Sorry, I thought I had all the info I needed, or knew where to get it, but how much 0-0-50 or 0-0-22 should I be putting down?

The UF extension guide that cbss_daviefl posted seems to say, for a tree 8+ yo, it should be 3.5-4 lbs per application, 4 applications for year. But a) that's recommending 6-6-6-2 or 8-3-9-2, and b) elsewhere on these forums people are measuring their fertilizer in ounces, cups, and handfuls - obviously nowhere near 3.5-4 lbs.

Thoughts?

The picture of the tree tells a story. The tree is too close to your house. It may damage the foundation or your roof. I would remove it and plant another mango tree at least 15 feet away from the house.  The tree does not need fertilizer. I do not see pH on the report but it may be high from the concrete.  If you are going to keep it, add potassium  0-0-50 potash of sulfate or 0-0-22 k mag.

Well, it's clear of the roof now, anyway. We'll almost certainly keep it, particularly given what we just spent to have it professionally pruned.

The pH says 6.8.

Copy on the potassium options - but what about the really low nitrogen?

Mangos usually grow fine in sandy Florida soils.  Adding too much soil to a tree that is already planted is generally bad.  UF also has a home growing guide that you may find helpful. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mg216. Use slow release fertilizers 3 or 4 times a year. Don't use cheap fertilizer. That typically washes away after a few inches of rain.  The UF guides have charts for fertilization based on tree size. If you want to add organics to your soil, use wood mulch or cow manure as fertilizer.

That makes sense. That UF guide (I said USF, but I misremembered and couldn't be bothered to check my bookmarks, apparently) is the one I read that lead me to not water during the winter last year: "Mature mango trees do not need frequent watering, and overwatering may cause poor quality fruit and/or trees to decline or be unthrifty. Little to no irrigation is generally necessary during the fall and winter."

I had watered and fertilized in the previous three years (my first three years at the house) and had fruit. I did not irrigate this past year, after reading that UF guide. I highly doubt the previous owners fertilized the tree, and there was fruit when I bought it. So I'm just hypothesizing that the lack of watering was a key issue.

Either way, thanks for the advice. I will probably skip the soil and just fertilize with some good stuff - what do you define as "cheap fertilizer?"

Hello,

This is probably a Gardening 101 question, but I am definitely a remedial horticulturalist. Short version of question: I want to put down fertilizer and soil for my mango tree - which do I put down first?

I have a mango tree at my home in Central Florida. I did not get fruit this year, possibly because I had read on the USF Extension website that mango trees shouldn't need to be watered during non-rainy seasons, so I didn't do so last winter. Had to get it pruned this fall and had the arborist do a soil study, as well. Our soil here is extremely sandy, and they said it was very low on nutrients. So I want to put fertilizer and garden soil down for my tree. The question is: do I put down fertilizer on the sandy soil and water it in first, then put down the soil, so the fertilizer has less distance to travel down to the root system? Or do I put the new soil down first?

Also, do I just layer the new soil on top, or should I dig out some of the sandy soil?

Thanks!

I had a branch fall today in a storm, which resulted in me having about 60-80 unripe mangoes on my hands. 

I made some mango powder (amchoor) earlier in the season with some unripe mangoes, but I'm not really looking to peel, slice, and dry 80 mangoes.

I've also seen mango pickles, which I will make, but with that many mangoes, I'll need all the ideas I can get. I'd hate to see them go to waste.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

Also, if it is helpful, they are weighing in from about 4-6 ounces.

I moved into a house last August in Tampa, FL that has a mango tree. I don't know what cultivar of mango it is, so I'm not sure how to decide when to pick them, etc. Here is a picture of a few of them that fell off in some heavy wind this week. I put a pen there for scale. Also one on the tree. There are some on the tree that I think are a little larger, and have somewhat larger pink/red area. I also put a picture that I took in August of the last two mangoes from the tree, which were straight up yellow - not green or red. The ones from August were actually about the same size as the larger ones are today, if that means anything. I don't think the previous owner took very good care of it though, so it may have been malnourished and dehydrated last year.

Anybody have an educated guesses based on their current color and size for early May (when these were taken)?




Here's one from last August: