Stan
What is that growing on your roof? lol

My 5' manilas did fine without protection from last month's weird fluctuations too. There were some nights of 27-29 in my area.

Tim

Hi:
I love it. Good job...!!! Since I started growing mangos in less than optimal winter climates, IâÂÂve realized that they are much hardier than most people think. My three mango trees are seedlings, so they have not produce fruit yet, but they are going to be three years old in January. My mangos have survived 30F temperatures, with frost all over the leaves, with no damage what so ever. I donâÂÂt even protect them at all until the temperatures are forecasted to drop below 33F. Also, very important, they are not bothered by long periods of near freezing temperatures. Other tropical plants, might be hardier in a short freeze, but long lasting cold stresses them a lot (E.G. drop leaves, turn yellowish, etc). My mangos are unfazed by days and days of lows in the mid 30âÂÂsâ¦

Hopefully one day IâÂÂll get fruit from my seedling babiesâ¦

Good luckâ¦

ambient wind temperatures can be deceiving, the real test is how hard the ground freezes

Esco-Thats a Wisteria. Invincible vine. Over the garage in the background stretches a large Howea palm and a Schefflera.
Thanks all!
Mango-the ground never freezes here..but it can dip to 30f every ten years or so. All time lows I dont want to think about.

Hi Mango_Kush and others:
Yes, absolutely. Frozen ground would most likely kill a mango tree for sure. However, where I live, the ground never freezes, or even close to it. The coldest ground temperature IâÂÂve ever measured in my yard was last year and that was 40.5F at about four inches from the surface. However, my potted mango tree has had ground temperature readings of 35F and has not shown any signs of root problems. The ground here in Jacksonville stays around 55F average in January, during a cold year. Well, at least in my area of town.
Other plants, my Barbados cherry, tamarind, and âÂÂCuban oreganoâ do not like ground temperatures to drop even into the 50âÂÂs. I can imagine that 35F in the ground for even a couple of nights would probably kill them⦠I use to have a potted seedling Mamey Sapote and it did not seem to like cold feet either. I got rid of it though, because I got a grafted Magaña, it is currently planted in ground and seems to do very well.

Oop-I meant 30f AIR temps. Ground temps must be in the upper 40's in winter at worst. We do have many sunny winter days between rains..could bring up another 10f easy.

Hello Mostro,

I like to know a bit about your Mamey magagna in Jacksonville FL. How long has it been in the ground? What is the size? Has it flower? What is the growth rate in your climate? Is it from PIN? Can you post a pic?These questions are important to me because I am trying to fruit the same variety in Socal. I've had it in the ground since June and this is the second winter I've had it outside. I would appreciate any information.

Joe

stan, great job! Yeah, that would be the tallest mango tree in the bay area :)
Thanks to your advise, I bought a seedling manila mango from Lavaerne last year. It is 4 ft tall and 2 years old and quite spindly. It is actually flushing new growth in December! I did not cover it last week when we had below 30 temps and frosts. It is still fine with no visible effects of the winter. It is planted close to the house, so I am guessing that it is warmer. But what I am finding is that the citrus and mangoes are a lot hardier than what they are reputed to tolerate.

Hi ashley,
I know what ya mean about the citrus and the mango being hardier than what they say. I left my cogshall mango out this year. I didn't want to waste my time with it because I pruned it back to get a nicer shape and when nothing gre after a few months this past summer, I looked at it closely and realized that there was a large crack at the base of the trunk. Before end of summer, that crack had widened so I knew it was going to be a gonner. Anyhow, I hauled in all my tropical fruit trees when temps were predicted to drop to 29 degrees. I checked it the next morning and it was still alive! Now, it was right up against the foundation of my apartment so that may have had something to do with it but my basjoo banana tree was only a foot or two away from the foundation and it was totally fried.
Andrew

Laverne's Manila's seem to me Ashley, to be extra hardy,fast growing. I posted one on Daves Garden flowering..nice red color. It should flower in late May,have sweet fruit by late June into September. I know were having early cool temps-BUT, since 1990,every big freeze we have had has been milder than the last. And I hope that continues to where we dont have any!

Hi Joe:
I've only had my Magana since july. However, the seedling I use to have grew just fine. My Magana is currently growing, but it is only about two feet tall. Remember, we get freezes here in northern Florida in the winter, but the rest of the year it is as hot and tropical as any truely tropical place. It is also very humid during the spring/summer/fall... Most tropical plants grow very well here, the problem is keeping them from freezing during a freeze.
The magana sapote I have came from PIN, yes. It seems to be very healthy. It also had flowers all over the trunk, which I removed...

Good luck with yours. I'll have more to say about my mamey next year, after another growing season.

Hi Mostro,

We are in the same boat although my magagna has grown about a foot and half since I got it las Nov. We also have Mameys seedling that are huge and fruiting but I have never seen a grafted one fruit in Socal. So far so good with my magagna, I know the climate in your area I was station in SC for 6 months. I went to Jacksonville in the winter time and I was surprise how cold it can get.

Joe

We had temps in the upper 20's last winter. While there is annecdoctal evidence of the cold hardiness of Bailey's Marvel, truth be told, none of my mango trees showed any damage from last year's freeze. Not sure where the temp/ time being cold line of demarcation between a mango tree's living and dying or being damaged severely, but I do not think that anything above 28 can do it unless there is a very extended period of time with those temps. I would assume, like in Florida, California would warm up sufficiently in the daylight hours to allow for some additional cold tolerance over night.

Harry

We had 30f in 07 that killed a Manila to the roots. But,as always when we get that cold-it was part of a front that created 3 mornings of freezing temps like that -or a degree warmer.
So,how long the cold lasts is part of the equation I know.