Identifying Mangos to Plant Seed

[nanewnanew]

I would like to plant a mango from seed this spring and was wondering how people go about choosing the seed. Is the best way to simply try it and if you like it, plant it?

Sometimes at the store the variety of mango is not specified on the sticker on the fruit and the the fruit stockers don't know what it is. How do people identify the variety? What is the most common mango on the shelves in the summer (from Mexico)? I'd like to plant one of those big red/green ones with plenty of fiber, and a good cross of sweet and tart.

[simon_grow]

If you do not want to graft, I recommend you plant seeds from Polyembryonic varieties. If you have access to Sweet Tart, Po Pyu Kalay, Lemon Zest, Orange Sherbet, Nam Doc Mai, these will be good varieties to plant because they are polyembryonic and if you get more than one sprout, one of the sprouts may be a clone and give you good quality fruit without grafting.

These seeds are difficult if not impossible to find here in SoCal so you may want to try planting Ataulfo/Champagne/Manilla mango seeds instead because they are also polyembryonic but are readily available in our local markets.

If you plant a Monoembryonic seed from the common large round green to rainbow colored Mango, there is no telling what type of fruit you will get when it finally fruits. They do make good rootstocks however so if you learn to graft, I recommend you plant a bunch of different types of mango seeds to see which one adapts best to your particular soil conditions. If you’re after good quality fruit and you don’t know how to graft, plant a polyembryonic variety.

You can also buy pre grafted trees but they may grow slow and get droopy although you will likely get fruit very shortly after planting. Getting fruit from a young, unestablished tree is actually really bad for your tree and is one of the main reasons small grafted trees grow slowly, they expend too much energy on flowering and fruit production.

Simon

[nanewnanew]

Okay that sounds goods, thanks for the info. The polyembryonic situation is kind of a trip, that you basically get different types of fruit. I understand that you pick your preferred fruit from the choices, but is it even possible to grow all the shoots that come up (and have, for example, three different types of mangoes on the same tree, without grafting?) Am I understanding that right?

I think I am going to try planting multiple monoembryonic seeds and then graft. Would planting this Spring and grafting next Spring be a reasonable timeline for mangoes?

I planted a pregrafted Haden from the nursery (and posted about staking it, a few weeks back). I staked it, and a couple of days ago I decided to cut off the flowers and tried air grafting it, just to see what happens. We'll see if it works in a few months.

[WGphil]

Mono will be a combination of parents and won’t be the same as the fruit you got it from.

Poly will have combinations and one clone of the fruit.   Plant them all and graft the trees you don’t  like and keep the ones you do.

Grafting  scions onto a mature tree will get you there faster. 

[simon_grow]

I agree with WGphil,

If you plant a polyembryonic seed, keep all the seedlings. One of them should be zygotic and thus not a clone but the rest should be a clone or very similar to the original fruit. Let them all fruit and top work the ones that don’t taste good but give it several years because first year fruits are often poor quality.

You could plant seeds now or when it warms up a bit and then graft next year but then your tree will likely fruit the following winter after you graft which will slow down growth every year around winter as it tries to flower and fruit. It’s best to plant the seeds and let them grow several years and then top work them when they reach fruiting size.

Simon

[nanewnanew]

Thank you for the replies.

When the seedlings come up, do you separate them and plant them in their own space, or just let them grow in the space they started? Also, are there resources for scions that you (all) like? I saw there was a scion exchange, but I guess that is a beginning of the year thing only.

Finally, generally, what is appropriate fruiting size for a mango tree? 6 feet in any direction?

Thanks

[j-grow]

How long for the seedlings to fruit typically from seed?

[simon_grow]

Thank you for the replies.

When the seedlings come up, do you separate them and plant them in their own space, or just let them grow in the space they started? Also, are there resources for scions that you (all) like? I saw there was a scion exchange, but I guess that is a beginning of the year thing only.

Finally, generally, what is appropriate fruiting size for a mango tree? 6 feet in any direction?

Thanks

I keep all the seedlings together. Once they fruit, I will keep the clone and top work any seedlings that don’t taste good.

I order my scions from Florida. Squam256 is a great resource for scions and Trulytropical also sells scions although I’ve never ordered from them before.

Fruiting size depends on the owner of the tree. If you want a small tree and are only expecting a few fruit from your tree each year, you can graft at a smaller size and allow the tree to hold fruit at a smaller size to control the growth of the tree.

If you want lots of fruit from a bigger tree, let the tree establish longer and allow it to grow thick strong scaffold branches before top working the tree. After the grafts take, remove fruit for the first year or two in order to allow the scions to grow out.

Here in SoCal, many of us have experienced die back of grafts if we allow recently grafted branches to fruit.

Simon

[simon_grow]

How long for the seedlings to fruit typically from seed?

I believe this is variety specific for polyembryonic varieties and is likely heavily influenced by climate and other factors such as how well the tree is cared for. I can only assume that a well cared for tree in a warmer climate will reach sexual maturity much faster than a poorly cared for tree in a colder climate. I’ve heard people saying anywhere from 4-10 years. I would guess that in Florida, a seedling mango tree will flower and try to hold fruit at around 4-6 years but I’m just guessing.

Simon

[nanewnanew]

Thanks Simon, appreciate it.