Just eaten a juicy monster mango, and I am looking at the stone and thinking hmmm.
Has anyone grown a mango from seed?
No, but I do have some info, which was obtained when visiting a fruit plantation in Australia, owned by a chap called Brian Munro, who wrote a paper on potential crops to grow in Australia.
First, you have to remove the hard outer casing of the seed. You plant the kernel inside. Wash it thoroughly. If you can see a concave edge, plant that facing down. Plant into a very gritty, sandy compost - I think they said 75% grit/sand to 25% soil. They sprayed it with a combined fungicide and insecticide.
Evidently they germinate quite quickly if kept in warm conditions. They take about 5 years to fruit. I don't know if they need a pollinator. On the fruit plantation, all the mango trees had been grown on a different rootstock, but he said that about half of all seeds will give a good tree, and the other half a fair tree. They grew on rootstocks to get uniform height, as they grow very tall if not controlled. They reckoned the best was called Keow Savoey, and Chausa which fruited later.
I don't know if you could grow it outside in the UK but see no reason why you couldn't have a go in a conservatory or similar.
worth a try I think,
thanks for the info, I shall retreat to my shed later to extract the kernel.
Just a thought - does Emma Jane grow mangoes?? She's the tropical fruit expert here ;D
Hi David, used to go on a good site for growing exotic fruit, but don't think it's there anymore www.huwsgarden.co.uk but he said just scrub the fruit from the stone,plant in pot of compost and a shoot will emerge after a couple of weeks. Tried it, it worked but gave up cos I thought no way would a mango tree fit inmy conservatory !
P.S
Have just found huws website under a different name www.treetops.u-net.com just scroll through the index for exotic plants then look for exotic plants from your groceries
How high do mangoes grow? I have vague memories of humungous things in mango groves????
Am I getting a reputation Jenny? ::) Both mum and I have successfully grown mangos, but they like it humid and warm, and my conservatory is neither in the winter months and try as I might, they pop of this mortal coil. I have tried Lychee and they are the same, along with pawpaw. All will grow, but they really are fussy with conditions, but are fun. My current 'tropcials' are Dragon Fruit, Pineapple, Banana, Pomegranite and kiwi fruit. Think that is it at the moment. Advocado are another that grow really well, but they don't like to get sunburnt! that is how I lost mine. :-[ But nothing ventured, nothing gained! You eat the fruit anyhow, so why not stick the pip or stone into a pot and see what happens! ;D
Hi EJ can you tell me about avocados. I have a plant about 2 feet tall but no idea how to proceed. it was a cruelty case that I've brought back from being brown and shrivelled. No conservatory.
Hi grawrc. What do you want to know..? It is unlikely they will ever friut as they need to be years and years old, and huge. However, they do make lovely specimens. When I lived at home, we didn't have a conservatory, and I grew a lovely one in my bedroom quite easily. I treated mine just like the rest of my houseplants, wiped the leaves, mist occassionally, feed when I remember, water when the compost is dry. I think looking back I would have pinched the growing tip out of mine to encourage it to bush rather than have a long thin trunk with a rosette of leaves at the very top. My last one frazzled when it was left in the conservatory one very hot summers day when we were out for the day. I thought I might be able to bring it back by cutting the trunk back to a bud, but it never did recover. I also reakon they should go out during the summer to toughen up, otherwise again, you end up with a long trunk with a few leaves at the top. Hope this rambling helps!
Just what I wanted to know EJ. :) :) You're psychic! ;D