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Tropical Plants - Australia

mangoes...

20 years ago

so, how far south could a mango grow AND bear fruit...interesting to see how far south and any success stories any of you may have...

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Comments (18)

Grant_fnq
20 years ago
I don't know about south, but they grow OK in Cairns (he says after having just shovelled up a wheelie bin full of fly-blown magotty, fallen fruit)
moreton
20 years ago
Hi Muzzbait, this one was done a while back now, i think we got to about Shell Harbour south of Sydney or somewhere there. But lets do it anyway and see if they are still out there. With Sydney and beyond getting warmer summers and winters (more importantly)its not impossible. Lets do it. Peter r.
P.S. If you need some more, we got plenty left, and they are SO NICE 2.
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color of flesh can vary with sun of course and as you may know all mango trees blossomed out of season this year in south florida so i wouldnt judge it on that. my little 3 foot julie mango tree dropped its ripe first mango last week. i planted it about 8 months ago. Graham is a seedling of Julie so it may be identical, im not sure how mango trees seeds inherit traits, does it have to do with cross pollination of another variety or is it just a crap shoot like passive recessive genes in humans? either way i guess the best way to find out would be to hunt down a ripe Graham mango and directly compare them.
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Sorry for torturing you Gary.....actually, by this time in the season I start to have mango-itis. That's inflamation caused by eating too many mangoes. Not really, but there does come a point when I start to get "mangoed out." JF: Lancetilla was quite good. It ranked in the middle of the pack for the mangoes we were tasting that particular day. You have to remember, the mango trees I purchased over the years have all been rated "excellent" for eating/flavor quality or they have been raved about by someone I thought had sufficient mango knowledge/experience for me to rely on their judgment and go get that particular variety. If I were ranking the tasting table we had that day as pictured, the Dot was a good solid 9.5 (that is about as good as a rating as I give as I think there always has to be some hope left in one's mind that there still could be a mango somewhere that is even better). I would rate the Valencia Pride, Ivory and Lancetilla hovering in the 8.5-9.0 area. The Kent and Golden Lippens were solid 8.5's and the unknown mango and Gold Nuggett brought up the rear as hovering between 8.0 and 8.5. I use the hovering rating method as different parts of a particular mango can actually be better/worse than other parts. For reference, I rank Ataulofo (Champagne) mangoes that you can readily buy in the store as varying between 4.0 to around 6.0 on their best day. Tony (SWRancher) brought up a point in another thread about the Ivory mango possibly being the same as Tog Bi Con (which I also have). I bought it at the Broward RFVC sale about 1 1/2 years ago. It was one of the very few mango trees (of any size) that did not bloom this year. By not blooming, it really had a very nice growth spurt and I'll see next year what the fruit looks like on it. I bought the tree because Murray Corman (Garden of Delights) said that it was an excellent, very sweet mango....very late and looked kind of like a banana. Here's the leaves on the two for comparison. Tog Bi Con: From July 22, 2011 Ivory: From July 22, 2011 Not sure one can draw any definite conclusions....but I certainly cannot exclude the possiblity that they are the same. Harry
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MANGONEWBIE - I would move it out into a semi-sun/partly shaded position for a few weeks and then introduce more sun over time. But just remember. Full, naked all-day Sun on any potted plant will cook and dry out the roots and make the plant suffer, and Virginia does get some toasty summer days. The change in light will probably stimulate more growth, and so, yes, I think you can leave it outside for the whole summer up until the first frost warnings. But just keep an eye on the moisture level of the soil and don't let it dry out too much between waterings.... And...they don't need a full 12-14 hour sun to do well and fruit, so that is the good news..... good luck - MangoWoofie
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Just thought I'd add my 2 cents worth of info, since this is a very interesting topic,...mainly due to my love of mango's,..have been growing the trees for 21 years now,..started in the Upper keys ( Islamorada ), and wound up here in Englewood planting various types since 2004. Wherever I live I have had a minimum of 2 mango trees in my backyard. Have tried at least 10 different varieties, won't go into the ones I didn't care for, just the 3 that I've fallen in love with and rate them at the top. No 1 is Kent, a large red mango that ripens in late July where i am now ( zone 10a in SW Fla ) The taste is fantastic IMHO ! My tree now is only in the ground one year, still has 7 red beauties still hanging on,..none have fallen into the grass yet ! Eventually this will be a huge tree, topping out anywhere from 45' to 55 ',..so the experts tell me. The fruit flies, which have attacked this tree mostly, have not shown up this year, but i still hung 2 apple-cider-vinegar jugs just to be safe,..trapped less than 20 it looks like. No 2 and No 3 are tied for second,..both fantastic producers, my Glenn is now in the ground for 10 yrs and is about 22- 24 FT tall and won't go much higher,..maybe 27 ' max. The last yellow/red fruit dropped 2 days ago, and I beat the critters to it because I was out there at 06:15 AM. i think the critters here are a bit lazy this yr for some reason ! :o) It only had about 150 fruits this yr, - that's because I gave it a heavy pruning last Sept. The year before, that tree had easily 250 + mango's. My last favorite tree, tied for # 2, is the Valencia Pride. easily the fastest growing tree of any I have planted. And it'll be the largest tree of all,..topping out around 60 ',..so I've been told ! The fruits are humongous,..and delicious,..again IMHO ! It ripens the latest, usually late Aug /early Sept. Had to cut mine down this year, but don't want to put a sad tone to this post. Getting older, not younger,...2 huge fruit trees will keep me on my toes for 6 months,..all the exercise I want now ! My friends and neighbors here call me " Mango Man " !The fruits I didn't give away are in my free standing freezer which is full to the top with frozen mango slices that will last me ( I only put 'em on my cereal in AM ) thru January !
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artiew
20 years ago
The old Mango is a pretty tough specimen. We dont get frosts here in Rocky, but it can get down to -2 in Winter, and I've seen them in Ipswich, which can get to -5. I believe that the key factor isnt temperature, but exposure to frost and whether or not the air is sufficiently humid.

My own specimen bore more fruit this year (after Rocky's second driest year on record) than the previous season, so they thrive on adversity. Macadamias are the same - put them under stress and they will give you nuts galore.
muzzbait
Original Author
20 years ago
heh...of course they'd grow in rocky and cairns...they'd grow anywhere in qld, i'd say...

i wonder if they can be grown in victoria...that would be interesting...

sorry, but did you say they grow south of sydney, moreton? that would be awesome...
artiew
20 years ago
You'd be surprised, Muzz - towns like Toowoomba and Stanthorpe have a Winter thats more severe than Sydney's, and their gardens would be more in keeping with Canberra than Brisbane. Longtitude isnt everything.
Grant_fnq
20 years ago
Dead right, Artie, Longitude isn't everything, but Latitude is pretty important : )
Grant
wollemia_TC
20 years ago
I've seen one with one or two fruit in my Dad's neighbour's garden in Kew - how's that for south???????????
Tony
muzzbait
Original Author
20 years ago
kew? man, THAT'S impressive...could you find out how the mago tree was propogated...was it from seed? tree? how many fruit do you get each year??? this is great news...
User
20 years ago
Mangoes grow pretty well here in mandurah and some friends of the family even have a mangoe plantation in Lake clifton which is even further south.
Louis_VIC
20 years ago
Muzz I've just planted a 1.5m Mango tree in my back yard here in Melbourne purchased from a local nursery here. Yes there are nurseries here that are selling Mango tree's. The variety is R2E2 which is more cold tolerant.
Louis
TonyfromOz
20 years ago
Yes, mangoes will grow perfectly happily in Sydney, even in suburbs that get a degree or two of frost, and it does not surprise me that they will grow in Melbourne, which I believe is virtually frost free in some parts (though average temps are lower than for Sydney).

But are they worth growing for fruit this far south? In my experience in Sydney they fruit sparsely, the developing fruit mostly drop prematurely, and they don't develop much sweetness or flavour. Maybe R2E2 is superior in these respects. And maybe global warming will help!
Louis_VIC
20 years ago
Your right about parts of Melb. being virtually frost free. Urban sprawl (heat retaining concrete in summer and lots of heaters in winter) is certainly helping.
Louis
wicky_Aus
20 years ago
Better late than never. Just in case anyone is still interested..... I have a 20 foot mango tree by the side of my house that is producing progressively more fruit each year. About 7 years old now. It is a Kensington Pride seedling. These, I believe, are preferable because seedlings are more adaptable to harsher climates and it is polyembryonic and hence produces true to type from seed. I live in Whyalla in SA and also have two other Bowen seedlings, an r2e2 and a Nam Doc Mai in a greenhouse.
Just for the record, there are a number of people in Adelaide in the Rare Fruit Society that have fruiting mango trees. Apparently there is also a huge specimen fruiting in Port Augusta. In my experience, A mature mango tree is as hardy as a lemon tree.
virgilevetts
20 years ago
They are know to fruit in nortnern New Zealand too.
ajaykamath
20 years ago
I migrated from India 5 years ago. I still havent been able to shake off the mantle of being a tropical plant lover and I dont think I ever will. I live in Melbourne and I would love to bring a bit of tropical flavour down here. So, I have started growing seedlings of tropical plants like Custard-Apple, Okra and Murraya Koenigii (Curryleaf). I am on the lookout for Tamarind (tamarindus Indica) Sapota (Manilkara Zapota) and Papaya (pawa-paw to some of you). To grow these plants successfuly and produce some fruit is my Holy Grail for the next 3 to 4 years !
anjong
20 years ago
Hi Luise

Could you please tell me the name of your local nursery where you got your mango trees ? I would love to try growing a mango tree in my garden.
wicky_Aus
20 years ago
The best bet for your climate would probably be to go to the local supermarket, buy half a dozen nice sized KP's, eat them and plant the seed.
Alternatively, Source a seedling KP that has been grown to about 1m and plant it in protected spot early in Autumn. Provide it with a shade cloth barrier on all sides and over top until it is about 2m tall and with a similar spread. This will shield it from the heat and cold winds.
stanofh 10a Hayward,Ca S.F. bay area
8 years ago
Southeast Asian types like Manila or Autalfo should do very well in Melbourne.

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