Glenn is pretty typically flavored productive excellent fruit.
its generally the benchmark i compare other mango flavors too

Carrie is my favorite but has a bit more of a lavish complex flavor. its really impossible to describe flavor so you would really have to sample it yourself.

Nam Doc Mai is another popular choice, it is an Asian mango, which usually have a simpler sweet and sour flavor.

there are literally hundreds of mango cultivars. find a source of grafted trees and then i could tell you which is your best choice. stay away from Tommy Atkins, Haden, Keitt, Kent, these are older commercially important cultivars, there are far superior varieties available.

I would plant two mangoes....This is called a backup plan.
Make contact with your local mango nursery.
Best to get it from them rather than via mail
Ask what the selection is via email. Most nurseries cannot give an accurate account so best to visit in person or get the right guy/gal on the phone and take notes.

There are small breed condo mangoes but any mango tree can be pruned to the size you desire. With one or two trees.
that is hardly a burden. Most condo trees are slow growers which accounts for their dwarf tendencies. I might be semi-wrong on this

I would get one polyembryonic mango and one monoembryonic. Most Thai/Viet/Indonesian are poly while the breeds of Indian origin (most you have heard of) are mono. Nam Doc Mam is the easy Thai poly choice and is fairly common and available.

You can also get one 7 gallon mango to get fruit sooner and one 3 gallon. On the 7 beware of root bound and bark bound trees. Bark bound means imprisoned in its shape due to being potted for too long. Too woody and old and not enough green fresh growth. Fairchild says plant only three gallon. They like fresh young and green

The feet of the mango is very important. The best is nice wide and thick at the bottom by the graft. Juices/water/fluids have an eight lane highway to cruise up and down your tree to be. But nice green and fresh overall can conquer this given time. Tall and stringy not good but can be conquered by topping off some inches which also promotes branching off, a good thing.

Do not be jealous of those Florida people with their mango nurseries every half mile with so many diff breeds available. Your dry weather means less fungus. Spring rains in Fl promote fungus and mango fruiting failures. You will have to irrigate more but the upside is less or no diseases.

I don't know if ever freezes where you are. Mature mango trees are more resistant to such threats. Perhaps your local mango nursery can give good advice.

I live in San Diego not too far from you and was asking the same question. I was looking for a single "Best" mango tree because I have a relatively small yard and ended getting 5 named cultivars and planted some Manilla mango seeds. I choose Nam Doc Mai, Glenn, Alphonso, Tebow and Carrie. All of these are listed as tasting very good with little to no fiber. Glenn is supposed to be a very good reliable mango that produces well. Let us know what you finally decide on.

asking someone with 14 mango cultivars in their dooryard which mango is the best is like going into a Chinese Resteraunt and asking them which dish is the best.

if you grow two, to cover the huge gambit of flavor profiles i would get an Asian mango (my preference in order) : Po Pyu Kalay, Nam Doc Mai, Ataulfo/Manilla(popular in S. Cal)
and one nice complex Indian type flavored mango like Carrie, Julie, Mallika, Neelum, Graham,

if you are set on only one tree, i would get a more typical flavored one, Duncan, Cushman, Edward, Glenn,

Asian mangos are usually medium vigor trees, Indian mangos can range from 8 foot to 8o foot + so if the size of the tree is important (if you dont plan on annual maintenance pruning) that would be another factor.

any of these cultivars you cant go wrong with.

Mango kush is absolutely right...its very hard to recommend a specific variety and a hard decision to make since there are so many different ones out there. Unfortunately what you like someone else may not like. Perfect example is Carrie, SO many people love it yet, I'm the exception to that rule...not one of my favorites. I've tasted it 3 different times and don't like the taste very much. Please let us know what you decide to get. There are some good suggestions here...like if you need to go with a dwarf variety or if any size tree will do. I personally like the Cogshall and Pickering for its tree shape/size and delicious fruits. I happen to love Kent and Glenn mango as well...both excellent IMO.

This tree I planted 3 1/2 yrs ago this October. Its appx. a little over 5ft tall. Now if I can just keep Jack Frost away this winter...I would be in good shape!

Hi mmmsmommy, Have you decided on a variety yet? Inquiring minds want to know :o) Please post a picture when you get it, would love to see your new addition!

Hi Nancy,
That pic of your mango tree is your Cogshall right? I am so jealous!! Your mango trees are always so nice and lush. I hope I can achieve a shap like this witrh my Maha Chinook mango tree. SInce I "pugged" it, I have had 8 branches grow. They are all at least 4 inches long and the bottom two are probobly closer to five inches long. I also have another bud that formed and that will make 9. This tree is on its way and hopefully the 600 watt HPS light that I order will help it get there! Thanks for sharingyour pruning methods with everybody here. If you can get past that initial fear of whaking your tree in half, then you can have a nice small sized tree, but also a nice full tree.
Next on my list for new mango tree...Pickering and Carrie. I know you said that you didn't like the flavor Nanci but I want to give it a try.
Andrew

Thanks Andrew!! Good luck with your Maha Chinook mango tree as well...hope it grows quickly and flowers for you next Spring. I'm sure your winter light set-up will be a great help growing them this winter for you. Good luck!

I actually have a Carrie mango tree,lol...I've had a lot of issues with this tree...it got cold damage so bad...I didn't think it would survive...you can still see the paint on the trunk I used to treat the fungus that appeared after the severe damage. I've never tasted a single fruit from this particular tree because the freeze has killed the last two years blooms it had! I'm hoping to taste one so I can decide "if" I want to keep the tree or not. The last time I tasted a Carrie was at least 8-9 years ago. I'm still not convinced that I hate all Carries, so I'm willing to try one from my own tree...if only this year would be a mild winter and not freeze my flowers or trees for that matter? So many people love Carrie, so its hard for me to believe that I don't...will see what this winter brings. Wish us luck for a mild winter!

My Carrie tree...

Pickering...I "pugged" this one around the middle of August.Its hardening off now. Just the way I like...short and hopefully soon will be short and wide!
{{gwi:1329387}}

gosh....had my whole message deleted somehow...anyway, Theresa, here's my 6 year old Manila in May of this year, purchased straight from Home Depot's garden center. I live in Palm Springs. Flesh is fiber free, orange/yellow, sweet and delicious.....I'll try to attach a pic....

myamberdog

http://i869.photobucket.com/albums/ab251/eldyheart/babymangos5-20-10-1.jpg

Hi Nanci,
I hope you get to try that Carrie fruit so you can give my your opinion on the fruit. Honestly, i am keeping my fingers crossed that I will have it by the time you get to try your fruit. Not sure though because I still am considering some tropical fruit trees from Jay. I just can't beat those prices. Man, talk about torture. I wish i had a few acres to work with instead of a small 3 bedroom apartment. I can all ready see me turning the basement into my own personal Garden of Eden!

Good luck with wintering your tropicals this year. I hope that you don't end up with those bitter cold temps like kast year. I am kind of worried myself. I know you cannot necessarily go by the weather but with this summer setting so many record high temps in the New York, a lot of people have said that we will be in for a very hard winter! I hope not! I need to relocate to Florida!
Andrew