Forcing mango to branch out

[Plantinyum]

I have this mango plant in my greenhouse, it has 3 main scaffold branches. The plant is starting to grow once again ,but only from the apical bud, i want it to start branching out . Should i remove the apical bud growth, in order to promote the dormant smaller buds, that are in the bases of the leaves?
I think theyve done the exact same thing in the nursery, there is a visible pruning point ,right above the start of the 3 branches.
Please keep in mind that i wont form this tree as one would if it was growing outside, i have a litited space in the greenhouse, so i am aiming towards a very small, but very branched tree, the variety is Zebda.

[TropicalFruitHunters]

If you pinch off that single branching growth, chances are that the tree will respond with multiple branches.

[JakeFruit]

Girdling is great for forcing branching, and you don't have to sacrifice the main branch/trunk. Right above the node(s) where you want branching clear a ~1/8" ring around the trunk, removing the bark and scrapping off the cambium completely (if you don't clear the ring of cambium and a connection to the upper trunk remains, this method will fail). It's trickier on a smaller tree like that, but doable (as long as the bark is hardened off, new growth is too delicate). The break in the cambium layer will activate the top nodes just below the break and they'll push. While that's happening, the tree will heal over the ring and eventually reestablish the cambium connection and continue pushing growth upwards.


There's a cheap little tool you can buy (I got mine for ~$3.00 on Ebay) that makes the girdling much easier, but it won't work for your small tree trunk diameter. Just use a sharp knife, steady hand and go slow. Practice makes perfect; I've been doing them for the last few years. I had a graft on an avocado recently that wasn't growing at all after taking in early Spring, girdled right above the graft and it immediately started pushing new growth on the grafted branch. It's almost a month later now and the tree has healed over the girdle, but now the graft has healthy new growth. I'm thinking about repeating the process just above the old girdle to keep the growth focused on the grafted branch. Girdling also encourages flowering above the ring, if done at the proper time/season.

[Plantinyum]

Thanks i quess i will just pinch the new growth, sic3 i dont want to wait for it to grow and harden, its very small atm so not a loss in any way.
I understood the girdling idea, can try that on other plants in the right occasion.

[Orkine]

Search on YouTube for how to tip mango by Dr Campbel.
It shows how to tip to grow a mango bush vs a tree.

[kapps]

I’ve tipped new growth that’s already started and I’ve also used my thumb nail to damage/remove the terminal bud when it started swelling. This forces the other buds in that area to start swelling and push.

[Plantinyum]

Orkine , thanks for the video , will follow his advice, he showed a very nicely formed tree in the end of the video, thats my goal, althought i should form mine more like a talled and slender version of this, as i have mostly some vertical space.


Kapps, i did just that with the new growth, gone, i will wait for the 2 other branches to wake up though, i feel more comfortable that way, i could remove the dormant ones with a razor blade, i may try that...