Holy Sh*t! How NOT to Trim a Mango Tree

[johnb51]

Not to disrespect anybody, but...the knucklehead tree trimmers were hard at work in my community trimming all the trees for big bucks.  "Our contract is to trim side branches only."  All trees were treated as shade trees.  They weren't even aware this was a mango tree, I guess, but it really didn't make any difference to them.  The owner of the 15-year-old tree didn't seem too upset--I was more upset than him--but he admitted it was a stupid way to trim a mango tree.

This is a seedling tree, and I was impressed with the flavor of the fruit this year.  Fortunately my next-door neighbor knows how to graft and has produced and planted two more trees (in the "no-fruit-trees-allowed" community).  I hope to share it with more people for evaluation in the future.  It's an early mango with a very bright flavor--nice sugar/acid balance.  The parent tree's fruit has a mild coconut flavor.  This mango is something completely different in flavor and appearance.

[JoshuaTilaranCR]

Where I fill up my propane tank for my restaurant there's a property with mango trees planted as if it were an orchard. They trimmed their trees the exact same way. I looked at my wife and said, they trimmed out what they should've left and left what they should've trimmed out. Luckily it's a seedling and he can chop back the top at some point and start over again. Especially if he gets shoots at the bottom when it starts putting in new growth.

[spaugh]

It keep other people from stealing the fruit. 

[johnb51]

It keep other people from stealing the fruit.

Except this neighbor doesn't have a pole to pick with so he would just let the fruit fall then gather the fruit, which would suffer some bruising. Towards the end of the season he let me go at it with my pole.  Looks like next year if it has another good year, he'll be employing my services!  The second tree should have fruit, but the third tree maybe not yet.

[Kevin Jones]

Made me laugh!

Kevin

It keep other people from stealing the fruit.

[zands]

This tree is very well branched out. The only problem for us mango cognoscenti is that all the fruits will be up on high. So wait for them to fall or find a way to pick them. In contrast, all my trees are kept low for easy fruit picking. My goal is to never have to use a ladder (dangerous) to trim/prune the tree. I am sure many/most here do the same.

For picking fruit from this tree I would take a simple extension ladder and rope it in very very securely to the trunk. I did this rope-a-dope once to trim a Kent mango tree. Then using a mango picking pole I would pick the mangos. Get out an old foam mattress and drop your picked mangos onto it. Or haul an old sofa outside and drop the mangoes onto it. (joke) Hmmmm.. I would never get up on a folding ladder to pick mangoes.

If the lawn is very lushly grassy and well kept the mangoes that fall off naturally will not get that bruised. Mangoes that fall can be firm and suffer minimally. Not all mango drops are soft by any means.

[spaugh]

is that new little tree in the yard a carrot wood?  If it is, they should have the tree trimmer come back and chop it down and dig it out asap. 

[Walt]

I knew nothing about mangos until I joined Peace Corps in 1978.  I was to be a vegetable researcher and supervise vegetable seed production in Rep. du Niger.  In the garden 14 hectars, I was in charge of was an old mango tree.  Men would go up in it and walk out on the bigger limbs and use poles to knock down mangos.  Men below would catch some of them.  Others went splat.
So I asked what they were.  A couple of the men found one with the perfect ripeness and cut it open for me.  Wonderful.  But while that huge tree was a wonder to look at, all others were kept to a reasonable height.  I later found that 6 small trees in my yard were mangos, but a different variety which produced later.  Good eating!

[strom]

My parents' gardener did this to all their mulberry and fruit trees last year, they can't reach any fruit now, it's all for the crows