There's a few things about saltwater inundation to keep in mind. If it happens during the wet (hurricane) season usually the ground is waterlogged with fresh water. Tidal surges are often topped with fresh (rain) water (unless there's a lot of waves mixing it up). So sea water inundation isn't always a big problem. Mangos can grow sitting in water during the wet season so no issues there.

But if you get saltwater intrusion during the dry season it's an entirely different matter. With drier ground the saltwater can quickly penetrate the root zone and rapidly kill susceptible plants. You would then have "salt flats" conditions, and very few plants can tolerate that.

I don't recall seeing mangos growing that close to saltwater/sea but it's the dry season winds that would be the problem. Wet season rain would regularly wash the leaves clean. Hope that helps.

Thank you for the quick reply! I still welcome other responses too - the more info and personal experiences the better.

The planting location would be pretty well protected from wind. It is about 75ft from the waterfront, but because it is a low elevation and flat, the water can race up there quickly. That does not happen too often, even in the rainy season. In the dry season it does not happen ever. The yard generally drains within a few hours, and any salt that gets in there I can get out my hose and help wash away, and add some salt-free soil/compost on top. I can rinse off the leaves at any time if they needed it.

The location has plenty of other plants growing well in it, it is not just open waterfront - including seagrape and tamarind, and a large banyan nearby. But of course these are well rated for salt tolerance. I don't yet know the names of the other plants to know if they typically have less salt tolerance as an indicator of conditions there. I have yet to live here through a full year to see it for myself, so I can only go on what plants are living around the spot currently, and what my neighbors tell me.

My only concern is if a higher salt content in the soil, or sitting in salt water for a few hours, would likely kill the trees outright. Anything else I can help them with, but during an actual storm there's nothing I can do but to wait out the receeding of the water before I can go out there and lower the salt content in the aftermath.

Thanks again for the input!

I would call these people, they know a lot about growing mango, maybe they can help you...they're very knowledgeable and helpful.

Pine Island Nursery in Homestead FL...link below!

Here is a link that might be useful: Pine Island Nursery...

Thanks for the suggestion, it would be really nice if they're willing to give me some advice despite the fact that I didn't buy the mangoes from them! I'll give it a try...

I grow Mallika in Miami Beach and I am 3 blocks away from the boardwalk. This said, floods would occur here only in conjunction with a hurricane sweeping through which has never happened since I planted the tree.

So my conditions are different than yours but more similar to yours than anybody's living inland.

My soil has a fairly high saline content but my mangoes (Glenm, Mallika and Kent are thriving).

Just wanted to provide a data point to complement other people's feedback

Thanks, that is very helpful. Mine is the same condition, I don't think it's likely to get salt water flooding where I'm planting it (which at this point is going to be on a mound, and staked to a fence for stability until it gets more established) unless there is a hurricane that hits really close by.

From what I hear from neighbors, the last one that caused flooding in the neighborhood was Sandy - which was the most flooding here in 10 years! My neighbor tells me though that our 2 yards are the highest in the neighborhood and neither got much water, and oddly enough, the salt water came in the waterfront from the other yards, crawled up to the street side, then turned in to our 2 yards near the STREET at a lower part we each have. So weirdly enough, the place I was considering near the waterfront might in my yard actually be safer from salt than parts much further away near the street side. But, if water gets up that far in the yard, it will likely have a lot of freshwater rain in it so will not be so bad.

It looks like the only time I will have to really worry about salt water covering the mound where I'm planting it will be in a major hurricane hitting very close by - which has only happened a few times in the last 100 years. If it does, I'm guessing I'll have bigger problems than if my mangoes are still alive anyway, at at that point bringing them in the house won't necessarily save them anyway.

It's great to know that you grow Mallika specifically in higher-salinity soil, and it's happy (as are your other varieties)!

I have a Kent and a Glenn planted in the Florida Keys, maybe 60-70 ft from the ocean. They are one year old. The leaves on the Glenn are burned from the salt air but the Kent looks healthy and is full of blooms. So pick your variety carefully but try it.