Growing Mango trees in Southern California

[sapote]

My fruit is still hanging on the tree and ripening here in Riverside (just starting to get red blush but no yellow yet) and ai am very excited to taste what I hope is a proper Valencia Pride and not the more stunted fruit I harvested in prior years.

When to pick: when the green skin starts turning to yellow, cut the stem off with about 1/2" attached on the fruit to prevent the valuable oil bleeding out. Keep in room temperature until most of the green turned to yellow then eating time. Don't delay or inside becomes jelly seed.

If you like Valencia, then plant the giant version: Lancetilla taste and look the same but over 2 pounds huge fruit.

[Eggo]

I'm in a zone 10 in SoCal with fortunately very mild winters.  I would like to try to fill out my mango season to have either ripe fruits or green mature fruits all year long.  For now I have a gap from Nov to Jan. Does anyone know of varieties that will still carry mature greenish or ripe fruits from November to January in our area?  Thanks!

[sapote]

For now I have a gap from Nov to Jan.

how do you manage to have fruits from Feb to June?

[Eggo]

Sorry Max I think I should rephrase what I mean by having fruits. I enjoy most of my mangos while green even if it's sweet or sour.  I will occassionally eat them ripe in a bountiful year. I grow mainly 3 varieties.  Nam Doc Mai#4 and Laverne Manila fills my months from Feb through Jun. But again very mild weather here.  NDM#4 blooms 3 sometimes 4 times a year for me but very prone to powdery mildew and fruit split for me.  Currently I have hundreds of fruitlets about 1 to 2 inch in size, they will be ready to eat green and sour around Feb.  And if left to mature, it will probably ripen in May and June.  But I start to pick them as some of our spring rains will lead to fruit splitting.  Around May and and June, the Laverne Manila produces edible green immature sour fruits that are edible even around the size of apricots. They lack a strong resin and are edible even small.  Some mangos are not edible as a green sour mango at that small size.  Those manila I dont think are any good when they develop a husky seed and ripe fruits are very aromatic but small and fibrous.  My months where I'm completely out of edible mango is Nov through Jan, ahah.  Hoping to find some local sources of other varieties, my luck with graftong shipped scions from Florida hasn't been too good.  I definitely would like to share/swap various fruits/scions.

[UplanderCA]

Interesting that your Maha was done before others. I was under the impression Maha was a very late season tree.

My Valencia looks like it has a at least a couple more weeks on the tree.

My Maha and NDM are early bloomers (late January and February).  They are on a multi-grafted Manila root stock.  My stand-alone NDM tree has consistently bloomed multiple times each year.  It's most likely the location (NE area of the house next to a block wall).  It's October 23 and 1/4 of the tree is blooming again.  It's all about the micro-climates.
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[Groovyfruit]

Hi All,
    You all have some very nice SoCal Mango trees around.  For those on this thread, I'm interested in learning more about the soil you use for your In Ground Mango trees.  In particular, I was considering the best way to plant Mango trees into the typical sandy clay that characterizes some Inland Empire or Orange County areas.   Assuming that drainage isn't too big a problem do you tend to plant in (1) straight native sandy clay,  (2) supplement with some percentage of sand / gypsum / pumice, or (3) alter the planting hole some other way?  Also, does the rootstock or variety matter in the decision of your soil choices?

Thanks Ahead.
 

[Eggo]

I think most people will add a bit of organic matter and mix it with native soil to amend it. But not too much as you want the roots to not linger only where you added soil but to begin to spread out.  It's probably more important to add a layer of mulch regularly.
More importantly in California it would be the mango rootstock.  There's some good info on this in the earlier messages on this thread.  I have a 15 year old turpentine rootstock tree that is barely cracking 6 ft tall growing in clay soil and a family member of mine has one that is probably 12 years old barely 4 1/2 feet tall growing in very sandy fast draining soil.  Some have mention that the cultivar grafted on these turpentine matters and some varieties do way better.  I don't know what's in the soil/water there in Florida that makes turpentine thrive in Florida and not in California hahah.  I would recommend getting a Laverne Manila they grow very vigorously.  They are easily available at Home Depot and then graft varieties you want onto them. Sometimes Armestrong would carry a Keitt grafted onto a Manila from Laverne also.

[sapote]

Sorry Max I think I should rephrase what I mean by having fruits. I enjoy most of my mangos while green even if it's sweet or sour.  I will occassionally eat them ripe in a bountiful year. I grow mainly 3 varieties.  Nam Doc Mai#4 and Laverne Manila fills my months from Feb through Jun. But again very mild weather here.  NDM#4 blooms 3 sometimes 4 times a year for me but very prone to powdery mildew and fruit split for me.  Currently I have hundreds of fruitlets about 1 to 2 inch in size, they will be ready to eat green and sour around Feb.  And if left to mature, it will probably ripen in May and June.  But I start to pick them as some of our spring rains will lead to fruit splitting.  Around May and and June, the Laverne Manila produces edible green immature sour fruits that are edible even around the size of apricots. They lack a strong resin and are edible even small.  Some mangos are not edible as a green sour mango at that small size.  Those manila I dont think are any good when they develop a husky seed and ripe fruits are very aromatic but small and fibrous.  My months where I'm completely out of edible mango is Nov through Jan, ahah.  Hoping to find some local sources of other varieties, my luck with graftong shipped scions from Florida hasn't been too good.  I definitely would like to share/swap various fruits/scions.

Your fruit cycle is completely different from the norm as you pick the fruits much early and the trees provided multiple crops per year, so it will be tough for us to guess what varieties can fill your need in Nov to Jan.  I didn't know that La Verne Manila fruits have any value but I'm glad you had found the way to enjoy them. In my yard, the latest mango in the season is Lancetilla.

[simon_grow]

Hi All,
    You all have some very nice SoCal Mango trees around.  For those on this thread, I'm interested in learning more about the soil you use for your In Ground Mango trees.  In particular, I was considering the best way to plant Mango trees into the typical sandy clay that characterizes some Inland Empire or Orange County areas.   Assuming that drainage isn't too big a problem do you tend to plant in (1) straight native sandy clay,  (2) supplement with some percentage of sand / gypsum / pumice, or (3) alter the planting hole some other way?  Also, does the rootstock or variety matter in the decision of your soil choices?

Thanks Ahead.

Sand and clay soil is very different but if you have good drainage, I’m assuming you have sandy soil.

It’s probably best to plant directly into your native soil wether it’s sandy or clay. Dig a square hole with sharp corners so the roots don’t circle. You can add about 25-50% or more of a good quality top soil but make sure it’s just top soil and not mulch or compost. Top soil will generally add a bit of organic matter and may help sandy soil retain moisture.

Plant selection is critical and I highly recommend planting many seedlings from mono and Polyembryonic seeds/fruit. Also plant a couple Home Depot Manilla mangos and plant them directly into the soil and don’t graft any of your seedlings until they have developed their scaffold branches.

Simon

[Victoria Ave]

Unfortunately I came home today to find my Valencia Pride which was just starting to turn yellow the other day when I left had split on the tree. Luckily it seems to be close to ripe so I covered the split with a bandaid and put it in a paper bag with bananas hopefully I'm a few days it will have a little give and I can enjoy my first properly grown mango!

Reason for the split? I'm guessing it may well be the hot and dry Santa Ana winds we've been having. At the end of summer I switched my irrigation timer from every 4 days to every 7 going off on Sunday. I imagine the hot dry winds this week changed the ETO drastically I should have irrigated a little sooner. But if anyone has any other theories let me know

[JF]

Two more of my top tier California seedling first Parson a seedling of Juliette
2nd SA06 a seedling of ppk
Both of these have hit 30 brix with excellent coconuty and citrus flavor

[simon_grow]

Looking delicious JF, our mutual friend agreed that Parson was very good. Hopefully we can sample all these fruit at a future mango tasting. Lots of great seedling selections out there!

Simon

[sapote]

Reason for the split?

I think the cold temp at night. Never seen a band aid used on injured mango before. It's kind of late for VP fruits.

[Gulfgardener]

I spent the night reading this thread lol. The info here really is invaluable not only to CA but I think to growers in cooler climates in general. I'm on the FL panhandle waiting to build a greenhouse. I have 5 mangos in pots and I've noticed the slow growth due to flowering/short growing season.  I've also noticed my Indian mangos Kesar and Malika haven't grown in the low droopy way my Sugarloaf, Pickering and Carrie have. Have you noticed this with Indian types? This is only the second winter with them so it could be nothing. Thanks again.

[Goyo626]

Is now the time to cut off first bloom?

[simon_grow]

Unfortunately I came home today to find my Valencia Pride which was just starting to turn yellow the other day when I left had split on the tree. Luckily it seems to be close to ripe so I covered the split with a bandaid and put it in a paper bag with bananas hopefully I'm a few days it will have a little give and I can enjoy my first properly grown mango!

Reason for the split? I'm guessing it may well be the hot and dry Santa Ana winds we've been having. At the end of summer I switched my irrigation timer from every 4 days to every 7 going off on Sunday. I imagine the hot dry winds this week changed the ETO drastically I should have irrigated a little sooner. But if anyone has any other theories let me know

Sorry for the late reply but VP is prone to splitting. Especially if soil moisture or atmospheric humidity has large swings.

Simon

[simon_grow]

Is now the time to cut off first bloom?

Allow the blooms to fully form and then cut off 1/2 to 2/3 of each panicle. If your tree is young or has weak branches, you can trim the blooms earlier in order to avoid the weight of the blooms to cause the branches to droop. This type of bloom trimming is only for young or non established trees that you don’t want to fruit.

When young mango trees in colder climates blooms, the weight of the panicles causes the branches to droop to a horizontal position which exposes the cambium to the sun which in turn can lead to sunburn. If your branches are already hardened in a horizontal position, you can paint the exposed surfaces with a 50:50 mixture of white paint and water. You’ll have to look up what type of paint as I can’t remember.

Simon

[Goyo626]

Is now the time to cut off first bloom?

Allow the blooms to fully form and then cut off 1/2 to 2/3 of each panicle. If your tree is young or has weak branches, you can trim the blooms earlier in order to avoid the weight of the blooms to cause the branches to droop. This type of bloom trimming is only for young or non established trees that you don’t want to fruit.

When young mango trees in colder climates blooms, the weight of the panicles causes the branches to droop to a horizontal position which exposes the cambium to the sun which in turn can lead to sunburn. If your branches are already hardened in a horizontal position, you can paint the exposed surfaces with a 50:50 mixture of white paint and water. You’ll have to look up what type of paint as I can’t remember.

Simon

Thanks for the response. I was thinking about getting a second bloom. I read it earlier in a thread that cutting off first bloom at the right time would cause a second bloom to occur. And second bloom is less prone to powdery mildew. Just curious as to when is the right time to do it.

[simon_grow]

It really depends on the weather patterns and it’s the average low temps that determine if a push is vegetative, blooms or partial blooms. If you remove the blooms too early, like now, you may need a third bloom to avoid the fungal issues.

I would let your blooms develop almost completely and then thin out half the volume of the blooms and then let any fruit set. Around Early March, if you have no or poor fruit set, remove all the blooms in hopes of a secondary bloom.

Simon

[Goyo626]

Thanks ill give it a shot for at least some of the trees.

[Victoria Ave]

Hey all, had some time this morning to take care of my trees so thought I’d post an update on my yard




California native plants as ground cover between my mangos on the shady side of the house. Now that days are longer these trees are getting about 4-5 hours of direct sun on the NE corner of my house and liking it.

 




Manga espada seedling. This seems quite vigorous, was multi branched when I got it and at each terminal node is consistently puts out about 5 to seven shoots which I have been nipping back to 3. No cold damage at all and started flushing before any of my other trees. Put out a few small blooms but nothing took. May graft a limb or two as there seems plenty to spare. Would like to try the fruit off of this and grow for rootstock.







Mallika flowering like crazy. This one took the most cold damage out of my trees. Had three nights of around 32° F weather and I covered and put Christmas lights on after I noticed all the leaf tips on the plant crisped up. Has flowered early and strongly, lots of female flowers. As tempted as I am to let fruit form I’m going to snip all off once night weather gets warmer. Thinking about snipping the central leader off and going with and open vase shape from the three scaffold branches, but it seems a waste of all that growth. Thoughts?







Valencia pride bark graft is growing strongly on my chopped root stock. Graft was my first graft attempt and 1 out of three scions took. The light green leaves are fresh growth from this scion. I have three good scaffold branches that have developed for me to try grafting onto again when June rolls around. I already have a list of varieties I want to graft. And it greatly out numbers my trees to graft on to. I think I will limit this trees to three varieties max.

 





My scraggly looking 7’ tall Valencia pride. Last year was first year it started growing vegetive growth well with about three flushes. Some areas gaining about a foot or more. It held one fruit to maturity, but I believe that was my fault for not irrigating enough during fruit set as it held a fruit from a late cold snap after I set up automatic irrigation and got regular on it. Tree has flowered well and lots of little fruitlets, but the ratio of female flowers is no where near as high as on My Mallika. Last week it reached day time temps of 100° F. This whole week night temps have been down into the 40°s maybe I’ll get another bloom set.

On the flowers shown am I seeing powdery mildew? I didn’t want to jump the gun and start spraying like crazy so the past couple mornings I have hosed the tree down well and today I snipped all the flowers like this off (just portions not the whole panicle).

Was thinking about grafting a couple branches that don’t hold fruit this year (really hoping for a good fruit set!) with Val-Carrie as this sounds. Like it would be a fun combo. Hoping my seedling grafted with VP will grow much more vigorously than this tree which has maintained the same size since I bought it from a nursery straight from Florida.

[simon_grow]

Victoria Ave, great updates on your trees. Your trees are looking happy and healthy. If any of your branches start getting droopy from the weight of the blooms, you can remove about half the bloom panicle to relief the weight. Just don’t remove the entire bloom until it gets much warmer- average nightly lows above 62F.

I’m glad you are also planting some seedlings. Plant as many different varieties of seedlings as you can. The greater the genetic diversity, the better your odds of finding a rootstock that thrives in your specific soil and microclimate.

I highly, highly recommend this technique to everyone attempting to grow mango in SoCal. You will be shocked at the growth rate of some seedling trees but the secret sauce is to get a hold of as many different varieties of seeds as you can, both Monoembryonic and Polyembryonic. I’ve found that seedlings from my mango fruit and fruit given to me by friends to just take off like a rocket.

Generally you have about 3-4 years of vegetative growth before your seedling tree will bloom and if you can maximize growth by fertilizing during the hottest months of those 3 years, you should be able to form a great foundation of scaffold branches to graft onto in the future.

You may be interested in varieties like Sweet Tart, Ceci love, Peach Cobbler, Pineapple Pleasure, Lemon Zest, Orange Sherbet, Kathy, Venus, E4, M4 and O-15.

Simon

[Johnny Eat Fruit]

Based on observations at my location, the 0-15 Mango appears to be a good grower. I am optimistic about this tree as I just planted it in the ground in 2021 and it grew well in our cooler summer that year. The 0-15 was grafted onto a manila seedling and as you can see from the photo is doing well.

As Simon has mentioned there is great variation in the growth and vigor of various mango seedlings. Some are excellent and grow robustly while others are weak and lack vigor. Having a strong mango rootstock is key for long-term success.

Also regarding Lemon Zest in SoCal here are some observations about growth. I have two grafted LZ mango trees, one at my coastal location and another in inland Alhambra just south of Pasadena. Both trees were grafted onto Ataulfo rootstock and both are good rootstock. I have noticed better and faster growth at the Alhambra location which is 15-20 degrees warmer in the summer. The Lemon Zest appears to thrive more with increased inland heat. 

Johnny

 

Young 0-15 Mango Tree (4-4-2022)

[sapote]

Hey all, had some time this morning to take care of my trees so thought I’d post an update on my yard

My advice: don't graft on any seedlings until they are over 8 ft with trunk bigger than 2.5". Graft too early will stop growing and end up with droopy trees regardless seedling variety. The graft will spend most energy in making flowers and fruits.

[hawkfish007]

Hey all, had some time this morning to take care of my trees so thought I’d post an update on my yard

My advice: don't graft on any seedlings until they are over 8 ft with trunk bigger than 2.5". Graft too early will stop growing and end up with droopy trees regardless seedling variety. The graft will spend most energy in making flowers and fruits.

I second sapote, scions grafted to small 2-3 year old seedlings will droop no matter what seedling variety is used. People posting pic of seedlings with 2.5" trunk are at least 8 years old or older here in SoCal.