Mango Trees

The juicy, ripe mango fruit has a rich, tropical aroma and flavor that summons thoughts of sunny climates and sultry breezes. The home gardener in warmer zones can bring that taste out of the garden. However, how do you grow a mango tree? Mango tree planting is suitable in zones where temperatures do not usually dip below 40 F (4 C.). If you’re lucky enough to live in a tropical to sub-tropical climate, take these tips for mango tree care and enjoy the fruits of your labors in just a few years.

How Do You Grow a Mango Tree?

Mango trees (Mangifera indica) are deep-rooted plants that may become large specimens in the landscape. They are evergreen and generally produced off rootstocks that increase the hardiness of the plants. Mango trees begin fruit production in three years and form fruit quickly. Choose a variety that is best suited for your zone. The plant can thrive in almost any soil but requires well-drained soil in a site with protection from cold. Position your tree where it will receive full sun for best fruit production. New mango tree planting is done in late winter to early spring when the plant is not actively growing.

Mango Tree Planting

Prepare the site by digging a hole that is twice as wide and deep as the root ball. Check the drainage by filling the hole with water and watching how fast it drains. Mango trees can survive some periods of flooding, but the healthiest plants are produced where soils percolate well. Plant the young tree with the graft scar just at the soil surface. You don’t need to prune the young plant but watch for suckers from the graft and prune them off. Young mango tree care must include frequent watering as the plant establishes.

Growing Mango Trees From Seed

Mango trees grow easily from seed. Get a fresh mango pit and slit the hard husk. Remove the seed inside and plant it in seed starter mix in a large pot. Situate the seed with ¼-inch protruding above the soil surface when growing mango trees. Keep the soil evenly moist and place the pot where temperatures remain at least 70 F. (21 C.). Sprouting may occur as early as eight to 14 days, but may take up to three weeks. Keep in mind that your new mango tree seedling will not produce fruit for at least six years.

Caring For a Mango Tree

Mango tree care is similar to that of any fruit tree. Water the trees deeply to saturate the long taproot. Allow the top surface of the soil to dry to a depth of several inches before watering again. Withhold irrigation for two months prior to flowering and then resume once fruits begin to produce. Fertilize the tree with nitrogen fertilizer three times per year. Space the feedings and apply 1 pound per year of tree growth. Prune when the tree is four years old to remove any weak stems and produce a strong scaffold of branches. Thereafter, prune only to remove broken or diseased plant material. Caring for mango trees must also include watching for pests and diseases. Deal with these as they occur with organic pesticides, cultural and biological controls or horticultural oils. Growing mango trees in the home landscape will give you a lifetime of fresh pungent fruit from an attractive shade tree. Fruit trees are generally pruned to remove dead or diseased wood, allow more light to penetrate into the leaf canopy and to control the overall tree height to improve harvesting. Pruning mango trees is no exception. Sure, you could let them run amok, but you would need significant space for such a large tree and how on earth would you get to the fruit? So how do you prune a mango tree and when is the best time to prune a mango tree? 

Before Trimming Mango Trees

On a cautionary note, mangos contain urushiol, the same chemical that poison ivy, poison oak and sumac contain. This chemical causes contact dermatitis in some people. Since uroshiol is also present in the mango leaves, care should be taken to completely cover exposed body parts when pruning mango trees.

How to Prune a Mango Tree

About 25-30% of moderate pruning is done on commercially grown mangos to reduce the canopy height and width of large mango trees. Ideally, the tree will be shaped to have three and not more than four main trunks, have ample interior canopy space and is 12-15 feet tall. All this is true for the home gardener as well. Moderate, and even severe pruning, will not damage the tree, but it will reduce production for one to several seasons, though is worth it in the long run. Spreading branches are more fruitful than erect branches, so pruning seeks to remove them. Lower branches are also pruned to four feet from ground level to ease the tasks of weed removal, fertilizer application and watering. The basic idea is to maintain a modest height and improve flowering, thus fruit set. Mangos do not need to be pruned every year. Mango trees are terminal bearers, which means they flower from the tips of the branches and will only flower on mature wood (shoots that are 6 weeks or older). You want to avoid pruning when the tree has vegetative flushes near flowering time around the end of May and into June. The best time to prune a mango tree is after harvest and should be done immediately, at the very least completed by the end of December.

Most of trimming mango trees is common sense. Keep in mind the goals to remove diseased or dead wood, open the canopy and reduce height for ease of harvest. Pruning to maintain height should begin when the tree is in its infancy. First, a heading cut (a cut made in the middle of a branch of shoot) should be made at about 3 inches. This will encourage the mango to develop the main three branches which form the scaffold of the tree. When those scaffold branches grow to 20 inches long, a heading cut should again be made. Each time the branches reach 20 inches in length, repeat the heading cut to encourage branching. Remove vertical branches in favor of horizontal branches, which help the tree to maintain its height. Keep pruning in this manner for 2-3 years until the tree has a strong scaffold and open frame. Once the tree is at a workable height for you, you should only need to make one to two thinning cuts per year just to help control growth. Keep the tree rejuvenated and fruitful by removing any woody branches. Mangos will begin fruiting in their second or third year after planting. Once the tree is fruiting, it uses less energy to grow and more to blossom and fruit, effectively reducing its vertical and horizontal growth. This will reduce the amount of pruning you need to focus on. Just maintenance pruning or pinching should keep the tree in good shape.