how to grow a mango plant from seed

Discussion in 'Plant Propagation' started by dogseadepression, Feb 15, 2006.

  1. Greerish

    Greerish Active Member

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    well you've inspired me I'm off to plant a couple now. Anyone know if they can be grown hydroponicaly?
     
  2. et2007

    et2007 Active Member

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    It hard to believe that I'm going to celebrate the first birthday for this mango plant in two weeks:)
     

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  3. The Hollyberry Lady

    The Hollyberry Lady New Member

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    Wow - they must be slow growers, but your plant is cute.

    : )
     
  4. Nath

    Nath Active Member

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    I just stuck 3 mango stones in a large 3 foot deep pot by 2 foot across, kept them moist and the first one has come up within weeks and grows very fast. Mine is currently red but the leaves should turn a deep green in a few weeks. Mangoes grow very tall hence I used a deep pot. They make huge trees, as tall a spalms and the tree depending on what type of mango it is can live for around 300 years. The downside for those of us who live in colder winter climes from December to March is that they won't tolerate cold and damp at the same time, hence my large pot and they are staying in the conservatory for now. Having said that I do experiment a lot and my Papayas survide the British winter and are thriving in my Garden 2nd generation so anything is possible with perseverence and paciencia.

    Nath
     
  5. et2007

    et2007 Active Member

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    Yes, mango is growing very fast, my home only have East, West & North windows + huge trees so not much of sun light get inside + I'm an amateur gardener who like to shampoo the plants root before it go indoor :):):)
     
  6. oberfeldwebel

    oberfeldwebel Active Member

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    It's worth an attempt though I wouldn't hold my breath on the fruit....as has been stated in previous posts these trees get massive; we're talking 80feet+. I'm not sure how big they have to be before setting fruit but I bet it takes them at least a year or two under normal growing conditions... much like most other fruiting trees
     
  7. The Hollyberry Lady

    The Hollyberry Lady New Member

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    Curious...

    Is it possible to have a mango tree in a big pot and keep it for years, where it actually may one day put on fruits? Like if it spent it's summers outdoors, and spent the winter inside using supplemental lighting when necessary?

    : )

    P.S. My mango seed has not germinated quite yet.
     
  8. Nath

    Nath Active Member

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    Lorax, I just had to laugh at Chupitos though I can understand why. My favourite way to eat a mango is just to suck the juice out of it, especially if you put a bit of Chile Piquin on it. In England at the moment we are having to agauantar cualquier tipo de mango que tiene la tienda o supermercado que traes estas cosas. Quiero un gran mango rojo del mercado que viene cada viernes en la callejon atras de nuestra casa.

    Ijoli porque estoy trapado aqui en este pais??????? Sorry I had to let off some steam but Chupito in Mexico means a baby's dummy and when you have a nice ripe and juicy mango the best way is to enjoy it is to chupar or suck it and let the juice just run down your face, especially when it just been picked from the tree if you can find one that has turned in colour from green to orange and red. Leave the green ones they take weeks to mature. But if you catch them just right they are so jugoso so sweet. The others will ripen in the sun if you put them on a bit of old newspaper very quickly, thats what my monster in law(Suegra) deos.

    I am now salivating ....anyhow sigue chupando hermanitos!!! Vale la pena!!! cuatro meses mas y voy a estar en casa!! No puedo esperar!!!
     
  9. The Hollyberry Lady

    The Hollyberry Lady New Member

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    I think we are all salivating after that!

    : O
     
  10. oberfeldwebel

    oberfeldwebel Active Member

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    mmmm chile piquin.... io penso es como la salsa con mango, lima y chiles.....ou jalapeno es buen tambien....it's hard though even here to find good ripe mangos en el mercado....most still have some green on them even if other parts of the mango have already turned yellow or red.....por los grandes......las otras chico mango que tienen amarillo.. no me gusta the flavor como los grandes.... Here's how far my mango has gotten thus far.....he's alittle short, needs a deeper pot......

    HollyberryLady Re: "curious..." I bet that would work...that's what i'm gonna try to do... considering how big they get though they're gonna try to send down some really deep strong roots (you know the kind that mess wih your plumbing if you plant them too close to the house...or crack and raise sidewalks when they're planted too close to them?) So I'm gonna try some progressive root trimming sorta like what bonsai enthusiasts do but I don't want a tree that small so I won't get quite as carried away wih the root trimming as they do...but I figure i it works with them..... plus it sounds like you have the indoor light thing under control...that shouldn't be a problem.....
     

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  11. The Hollyberry Lady

    The Hollyberry Lady New Member

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    I'm gonna need your help when it comes to the root trimming, Oberfeldwebel!

    : O

    OMG - this sounds like one serious tree! I am excited to grow one. I would like to keep one going in a pot for over 10 years, and let it get about 5 feet tall, and maybe it would give a few fruits one day, who knows. So fun to experiment.

    Yes, I have amazing supplemental lighting - the best. I know I can keep this tree happy all year round.

    : )


    By the way - you're little plant looks terrific! I love it.

    : )
     
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  12. oberfeldwebel

    oberfeldwebel Active Member

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    yeah - it'll probably actually get better light indoors than out considering where you're located. Fewer cloudy days in the house than out.....plus you don't have that pesky house casting shadows :-P Sounds like you have warm humid summers up there so it'll probably be in heaven....
     
  13. The Hollyberry Lady

    The Hollyberry Lady New Member

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    I am optimistic, but we'll see...

    : )
     
  14. lorax

    lorax Rising Contributor 10 Years

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    LOL, oberfeldwebel, los pequeños son ricos pero solo si tienes polvo de ají para salpimientarlo antes de chupar.... Si no, les apestan como turpentina. I love the idea of Bonsai Mango! But you don't eat them green? One of my fave snacks since moving here is spiral-cut green mango with chili and vinegar....

    Sherry - you'll likely have fantastic luck with your mango, and in my experience they start to fruit at about 3 years / 5 feet. Big, established trees in the orchards here are 80 years old and 80 feet tall; a friend who has one that towers over the sidewalk in the city of Coca often gets complaints when the ripe fruit drops onto pedestrians.
     
  15. The Hollyberry Lady

    The Hollyberry Lady New Member

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    Lol - too funny Beth! I wouldn't want to be hit in the head by one, that's for sure.

    : O

    Well, this sounds so exciting. Just can't wait to see a sprout soon...

    : )
     
  16. lorax

    lorax Rising Contributor 10 Years

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    Yeah, they're Kents, which means they're the size of your regular supermarket mango. She's starting to train the local monkeys to pick them.
     
  17. oberfeldwebel

    oberfeldwebel Active Member

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    Heh - turpentine....I wondered what that funny smell/taste was.....kinda reminded me of black pepper...green mango, i'll have to try that they always just had that funny black pepper taste to me... LOL @ mango in the head....I'm surprised the monkey weren't already taking advantage, my mom has a pear tree here that the squirrels pick clean every year, she might get one or two pears off of it...maybe
     
  18. The Hollyberry Lady

    The Hollyberry Lady New Member

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    Ohhh, I would be so mad - growing pears for squirrels!

    : O
     
  19. Millet

    Millet Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    As long as the grocery store has not refrigerated the mango so cold that they killed the embryo, there is a good chance that the seed is alive.

    Don't dry it out. Plant immediately after removing from the fruit, or keep the pit damp until you're ready to plant it.

    You can plant the whole pit (lay it on its side and bury), but you'll get faster, more certain germination if you remove the seed from the pit. Along one side of the pit it should be thin, whereas the other side is thick (the seed is between the 2 walls of the pit). Take a heavy pair of scissors or a pruning clipper and carefully cut through the thin side of the pit, being careful not to injure the seed. the seed looks like a kidney.

    Plant the seed on its side, covered with maybe 1/2" of soil. Keep the seed warm and don't allow it to dry out completely during germination. It should send out a root within a week or two, and a top should rise from the soil in the 2nd or 3rd week.

    Some mangoes are polyembryonic, and in that case, you may get several plants from one seed. This is true of many of the pale, greenish-yellow fruit types, which are also often elongated. The more heart-shaped, brilliant red/orange/purple types, on the other hand, are nearly always monoembryonic and give just one plant per seed.

    Once the seed sprouts, give it as much light as possible. Mango trees enjoy full sun in the tropics. Mangoes will withstand chilly weather, but no frost. Established mango trees are remarkably tolerant of both drought and flooding, compared to other fruit tree species. Still, a well-drained soil, moderately watered, will give you the best growth.

    If the plant is a polyembryonic type, the seedlings may be genetically identical to the fruit from which they came. If a monoembryonic type, each seedling is a new (and usually inferior) variety.

    Commercially, mangoes are usually grafted. They're not terribly easy to graft. Trees grow to be amazingly large, and small trees usually don't bear well (unless a known dwarf variety), so you may not get much or any fruit from a potted houseplant. Ancient seedling trees may grow to 60-80 feet tall by over 100 feet wide; grafted trees can reach more than 40 feet tall by 50 or more feet wide.- Millet/Malcolm Manners (1,271-)

    N.I.C.E. board is far from nice
     
    Last edited: Jul 25, 2009
  20. The Hollyberry Lady

    The Hollyberry Lady New Member

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    Wow Millet - thanks for the great information!

    : O

    I m getting more and more excited now, because I sowed my seed exactly as you described! Actually, my nut was already split, and I just pried it apart with my fingers, and pulled out this flattish kidney shaped disk, that already had a green/reddish sprout coming out of it!

    The disk itself was cream coloured, but had splotches of red and green also. I bought a mango that was almost entirely red! In fact I had never seen one quite so red before, so I thought the seed inside would be a good one.

    It is so cold here this summer, that I have the mango seed buried with a 1/4 inch of soil, on my heat mat, under my fluorescent light system. It's only been a few days, but I will be so thrilled when that sprout makes it above soil. I could see it wanted to grow, really bad. How cool.

    I will for sure show pics of my plant as it grows...


     
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  21. et2007

    et2007 Active Member

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    Millet,
    Thank you for the info. last year i got one of the seed that produce two plant, the dummy part of me thinking something wrong with it so i let it go...
     
  22. Nath

    Nath Active Member

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    Like the Spanglish Oberfeldwebel, I had to smile, my fault i suppose I slipped into it first. Well my second Mango has sprouted and is about an inch tall but with green leaves this time and stalk, the first one is red and around 6 inches and growing fast but it has a pot that is very deep. They must of been to different types of seeds, just waiting for the 3rd one now to see what I get from that.

    lorax, I had forgotten that in places like Venezuela, Columbia and Ecuador they call chiles ají. Chile en polve con limon now I'm salivating, can't beet it on mango, cucumber or jicama.

    HBL you are going to need some room if you plan to keep you Mangoes in pots inside. My conservatory roof will allow for a height of 15 feet in the apex then I will have some choices to make if we are still in the UK then of course. Enjoy watching them grow.

    Nath
     
  23. The Hollyberry Lady

    The Hollyberry Lady New Member

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    What I am wondering is can you cut the top of the tree off, when it reaches the desired height? Or will this harm my mango tree?

    Well, Nath, it will be an interesting experience, now won't it? I intend on letting my tree spend it's summers outdoors.

    Just curious, Lorax, if I can 'top' the tree at 5 feet, and will this encourage more side branches?...

     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 23, 2009
  24. Greerish

    Greerish Active Member

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    does anyone know about using mangos for bonsai here? I've heard of it being done but know nothing about it myself.
    might be useful for solving the height problem too.
     
  25. SGCanada

    SGCanada Member

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    Hi from BC - am a new poster but could not resist chiming in. We live out here on Bowen Island and I grew this Avocado from seed in late summer of 06. It does nicely here inside (even in our winters which can be pretty cold but not as cold as ON) we only have wood burning stove + base boards in our small cabin but it gets lots of natural light from big windows. I have aso a photo of a newly sprouted Mango I thought may keep Avocado company during those long winter nights! Will keep you posted as to how it goes but it only sprouted 2 weeks ago. I tried a few of the methods that have been mentioned on this site but am not very patient. I just about gave up (after 4 weeks) but as I saw a slight bulge of the root pressing out I put it in a pot with good soil/compost and with all our summer heat it just "popped up". Will keep you up to date with its grow and more importantly if it can survive our winter. Good luck
    Sarah
     

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