean community so they keep us honest lol.
Guyana Trinidad and Jamaica all have an influx of ancestory from India so a lot of their resources and lingo get mixed up. 
I wouldnt doubt the confusion but its one of my projects for this year is to clear that up. 

Buxton Spice is Black Spice and Black Spice is whats its called by the people.  But there is a much sweeter mango called the Blackie. I have Black Spice and the sap smells bland compared to what this Blackie seedling trees smell like. Theres 3.

The multiple bearing thing is actually something a lot of caribbean varieties do.  Remember in the caribbean they actually like the black spots and sap running.  They selected seedlings for yield and flavor back then.  Aesthetics is a lie to many folks from the caribbean 😏

All in all 2 trees bearing ripe fruit in February is nuts. 
But yea definitely not Black Spice.  Now I have another guy with the hairy mango which is what I believe many Jamaicans call Blackie because they actually look the same other than the fact that the Hairy Mango is smaller.

So to be clear blackie in Guyana is not the blackie I know from Jamaica?

Sidenote- Miramar resident here,  very cool about the community garden I heard about it a few years back but thought it was only about veggies...is that the same City run community garden?

Im working on figuring this all out lol.  The number 11 is in the mix too.  No its not run by the city.  Its a private garden a buddy of mine Hans started and he asked me to join him and since then we've loaded the place up. 

We'll be hosting mango tastings and providing space for a small farmers market/festival soon.  The goal is community and to raise awareness of the land and bring the city back to the roots.  Its tough because its in a rough pocket of Miramar so balancing all the stuff that comes with that and trying to focus on growing for the community is complicated.  I've had to scare off bad people and sometimes it becomes a headache but what can you do...

I dont care though because trees have always been bigger than people.  Ive met some really good people here like this Guyanese senior citizen and the community needs help.  Hans took it to heart and Ive made it my passion to watch over it.  Its not easy but the Honeymation Mango seed will be pulled from this ground one day.  Honeymations Miramar Community Garden.









First Honeymation Tree: Super Julie/Orange Sherbet/Wester(EdwardxEarle Carabao)

Neelam & Francique are the only trees fruiting on site this 1st season.
Soon when I get things organized I'll be inviting everyone from here. 

Good stuff I had a similar idea here a few years back about an project to introduce the Caribbean varieties to south FL for many of the same reasons, for the diaspora esp the second and third generations to know some of the fruit from their heritage. Keep it up!

Exactly my brother.  Israel is all of us. 

[murahilin]

Good stuff I had a similar idea here a few years back about an project to introduce the Caribbean varieties to south FL for many of the same reasons, for the diaspora esp the second and third generations to know some of the fruit from their heritage. Keep it up!

Most of the varieties from the Caribbean suck. I hope my children and grandchildren aren't stuck eating that garbage but can instead feast on some of the much better tasting varieties that can be found in South Florida.

[Jani]

Good stuff I had a similar idea here a few years back about an project to introduce the Caribbean varieties to south FL for many of the same reasons, for the diaspora esp the second and third generations to know some of the fruit from their heritage. Keep it up!

Most of the varieties from the Caribbean suck. I hope my children and grandchildren aren't stuck eating that garbage but can instead feast on some of the much better tasting varieties that can be found in South Florida.

ok

[edzone9]

Looks like next Thursday to Sunday we may get 4 pretty chilly nights esp for late feb/early March ...upper 40s. What are the chances of 3rd bloom a few weeks after the cool stretch?

I'm also on second bloom for my trees like many here, and for one well established NDM tree in particular, I hoping for a 3rd as the first two blooms only covered about a 3rd of the tree.

Decent possibility there will be some bloom response on stems that weren’t aged enough for the first two waves. The more nights under 60F, the more greater the response.

We’re seeing plenty of what you’re describing as well: partial blooms rather than full on some varieties. We’re even seeing vegetative growth on a number of things that took too long to initiate.

Alex what is the reason for partial blooms ? My Maha is doing that .
Thanks Ed

[Squam256]

Looks like next Thursday to Sunday we may get 4 pretty chilly nights esp for late feb/early March ...upper 40s. What are the chances of 3rd bloom a few weeks after the cool stretch?

I'm also on second bloom for my trees like many here, and for one well established NDM tree in particular, I hoping for a 3rd as the first two blooms only covered about a 3rd of the tree.

Decent possibility there will be some bloom response on stems that weren’t aged enough for the first two waves. The more nights under 60F, the more greater the response.

We’re seeing plenty of what you’re describing as well: partial blooms rather than full on some varieties. We’re even seeing vegetative growth on a number of things that took too long to initiate.

Alex what is the reason for partial blooms ? My Maha is doing that .
Thanks Ed

Inadequate cold stimulus from our failing winters.