Mangoes

As a little boy I remember going back to Taiwan to my grandmother’s house. There she has this large mango tree. We would pick it and eat the mangos. I always loved mangos. I’ve tried to grow them from seeds ni the past, but whenever I planted them into the gound, nothign ever came up.

After an interlude, while in college, I finally decided to take a nother stab at growing mangos, but this time I had a revelation. I figured someone else must have tried to grow mangos already. There must be some information online.

Apparently the seed/pit that you first see after you eat a mango is a husk. The actual seed is inside, so you have to peel it off.

The first mango that sprouted did not survive past 1 year. This is when I encountered the spider mites (for the second time actually). I was not sure what happened, and why it died, but apparently if you have any indoor plants that do not get good ventilation, they can become prey to spider mite.

The Second and third one died from some sort of black mold that afflicts mangoes.

The fourth one was gifted to an attending that will remain nameless. I was assured the Mango would survive, but I found it perished from parchment.

This Mango is from these mini Mexican mangoes. #4, 5 and 6 grew up together. #5 here originally was overcome with the black mold, but somehow with constant spraying with Copper Bonide and Neem Oil, it has found new life.

Mangoes
mango #4, 6 and 5 (left to right)

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This is also one of those Mini mangoes. It is approximately 3 years old now.  It is probably the 6th attempt that actually grew.

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Mango #5
#6 my baby (free of mites/scale/fungi)
Mango #6
#5 the black sheep of my mangoes

Below is a Cogshall Mango I purchased from Pine Island Nursery in Florida. I had such high hopes for this one, but the black mold got ahold. That wasnt soo bad, but it did stress the plant. What really stressed it was an issue with soft scale. They literally sucked the life out of the plant, and killed it. I did not recognize it until it was too late.

Cogshall Mango
Cogshall Mango from Pine Island Nursery

References:

http://www.tropicalpermaculture.com/growing-mangoes.html

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tropical/msg02193335519.html

http://www.tropicalfruitnursery.com/

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