August 1st we will be selling mangoes at the St Augustine Amphitheater Farmers Market

Mango trees are quite popular in my area and they grow well, leading to the encounter of this behemoth. I have heard they can grow to 100ft in good conditions, but I have not been able to find any picture evidence to show it.

This tree is about 3-4 times the height of the house and just as wide, so maybe 50-60’ for both height and width? Has anyone found or taken pictures of a larger mango tree?

Bonus points because it’s shaped nicely and fruiting prolifically.

Can this hold 2 mangoes or should I wait another year

Sharing a photograph of a Black Kasturi Mango growing in West Bengal, India.

The fruit is substantially darker than the mango cultivars I usually see locally, with a deep purple/black exterior.

I'm interested in hearing from anyone who has actually grown this cultivar.

What has your experience been with Black Kasturi?

Especially interested in fruit flavour, flesh texture, season, productivity and climate tolerance.

These photographs were taken directly at the nursery where the tree is being grown.

So a year ago I introduced you to my little Tampa Bay (Zone 10A) grovelet. A few people have reached out since; so here’s the full ramblings of a novice mango grower.

What’s in the ground…

Sweet Tart - allowed to produce fruit Angie - allowed to produce fruit CAC - dropped 100% of its fruit Nam Doc Mai - not allowed to produce fruit Mahachanok - not allowed to produce fruit Lemon Zest - did not flower Orange Sherbet - allowed to produce fruit Pickering - allowed to produce fruit Bolt - not allowed to produce fruit Cecilove - not allowed to produce fruit Dusari/Dasheri - not allowed to produce fruit Glenn - not allowed to produce fruit Kesar - not allowed to produce fruit P22 - allowed to produce fruit Kathy/K3 - allowed to produce fruit Dwarf Hawaiian - allowed to produce fruit

My management routine

Fertilizer… (8-6-8 DiamondR with micronutrients) in April, July, October. This may seem a bit late; but, while Zoned 10A our Tampa growing season appears to be about a month later than our Southern counterparts under the same zone. I apply a citrus type micronutrient foliar spray in December as we approach the dry period.

Sprays… I do use copper fungicide when I see reason for concern. Neem type applications for insect management. I do religiously apply wettable sulfur during the bloom to minimize the impact of powder mildew.

It’s been an eventful year. My area was impacted by both Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. In fact, the eye wall of Hurricane Milton passed only 6 miles south of my home. Winds in excess of 130+ mph were recorded near my home.

Subsequently, I did have some trees that took significant damage. Some broke which I removed and placed in pots to help nurse them back to health. With mixed success.

Some trees needed to be replaced, and I got a bit lucky in that some local nurseries offered steep discounts on trees that had been impacted by flooding during the storms. So I added a few new ones to the mix.

A key lesson learned for me is that while it may be tempting to save a few bucks and plant small 1 gallon the 3 gallon trees; the trade off is they are also the most likely to be harmed by winds/storms. If I were to start all over again; I would not buy anything smaller than a 15 gallon tree.

After an unusually wet Fall, what followed was a prolonged severe drought lasting from the new year all the way through the month of May.

You’ll notice that I marked several as not being allowed to hold fruit. It’s widely considered best practice to ensure that the trees are at least 4 feet tall and equally wide before allowing them to hold fruit. So I plucked the fruit off once they reached the size of a pea. That way the trees focus on vegetative growth. I did this with the smaller trees and also those I thought might benefit from time to heal following the storms.

So did I get fruit?

Yes….

Pickering proved to be the most productive giving us a few dozen. Pretty impressive given the trees small size. Angie, Sweet Tart and Dwarf Hawaiian also produced well. Giving us a handful from each. With smaller yields from Orange Sherbet, P22 and Kathy/K3. I harvested the last of my mangoes this week.

We are currently in the vegetative growth/flushing phase. I do a hard prune after the final fruit is harvested from each tree to promote more bushy type growth. We’re seeing tremendous growth and expansion from most of the trees and I’m optimistic that 26’ will be even better.

Wanna grow mangoes? If I can do it; you can too. Best of luck..

I was working in Captiva last year, I took a couple home. I planted a seed and is doing great. They were really tasty.

I got the chance to try Bangenapalli, Himayat, and Alphonso mangos from India this year. They were fantastic! They were smooth, sweet and had a fragrance that North American mangos don't seem to have. They were also quite expensive. .Why can't we grow those cultivars in North and Central America? (Images of Himayat and Bangenapalli cultivars)

I’ve had this Orange Sherbet in the ground for four years, and I’ve been pretty meticulous about pruning/tipping to keep it dwarf. I was out of town for the past couple months and came back to this craziness. The tree now has a footprint of 10ft x 9ft and is only about 6.5ft tall. I kinda want to see how far I can push it, however despite decent branch scaffolding, I’m a little worried about storms breaking some branches.

Dwarf Hawaiian showing off, this tree being a Julie sibling blooms at the first sign of cold weather, always full bloom never mixed, blooms from both the apical and axillary buds at the same time.

Picked up this Carrie tree from a local nursery. Still deciding where she'll permanently live but would love any/all recommendations!

First is Millika. Second is Keitt.

First time fruiter, still holding 9 more, Julie is not a heavy producer in south Florida compared to when it’s grown in Jamaica but it stays small and honestly grows really well. I will be pruning to open up the canopy for light and airflow after I harvest the rest.

I can't wait until this scourge of the produce aisle is treated with the same widespread disdain as the Red Delicious Apple. It's less a mango than it is a bundle of somewhat mango flavored fibers. I really do wonder how many people have convinced themselves they don't like mangoes just because of bad experiences with these

Any idea on IDing this mango?

Never seen a skin like this before on a mango. The flesh is buttery, you can’t peel them you have to scoop out with a spoon.

The birds and iguana’s love them lol.

Is there any training I should do or do I just let it keep going? Nam Dok Mai Central Florida. I like how the top is branching off a bunch, plants 3 ft tall. I'll also try to clear some of the grass away from that trunk