Mango

Does anyone down here grow them?

This is a first for me.

:)

This message was edited Feb 3, 2009 2:56 PM

The blossoms look great.

Should I be worrying about cold nights?

Be well

: )

The blooms will be toast if you get a frost - but you don't get frost in the Keys don't you?

Here is what mine looked like last week

And this week it looks like this (I am violently allergic so it had to go)

Hello Hetty,
What did you plant on your stump finally? I thought the blue BB was beautiful. Perhaps if you fill the BB with blue Lobelia and red Geranium, just for spring, repeating the blue...
Longboat Key is not in the "Keys", it is an island west of Sarasota. I Live here.
We must have had some frost because all the SeaGrape planted on the ave. are brown.But annuals along the ave. are ok. Go figure. Must be the windchill. I think FlyBoyFL should cover his inasmuch as it looks young and not too big.
Helene

My mango trees can take a light/brief frost without losing their flowers, as long as they are still in the bud stage.

Fred's mangoes lost all their blooms in the frost of ten days ago.

Sorry about the Keys confusion.. I do this all the time....

I have the blue birdbath on the stump - will post a picture soon. I like the look and so does DH.

Just came in from the Avenue, very windy, very cold. I did cover my Myer Lemon because it set some fruit.because it is in a pot the covering is easy.

Yeah, not every key fits. People do this all the time. We have siesta Key,Bird Key, Lido Key, St Armands Key with St Armands circle (great shopping) and Longboat Key, all west side of Sarasota. Hope all is well for tonite.

I have small mango trees at my home on Little Gasparilla Island. They are in bloom, hope the cold doesn't hurt them.

Boy oh boy -- Dutchlady~

You didn't give the poor tree a chance to recover

and Dale~

Thank goodness for your photo. Do you really get multiple fruit on each blossom cluster? How old is the tree. My branches seem much too fragile. Are you near the water? Your being north of us calms me a little. What variety is it?

Longboat Key is lucky. The warmth radiating from the waters tempers our weather. But it is cooling down right now.

and Helene~

My Myer lemon is against our home and on the southwest side. It is in full bloom. Some of the buds are already set. It looks like a good year for it. I had one fruit last year.

Be well guys -- and keep warm.

:)

Brad - I didn't WANT it to recover. After allergic reactions to the fruit some years ago (resulting in never ever touching the fruit), this winter I had a violent reaction to the pollen - so it was time the mango tree and I parted ways.
Someone just came and collected all the wood this evening.
I'm sorry if this offends anyone but in my case it was 'Good Riddance'

Hetty, Mango is a relative of Poison Ivy. It contains a chemical that is similar to urushiol.

Flyboy, The photo of the mango tree above is not my tree. Most of the mangos around here will have more than one fruit if you have bees in your area. I am guessing that being away from the mainland, on an island, you are not going to have many bees. If you have no bees you are dependent on other insects (or the wind?)

Next time the Serenoa repens or Saw Palmetto are in bloom around your area check out what insects are visiting the flowers. Those are the insects that will pollinate your Mangos. If you don't have many 'visitors' to those flowers then you aren't going to get good fruit set on your trees. It can vary widely from island to island.

Yeah Dale, I learned that the hard way a few years ago.... :-(

Hetty~

Now I understand, I missed that point about your allergies. It must have been pretty old. Did you plant it? If it really is a relative of Poison Ivy, I pity the man who is going to use it in his fireplace.

and Dale~

If that is a photo of what you have growing nearby, I have a Key Lime right adjacent -- and it gets a heavy dose of bees and other flying visitors. And there are also Myer lemon and Navel orange and Pink grapefruit and Sweet kumquat on my lot. So, here's hoping.

I also have an avocado that I started from seed -- but it's just one year old (and seven feet high), but I doubt I'll be around to taste its fruit.

Be well

: )

I did not plant the mango; I suspect it was planted around the time the house was built, 1972. It had a severe pruning two years ago, and still was enormous. We have had 400-500 fruit on that tree in good years, and this year looked like it was going to be a bumper crop. I wasn't going to wait around for those. For one thing they fall and break my plumeria :-o and used to break the roof tiles until we had it replaced. Those mangoes are huge (Keitt).
I won't miss the tree. There are so many people with mango trees in this area, I know we will have mangoes to eat in July.
I was aware of the relationship with Poinson Ivy. I didn't realize the toxins would be released when burning the wood.....

if it is anything like poisen ivy, then yes, the smoke from burning the wood will make you break out with alergies/rashes. I had poisen ivy oil in a blouse, it hung in the closet for 2 years, not realizing that it was still in the cloth (even after washing it), I got the rash back.
Also had several rashes from the fireplace by burning oak that must have had some oils on the wood. I' be very careful. Helene

Far as I know there are no mango trees around me. Citrus, yes.

And, smoke from burning poison ivy will getcha, every time.

But, I still miss the smell of burning leaves in the autumn. I wonder if our world is any safer with the environmental-wackies.

Hear any news about global warming these days/

Be well

: )

We are feeling the effects of Global warming right now. All the melting ice is changing the ocean currents.

wren~

I hope that you are joking. Right now we are having weather much colder than normal.

But as for melting ice from the arctic ice cap affecting our earth, consider this:

Take a bowl of water and float a big chunk of ice in it. Make sure that the water is filled to the brim. Allow the ice to melt and watch what happens to the level of water in the bowl, and note whether any water spills over the rim.

Trust me, it won't.

So much for flooding.

Be well

: )

It has something to do with the change of temperature in the water that changes the course of the currents, can not remember it all now. I think my brain froze last night. LOL

OK OK

But I suggest that you take the time to read: http://www.env-econ.net/2005/09/the_simonehrlic.html

I think that man, in his ingenuity and ability to adapt, can consume and still survive.

Be well

: )

Now I ned help.

The mango survived the original cold spells, albeit with the browning-out of some of the leaves. Seems to me, however, that the buds failed to germinate -- and are losing the petals and browning out.

Here is a photo of a bud end.

: )

However, the tree is sending out brand-new buds. (See photo)

Does it know that the originals have failed to germinate, and is giving me another chance for fruit this summer?

Any experts out there?

: )

I'm no expert, but thats what is sounds like to me. They may be plants but they seem to be pretty smart. They know they need to reproduce and make seeds.

Darla

FlyBoy,

Your photo of the browning buds and flowers is normal. You won't know for a couple of weeks if those trusses have set fruit, be patient. If you don't see little green pea size fruits in the next few weeks then you will know that they didn't get fertilized.

The second photo of the newly developing flowers in normal also.

I have a mango in my front yard and it does the same thing. I think the trees are smart enough to restrain itself and not flower all at once.

I don't see anything in your photos that is out of the ordinary.

Thanks

Any sense in my trying to use a Q-tip to help spread the good stuff?

Be well

: )

A small paint brush works better....

I'll try it.

Any suggestions of romantic music I can hum as I do it?

Be well

: )

1812 Overture?

Nah

Something more romantic, maybe like: Deep Purple

Be well

: )

Dale, what is the name of the coleus in post Post #6291947? It is absolutely stunning. I want it.

Toy,

It is Glennis, grown in the shade. Shade makes the leaves a lot lighter color than when it get sun.

Purple Firespike>

Thanks Dale. I will have to look for that one. I really like it.

I guess (so far) I am lucky.

Fruits are setting.

Here is one of the many clusters bearing baby Carries.

: )

Yep, plenty of fruit.

How many fill out on each cluster?

: )

The flowers on the end of a branch should produce about 3 fruit (average). Many of those little green pea sized fruit will fall off.

Also it depends on the amount of rain we get. If the weather stays dry the fruit will be small or the tree may drop some more of them.

For the largest fruit wait until they get up to half the size of an egg (or a little smaller) and then thin them by cutting off all but the 2 largest on a branch. Or just leave one per branch. Fewer numbers of fruit equals a bigger fruit.

Do you have a photo of the whole tree?

Dale you have no Idea how much I love sunflowers! Those are just beautiful!

Darla

Dale~

Whole tree -- today