There is potential for zinc toxicity if you plant in galvanized pots ....... especially if soil/water pH are on the acidic side. There is plenty of potential for you to have complete control over your plants ht and width, but controlling its mass requires a little more finesse. IOW, your trunk is going to get thicker and thicker over time. You'll need to learn how to maintain your plants root system, because vitality, growth rate, and branch extension are all negatively affected by root congestion. At the approximate point where root congestion progresses to the stage where the entire root/soil mass can be lifted from the pot intact, limitations related to said congestion start affecting the plant and become progressively more limiting until there isn't much left of the plant. Usually, the plant succumbs to insect infestation or diseases as congestion worsens. BTW - potting up (as opposed to repotting, which includes root pruning) is not a cure for root congestion. It temporarily/partially leaves some of the associated limitations, but ensures those limitations will ALWAYS be in play until such time that you or someone familiar with root work actually gets their hands in the root mass and corrects the congestion. Al

I think you'll be fine there, Crazy01. You have several years to go, yet, to worry about trees getting too tall. I would suggest purchasing semi-dwarf or dwarf cultivars, so that will help to remove the height issue. Drop-crotch pruning would be the technique you're after to keep the height down if necessary. Three feet is close, but again, if you purchase semi-dwarf or dwarf cultivars, that, plus being in a container will keep size down. You should be fine. I have two container citrus that are about 3' apart right now, and they aren't close to each other, yet, and if I keep the container size limited, they will stay that way (may need root pruning several years down the road to keep size down.) My only concern is the lack of sunshine. 4 hours is almost not enough. 6 hours would be the minimum for good quality fruit. Use a very well draining potting mix - we have a couple of great recipes on our forum, just search for "gritty mix" or "511 mix" for the ingredients. Also, Farfard makes some excellent professional mixes you can purchase as a pre-bagged product, if you can purchase Farfard in your area. Lastly, remember to fertilize properly. Most of our container citrus folks as well as myself like to use Dyna Gro's Foliage Pro with each watering, and I also use a time release higher nitrogen fertilizer as well, since my container citrus are out all year 'round like yours will be. Container citrus need more fertilizing due to their more artificial environment being in pots. I do a water flush about every two months to flush out any built up salts from the fertilizers as well. Good luck and please share your photos with us when you have your trees planted. Patty S.

Heelo Tasty, I am glad to hear from another person who is going to give a mango a try in a temperate climate. I purchased a Cogshall mango last July from a nursery in Seffner Fl. I had the advantage of being able to select the tree myself. I removed the tree from its pot and removed the majority of the soil from the pot. With the help of my friend we formed a triangular shaped box and I then wrapped the rootball in wet paper towles and then a bag.Iboxedt up and carried it on the plane. When I got back home, I mixed organic miracle grow and perlite. I mixed 70% miracle Grow with 30% perlite. I chose the organic potting soil for the nutritional value for the tree. However the soil is VERY heavy. I used the perlite to lighten the soil. You may choose to use a lighter soil blend maybe even a catus blend. Mango is not very sensitive to soil but you want something that is free draining and has a good nutritional content. I then potted it up at the same level it was at in its original nursery pot. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. You dont want to encourage rot. I then sprinkled on Miacle Grow Shak and Feed continous release plant food. This formula gives the tree a small amount of fertilizer continously for three months. this is also VERY important. Mango trees are very sensitive to fertilizer, and you can actually burn the roots. You will knw if you have by the look of the leaves. They will actually look brown on the tips, and if you dont correct it the tree will drop leaves and die. My Cogshall tree told me when to feed it. I fed it when there was new growth or new groth that had not hardened yet. Also, I had done a lot of research regarding there care especially in a northern climate. I felt pretty confident not only regarding there needs but what tree would be best for me to start with. When I looked at the Cogshall description I came across the fact that it was anthracnose resistant. I interpreted that as meaning that the tree would not get this. I also found that it was a condo type meaning that it was a true dwarf. Standard mango trees can grow to quite large proportions, and unless you want to be pruning a lot including the roots, the cond types are the best suited for us(unless you have a greenhouse). I planted y mango and placed it in a spot where it was on conrete and recieving mostly direct sun. This combonation proved very well. I only made one big mistake. I emailed Pine, and one of there staff told me that I hould allow it to dry in between waterings. I did that and lost about 20% of the branches. I would suggest that you keep the whole root ball moist, not wet all the time. Ididn't mist it in fear of ending up with a mold, but I did end up with a small anthracnose problem. i was able to treat the anthracnose with liquid copper fungicide. Since you are not getting your tree until June, I would order some of this. You can google Liquid Copper and find an online dealer and buy it there. I strongly recommend doing that and also finding someone who sells the fertilzer for tropical fruit trees. I would check and see if it is good for mango also. You may not need it. My tree seems pretty happy. Matter of fact, mine is going to bloom here in the next few weeks! I fertilized it again at half the strength recommended on the box. I just used Miracle Grow all purpose fertilizer. I want to get an organic fertilizer for tropical fruit trees, and also micro nutrients. I think if the tree has what it needs as far as light, water, and nutrition, it will grow and fruit faster, and be more resistant to diseases and any molds. This should give you a good start with your Mango tree. Just remember light indoors, but if you aare growing citrus you should be fine. I have mine under flourecents and so far so good. I hope his helps you, and if you have more questions let me know. I don't know much about pomegranite. I am not much of a fan of them, but someone here should be able to help you. I am curious as to which mango you chose and where you bought it. Good luck! I do have pics of my tree here, just google my username and you will find it. Andrew

Condo Mango -- unpruned -- is a 35' tree in the ground under suitable care in a dozen years. Many capable people here in San Diego county have tried growing them on balconies etc. and failed after a few years (dead plant). Growing them in a pot outdoors in late Spring and through the Summer as Citruslover1 would like to do is problematic unless you have free electricity (or surplus cash) for indoor lighting. I would expect you could get it to produce a few viable fruit for several years, but before it could get to the stage of producing a crop you would be fighting the size of the roots and trunk. Being completely rootbound in a 25 gallon pot after a few years is entirely possible.