Weiss, I hope those experienced forum members and others chime in with some opinions if they have time.
A practical top 10 mango list to maximize taste,productivity,variety of flavor profiles,ease of care including disease resistance and pruning needs, and to maximize length of mango season with 10 or less trees. (and choices for a top 2 or 3 or 5 sub-list from the list for people with less space.
Part of the problem is that many trees that are able to produce outstanding fruit may not do so consistently for the average homeowner due to a number of issues including disease. Another is that people with room for 3 or 4 trees plant varieties that all ripen at the same time instead of picking the right set of trees that will extend their season to as long as 4-6 months instead of 4-6 weeks or less. If your top 3 favorites ripen at the same time, make a cocktail tree of those varieties with help from the forum and plant 2 other varieties to extend your season.
Believe me, I understand the excitement of tasting an amazing mango of a new variety and wanting to grow it.
I planted many that failed and have several now that I am not optimistic about. Some, like Little Gem exceeded my expectations and hopes in a short amount of time. This thread isn't about the 10 absolute best tasting mango fruit, but rather a list of suggestions and comments about trees that deserve space for consideration in a small collection for homeowners. I don't spray my trees and this Summer will be my first with irrigation. Survival of the fittest and of those the best tasting and productive varieties over the longest possible season earn a place in my yard. I also want to cover as many flavor profiles as possible with my choices. I didn't mention many other varieties that died in my yard or that I excluded from consideration due to disease or lack of productivity.
I got a lot of good info from people like Alex and Rob and others on the forum and am thankful for their help. I am so glad that Pickering was one of my first trees, and I may never have tasted many of my other favorites without this forum and the people posting. I qualified some of the varieties on my list with question marks since I am not sure about them yet but try to share as much info as possible. A few years can let you know if a tree is precocious and its general growth habit and health. Some varieties can be very productive when finally mature but not start fruiting for 4-5 years. I have had over 100 fruit since planting Little Gem.
I have planted a few other varieties that have yet to hold fruit at 6 years of age. By that age, Little Gem may have produced 250 cumulative fruit since planting if it keeps producing like this. It would be unfair not to share success stories. I want to hear as many of those as possible, but hearing about failures can be helpful too. Sometimes someone else can explain why something failed and you try again and have success.
