if you will enjoy the trip and consider it an aventure make the drive and look around......hit excaliber also. If you consider it a chore than definitely have jene' just get some 7's in for you......all the ones you metioned she normally carries anyway. you are right a true 7 gal will cut a season out of your turn time unless it was just up potted. they grow like crazy though and if properly pruned will be very sturdy very quick. all of the names you mentioned are very good mango's........the mallika is the only one that i have any hesitance at all in recommending.....my tree got scale a couple of times fruited every other year and then i ripped it out. that being said a properly ripened mallika is an extreamely good mango!!!!......dont forget about Glenn.....bullet proof and very very tasty!!.....life is short spend a few extra dollars and get the bigger ones and start having fun!

Thanks for the input, j-grow. I've tasted Mallika mangoes, and they are superb. Didn't know about the scale, thought it was well-suited to Florida. Glenn is supposed to be about the same size, I think, and was developed for our climate, so it should do okay.
I have permission from my wife to go a little wild; she says a happy gardener is nicer to have around than a grumpy one, so, in addition to the mangoes, I'm looking at a couple of small mandarins/clementines. I had a great mandarin tree, but it died 4 or 5 years ago. Had small fruits on the tree, then it just shed all its leaves and that was it.

im glad you said that Pug......I forgot about cogshall! The fruit are absolutely beautifull, delicious and the tree is totally managable! I am not saying that mallika is more prone to scale fyi......mine just got it twice. that along with the alternate bearing and out came the saw! i now have a christmas loquat growing in that spot. I have a Page orange that I love and grows very well....I would recommend it for your manderine

From my limited, but intense, experience over the last 11 years I would definitely advise making the drive. There's a good amount of development in a 7 gallon mango tree over a 3 gallon. Waiting till early March is a good idea also, why chance a 30 deg night just to plant 2 months earlier ? Good luck !

Thanks, puglvr1, jofus, j-grow. Seven-gallon pots it is. Have to work out the logistics of getting them from Jene's (and supporting a local business) or making the drive down to Pine Island (and renting a truck/SUV for the trip; don't think the 7 gals will do that well on a road trip in an Accord or a Sentra, which is what we have).
Looks like Cogshall is well worth considering. Might have to grow something in a pot! As it is, the satsumas I would also like to get are likely to remain in containers.
Puglvr1, your mango trees look to be in great shape. Which speaks well of Jene's stock and of the care you have taken of them.
Also, puglvr1, seeing the sprinkler in one of the photos reminds me: Do you use reclaimed water? We do, and it works well for the lawn and the plants we have. Is it okay to water mango trees with reclaimed? They would need some watering during their early years, and I could always use regular water instead of reclaimed.
We switched from groundwater to reclaimed some years ago as I felt guilty about using groundwater for gardening.
I find the Greater Pinellas Point Area where I live is actually zone 10A, not 9B as I thought. Which likely explains why, in the 8 years we have lived in this house, we have never seen the temp. dip below 36F.
Merry Christmas to all who celebrate. Have to go to work now :(

Am surprised you are in zone 10A, being up there near St Pete. But could be the shore effect. I am near the gulf also, just south of Venice and am in 9B or 10A, depending upon what website is advising me. lol
I realize your need for smallish trees, but wonder if you have investigated a Glenn mango ? Might be worth looking into while you are down south as my Glenn has been sprouting new panicles like crazy for the last three weeks, way more so than any of my other 3 mango trees. Also has been my most productive in last 2 yrs.
Another tip, if driving your trees back yourself, you must keep them protected from the wind. I brought 4 six foot mango trees back from Rays Nursery in Homestead three years ago, in the uncovered bed of my Ford F - 150 and had one die from the wind blowing over the exposed trees, even though I stopped and bought a plastic cover half way home and was driving as slow as possible, ( was a 3 + hr drive down, a 4 + hr drive back ). The other three were on life support for a few weeks afterwards.
Again, good luck, think you are on the right track !

Thanks stpetemango. I'm sorry I don't know anything about reclaimed water. I water my mango trees with City water from the hose (unless we get rain of course). My sprinklers come on once or twice a week but its mostly for my grass. When my mango trees were newly planted I watered them 2-3 times a week for the first 2 to 3 months when we received NO rain. Once they were over 3 months old I watered them every 5-7 days when it was hot and dry.

Jofus, I also have a Glenn mango tree blooming like crazy, we had some frost/freeze for 2 mornings in a row and I'm hoping the blooms will survive? But we still have over 2 1/2 months left of winter weather so we have a long way to go to be out of the woods :o(

Here's a picture of my Cogshall taken summer of 2011 ( I have 3 Cogshall trees)

Puglvr1, that's such a handsome Cogshall! And so many mangoes on it, too. Is this the one you got in 2007? I am impressed by the size of the new 7-gal one you got in 2007. If it is the same one, it has done very well in 4 years. Jene's moves up a few notches on my scale.
Jofus, yes, I believe the 10a zone is due to the shore effect, though we are still almost a mile from the water. But, at the southern end of Pinellas County, the water is about mile away on 3 sides. I used to wonder why Bay News 9 kept saying it would be X degrees in St. Petersburg, but it never got that cold (or warm) where we live; now I know.
And thanks for your tip, jofus -- if we make the drive to Pine Island Nursery, I will probably rent/borrow an SUV or a truck with a double cab so the plants are within the vehicle and not exposed to strong wind.
Another question for you experts, if you don't mind: If you have several mango trees, how far apart do you space them? Our yard is 102 feet by 100 feet (they tend to be a bit small in Pinellas, since land is in short supply. And, since we have a corner lot, there is more yard up front than there in the back.

Pete : I will defer the " expert " label to pug and i-grow, consider myself still a learner. My lot is almost as large, is 60' wide x 150' deep and is not a corner lot. Therefore, I have more leeway as to where to plant my trees. My preference was to keep the smallest ( Nam Doc Mai ) on the SW side, between my mobile and my neighbors, and the other 3 in the backyard for privacy. This is the third property that I planted mango trees on and believe I have learned from the first two. What I learned is that any mango trees planted out front, for all to see as they walk or drive by, will sooner or later be pillaged by the two legged rats. ( smile )
This does not bother some but it does me as I am not a snowbird and look forward to my harvests each year. Therefore all my trees are mostly out of sight. I do give away plenty of ripe fruit, - but the choice is mine as to who gets them. If you have a corner lot and are a snowbird, you will be lucky to eat any of your mangos.
Whatever, I am sure you will enjoy your venture and marvel at Mother Natures' miracles. Just this morning I looked out at my 4 yr old small Nam Doc Mai and saw the results of my month overdue Liquid Copper Sulfate spraying done only yesterday morning. Was amazed to see about half of the black, wrinkled leaf tips on top were already gone. This was spraying for fungus, which I do 2 x a year, ( also spray Malathion once during the early part of the fruiting season ).
I also just strung my C 9 Christmas bulbs throughout each tree. Lost 3 trees my first winter here, not a pleasant experience.
Yes, the trees are amazing, but there is some maintenance involved, at least that's what I've found with my small plantation here. But a task I enjoy ! lol

PS : Have been told early on that 15 feet is the absolute minimum distance between these trees. My distances vary from 25 ft to 50 ft between trees.

Thanks, jofus. I'm thinking of 3 trees along the east side and two along the south side of the house/yard. Plenty of sun in those spots, and I can keep them several feet within the fence :)
I can manage about 18 feet or so space for the 3 trees, and plenty more for the remaining two. Might plant another (Glenn, perhaps) on the north side, where the shadow of the house doesn't fall even in winter.
How big is the Nam Doc Mai? I've been browsing on this forum, and someone mentioned that the NDMs available these days are all #4 (twai) and tend to stay at about 12 feet.
Pickering and Cogshall are said to max out at about 8 - 10 feet, and Mallika at 12-15 feet. Have to find out about the growth habits of Rosigold and Graham.
I went to Jene's Tropicals today for an exploratory trip, but they were still closed at 10:15 a.m. Had plenty of healthy-looking mango trees in the part of their yard that was open, all of them big trees in huge pots. Cost ranged from $125 to $250 for the biggies, a bit pricey for me since I'm thinking of several trees (plus a dwarf mandarin or two!).

Thanks Stpete! Yes, that is one of the Cogshall I planted in 2007. All my mango trees are trimmed once a year after fruiting with the exception of the years where we've had very damaging freezes...Nature prunes those for me unfortunately :o(

I live in Highlands county and we DO get a few days of pretty bad freezes almost yearly. Its very difficult and a pain to protect them during those times.

I don't believe Cogshall and Pickering "max" out at at 8-10 ft. They are naturally small growing and slower growing mango compared to many varieties...but you have to trim/prune them yearly to keep them manageable. I've seen pictures Cogshall that aren't pruned yearly that get much taller than 10ft...so its up to you to keep them in check.

I think 15-20ft apart will be fine if you plan on keeping the trees small and pruned if you plant dwarf/semi dwarf varieties.

This Cogshall is the same tree I posted above with my Pug ...taken in summer 2010.

puglvr1, is the net to keep squirrels/fruit rats away? And, if so, is it effective? One of the selling points of the Mallika would be that the fruit has to be picked while still green - and before the rats get them!
I have been doodling/planning on paper, and I might just manage 6 trees - NDM, Mallika and Glenn in a row, spaced about 20 feet apart, and Cogshall and Pickering on either of my Ice Cream, again spaced about 15 feet apart. The Ice Cream is a gift from my brother last year; he picked it up at the Saturday Morning Market in St. Petersburg.
And, perhaps, a Lancetilla all by itself and away from the rest. A late-season mango would be so nice ... Could always switch locations for the Glenn and the Lancetilla after further research on my own and feedback from this forum.
Have a couple of months left to plan and re-think :)
Incidentally, has anyone bought plants/trees from Plantogram in Windmere? Seem to have good reviews on this site. Someone else mentioned Excalibur, I think, and Zill in South Florida. Jene's, here in St. Petersburg, is good to buy from though the reviews on shipping were more critical.
The main considerations would be healthy plants that are beginning to develop branches. And, yes, size matters. A 3 gal or 7 gal at one place may be different from another place. And visiting all these places isn't possible.

someone will yell at me for saying this but here goes......lancentilla, grows like crazy an abosolute brute nothing dwarf or condo about it.....fruit ripens unevenly and is very hard to tell when to pick, most fruit will split and fall off the tree...... you will watch 100 fruit grow and get big and split and fall, you will narrow things down to about 5 survivors and cut 4 of them at the wrong time and they will taste terrible, and finally the last one will be ready and half of it will be bad due to uneven ripening!!!!!.......that being said they will get tons of attention from visitors because the fruit are as big as your head!.....ok now go ahead someone tell me how wrong i am : )

i put my 15 footer on craigslist free to a good home and someone came and dug it up and drove off with it!!!

excaliber is a fun place to visit, its huge with every type of fruit and they usually have samples to try. zills is wholesale only unless they changed but a very neat place also if they let you walk around......remember almost all of the nurseries buy the small grafted plants from the same sources ( mostly zills ) and then pot them up and sell them, look at the tags from all the nurseries and they will mostly have pine island tags on them.....this really boils down to convienence and price and effort because they all come from basically the same places.

have you considered planting any lychee or sapodillia?

Pete : One final note. If you have indeed decided to drive way down to the Pine Island Nursery, which we all know is nowhere near Pine Island, then I have a 2nd possibility to look over. Not far from the Pine Island Nursery ( maybe 3 blocks ), you will bump into Rays Nursery, right there on the left, on Krome Ave at the northern limits of Homestead, Florida,
And being on Krome Ave, it will be easier to find.
I've driven down there a few times when setting up my plantation, why ? Because they have a huge supply of young and not-so-young trees of all kinds and at great prices, and they will deal somewhat if you buy more than one tree.
In fact, most of the independent nurseries here in Englewood and So Venice, get most of their stock from Rays.
I used to live in the Upper Keys, so thats how I learned of Rays,..word of mouth way back in 1998.
Have scrutinized both huge supplies, but always wound up back in Ray's. And since they are so close to ea other, would be a shame not to look 'em both over. My tip of the day !
Rays Nursery Of Miami
.18905 SW 177th Ave, Miami, FL 33187 � Map
(305) 255-3589

You can also have Pine Island deliver 7 gal trees to a local nursery they supply with plants. I have done this in the past with Landscape Nursery in Orlando. Pine Island just puts your plants on the truck when they ship to a store near you and you pick it up there.

Thanks, j-grow, jofus, thomas12. All the info you have offered is useful and provides food for thought.
Waiting for the days to get a little longer (and nights a bit warmer) so I can begin my mini plantation.
Expect to see some photos posted here in a couple of months!

Unfortunately the fencing did NOT work for me :o(
The raccoons I think might have been my problem since most of the damage had been done at night...but I can't be sure which "varmints" were responsible...probably ALL of them,lol...

I've even used aluminum window screen "wraps"...they worked the first year I used them, but the second year they outsmarted me,lol...they "ate" through the wrap!

jofus, hope you visit and see this message: What size is your Nam Doc Mai after 4 years?
I visited Jene's Tropicals yesterday, and they say they can get me all the plants I would like. But their info sheet lists the NDM as being 20 - 25 feet, and I'm wondering if there is a smaller version. Excalibur nursery lists 3 types: NDM, NDM Mung and NDM Siatong.
After some reflection, I'm giving up on the Lancetilla. Will likely go with Neelum instead.
J-grow, I hope to get a sapodilla; Jene's said they could get me a Makok, which is supposed to be the smallest.
They also said they have dwarf lychees (Emperor and Sweet Cliff), but I have to read up on that first.
If I settle for 5 mangoes instead of 6 (NDM, Mallika, Glenn, Cogshall and Neelum), I could add a Honey Murcott or Minneola mandarin/orange.
Have to do some research on an avocado tree, probably a Wurtz/Little Cado. Would have to keep it or the sapodilla in a large container.
And yes, a papaya: either a Red Lady or a T R Hovey that could stay in a container.
Have a couple of fairly big containers: recycling bins left over after a new recycling company in town, and the old one said to keep the bins! Not sure if the containers have to be round or rectangular will do.

OK Pete, just came in from my mini plantation and measured as best I could. My 4 yr old ( was a 4 footer when planted in March 2009 )Nam Doc Mai comes in at about 8 1/2 feet tall and almost as wide. The 3 yr old Glenn is 9 1/2 ft tall and 8 1/2 ft wide.
I have no space constraints so didn't agressively prune either. Could easily have kept the NDM a foot shorter and narrower. My first NDM was planted in my front yard in my home in Islamorada, in the Upper Keys. In 3 1/2 yrs that tree was at least 9 ft + tall. But then again, it was the Keys, everything grows like crazy down there. lol
Glad to see you are including a Glenn, - you won't be sorry.

Hi Jofus...sounds like you have a very nice mango mini orchard going on in your yard. Please post some pictures if you can. Would love to see your mango trees.

I have one Lychee tree planted (Mauritius) variety...its growing well so far. I planted it end of Feb. 2011 so its barely 2 years old. I lost 2 of mine from the 2010 freeze.

Hopefully we have a freeze free rest of the winter...I'm SO antsy every time I see the weather forecast calling for temps in the 30's...All my mango trees are blooming right now. Sure would hate to loose all those potential mangoes or worse lose the tree!

Good luck to us and keeping fingers crossed we survive the winter with our plants and trees intack.

Pete, please keep us posted on what you end up buying and post some pictures!

I have a Glenn mango tree that I planted March 2007...so it will be 6 years old in 3 months and with the freeze and yearly pruning...its appx. 7 or so ft tall right now...

This was taken last April...

Oops...here's the picture.

Jofus, Thanks a ton for taking the trouble to measure the NDM and Glenn! That helps a great deal.
Puglvr, thanks to you too for the Glenn height.
Means a lot: NDM, Mallika and Glenn are possible in the space I have in mind. And the Neelum has a spot reserved.
my wife suggests I stay with 4 mango trees so I can plant the mandarin, and sapodilla in the ground. We had a Honey Murcott that was a prolific producer, but it died 4 years ago. Found out later that it is better to prune that tree to reduce the yield, as it has a tendency to fruit to death.
It was cold yesterday, low to mid 60s during the day and down to 48 last night. Haven't seen low 40s so far this year.

Nam Doc Mai

Kent, 10 ' tall

Valencia Pride, 12 ' tall

Very NICE mango trees Jofus...thanks for the pictures! Hope we get a lot of mangoes this year.

I love Kent mangoes and regret not planting one...but the size is what made me decide to hold off. We get a lot more freeze here than you do, I think that one will be harder to keep on the small side. But they sure do taste great!

Glenn, 9 1/2 ' tall, 3 yrs old

Puglvr : OK, I somehow ( amazing really ) managed to get a pic taken 20 min ago, of all four of my young mango plantation inhabitants. Hard to see ( except on the Glenn ), but 3 have new panicles coming out, the only one without any is my Kent. My favorite mango too, take extra good care of it, but don't overdue anything. Notice the white curved stone border, the home made organic mulch ( scraped away from the trunk ),...but still nada. It's early yet tho,.. keeping my fingers crossed.
In general however, am very pleased by how my youngsters have grown and thrived.

Yes Puglvr, I understand anyone who shy's away from a Kent mango tree,..I expect mine to top out around 40 + feet when it is fully grown,..maybe 20 yrs from now. But speaking of huge mango trees, the Valencia Pride will be even TALLER than the Kent. A very fast grower, one of the reasons it does so well in places with fairly cold winters ( like here ). Grows so fast it adds a layer of outer bark faster than most trees, helping it survive those few 33 - 36 deg nights, just needs the initial 3 or so winters to be moderate. Don't even want to talk about the very rare 30 deg ones !!! lol
But thats why I have my C 9 Christmas tree lights strung thru all the trees till March 1st. An ounce of prevention....

Great photos Jofus!! From what I understand about Kent it is a late variety...could be why you have no blooms yet. I have a small Keitt (which is also a late variety) and that one has NO signs of blooms either...I'm hoping later this month I might have some. I'm sure your Kent will bloom very soon...

You are so right about Valencia Pride...from what I've heard and read about them...they grow VERY quickly and get very tall. Great idea having those C-9 lights ready to go!!

I really like my neelum....it stays small and the new leaves are a really deep maroon color when the flush...

Igrow, Neelum is definitely one I'm interested in, If I lived in zone 10 I would plant several more mango trees and Lychees too...its just SO hard to protect them during a freeze. If I have to replace one...Neelum will be on the top of the list. May I ask where you purchased yours from? Thanks!

Dear Puglvr1,

I saw the photo of the screen bag you used to protect your mangos. I thought I would give it a try. Can you tell me where you purchased this item?

Sincerely,

Jim

Hi Jim...I actually made them myself. I bought a Roll of the window screen (Aluminum screen), You can purchase them at Walmart, HD or Lowe's or probably any hardware type store. I cut them to the different sizes I need sew the two edges with a sewing machine ( you can staple them shut) if you don't want/ have a sewing machine.

I use a large yarn needle (you can buy them at any craft department) and used Yarn to make the ties...