What a timely post! a five year old seedling I once posted on G-Web as the most delicious "Champagne" /Honey/ Manila/Ataulfo type Mango I ever ate?..its flowering now. First time and it's only a little over 4'. One thing? It's far more cold hardy (in terms of looks) and has a much deeper glossy green foliage than Manila. A good looking little tree. Manila takes awhile to get out of the winter blahs here in California.

stanofh, Congratulations! I hope it comes true from seed for you. It's a crapshoot, but it just might. Some of what I read about it says it was "discovered," meaning it's likely a natural hybrid, and some say it was "hybridized," so I guess you'll find out. They're very pretty little trees, though. When I lived in SC, I had one in a 7-gallon container that I lugged in and out every year. I kept it to about 4 feet, and it was a lovely indoor plant in the winter, where it was warm enough not to lose a lot of leaves.

Its taken the first step...

Woo hoo! Congrats on the flowers!

I wonder if our Aldi's has any..i will have to

check.

Thanks!..When the real warmth returns..it becomes a dark green..and glossy. A good looking little plant.

Stanofh did you grow that from seed?

I did. This year is its first flower. About 5' tall at most. I see two maybe 3 lentil sized fruit on it. No sure thing they wont fall off..but the tree is in a nice flush of growth and seems large enough to handle 3 Honey Mango sized fruit.

I planted three seeds Dave and I tell you,this one was BY FAR the most vigorous. The other two died eventually. This one came out of the seed making large red leaves.

So plant many and pick out the best.

Looked at some old posts to get my timeline in order. I planted the seed in early 2014 in a pot indoors in winter. By 2016 it had grown enough in a pot outdoors,so I planted it. 2016 and 2017 saw little growth as it grew very compact tightly spaced whorls of leaves. That was the "Adapting to Stan's clay soils" years. Last year it busted out with nice full sized flushes and now this year the same with one panicle.

Stanofh: Great to hear! Congrats on your blooms. It's an accomplishment to get seed grown fruit plants to actually bloom. I have two citrus seedlings that bloomed for the first time this summer (and we know how long they can take).

Here are my three Ataulfo (Honey® / Champagne®) seedlings. Most of the seeds I started last summer had multiple embryos. I ordered some scions of 'Glenn' from Florida to graft onto these for fun, but I may keep one Ataulfo growing as it is. Wished I had opted for a smaller grower scion like 'Pickering' or 'Angie', but not all were available ....so maybe another time.

I also started a few seeds of Madam Francis as they looked to be polyembryonic as well. But they are probably much larger plants. Still, they'd make a good rootstock most likely.

And I could have kicked myself for not buying the 'Mallika' mango that I saw at Home Depot last season!! Can't find them this year. Every couple years they'll sell a few mango or avocado plants for patios. But I'll keep my eyes peeled. I'm so addicted to good mangoes it's ridiculous.

If you can't grow a tree out of a Mango,I always said then plant many close together or pots. You get a longer picking season too when you mix varieties.

In a way your lucky,because here in the SF bay area I've only seen two types of mangoes for sale at a nursery. Manila..and 10 years ago Baileys Marvel. I still can't believe it's already been a decade since I saw that.

I was training the Honey/Ataulfo to lean forward slightly. That gives it 2 more hours in summer of sun before the yard tree's shade it. I looked down and see at the base a very good system of thick roots fanning evenly in all directions. I guess since planting some soil at the base washed away.

It's a very healthy tree. I hope one day to get plenty of fruit from it. Plenty for my climate- wink. Not a tropical one for sure.

DG,my oldest just bought some today. I had to stop her from cutting them their not ready yet but soon

Found a whole box of these at local Asian market. It will be sad when the season ends.

Have U tried growing them.

So far the first ever Honey Mango bloom has created six very small developing Mangoes. How many will ripen to make it I don't know. Glad though I planted it along with the Manila. In a few years,I just might get a real harvest of many fruits.

Five years ago,the Honey was a seed in the husk and the Manila was 3' tall. I never thought the day would EVER come that I would need at least a step ladder to pick Manila mangoes.

Keep the faith!

They all fell off. Better luck next year?

Well, Ataulfo fruit season is over (sad), but Kents are in the store now (yayy!) . Pretty good when ripened up!

dirtygardener -- Z9a, N. Central Florida, living in Florida, you should have access to many wonderful mango varieties. Many south Floridian mangophiles snub the Ataulfo in favor of the Zell mangos and other new ones like Ice Cream, Lemon Zest, Fairchild, Orange Sherbet, etc. etc.

Dave in NoVA I'm in N. Florida, so not as many varieties as S. FL; however, I love it when some big store like WalMart has a huge pile of mangos on sale of all shapes and colors. I don't know all their name, but I can recognize the best and sweetest varieties from the skin color now. Once I move to Mexico, I will definitely be in hog heaven with avocados and mangos for sale all day, right off the tree.

dirtygardener -- Z9a, N. Central Florida, we only get Tommy Atkins, Madam Francis, Ataulfo and Kent up here in stores. All are pretty good except for Tommy. We sometimes get Keitt near the end of the season, but they are very large and very expensive. I've not tried one. I've found there is a huge range of quality with store-bought mangoes. Best ones are in the Asian or International stores around here in Northern Virginia, where you can buy them by the large box. They are from Mexico, but seem to be fairly near-ripe.

If you look at Ataulfo(Honey Mango) vid of them growing in an orchard in Mexico? You can see they are larger leafed,glossier leafed,and a rich green color.

I look at mine..and compare to not just my Manila..but others I've seen and the seedling Honey just looks much nicer. So no, Manila and Honey are not the same and if people in the bay area are looking to try mail order varieties? i endorse Honey.

I've read that the Ataulfo mango has been branded by the National Mango Board as 'Honey' because “Ataulfo” is not an easy name for many U.S consumers and retailers to pronounce. Size of leaf and glossiness may in part be due to climate, soil, humidity.

It's got it all.. Best looking Mango foliage and I'm sure the fruit will be sweet since the plant is having no problems powering through our winters and growing in our mild summers (78f) in this part of the SF bay area. I wish I could post more photos because the health of the tree is outstanding and reminds me a of a well fed Schefflera. LARGE leaves.

Very nice, I buy the honey mangoes buy the tub and eat them in two sittings. I also thought once the skin got shriveled that they would be bad. Nope, quite the opposite and I ended up eating all 5 of them right then and there.

I germinated 9 so far and another 2 look like the taproot is trying to grow. Have 5 official tiny plants now. Shiny red new leaves and growing very fast. I'm in Ventura County and hope to see them fruit in the future.

I adore mangos but have never had honey mangos. A trip to Aldi's is on the schedule for tomorrow!

I'm in socal and the guys walk into the bar with a tub of 8 honey mangoes for $5. mango is one of my favorite fruits, but the honey mangoes are by far the most amazing mango I've ever tasted. if Aldi has it, golden.

The Kent and the Keitt mangoes from the International stores have been pretty good this year as well. I tried a late-season Madame Fancique that was horrible.