Author Topic: Growing Mango trees in Southern California  (Read 180174 times)

sc4001992

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Re: Growing Mango trees in Southern California
« Reply #750 on: August 16, 2022, 08:28:03 PM »
I have some additional comments on the seedling from named varieties. I purchased 5 seedling plants that were already growing in 5 gallon pots (maybe 1-2 yrs old) and here's what I noticed:
1. Manila - skinniest plants of all three types that were on sale.
2. Kent - very good rootstock, about 1/2" diameter main trunk.
3. Atkin- best, most vigorous growth, about 1/2"-3/4" diameter main trunk.

I used these plants for grafting some good scionwood varieties.

Future

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Re: Growing Mango trees in Southern California
« Reply #751 on: August 17, 2022, 03:11:39 PM »
I was fortunate enough to get a big load of mango seeds from a friend in FL. Here is a surprise varigated Mallika seedling! Anyone else ever get varigated seedlings?


I lost a piña colada variegation.  Talking to Alex he says variegated seedlings tend to be runts.

simon_grow

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Re: Growing Mango trees in Southern California
« Reply #752 on: August 19, 2022, 11:16:23 AM »
I was fortunate enough to get a big load of mango seeds from a friend in FL. Here is a surprise varigated Mallika seedling! Anyone else ever get varigated seedlings?


That is awesome, I would grow it out a bit and then graft it onto a stronger rootstock if you have one. Please keep us updated on this unicorn!

Simon

SHV

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Re: Growing Mango trees in Southern California
« Reply #753 on: August 26, 2022, 07:07:31 PM »
I’ve planted out several hundred mango seeds over the years. Had a few variegated seedlings pop up but they always grow out of the variegation or die. Here is a recent one. You can see the sun burns right through variegation part on the leaves even under partial shade. 



mysteryknight

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Re: Growing Mango trees in Southern California
« Reply #754 on: August 29, 2022, 09:06:16 PM »

I have mine planted in the ground now in half shade. I have only noticed a little leaf burn, but that happened after I fertilized with fish emulsion. We shall see. This seedling sends up deep purple initial shoots which I understand to bestow a protective effect on the new growth. Please send more pictures of your variegated seedlings!   


chemist323

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Re: Growing Mango trees in Southern California
« Reply #755 on: August 30, 2022, 07:41:48 PM »
Hi Simon and others, new to the forum but have stalked the forums a bit.

I'm thinking of buying a couple of established Corriente trees from a nursery, both in 30g wooden boxes. 
These trees are big, probably 12-15' tall with branches that I would graft to.
I have been grafting on 5g manila rootstock but looking ahead with drought to consider, wondering if buying a  larger tree and grafting several varieties to them maybe a better option. 
Concern that I have is that these trees are rooted into the ground, not sure if they would die once removed from their spot given that mango roots can be more delicate.  they look healthy otherwise. 
What are your thoughts?







« Last Edit: August 30, 2022, 08:47:57 PM by chemist323 »

Victoria Ave

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Re: Growing Mango trees in Southern California
« Reply #756 on: August 30, 2022, 08:19:52 PM »
your concern about the drought is an excellent argument in favor of growing from seedling in the ground. Trees grown from small size directly into the ground will develop a more complex and resilient root system than anything which is transplanted at size. I know how impatient we can be, and I've dropped some decent money on big trees for more immediate success, but it really seems seedlings are the way to go

Johnny Eat Fruit

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Re: Growing Mango trees in Southern California
« Reply #757 on: August 30, 2022, 10:37:09 PM »
Sounds like good advice to me.

I would spend more time reading, studying mango growth in SoCal, and doing homework rather than opening the wallet (the easiest thing to do).

You can't buy your way to long-term success.  Seedlings are an excellent way to start. Most newbie mango growers mean well but don't understand the difficulties in growing trees in this marginal climate.

Johnny

 

chemist323

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Re: Growing Mango trees in Southern California
« Reply #758 on: August 30, 2022, 11:22:49 PM »
I understand what you’re saying.  I’m not necessarily new to growing and have learned over the last couple of years from the mangos I’ve lost.  This year, I lost 2 trees on Turp coming out of winter from dieback despite using well draining soil.  I have 2 in ground 5g Manila seedlings that I’ve grafted with Sweet tart, peach cobbler, lemon Zest.  I have about 7 others that I’ve grafted on manila and corriente.  However, it doesn’t seem feasible to plant all those seedlings particularly with water restrictions (plus I have about 25+ other trees in my yard yikes).  That’s where my question arises from.  Appreciate your comments. Just curious if anyone has been able to start and  consolidate with  larger trees.   I’ve seen similar comments on avocado groups recommending smaller trees versus larger trees with concern for rootbound trees. 
[/pre]
Sounds like good advice to me.

I would spend more time reading, studying mango growth in SoCal, and doing homework rather than opening the wallet (the easiest thing to do).

You can't buy your way to long-term success.  Seedlings are an excellent way to start. Most newbie mango growers mean well but don't understand the difficulties in growing trees in this marginal climate.

Johnny

 
« Last Edit: August 30, 2022, 11:31:03 PM by chemist323 »

Victoria Ave

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Re: Growing Mango trees in Southern California
« Reply #759 on: August 31, 2022, 01:00:03 AM »
Well I was doing some work in the yard getting ready for this heat wave so I can share. I dug up a 10’ tall mango seedling from a friend that was moving a house and transplanted it. I dug up a root ball not even the size of a 15 gallon and transplanted it from pure sand to my pure clay yard. I was worried it wasn’t going to take but it lived through the winter. I did this in October, an ideal time to do this. I wouldn’t transplant anything right now.

That next summer I cut the plant all the way back to 3 feet tall and tried some bark grafts one took. This summer I grafted onto the new shoots and 4 took. It has a long way to go before becoming a successful fruiting tree, but it’s starting well and the tree was free. I don’t think I would try it on a $200-$300 dollar tree though




I’ve had that tree and seedlings under a pop up greenhouse through the winter and then I never took the fabric off through the summer. It seems the heat doesn’t bother the mango trees too much as long as the light is getting diffused, it has been getting over 100° regularly in there, but with it supposed to hit 111° here on Sunday I’m not wanting to risk it. So greenhouse fabric off and shade cloth up.

When we hit 116° A couple years back and I didn’t have shade cloth over my Valencia Pride it get absolutely roasted.

Speaking of which looks like my VP fruit are coming along well. Looking like late September I should be ready to harvest





chemist323

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Re: Growing Mango trees in Southern California
« Reply #760 on: August 31, 2022, 02:00:43 AM »
Thanks for sharing your experience.  I definitely wouldn’t do anything now given the heat.  Maybe closer to fall as you stated.  I’d probably leave it alone at that point and try grafting next summer.

Oolie

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Re: Growing Mango trees in Southern California
« Reply #761 on: August 31, 2022, 12:43:49 PM »
I remember the heatwave. I watered mango trees heavily throughout the heat wave and got extra growth flushes for it.

Victoria Ave

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Re: Growing Mango trees in Southern California
« Reply #762 on: August 31, 2022, 02:24:00 PM »
Yeah I’m anticipating giving an extra irrigation run and my trees with a bit of shade pushing their current flushes!

My mango trees are the only thing that gets me happy with the heat

simon_grow

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Re: Growing Mango trees in Southern California
« Reply #763 on: September 02, 2022, 12:46:33 AM »
Chemist323, you could purchase the large Corriente tree and multigraft it as a space saver but as soon as you graft it, it will bloom in its first Winter. It will then try to hold fruit which will stunt it’s vegetative growth unless you remove the fruit once the weather is warmer. If you remove the fruit and give it some fertilizer to push vegetative growth in the heat of summer, the grafted branches should grow enough to allow it to hold fruit in a year or two.

I’m assuming you would be planting this tree into the ground? The fruit from my in ground trees have always tasted better than potted plants and in ground trees tend to have less splitting of the fruit. Fruit from potted mango trees can taste very watered down if not given frequent diluted feedings of fertilizer.

I would plant a bunch of random mango seedlings into the ground and let them grow for a year or two to find a vigorous seedling. Mango seedlings don’t require a lot of water and the effort to find a vigorous seedling could save you years in getting a good size fruiting tree.

If you can find some Polyembryonic seeds for varieties like Sweet Tart or E4, you may not even need to graft them if you’re lucky enough to find a clone. Then, all you would need to do is to juice the tree with good fertilizer in order to maximize its growth in the small window period of about 3-4 years or so before it reaches sexual maturity and blooms.

You could then top work several branches from this tree and have a multigrafted tree to save space at which time, you could get rid of your back-up seedlings, if you haven’t grown too attached to them at this point. Having a bunch of seedlings also allow you to practice grafting.

I’ve grown very fond of bud grafting mango trees and have found that they grow vigorously and require significantly less scion material.

Simon


chemist323

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Re: Growing Mango trees in Southern California
« Reply #764 on: September 02, 2022, 06:34:46 PM »
Hi Simon, thanks for the reply.

I probably wouldn't graft until later in the summer next year after expected blooms for the scions.  I may experiment with a few earlier but you're right, the scion may try to bloom and i'd remove the fruit to prevent death of scion.  I have been giving them liquid fish fert now to help with vegetative push now so i'd prob continue that next year as well.

The corriente will definitely be placed in ground.  I'll also plant a few manila seedlings, i have a 15g that is ready to go in.  I grew out seeds of LZ, cotton candy, sweet tart, orange sherbet, and a few others.  They are currently in 1g containers, some more vigorous than others.

I haven't tried bud grafting, still trying to perfect/feel comfortable with cleft grafts.  Currently i have about 7 grafted trees on 5g manila that i grafted: maha, coco cream, sunrise, p-22, glenn, and a couple of others.   Maybe i'll try bud grafting one of these days.   

Have you had experience placing a big tree like this in ground? any tips?



Oolie

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Re: Growing Mango trees in Southern California
« Reply #765 on: September 02, 2022, 09:10:56 PM »
Removing circling roots is a must.

If you know or suspect you have gophers, then caging is highly recommended.

I use 0.5" hardware cloth.

simon_grow

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Re: Growing Mango trees in Southern California
« Reply #766 on: September 02, 2022, 10:52:07 PM »
I haven’t purchased nor planted any of the box trees of that size but I have planted some 25-30 gallon trees for friends. I agree with Oolie and if you have gophers, definitely cage it and remove circling roots.

Also, when the tree is removed from the nursery, take note of how much roots were damaged or cut. If a large portion of feeder roots was cut or damaged, you may need to trim your canopy a bit to balance water intake with evaporation.

Grafting next Summer sounds like a good plan. Let the tree get established first and graft next year when you see active growth. Grafting onto vigorous rootstocks will significantly increase your odds of success.

Simon

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Re: Growing Mango trees in Southern California
« Reply #767 on: September 11, 2022, 06:11:16 PM »
So the SoCal heatwave out here kept temps above 100 for two whole weeks. I gave one extra run of irrigation during that time and then I’ve been catching my greywater in a bucket and giving extra water. Now with the warm humid rain I am getting some nice flushes. The heat and sun also made my oldest Valencia Pride mangos on the tree develop some great colors.

I don’t want these to split on the tree, but I want them to be their best. I have been told to pick them once their shoulders fill out and then ripen off tree. I want to make sure I am interpreting that correctly, in the shown photo there is a distinct angle on the top mango. I am interpreting letting the shoulder fill out by that area swelling and rounding out so it is a smooth full curve instead of a flat angle.

Is this the correct way?




Anybody harvesting already?

simon_grow

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Re: Growing Mango trees in Southern California
« Reply #768 on: September 12, 2022, 01:11:28 AM »
If you harvested those fruit now, they would probably ripen up but they may not be at their sweetest. Their shoulders appear medium full and the nose has widened up but you can let it hang longer to increase the Brix. Most of California got some rains lately and that can dilute down the sugars. You can try decreasing your watering in hopes of concentrating the flavor and Brix.

In SoCal, gently lifting the fruit in your palm is a great way to test for peak ripeness. If it’s ripe, the fruit will fall off the stem once palmed. This is because palming the fruit causes a slight bend at the stem end and if the sap is drying up, the lack of turgor pressure allows the fruit to fall off the stem more readily.

Simon

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Re: Growing Mango trees in Southern California
« Reply #769 on: September 12, 2022, 10:02:52 AM »
Perfect! Thank you

sapote

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Re: Growing Mango trees in Southern California
« Reply #770 on: September 12, 2022, 07:55:33 PM »
1. Concern that I have is that these trees are rooted into the ground, not sure if they would die once removed from their spot given that mango roots can be more delicate.  they look healthy otherwise.
What are your thoughts?

2. I have 2 in ground 5g Manila seedlings that I’ve grafted with Sweet tart, peach cobbler, lemon Zest.
1. Yes, the tap root is out of the wooden box and deep in the ground, and so moving the box will damage the tap root, major impact to the tree growing -- slow down significantly --  even if it survives.
2. It seems you grafted on the seedlings that are not big enough, and this will slow them down. I would wait until the seedling has 3 or 4" trunk 10' or higher, then do the grafting.

With a full grown seedling with deep tap root, you can graft many as you want. My 10' seedlings on the east side of the house are doing so well in the heat and I only water once per week or two weeks -- they must have very deep root as I never seen them wilt but sending many new leaves.

sapote

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Re: Growing Mango trees in Southern California
« Reply #771 on: September 12, 2022, 07:59:41 PM »
I dug up a 10’ tall mango seedling from a friend that was moving a house and transplanted it. I dug up a root ball not even the size of a 15 gallon and transplanted it from pure sand to my pure clay yard.
Did it have a deep tap root and did you get all the tap root or broke it? For me it's impossible to get the full tap root out -- just too deep.

sapote

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Re: Growing Mango trees in Southern California
« Reply #772 on: September 12, 2022, 08:14:16 PM »
Speaking of which looks like my VP fruit are coming along well. Looking like late September I should be ready to harvest
From the pic, my guess is this tree was bought grafted in the pot? A California seedling grafted should look stronger and fuller with more branches  than this.

sapote

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Re: Growing Mango trees in Southern California
« Reply #773 on: September 12, 2022, 08:33:34 PM »
Speaking of which looks like my VP fruit are coming along well. Looking like late September I should be ready to harvest
This is a year for vegetative growth. My big 5" trunk PC has only ONE fruit -- not much flowers to begin with. Another big tree with cocktail graft has zero fruit that last years gave many wonderful fruits: ST Maui, Sweet tart, Okrungtong, Edward (I since topped it off and grafted Iman Passand but not took), Mahachanok; the biggest tree (HD rootstock) with LZ and Okrungtong only has 2 LZ and zero Okrung fruits. I thought this year I will have load of LZ, but all the green fruits splited with no seed. The 2 remained fruits are from late blooming in June I believe. Other trees near the house are doing better: some Alphonso the first time, and Maha as every year.

palingkecil

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Re: Growing Mango trees in Southern California
« Reply #774 on: September 12, 2022, 09:09:54 PM »
Speaking of which looks like my VP fruit are coming along well. Looking like late September I should be ready to harvest
This is a year for vegetative growth. My big 5" trunk PC has only ONE fruit -- not much flowers to begin with. Another big tree with cocktail graft has zero fruit that last years gave many wonderful fruits: ST Maui, Sweet tart, Okrungtong, Edward (I since topped it off and grafted Iman Passand but not took), Mahachanok; the biggest tree (HD rootstock) with LZ and Okrungtong only has 2 LZ and zero Okrung fruits. I thought this year I will have load of LZ, but all the green fruits splited with no seed. The 2 remained fruits are from late blooming in June I believe. Other trees near the house are doing better: some Alphonso the first time, and Maha as every year.
Sorry for the interuption, is ST Maui considered productive and disease free for you? I am debating to get a ST Maui or another Sugarloaf. Sugarloaf does really well in my yard and it is productive too. I remember you live in Burbank, not too far from my place.

Thanks!