Bay Area Mangoes

[BayTropics]

Do you have space for a nice greenhouse and money to burn?
If so.....Maybe.
It would be much cheaper and tastier to buy a plane ticket to Florida in July.

When I lived in San Mateo, CA. I grew mango trees. I fruited a Glenn and Pickering.

[Itay Gazit]

Itay,
I’ve followed the pictures , videos and simons thread about Southern CA Mango growing. I been watching the story unfold and advising against growing Mango’s this far north since before the tim thompson cold hardy mango debacle played out.
I do not think Mango’s can’t grow in the Bay Area , I know if you put a lot of effort into it and live in a proper microclimate , it is doable.
I have also seen and heard about alot more failure than success and I would encourage new growers to grow something they can have success with first. Because you or I or anyone else that geeks out on rare fruit could fruit biriba or soursop in a pot in the Bay Area , does not make it recommendable to do.
Mango is the most popular fruit in the world , so this plays out with Mango in the Bay Area more than any other fruit. Because there is a fruiting Manila seedling on Stevens creek, or someone in Fremont with a fruiting Mango tree does not make it advisable , in my opinion , to say “ yes, mango can be grown here , go for it!”. 
Glad to hear of your success , I am sure you will be the first to fruit some different rare species in tha Bay.

Thx Jonah, yes agree, 99% of BayArea planted Mangoes die.
I think the message for people like Ben should be: it's hard to grow Mangoes in the bay area, if you insist in trying then follow below guideline for higher chances.

plant a 2+ years old seedling in a wind free location with afternoon sun, prefereble close to a wall or fence. Use Sandy soil and try to keep the soil dry as much possible during autumn, winter and spring.

Itay

[Bush2Beach]

Itay, your succinctly written growing guide should be given to anyone trying to grow mango’s here. It’s perfectly to the point and should be followed to a T.

I don’t want to tell someone they *can’t* grow something but it needs to be imparted how challenging it can be . I like it when people are successful growing they’re own food and it makes them want to do it more.
Sometimes in failure you think you may not have the aptitude to do something when in reality a little guidance can go along way towards success.

[Tropical Bay Area]

Joe’s Mango planted outdoors in Los Gatos died, kwai muk, star fruit are borderline plants that are still alive In that garden though.

I don’t know if this is true but I think his cherimoya, atemoya, eugenias, jaboticaba, green sapote, guabiju, white sapote, and some others did ok?
Also it seems here this winter has been a really mild winter as the lowest temps were in the high 30’s and the lowest it gets in a cou0,e if nights is 37, daytime temps are from 55-75 deg, and there has been barely any rain. Not a lot of wind either.

[Tropical Bay Area]

There's a guy who is on this forum but doesn't post much that has some fruiting mango trees in Santa Clara.  I think you are much better off growing stone fruits but maybe you could just plant a few mango seeds just to see for yourself how it works out.  It won't cost much to just try.

That was Joe Hewitt you were talking about and he is now in Hawaii I don't think his mango's made it though but I could be wrong. CRFG conferance was up that way in 2017 or 18 and I don't remember seeing his mango's.
Any way could be done with warm spot and a little help during Winter.

I don’t think he ever lived in Santa Clara  I think it was Los Gatos

[bob_tu]

So i found a mango tree that is located in Santa Clara that is 15+ years old, at least. You can go back on timeline and see that it was pretty damn big even in 2009. Sterling Inn

I have 3 mango trees that im growing in 15 gallon smart pots in my backyard. An Alphonso and a Rapoza/Raposa from Plantogram, that i assume are on turpentine rootstock. And a manila that i got from lowes. I got all of these last June, and so far they've made it through this winter without any protection other than stakes for the wind. The lowest it got in my yard this year is 36 degrees, for about an hour. We'll see how this week coming up goes but i assume the cold and rain wont phase them if they made it this far. I even had like 15 seedlings in one gal pots that i left out in the open all winter to test if they could take the cold. So far only 1 died to rot from being to cold a few weeks ago. The rest have taking off from the heat these last few days.

Im growing all this on the west facing side of wall that is on the foot of a hill. They get direct sun from 8am/10am, depending on the season, until sunset. I think is what has helped keeping them warm and from dying.

The only problem ive run into so far is that a lot of my new growth has been staying yellow and not turning green even though i have been fertilizing with EB Stone citrus mix. I didn't know that it does not contain enough micro-nutrients and had to supplement them with Greenall FST.

[anant_]

Last month (Nov 2021), I saw a big (12-15 ft) mango tree in the ground in Milpitas, CA -- I think it may be in Zone 10A (rather than 9B) -- the Vietnamese owner kindly offered me a ripened mango (picked right in front of me), and I think its Manila (not 100% sure).  The tree has several fruits.  She also has fruiting Sapodilla and custard apple trees in big pots and several fruiting avocado trees in the ground (all 10-12 ft tall).

[Bush2Beach]

Yes the Milpitas/Fremont/Hayward corridor has the best growing conditions for sub tropicals North of Goleta/SB. The microclimates by the SFBay are many and varied.

[yimnvs]

I am in San Leandro and I have five mangoes in ground and about ten in pots. I have the mangoes on the southeast side of my yard so it gets sun most of the day even in Winter.

[BayAreaMicroClimate]

I know of a very old Manila tree in the ground and produces fruit. I’ve fruited baileys marvel in Dublin Ca. It’s only 2 years in the ground and filled out a 10 gallon pot before that. Plucking off the flowers the first 4-5 years helps it a lot to survive winter.  Manila mango is the best rootstock for Bay Area. Mangos seem to do better in 25gallon pot or bigger then in the ground unless you can get your ground very draining. Only keeping one mango in the ground and others in pots. Pretty sure you can find a video on YouTube of a large surviving tree in front of a hotel. There’s lots of people in Hayward growing different mango varieties. Florida Turpentine rootstock will most likely die if planted in the ground that’s why people say mangos don’t grow here

[DJSpurr]

Yeah, as many have said, it comes down to microclimate.  I’m sure it’s not too cold in the winter where you are, but do you have reliable summer heat?  I live in Oakland and have had a mango in the ground for 4 years.  It is not very happy and I have probably neglected it’s micronutrient needs.  However, the most problematic thing is when you have a cold summer and that is my problem where I am in Oakland.  Cold induces mangoes to flower, but not to grow.  So I’ve actually had a few fruits, but little leaf production.  That’s not a good plan in the long run… 

[Bush2Beach]

While Mango’s can be grown here , they don’t grow here.
It takes a great deal of effort and maximum heat units for the area.
Up against the house, protected by overhang , stucco and driveway.
So sure, people grow and even fruit Mango’s in the Bay Area.
Just know what your getting into and make sure it’s Manila rootstock.
Mango is 1 fruit that is worth it even if you only get a few.