Is anyone growing this? Is this a candidate for container Growers? I have an acquaintance down in South Florida who likes this variety and has recommended that I graft into my collection. What are the growth characteristics of the tree and is the flavor somewhat unique? 
I got Himsagar Lahore in a 3 gallon pot from ZHPP 6 years ago hoping that I would experience a supreme cultivar in south Florida. I let it grow for one year and then transplanted into a 5 gallon pot. It stayed there for a year and during the next mango season, I thinned fruits and left 3 mangos on the tree. It was mid July I harvested them. They were oblong and turned yellow on the stem end. when I saw the fruit shape, I started doubting that it is not the real deal.
I thought in the beginning that it’s taste might disappoint me like other subcontinent varieties but still I would be content with a little inferior quality of Himsagar, due to SoFla condition. It disappointed me further. It is not the fruit I anticipated for long. It is a different cultivar probably, collected by many from USDA germ plasm.
I thought how in the world fruit morphology can change that fast! I do understand that morphological variations of fruits such as shape and size, and color are a result of adaptive evolution.
Anyway, with a broken heart I let it ripe in my garage for 7 days. I was so eagerly waiting for this day to cut open and taste test my first Himsagar. It disappointed for a short while. After brought it from my garage, I saw that It turned completely yellow, cut open tried a slice of yellow flesh which was very sweet, juicy, little creamy and with high TSS% coupled with an acid component to balance it out. I immediately, thought that it was a mislabeled Indochinese variant. Very smooth texture with a complex almost “Sweet Tart” mango flavor. I ate all 3 mangos and tried to comprehend the multifaceted inherent flavor.
I transplant the tree again to a 25 gal container and watched it carefully. Growth habit is medium, it formed a dense canopy after a routine pruning. Very productive variety. Fruit size is small to medium in containers. It can continue to grow in the same 25 gal container at least for another 2-3 years.
Now, I’ve the real Himsagar variety in my collection. It is an excellent variety from West Bengal, India where it is originated. Lot of mango enthusiasts and mango connoisseurs in that region compare this cultivar with Alphonso. And on a humble note, they say it is better than the king of mangos(Alphonso). It is also a leading variety in Bangladesh where they have 2 other variants, taste of which are same but differ in size like kesar and jumbo kesar. They often confuse Khirsapat mango with Himsagar. The actual color remains green to greenish yellow when it ripens. There is no fiber. Flesh turns deep yellow to orange. TSS% around 23 the ones I taste tested there. Flavor is in the Indian Alphonso group with light hint of mixed fruits.
My original Himsagar bloomed 2019 for the first time. Didn’t let the fruit grow then. Hopefully, It will bloom after the ongoing second cold spell in SoFla. Anticipating on the overall growth of this outstanding mango.
Topic: Himsagar Lehore. Any fans of this variety (Read 1725 times)