I gave up the idea to grow them in ground without protection. Initially I was going to grow them first 4-5 years in my small unheated greenhouse and then plant outside in some sheltered spots. Usually we have not so much freezing temperatures, 2-3 times during winter 28-30°F for one night, some years even not, but once in 5 year down to 23-25°F for couple days. Our winter is differ from Florida’s. We have in January and February average day temperature around 45°F and night around 36-37°F. Coupled with our winter wind it cause serious damage even for very hardy evergreens like loquat because at these temperatures they are dormant and can’t recover from slow constantly cold wind damage. So now I changed my goal, I will try to keep them near 2,5-3 metres height and will create cages around them in winter
Because I’m greedy, I keep looking at individual tents / greenhouses for trees. It would be an extravagance to do so for one tree, but it would help mitigate a lot like temp, wildlife (flying dinosaurs and 4 legged) as well as insects. He’ll even the amount of water to some degree.
If I were to do so I think I’d go for a dwarf mango.
Or my silly dream of growing a healthy, fruiting cherry tree.
Oh I think it could add some chill hours as well. Both keeping the temp above freezing and not losing those hours as well as mitigating direct daytime sunlight.
Florida has a range of winter climates, from 8b to 11a. All of them experience a relatively warmer spring than here in near-coastal southern CA.
This is worth trying.
As you are probably aware, Mango trees are morphologically very different from Diospyros, Moraceae, Pomes, and Prunus. In particular they sprout new branches (modified stalks, really) from prior nodes of fruit, and in older specimens rarely from lignified wood. Thus if all the shoots are pruned from a lignified node, it will die along with the branch (stalk) whence it came – regardless of branch caliper.
The fruits themselves require a very long summer ripening period in locations without summer heat accompanied by humidity.
It is not impossible because members like @amadioranch do grow mango in the ground in Zone 9a. It is a huge amount of work Spring doings
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To do mangoes or other tropicals in a structure like that would require enclosing it completely and adding a ton of heat. While this winter was mild and we barely saw a freeze, lots of winters we get down in the low teens. Mangoes are very freeze sensitive, we do grow them but use straw houses we build around them and have to keep them small. Honestly its a real pain and every time I have to put up or take down the houses I grumble and wonder how many more years im willing to do it for a few mangoes…
And no, never enough to sell. Starfruit is a different story. They produce is such quantities even when small that they are profitable to us.
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Star fruit are seemingly an up-and-coming exotic fruit
I’ve bought a half dozen over the years
at various big grocers.
when i do plant my mango in the ground, i do intend to keep it small so i can protect it with blankets and covers when temps go below 40 in the winters
when i do plant my little mango in the ground, i do intend on pruning to maintain a small mango tree and covering with blankets and frost cloths when it goes below 40 F, i recently ordered burlap and polypropylene drawstring plant covers and will test them out on some tropicals i already have in the ground, eventually i plan on filling my backyard with dense plantings so there’s enough vegetation to create a warmer microclimate.
Unfortunately it will take more than normal blankets. Maybe you could use a heavy blanket of insulation? You need to build a small insulated home to cover it with or something very heavy and thick. In arizona @amadioranch used straw bails he stacked around the mango before the cold hit.
i have lots of moving blankets (pretty thick), x-large cardboard boxes, that can be put over and filled with either mulch or bubble wrap/styrofoam which i have a lot of. worst case scenario, i buy a pop up greenhouse and place it over the mango. maybe i will plants the tropicals closer together if i do get a greenhouse.