Muddy and Patty,
I wish I could grow mango trees like you do.
Growing up in a tropical country, I have unintentionally become a mango snob
Juju mentioned something we learned as kids climbing up mango trees to pick mangoes. None of those mangoes would ripen in time for us. We just picked some and dropped them in a canal. The ones that sank or almost sank were more ripe than those that floated.
Like pineapples, mangoes ripen from the stem end first. The stem end is the sweetest part of the fruit. Sometimes, I donāt even eat the opposite end as it is too sour.
Mamuang,
Kids always learn all the tricks when they grow up around fruit. One of my friends raised watermelon on the bank of a river. They cut open the watermelon when they were kids and cut the heart out that was the sweetest and fed the rest to the livestock. People with sandy river bottom ground raise the best melons!
Mamuang, I really enjoyed that story! I could picture a group of kids climbing the mango trees and dropping fruits into the canal. I bet that as children you only thought of your desires of the moment, and not that you were wasting future mango treats when they floated. That is such a fun memory.
I would love to hear more mango stories.
I donāt really live where I can plant them outside and just leave them to do their mango thing. But my yard area surrounding the backside of the house, our outdoor living area, is now filled with plants that are happy with our summer humidity and high heat. They will have to come indoors and live with me in the winter.
Love that story, Mamuang! I can completely relate to your āmango snobā status. I am a ācitrus snobā having grown up in the heart of citrus country, where our house was actually built in the middle of a Valencia orange orchard. Here is my story - when my mom and dad drove down to Garden Grove in Orange County back in the mid-50ās, trying to find a house they could afford, they found a fellow who was starting to clear an orange orchard to build some houses. My dad and he struck up a conversation, and my dad, being the (really great) salesman he was told the developer, āHey, if you keep a lot of those really nice orange trees on each lot, youāll sell more houses.ā The developer thought that was a good idea, we ended up there, and had 4 gorgeous, mature Valencia orange trees left in our back yard. I climbed those trees as a kid, and would pick the tallest oranges for my mom. We ate āorange everythingā, lol! I grew up surrounded by citrus and avocado trees, and have my distinct favorite cultivars for each, too! Hoping my new mangos will be up to your standards! They are sort of an experiment for the person who developed these more cold-hardy cultivars, and hoping I have fruit to try this season!
If you were determined to buy something large, you could rent a van or truck, instead. Really, though when I drove down with my daughter we managed to fit 13 potted trees into a Dodge Charger, along with our luggage, food, and us. The condo mangoes were considerably shorter than the potted fruit trees youād find in your local box stores in spring. So, as long as you donāt lose your last smidgen of self-control when you hit a nursery, even a subcompact would do for mangoes.
About the house size. The number of indoor trees is only limited by the amount of space you think you need for yourself, your ingenuity, and actual square footage. Some people might even like the concept of sleeping under a canopy of leaves.
Okay, ran out after temps dropped below 100 to snap some pics of my mangoes. Two of the three new mangoes I planted last year have set mangoes. Pineapple is mobbed with them. Gold Coast has just one, Tequila Sunrise didnāt set any. Here are two stalks on Pineapple:
And just for fun, one of my lovely hydrangeas. This particular cultivar always puts out the most huge flower clusters. The cluster at the top is so huge. I tried to give it a little perspective by putting up my hand, but didnāt really capture how large it is. Larger than a dinner plate:
Oh, yeah, Patty! Youāve got it goinā on there! Iāve been eagerly awaiting those pics!
That Pineapple mango has SO many set on that one panicle that it looks like itās trying to out do Octo-mom. Iām not sure a full grown tree could carry such a heavy burden on a single panicle. Maybe it will do just enough fruit dropping on its own so that you donāt have to do the choosing.
You must be tickled happy to see at those trees as eager to produce as they are. I know that Iām delighted seeing my young ones trying. I think grafted mangoes may provide some of the quickest attempts at fruiting of any fruit trees. I didnāt know that when I got mine, but it sure does bring me smiles.
Hereās hoping that we both have some go all the way to maturation this year. Iād say that youāve got the better chance of success on that. My own real hope is for next year, but I certainly wonāt turn down an opportunity for a small taste this year.
Those hydrangea flowers are humongous! Just one would be sufficient for a centerpiece. Wow! I took some pics of at least one of mine a few weeks ago. I havenāt posted them, yet. I think I only snapped the blue one. Will have to make sure to take some of the pink if I didnāt.
I think I should work on becoming good at growing mangoes out of zone. If I can do it successfully, it might help encourage other mango lovers that they can also grow what they didnāt think was possible.
I do, too, or a NW/Canadian shrub. I think it is so funny to see them growing (well) here in S. California. I have mine planted on the east and north sides of my home, but I have a neighbor that has a HUGE hudrangea bush planted on the west side of their home, under a bedroom window. I find that amazing. I wonder how it will fare today, since it is 104 here, todya. Ungodly hot, weāre under a flex alert. Hoping I donāt lose my power!
They can take 104. They do it here every year. Of course, they appreciate not being in direct sun during the most intense time of day, especially now, the longest daylight, with the most direct rays of the year.
Itās amazing how much heat they can take, but full out direct western exposure is shocking to me. I have always grown them in shade/partial shade, only N or E exposure. Iām going to be sure to check out my neighborās hydrangea this week to see if it was toasted
Yes. Although my blue one is on a westerly side of the house, it is shaded by overhanging, heavily leafed branches above, and woodland to its south and west. Iāve never been bold enough to try full sun. I lost enough in their first year or two by locating them where I gave them insufficient water to survive our summer. Iām leaving well enough alone with the ones that finally made it through those first years!
The two Ice Cream mangoes that are still hanging in there are now the size of lima beans, if lima beans were pudgy and inflated. Here it is, the longest day of the year, and I didnāt take any photos before it got too dark. Hereās a pic I had previously taken of the volunteers spreading out from the area.
Iām afraid those vines arenāt going to last much longer now that the squash vine borers have found them. Iāve never yet won a battle with SVBās. I hope that at least a few of the MANY squash that are growing under there make it to maturity before before they lose their sustenance.
That looks like a crookneck squash variety; itās āsupposedā to be resistant to squash vine borer. I used to grow squash effortlessly in Australia and took it for granted. Now Iām going to try a floating row cover to see if I can exclude them a bit.
You know, a friend of mine who lives 20 minutes from me doesnāt even know what SVB or pickle worm are; they never had any problems growing squash! I believe itās because their place is riddled with fire ants, a natural enemy of such pests. I have no intention of bringing any colonies to my property though! lol
They even bore holes directly into your mature fruit at times, so be careful! I really hope you get to enjoy some of that squash!
Itās a butternut squash, normally a fall ākeeperā. The seeds came from one in the compost that weād kept too long. Those SVB arenāt supposed to hit those, either, but they do. It doesnāt seem to matter what kind of squash I have growing, the borers find them by the time I pick the first one. They do the same to pumpkins. Iāve even gone 5 years between plantings, and they still hit in full force. I didnāt intentionally plant anything in the squash family this year, but Iāve really enjoyed the atmosphere these have provided as a voluntary ground cover. I was looking forward to harvesting and sharing the abundance that theyāve set. Theyād gotten so far along that Iād hoped we were home free as far as borers go.
The two little mangoes are still hanging in there today. They are letting me get my hopes up, too. Iāve read that they are supposed to a very, very good tasting variety, but shy bearers.
My daughterās boyfriend looked at them yesterday and asked when they would be ready. I told him it might be September if they stay on there. Heās so eager for these! I do hope heās not the type who would pick and eat them without letting me have a taste.
Itās been too long since Iāve done an update.
The day after I took the above pic the front mango was on the ground. Looking at the pic, I should have expected that because it shows that the stem had yellowed. When the stems of immature temperate fruits yellow, the fruitlets drop. This goes to show that the same holds for mangoes.
The smaller fruit in the back is still hanging in there, though! Hereās how it looked on July 9th.
It may be difficult to tell from photos, but itās now about 1/4 the size Iām hoping it will get as a āsmallā mango. That stem does not appear yellow in real life. Thatās the angle of sun hitting from between leaves.
My biggest problem lately has been leaf hoppers or sharpshooters. Whatever they are, I kept finding them on my fruit stem. Iām sure they were happily sucking juices. That lead me to do something I havenāt done in years. I dusted the stem, just the stem, with Sevin. There is nothing flowering on that level or in the immediate vicinity beneath the fruit.
Still have a chance for the one to make it. Wish me luck!
In the meantime, the companion mango, Carrie, has been putting on a great flush of new growth and created many new branches.
I bet that as children you only thought of your desires of the moment, and not that you were wasting future mango treats when they floated. That is such a fun memory.
That lead me to do something I havenāt done in years. I dusted the stem, just the stem, with Sevin. There is nothing flowering on that level or in the immediate vicinity beneath the fruit.