Not necessarily related but here is a pic from last year around the same time. Seems like it grew a lot.

To comment on OS. The first one I had was amazing. I left the second one for 2 more days on the counter. The texture turn to mush but even worse 90% of the flavor was gone. Still looked pretty fine on the outside. Is this normal for OS.

Any info on what's going to be released 2016?  Hopefully we can get a flavorful early season mango.

Quote from: skhan on October 21, 2015, 08:18:05 PM

Question:
Are ilama trees productive? Can it be kept in a container? What variety do you find as a good compromise between taste, production and easy of growing?
Thanks

Not a good candidate for container growing really...the tree seems to need a 25 gal pot at least...and will require a 100 gal before you know it (maybe in as little as 8 yr with proper care)


But with this said, I have one I'm trying to keep in a pot...it's about 3yr old from grafting (on illama rootstock), and it's in a 25gal, already asking to go into a 50gal, but I'm going to keep it rootbound and as small as possible.

Sounds like a pretty vigorous tree. I might have room for one in ground I planted two gefners. Is Genova red the best type?

Thanks guys, great to know it wasn't just me. Hopefully it doesn't delay mango season next year, don't want to loose more to diseases and critters

That's amazing, you got almost all the colors accounted for. Can't wait to try one of these chewys.

Thanks,
Learned a lot, surprised he didn't mention carambola

With green mangoes in particular I would eat with salt and pepper sauce, make pickles, salad and like you said cole slaw.
Some of my Guyanese relatives and friends make chutney, achaar/kuchela (masala mixed and shredding green mangos).
Most of the Trini friends i have make chow (pieces of green fruit, culantro, minced garlic and salt, hot peppers, maybe lemon juice)

My father has a tree that usually flowers 2-3 times in a row. The tree has a huge fruit set but about 98% drop  .
The fruits are huge and has sweet white flesh with no fiber and a very thin seed. The only problem (other then mangos holding) is it gets some type of rotten part while on the tree, so we usually end up cutting out 1/3rd.
I think he said it was a keitt seedlng.

Hope yours works out better.

My preferred way to topwork mango is to lop off or cut back a scaffold limb, then veneer graft the sprouts while they are still tender / semi-red-stage. The tender sprouts have loads of highly active cambium and bond easily. The vigor of the cut back branch causes the grafts to grow like crazy. I've grafted several in full sun (but wrapped with stretch tape / buddy wrap and have observed no ill-effect.

Subsequent tipping the new growth of the graft on a regular basis seems to help to bring the graft into bearing sooner.

Best time to topwork here in FL is summer.

Do you use tender scions for this process to? Or is the hardened ones fine?

The Valencia Pride mango I topped a couple of weeks ago is sprouting new branches.  Should I keep them all or remove some?

From what I understand its best to keep 3-4 for the new sprouts (probably the most vigorous).

Quote from: skhan on October 07, 2015, 11:18:23 AM

Quote from: bsbullie on October 07, 2015, 10:00:58 AM

If you give a Lancetilla fruit to your friends,  be prepared for them to be friends no more.  And your family,  well, they will probably disown you. Lol.  Ok, to be serious, it is really not much different than a grocery store mango.

As far as the tree, and while i mean no offense to Nancy i wish people would say prune, tip prune, lower, etc. instead of pug or pugging.  Trying to keep a vigorous growing tree maintained is whats k own as a losing battle.  You can keep butchering or hat racking/topping to try and keep it small but you will wind up sacrificing production. ..well, on a Lancetilla that may not be a bad idea.  If the fruit is not your favorite,  why not cut your losses now and get rid of it and plant what you do like.  The cost to maintain and prune only to pay to topwork or remove a year or two later will be better spent removing and replanting now.  Just my 2 wooden nickels...

Ha, I think they would happily accept the lancetilla, as long as they never try the CC next to it.

Maybe I might be using the terms incorrectly.
To clarify, I plan on cutting back to tree to the main trunk (about a foot off the ground) and then grafting one variety i like to it. Reason being is to salvage the root system that has been growing for a while. I assumed this would be beneficial.

If I'm wrong, I'm more than happy to listen to the advise of the more experienced growers.

Gary, sorry about taking the post off topic

Noooooooooo...do not cut the tree down to 1 foot above the ground.  If you are going to top work it, do not cut it at all.  Best to top work the scions with veneer grafts just above the base of the initial scaffold limbs (if you post some pictures of the tree, I can show you what I am talking about).  Once the grafts fully take and push a couple few flushes, then cut back the Lancetilla and allow the "new" variety to thrive.  By leaving the branches without pruning when you are applying the grats, it will give some shade to the grafts and the leaves will allow the plant to still go through its photosynthesis process giving energy to the tree to feed the grafts,  The only thing i might recommend is after the grafts are put on, if the Lancetilla tries to push any growth, pinch the terminal bud/new growth so the tree does not direct its energy to the growth of the Lancetilla.

Ok, thanks. I understand what your saying. I'll post some picture later on today when i get home.

I planted a Lancetilla from a 7 gal 2 years ago and now the tree is around 12 feet now. The reason I bought it was because it is late season and I thought it would be pretty neat to have a 5lb mango. After tasting it this season and then comparing it to venus.. well theres no comparison, I wish i had the venus instead  .

Since its already big I'm going to keep it and give the mangos I don't eat to friends and family who haven't experience much past store Ta random seedlings, fresh hadens. While I do like the new varieties better, i don't have access to a lot so I'm fine eating these for the time being.

Also concerning the actual tree, it seems like it has weeping growth happen (at least in my yard). The new growth just fall all over itself. Its a pain to stake up.

When my other trees get big enough the start producing a lot i plan on pugging and top working.

Possibly custard apple (A. Reticulata). Doesn't seem like rollinia, the flowers look wrong.