The Tropical Fruit Forum

Zill 80 is a great mango.

Only person Ive bought that fruit from was Cecil in Hypoluxo.

Incredible Edible Landscapes ran some free mango tastings at lunchtime the last few weeks. I was lucky enough to catch the last one, and they did a fantastic job. We tasted ten mangoes in about half an hour with insightful commentary from the hostess and fun discussion among the guests. They even had us taste the same mango at different stages of ripeness.

The selections were well-chosen and I got to try a couple new ones (Kathy, Ugly Betty, Lil Gem). After we finished the mangoes, they cut up some guava, pineapple and star fruit for us. I was amazed at how lackluster those fruits tasted after eating mango slices. I guess mango truly is the king of fruit. If you get the chance to attend next year, don't miss out.

As for the mango tasting, many of the selections blended together in my mind, I was looking for something to stand out with high flavor intensity. Lil Gem and Kathy were just alright, Ugly Betty I can't even remember, Cogshall and Florigon are OK at best, and Peach Cobbler was my favorite while most of the tasters gave Sweet Tart the crown.

That Little Gem looks like it needs more time.

They should have a reddish blush for the best taste.

At that color I will only use them in the dehydrator.

Why cant OP keep pruning the kent to allow condo varieties to grow?

He totally can.

But it will be something he will have to be super proactive about.

As a guitarist I love hearing Johnny Winter references here.

Jeeze. I just pick them off into a glass of soapy water early morning and the numbers have dropped over the years.

Should be interesting to see if the lawn grub treatment I applied this year slows them down even more.

Finally picked up a sprinkler pump for my rain barrels but it doesnt seem like it will be any rain for a while.

Yuck.

Ive been picking mine when they start getting a yellow color break or when the stem gets brown dead looking.

Is this tree getting a good amount of sun?

The ones I have in more sunlight seem get more color then the ones hidden in the canopy.

I ate Guava mango for the first time and I was perplexed by the taste. I was expecting a classic fresh guava taste, which to me is somewhere between slightly sweet watermelon and strawberry. It just wasn't there for me. Guava Mango is very sweet and if anything, I tasted strawberry preserves mixed with classic mango. Then I thought about the sweet guava paste or guava jelly that is probably the most common way to consume guava and it clicked. I could see where some people would perceive the taste of mango mixed with guava paste, maybe? Anybody want to share their thoughts on the flavor here?

Guava is a good to very good mango with nice size, but not one I would grow with all the options we have. I don't think the flavor was distinctive enough or intense enough to be remarkable or unique.

Dwarf Hawaiian, on the other hand, was much more distinctive to me with a strong coconut flavor up front against a background of mandarin orange. The fruit is smaller than most and I can't lie, it has some fiber and stringiness to the flesh. It's more fibrous than most people will be accustomed to, but I really enjoyed the taste. It's moderately sweet and I love anything coconut flavored which biases my opinion in favor of Dwarf Hawaiian. I'm growing it as an early season mango and looking forward to eating more.

That's the problem with naming mangoes like that.

It creates an expectation that might not hit the mark.

Personally I wish they would stick to people names or places.

You have to start trimming when they are young and keep up with it if you want to maintain a smaller tree.

I just learned something new about how to determine whether mango is ripe or not. Supposedly, when you cut the stem if the sap is milky then the fruit is not ready. If the sap is clear then it’s good to go. A little unorthodox since you have to cut the stem anyway but I’ll give that a try.

You should be also looking at the color of that stem before pulling it.

Usually good to pull if the stem is brown.

Just moved a Maria Black that was in the ground for a few years.

I cut almost everything off but a couple leaves.

Root pruned it enough to fit it in a 15 gallon.

Just planted it in my parents yard this week and it was putting out some serious growth.

I had a grafted variety and it just non stopped flowered and never set any fruit.

I didn't want 2 of them after trying tons of them so that was end of that tree here.

Maybe in time it will fruit.