A glorious sight ! Hopefully a harbinger of things to come ! Feel like dancing,..hard to do when all tied up ike this. ( smile )

Looks good. Protect them from the evil squirrels who try to destroy everything. Fruit trees in pots fruit younger than ones planted in the ground. The planted ones try to grow more roots and leaves. When the planted ones finally do start fruiting they produce a lot more than the potted ones.

You are so right amber, makes perfect sense. Will feel much better about that tiny tree after I get it planted in early March. Just wonder if theres any other mango trees out there flowering this early.

Congrats Jofus!! You're Pickering is ahead of mine (mine's planted inground) but I haven't noticed any of my mango trees in containers or planted out having any blooms as of yet...its been SO warm I think that might be the problem? Thinking a few more weeks?

Just hoping we don't have "Jack Frost" show up :o(

I hope for warm weather, too. My Pickering has a few panicles, too. I only have two Mango Trees, a Pickering and Nom Doc Mai. Inspired by garden web members of course!

Hey Puglvr1, thanks for your always great input. Hmmm, it's warm here also but the first 2 flowering panicles still poked their heads out on Dec 1st. Will be a sweltering ( well, almost ), 85 degrees here today.
With the TLC you give those trees I am sure it'll be DAYS, not weeks before you see your first flowering panicles. Please keep us advised.
Just checked my other mango trees,..nada mas !!! Oh yeah, spotted a THIRD flowering panicle on the precosious Pickering !!! Yikes, what's that tree going to do when it's in the ground 5 years ?? lol

morningloree : I recall when you acquired those two trees. You were listening to some good advise, those are top shelf choices for sure, - have one each right here. If you do decided to expand by only one more tree, may I respectfully suggest a Glenn mango ? They're not giants, grow to 12 - 14 ft max, but they are vigorous early season producers and the fruit is colorful, medium size with a taste to die for. JMHO, - now, if you decide to plant 6 more trees like this whacko, well thats another story,..got lots of suggestions. ( smile )

PS : morningloree, may I ask if your Pickering is in a pot or planted in the ground ? Thanks.

Here's a picture of my potted Glenn back in Spring of 2011...bloomed like crazy...not nearly as many mangoes that formed as I wished for...but can't complain since it won't do any good :o)

My Pickering is in a pot and Nom Doc Mai is in the ground. The nursery I bought the NDM from has a tree planted in the ground and it has thrived. I called to ask about the tree and I got a nice tour, and was surprised to see the tree growing well in Central Florida. The nursery is located in Geneva, a few miles away. They use C-9 Christmas lights on their nursery stock. I am considering overwintering the Pickering, then planting in ground for spring. I have the NDM in a protected part of the yard, next to an outlet for Christmas lights and it is small enough to cover well. I really like the look of that Glenn Mango!!

puglvr1 : Wow, what a huge mass of flowers for such a small tree. I know what you mean about not complaining,... with young trees it's an adventure every spring. Of my four mature trees, in the ground 4 - 5 yrs,..only the Glenn had mango's to pick last season. I keep reading & chatting, getting a bit more informed, but still know it's a roll of the dice each year with these youngsters.

morningloree : Your pickering, being still in it's pot, reinforces amberoses theory. As for winter protection, the only thing I am doing is stringing ( done a week ago ) C 9 Christmas bulbs thru most of the lower/mid portion of ea tree, and also watering once a week thru early spring as well as applying a thick mulch, which will be removed around late March. Trying to cover these trees at this stage is ludicrous,...they're just too big.

When I lived in the Upper Keys ( zone 11a ), I never even thought about a possible frost. Didn't know how great I had it till I moved here, - but realize it's even worse for youse guys.

Hope we have a mild winter as puglvr said,.. no frosts wanted !!! ( smile )

Thanks!! That Glenn has given me some nice fruits almost every year...not that many since its planted in a pot, but, I'll take anything it decides to give me.

Do you guys know if they still sell the old fashioned C7 and C9's the one that put out some heat? The new LED ones are very nice and economical but not good for using as "frost" protectors, since it gives out no heat :o(

Puglvr1 : Yes indeed, those heat emitting Christmas bulb sets are still being sold. At least the C-9 ones, as I just bought a new set at our local True Value hardware store, but previously as of last year, they were also available at Home Depot and am sure Lowes has them as well. Haven't seen any C-7's tho.
I agree whole heartedly,..the LED lights are are a waste as far as heating a chilly mango tree. Good luck !

Thanks Jofus...I checked my local WM and they don't carry them. Will check the others you suggested...

By now the pickering has gone bananas so wont go there. However, yesterday saw my next earliest flowering panicle. A 1/2 " sprout on a tip of my one Glen Mango branche. Just to make sure I wasn't halucinating, i waited another day,..there it was this morning, only two of them now !
Doesn't take much to make my day !! lol

eBay has quite a large offering of C7 & C9 Christmas lights for sale. I bought the stringers & lights brand new from eBay.

Lou

Just came back now from my local Walmart, ( a madhouse ), and strolled by their Christmass tree light sets. They, here in this store, also have both the C7 and C9 ones. And if you can wait till the store opens on Dec 23rd, the prices should drop to half, like they did last year ! Same as what happened at Home Depot !

Thanks Lou and Jofus...I did find some old fashioned multi C9's at Lowe's but won't put them up till after Christmas (in case I find some on clearance) at half off in a week or so? I love bargains,lol...

Still NO sign of any blooms **sigh**...but maybe its best if they come much later in the season cause I know its just a matter of time before we get a dreaded "Freeze" :o(

These 85 degree days we've had lulls you into a falls sense of security...

Just returned from a must-do small shopping trip to Wally's. Haven't been in there for 6 days, purposely avoiding the almost door busting last minute hordes.
Anyway, I sucked it up and barged in, - got what I wanted but with puglvr1 in mind I quickly detoured to the Christmas tree light sets area.
A hedtic scene is all I can say. Must have been 50 or so shoppers gathered there, milling around the 20' long triple shelves, , putting boxes of both clear and multi colored old-fashioned, heat-emitting sets of both C7 and C9 bulbs in their carts. Every shelf had a big white sign with black ketters " 50 % OFF ! "
One lady had two sets in her hands and asked a salesgal if she could have 55 % off if she bought two sets. Sales person had to call over a manager, " Yeah, that's OK ! ", was his reply. Immediately I saw two other shoppers pick up two sets.
They, as we all know, are great for protecting young mango trees on those cold nights we are sure to get,..and soon.
Hope puglvr1 got her's as I'm sure the same scene was repeated in Home Depot and Lowes! ( smile )

I never knew Mango flowers had a sweet scent. I noticed a pleasant scent around my Pickering mango tree and it was the panicles of flowers. What pollinates mango flowers in Central Florida? I noticed mostly small bees and flies, not the usual suspects.

Morningloree, I believe you are right on ! My nasal sensors have long since been minimal, so to try to verify your theory, I poked in among my Pickering's thriving flowering pannicles. Noted no pleasant aroma but did disturb at least three small black flies and one smallish bee.
So I think your instincts are correct,,..at least here in SW Florida ! ( smile )

This post was edited by jofus on Wed, Jan 1, 14 at 16:11