Careful with that metal stake. Is that tree grafted ? Growth habit looks a little like a seedling.

Rob

It looks fine. It just looks like it's been sitting in the same pot for quite a while. The red discoloration is from iron in the irrigation water. Once you put it in the ground it will liven up.

Jeff

Hi bsbullie. It's grafted. The angle makes the steak look much closer to the tree than it really is.

Hey Jeff. I had the same feeling too. The white tag had that rust discoloration as well. When I first saw it, it didnt look like a mango tree to me. The leaves looked short and I was not digging the height and scragly limbs.
Then I heard it will bear fruit next season...SOLD! lol.
Don't know if I'd want it too. It seems weak and twiggy.
It was looking much much worse when I got it home. Gave it a good soak abit after lunch time and at the time I took the pics it looked like a different tree- like a mango tree. The leaves filled out and elongated. I see some new growth popping out as well.
I don't know what the notches on the harden stems are. Looks like the scar when leaves are broken off. Never encountered this on a mango tree before.

Is it from pine island nursery?

Sam

I got it from bendersgrove.

Robbie

I can't keep up with you guys from Florida...were you the one who just purchased a Dot and a Maha? The tree looks great to me, not a lot of foliage but strong looking branches. Exotica nursery in Vista has a mature Okrung and it was loaded last year. From what I recall the tree was nice and compact and produces tons of fruits down here. I almost got one but I a bought a Chocanon instead. Did you plant it yet?

JF

Hehe. Yeah. I bought a Mahachanok on friday. Dot and Okrung yesterday. My back yard is reaching critical volume. Though I can line Pickering mango trees around my yard :P (j/k) or resort to potting (this one I'm serious about for 2 more mangoes). I don't plan on pugging the Maha (at least for now) and Okrung. I can manage of height of ~20ft like my NDM for the both of em. There is enough space. I want to make the 6ft+ 7gal Dot into a bush (8x8ft), so it's getting pugged. Bender (Mike) had a lovely, bushy Carrie in his yard- much more compact and bushier than my Julie and barely 6ft tall with a thicker trunk. It has certainly piqued my interest and sort of made me regret buying a 7gal Julie in early September. But hey, I can always buy the fruit. Can't wait to taste different cultivars next season (like Edward mango).

I haven't planted it as of yet (time). This thursday for sure. Checked it after work today and it has already pushed out new flushs already. My Mallika (bought same time with Julie. 7gal) is in the spot where I want to put the Okrung. So hole, soil tilting, grass/rock removal, edging, then mulch has to be done for both.

I know what you mean Robbie LOL. I've crammed my stuff up so bad I can't take a step out my backyard without tripping over a damn tree LOL. Back to the Okrung, the tree that I saw in Exotica was much smaller that the dimension you mention. It was more like 8x8 you should have no problem keeping it under control....but then again. this is Socal and our trees tend to grow at a very slow pace compare to you guys.

Forgive my ignorance, but what is wrong with having a metal stake?

I am asking since I have metal stakes around some of my young trees to protect them from my dogs and gardeners ....

The angle of the pic looks as if the steak was in the container- mabye being used to prop the tree upright. It is not. Or....the tree potentially rubbing against the fence stake with the wind causing broken limbs/damage. Not. The tree is safe.

Once you plant it (what i would do ) cut all the branches and keep at least four , all the horizontal one. You will get new growth and a stronger and open tree. ( I would continue pruning the new growth the same way once they reach 17-18 inches.)

As with the Mahachanok, do not prune till Spring of 2012 (when temps will be in the 80s and on the increase). If you want to get it to branch low and wide, I would even do it at 12" just making sure where you prune, the nodes are "pointing" in the right direction to give a proper open canopy as oposed to a bunch of internal crossers.

Rob

TNT - I am also partial to choosing those big pot bound trees! I don't know, something about getting them in to the ground to spread their roots and watch em grow is just exciting to me.....

Keep us posted with how it will do, but I'm guessing it will grow spectacularly...

mangoD

bsbullie- I'll heed your advice about the Dot and/or Maha pugging till Spring. I also like the idea of pugging the Dot even lower at 12". I'll do that.

Good news. The Okrung was not root bound and had ample soil at the sides and base when removed from the pot. Some areas had slight compaction, but nothing my fingers could not losen up. I losened up the roots on all my trees before planting them yesterday. Day 1 after planting looks good. Is it ok to apply a very dilute Fe soil drench to these newly planted?

I had the pleasure of meeting Jeff and his lovely wife, Elsy, at their home today. Took home a gorgeous looking 7gal Pickering tree that Elsy brought to my attention, after a tour of Elsy's Plants.
Also came away with (unexpectedly) some huge leaf, succlent vined, Malabar Spinach plants that I've been looking for the longest while. The leaves were 7-8 inches across- and healthy. Never seen that before.
The kumquat was delicious and is definetly a tree I have to get :D . The bananas were delicious too- had a noticable (to my palate) ripe plantain flavor to it that I love (yes...I eat ripe plantains RAW). Hopefully Jeff can i.d. the bananas for me.
Various cherries (huge sweet, tart, Jamacian), saw the LZ *drools*, CC *drools*, and the soon to be released, improved (East Indian I believe) mango variety. I saw lots of plants that I want. Thank you Elsy and Jeff for your hospitality :) and the great looking plants.

Thanks, Robert. It was a pleasure to meet you :-).

Jeff

I use a 2 Gal watering can the day after I plant my trees.. I mix a teaspoon of Sequestrene 138, one Tbs Southern AG's Citrus Nutritional Mix, one Tbs Phyto-Fos, and a couple drops of SuperThrive for good measure..
I have really good results with that mix.
I dont start fertilizing till the first month (8-3-9 with minors)..

Never heard of PhytoFos and SuperThrive. With my luck, too much TLC...I may kill my trees :D . I did a 2tbs each of Southern AG FE and Citrus Mix dilute in a 2 gal sprayer (adjustable nozzle) for all my mango trees yesterday. 4-5 second drench around the newly trees each. The remainder split between my mature Julie and NDM. I must say I'm certainly seeing a difference today vs yesterday on my pugged Lancetilla. For a couple of days the young leaves were in that blunt copper color, while some had that delicate light green. Today after the spray, they are all a heavier green with an appearance almost matching the original stalk leaves.
The new flush growth on the Okrung is dying :(. Tips of the new leaves is browning. It could be the transplanting shock or this cultivar is suceptable to disease. Being in spot that gets only 2-3hrs of direct sunlight doesn't help either. I'll motinor it tomorrow and use a copper soap spray.

jfernandez, if you're ever back in Exotica Nursery in Vista, I would greatly apprecieate a picture or two of the mature Okrung they have.

Sure Robbie,

Maybe some of the guys from San Diego like Simon or Tim can take some pics of Exoticas Okrung mango on their next visit.

JF

Simon and Tim. When next either of you guys are in Exotica Nursery, I'd greatly apprecieate it if you can take a couple of pics of their Okrung tree and send them to me or post em here. I'd like to see the overall size and the branching/foilage.

Robbie, will do if & when I head out that way.

Tim

Hey! Thanks Tim.

I've had my Okrung tree around 3 weeks now and today I noticed that the older top leaves looked noticably darker brown and discolored- just unhealthy looking. Upon immediate inspection, I saw these:

Looks like scales.....right?
{{gwi:1333077}}

On other leaves:
{{gwi:1333078}}

I'm guessing these buggers just eat straight through the leaves.
{{gwi:1333080}}

Looks like these
Chrysomphalus aonidum

I hope these don't spread to my other mango trees- specially the original Julie and NDM. I've read that neem oil helps in their control.

Here is a link that might be useful: Chrysomphalus aonidum

Yep looks like scale to me. You could put it on a concrete surface and hit it with Sevin. To reinvigorate the tree, you'll want to either up-pot that to a 15gal container or put it in the ground and then give it some osmocote.

Jeff

Hi Jeff. I planted it 4 days after getting it, so it has been inground for about 2 weeks plus. Two days ago I transplanted it to a new location, but only today it's condition striked me as being off. While transplanting, I noticed white, 1 cm length, new roots tips growing. So it has been growing. But I must say, I have been tempted to give it a "boost" with Peter Pro 24-10-18 AP Plant food- that I'll apply tomorrow. I'll look into the Sevin. Thanks Jeff :) .

OK. It looks like it's just been in that 7gal pot without fertilizer for a long while and has lost some vigor. That's not a problem, it's just that you will want to perk it up a little with some fertilizer, but preferably not until spring. It will attempt to root out over the winter and may even try to flower, but it's likely not going to grow much at all until next summer. I'd give it a slow release fertilizer (eg, osmocote or dynamite) and sit tight until summer.

Be careful with the Sevin, it's very toxic to earthworms, millipedes, bees, etc. I usually don't use it on my in-ground trees. With potted trees, I can control collateral damage a little by spraying it over a concrete surface.

Jeff

I know I am in the minority here. While I do believe in organics, I also believe in instances where Sevin needs to be used. Again, I will be chastised by some here but applying a Sevin soil drench makes the application more effective. I would also reconsider the application of the high nitrogen fertilizer.

Rob

:-) I agree - there are certainly good times to use products like Sevin. However, one just has to be careful not to overuse, which can be tricky because often the first response of the novice grower is to annihilate every 'pesty' creature in the landscape. The trick is to apply very judiciously based on which creatures truly pose a legitimate threat to the plant in question.

As for the nitrogen fert - the trick is to get the tree established. It looks like it's been in that pot without any fertilizer for well over a year (judging by the very short internodes). Oftentimes a tree in that state will languish once planted, since it's lost the growing 'momentum'. Nitrogen fertilizer is a great way to perk it up and help it to get established. Once the tree is established, then it's wise to refrain from a nitrogen fertilizer, instead opting for a high potassium fertilizer. That's my experience anyway.

Jeff

Jeff,
I definitely agree with you regarding sevin use and it being a go to of the novice grower. I've dealt with too many people over the past few years at the nursery wanting to kill every little bug they see. One lady once sprayed and killed all the flies and other insects from her mango tree blossoms because she thought they were going to damage the tree. You'd be surprised how many people don't understand that not all insects are bad. I will only use Sevin on potted plants that are newly grafted and are extremely vulnerable. Anything in the ground I don't use sevin because of the possibility of it negatively affecting the environment. Most trees in the ground are able to take care of themselves with the bug damage usually being superficial.

I do not think Sevin should be sold in stores like Home Depot and available to the regular consumer because of it's toxicity to people and other animals though. The use of carbaryl(sevin) is banned in many European countries because of how harmful it is.

Sheehan

Come on now..."I do not think Sevin should be sold in stores like Home Depot and available to the regular consumer because of it's toxicity to people and other animals though. The use of carbaryl(sevin) is banned in many European countries because of how harmful it is. "

There are beneficial human medications/treatments that are banned in the US but available and legal in foreign countries. Mulch made with Maleluca is/can be toxic to pets but its sold in the US. Eveb if it were not "over the counter", just cause some "average Joe" has a license or is legally qualified to purchase/apply, does that truly mean they know what they are doing ?

By the way, just curious, do you eat all organic ? As I said, I am a big proponent of organics but in certain circumstances....

Rob

bsbullie,
It's nice that you actually responded to my post this time instead of going to Excalibur and making comments regarding my posting online.

Carbaryl being illegal in Europe is not comparable to medications and treatments also being banned. Please explain how they relate.

There should probably be a disclaimer on the mulch bag saying it can be toxic to pets. It is good to inform consumers of the dangers of products because without that knowledge many people may assume it is safe.

Well, I would hope the licensing procedure for sevin would require them to know what they were doing. Wouldn't that be the point of the license? I would much rather carbaryl be banned for all uses but that is just my opinion that is very unlikely to happen in the US without the population as a whole realizing its possible dangers. A more practical solution would be the licensing of the usage to make sure it is not abused like it currently is.

I try to eat either all organic or local. Why do you ask?

My comments are because sometimes reality needs to trump best intentions, just my opinion though. Feel free to email me if you want to discuss.

I would hope the licensing would control the output also but we all know it doesn't.

To me, the two are comparable, Why does Europe ban sevin and versus US allowing it while why does the US ban certain meds/treatments that research proves are beneficial under certain cases that Europe and other countries allow/provide. By whom and why are these determinations made.

I was only asking about the organics cause, as you know, "conventional" grown/raised fruits/veggies/meats are loaded with all kinds of crap. Unfortunately it costs more to eat safer.

Rob

Just my two cents but if you have a rich humus soil and add a little NPK + minors...To me this is equivalent to organic. The added NPK +minors will chelate into the humus and create organic chelates of NPK etc which will be uptaked by the plant roots. This is very distant from the practices of abusive farmers who add NPK to lifeless, over cropped, burnt out land to grow crops

Heavy pesticide sprays ...this puts the fruits and vegetables into the non organic category.

I have MG Shake N Feed All Purpose plant food 10-10-10 3 month feeding formula. What form of Sevin should I use? I'm favoring the 32oz Ready To Use spray for "spot" application.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sevin

I bought the Sevin 5% dust form as it has a higher conc . vs the 32ox ready to spray form (0.196%). I saw another product by Ortho that targets scales- Volck Oil Spray. Seems like a safe-R product thats meant to control pest population. This is something I can also use on my other trees for mites and spiders. What do you all think?

Here is a link that might be useful: Volck

Robbie

I used Volck Oil Spray a few years ago for scales on one of my avocado tree it worked great.

JF

Thanks JF. I'm gonna exchange the Sevin-5 for the Volck tomorrow. I've noticed small ants and the occasional wasp, scouring the leaves of my 8 newly planted mango trees. Yes, I'm pretty ambitious :D. Hopefully they are feeding on pests (scales, mites, etc). I also manually removed all the old and young scales I could find (top and bottom of leaves) on the Okrung. They seem to be only found on one section of the older, top leaves. Eggs could still be on there so I'll monitor any new population in the days to come and act accordingly.

Be careful with the use of Volck. The oil can burn the leaves in the Florida sun. Also, and this is no "hit" meant on Cali people, but just cause it worked in Cali doesn't mean it will work on Fla. Insects can easily build up a resistance to certain "chemicals" (like the use of penicillin in humans). What may have worked a year or two ago may not be effective now. In addition, some species of scale are tougher to control than others. Keep this in mind when you use any form of application. Closely monitor the scale after application to ensure they are dying/dead.

Rob