Sweet Tart Mango Tree Possible Top Work Candidate.

[Brev Grower]

I've had a few trees that did not want to grow. PPK x 2 trees, and 1 grafted sweet tart. No other ppk trees but I have other grafted sweet tarts that grow fine.

In your picture I see a few barren spots in the yard/field. In my yard I have moles and I suspect they formed cavities under some of my smaller trees stunting their growth. Just a guess for your tree also. You might want to try stomping down the dirt around the trunk just in case air pockets are drying the roots too much.
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I'll try anything to help it grow. I do see moles in my yard but I have several 
other mangos in the same proximity and they grow fine?
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As Cookie alluded to earlier, I bet your sweet tart is being influenced by the rootstock. I have an Edward mango tree that does the same thing. Been in ground for about 6 years, is only about 6 feet tall. I try to feed it and get it to grow but it refuses. Each year it tries to set a ton of mangoes and I end up with 10-15. I was about to get rid of it because I wanted a large tree in that spot, but then I thought "who else has a dwarf producing Edward mango tree?". If nothing else it's a good conversation piece. Every so often, there will be rootstock variance in the turpentine seedlings. Even Chris at Truly Tropical has a tiny Keitt that won't grow and produces a couple mangoes each year. They should be easy to move if you ever needed to...

E.

[Brev Grower]

Hey Edzone, Sweet tart is such a fantastic mango I would give it some time or at least leave a limb of it in case you get some cold weather one of these years. Very good producer when it flowers. Granted, I'm in central Brevard county, but my sweet tart gave about 60 delicious mangoes last year and looks like more than that this year if things work out (praying). 5 years in ground at about 15 feet tall. Sweet tart was the best mango I ate last year and looking very forward to more . Maybe graft the Ceci love to the other branches if the taste is similar. Why would you graft M4 to it if you already have a tree?

E.

[edzone9]

True! But my M4 is a heavy producer and I love coconut tasting mangoes! .
Got to try Ceci L .

Thanks Ed

Ps will keep 1/2 the tree ST , 5he Rest grafted ..

[Orkine]

I grafted Zands Sweet tart scions unto a couple of seedlings trees - I grafted other varieties on them also.  That was 3 or so years ago and this year I am having to thin to prevent branches from breaking on all of them.  They have been that loaded.  It did not hold fruit the last two years, gre nicely though.

I suggest if you must top work, do it in thirds, a third of the canopy each year.  You may be very glad you did if it takes off next year.

[edzone9]

That’s the plan, will keep 1/2 the tree ST ..

Ed

[zands]

I grafted Zands Sweet tart scions unto a couple of seedlings trees - I grafted other varieties on them also.  That was 3 or so years ago and this year I am having to thin to prevent branches from breaking on all of them.  They have been that loaded.  It did not hold fruit the last two years, gre nicely though.

I suggest if you must top work, do it in thirds, a third of the canopy each year.  You may be very glad you did if it takes off next year.

Those ST fruit are so good you can sell. Or at least amaze people. My ST is less loaded. You might somehow have an optimum environment for them. And your seedling trees are lifting lots of mango juices into your grafted scions. Thanks for grafting M4 and Orange Sherbet onto X at my place late last summer!

[weiss613]

I live in Miami and I believe that all the comments about ST are going off on a tangent. Why? Because this is the worst year I have every seen in general for mango production. For a few months I’ve been painfully thinking what did I do wrong because I have so few mangoes for so many trees. Did I over water or over fertilize or what? For 250+ mango trees I counted about 300 fruit total. My 10+ year old consistent producers have zero fruit. That includes 2 Haden 4 Keitt 1 Van Dyke 2 Hatcher 2 Glenn. So yesterday I had to go to Home Depot and rode my bike slowly the 3 miles through a residential area looking at all the big mango trees along the way and I would say that for every 10 mango trees I saw maybe 2 with fruit. This is just a sucko  year for mangoes so don’t make any hasty decisions. My 30+ avocado trees do appear to have a somewhat normal crop developing. My 3 Sweerheart lychee trees for the first time ever have zero fruit too.

[mikesid]

       My Sweet Tart is the only reliable producer besides Honey Kiss. My tree is 8 years old and dumps fruit every year. It took several years to get going. Im in Zone 10b Palm Beach County, about 1 mile from the beach.

[mikesid]

I live in Miami and I believe that all the comments about ST are going off on a tangent. Why? Because this is the worst year I have every seen in general for mango production. For a few months I’ve been painfully thinking what did I do wrong because I have so few mangoes for so many trees. Did I over water or over fertilize or what? For 250+ mango trees I counted about 300 fruit total. My 10+ year old consistent producers have zero fruit. That includes 2 Haden 4 Keitt 1 Van Dyke 2 Hatcher 2 Glenn. So yesterday I had to go to Home Depot and rode my bike slowly the 3 miles through a residential area looking at all the big mango trees along the way and I would say that for every 10 mango trees I saw maybe 2 with fruit. This is just a sucko  year for mangoes so don’t make any hasty decisions. My 30+ avocado trees do appear to have a somewhat normal crop developing. My 3 Sweerheart lychee trees for the first time ever have zero fruit too.

   I have 8 mango trees in the ground for 8 years+ and it was a very crap year for me too. Besides my Sweet Tart and Honey Kiss holding fruit, I got nothing on Pina Colada, a few on Baileys Marvel, nothing on Coco Cream (which hasnt produced one edible mabgo yet), one on Peach Cobbler, nothing on Fruit Punch, and nothing on my Lemon Zest multi grafted tree. My plan is to at least take the Coco Cream down to a stump and switch over to Sugar Loaf.

[edzone9]

I recently planted a 7Gal Sugarloaf 👍
Ed

[Tommyng]

  A friend let me try a few sweet tarts from his loaded tree last year and it was spectacular. The tree was only about 8ft tall and as much wide but had at least 100 fruit on it. It would be a shame top work such a nice tree. I would buy you a tree just to save it.

[edzone9]

Only top working 1 or 2 branches , the rest will remain Sweet Tart 👍

[Fish Have Feelings]

Am very surprised with the THIS YEAR SUCKS FOR MANGOS COMMENTS.
I think this will be the longest mango season we have had in a long time here in Florida. Many trees with ripe fruit by mid April and many trees with small just formed fruits. I think many people with a few back yard trees will be eating mangos from April to September. This will be a LONG season and appear extra long when we think about last years truncated late starting early finishing season.

That said my SWEET TARTS in south Miami are just getting a little yellow now and still are not ready. This is my trees first year fruiting. It was a 4 foot tall 7gallon tree 3 years ago and is now about 12 feet tall and holding about 25 fruits.