Mango is a tropical plant whose fruits have an amazing taste. This is one of the largest fruit-bearing plants in the world. Individual specimens of mango trees reach almost 50 m in height, and their crowns have a diameter of about 60 m. Mango fruits, in addition to great taste, contain many useful elements and vitamins for life. And although the homeland of this plant is the tropics, it is quite possible to grow mangoes at home.
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Biological description
medium sized mango tree
Mango is an evergreen tree with many varieties. Moreover, they have practically no differences in the stem or deciduous parts. All varieties have exactly the same growing conditions and care. They differ only in structural features, ripening time and flavoring shades of fruits.
Big mango tree. Age about 300 years
Moreover, the coniferous flavor is present in such an amount that does not make it too pronounced and cloying. This “coniferousness” is characteristic only of mango fruits, no other plants have a similar aftertaste.
Botanically speaking mango - This is a plant of the Anacardiaceae family, originating from the middle regions of India. It is a tree with a strong and tall stem and an extensive crown. Mango leaves have a glossy hue and an elongated shape: up to 15-20 cm long and 5-7 wide. The branches of the tree are also flexible and strong, since they need to hold a large number of large fruits.
mango grove
Mango bloom time is at the end of winter. Inflorescences are corollas, formed in the form of pyramids. Sometimes in inflorescences there are up to a hundred flowers, and sometimes up to a thousand. The sizes of inflorescences in these cases are simply gigantic: up to 50-70 cm.
Emerging mango tree inflorescence
More than 95% of mango flowers are male, with a pleasant aroma lilies.
Under natural conditions, mango blooms for 5-10 years, however, it does not begin to bear fruit immediately. The problem here is that paniculate inflorescences are difficult to pollinate even in natural conditions, and there is no need to talk about apartment ones.
Sometimes, in order for the tree to begin to set fruit, a graft of an already fruiting mango is made on it. Usually, even the grafting of one bud of a fruit-bearing plant is enough to speed up this process and a sufficient number of female flowers appeared on the tree, which are necessary for fruit setting.
Various types of mango fruit
Fruits, depending on the subspecies of the mango tree, have a wide variety of colors and sizes. The rind of all species is generally fairly thin and smooth; inside the fetus contains a relatively large bone.In immature fruits, the pulp has a pronounced fibrous structure, which disappears as it ripens.
Mango - a source of many useful substances. Mango fruits contain calcium, iron, phosphorus and zinc. They have vitamins B6 and B9; The pulp of just two small mangoes contains the daily requirement of vitamin C.
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Growing mangoes will require certain rules to be followed. This tropical plant is very thermophilic and photophilous. Unlike many of its "countrymen" from the tropics, for example, the same coffee tree, mango is very critical of environmental changes that are unfavorable to it.
soil and pot
Mango requires neutral acidity soil. In addition, the soil must be loose. You should not use any loams for growing mangoes, and indeed, you should abandon the use of "homemade" soils.
Preparatory process
It is necessary to purchase soil with neutral acidity, which it would be desirable to check with a pH meter. Not everyone wants to buy this expensive product, however, you can try to take it from someone, or check the acidity level in the store when buying soil.
It is recommended to choose one of two types of mango soil: soil for succulents cacti. If such soils are either absent or too dense, they should be mixed with perlite. For this purpose, you need to take the components in the following ratio: 1 part perlite to 2 parts of soil. If for some reason this option does not suit you, you can create your own soil mixture. Her recipe is as follows: coco substrate, peat and perlite are mixed in equal proportions. In any case, for the final composition of the soil mixture, it will be necessary to check it for acidity.
Mango sprouting in small pots
Mango containers are selected based on the characteristics of its root system. Just the appearance of a mango tree is enough to understand - the root system of the plant is pivotal and penetrates deep into the soil. Based on this, a pot is selected - it must be very deep; the ideal option is a tub-type container.
However, for the first 1-2 years of a plant's life, including during its germination, such a large capacity will not be required. At these stages, you can use small pots (no more than 15-20 cm in diameter), or even use a 3-5 liter plastic bottle with a cut neck.
temperature and light
Normal conditions for the plant are temperatures + 25-30 ° C and a lot of sunlight. The plant perfectly tolerates direct sunlight, so the window sills of the south windows will be an ideal option for placing it in the apartment.
The plant needs at least 11 hours of daylight, so fluorescent lighting is a must. In the absence of sufficient light, the mango begins to stretch the stem, and leaf growth is not only inhibited, but completely stopped.
An example of artificial lighting
Mango can also adapt to lower temperatures (up to +22°C), however, temperature fluctuations during the day should not exceed 5°C. This is important in the summer, when the container with the plant can be exposed to the open air during especially hot times.
If the daily temperature fluctuations exceed the given value, the plant will need to either be covered with something or brought into the room. There are no particular problems with this, since the mango, unlike many of its tropical counterparts, normally tolerates both movements and turns of the pot.
The plant does not like drafts, so it should be protected from them: either transfer in the winter to where they are absent, or just in case, take care of warming the pot itself.
Humidity
Mango requires moderately moist soil, but stagnant water is highly undesirable for him. Watering a mango is one of the most difficult tasks in caring for a plant.. It is necessary to keep the top layer of the soil moist, while it is necessary that water does not accumulate in the lower layers.
Therefore, the plant needs drainage
For the mango flowering period (February-March), watering should be reduced to a minimum., while it is necessary to ensure that the leaves of the plant do not deteriorate. It is important to strike a balance here so that the amount of water is minimal to keep the foliage in good shape, but nothing more.
The air around the plant should not be humid, so no daily spraying of the plant with a spray bottle is unacceptable. However, once or twice a month, the plant should be subjected to a leaf washing procedure: water is sprayed on them and dust is wiped off with a soft cloth. After that, all the leaves are wetted with dry gauze or a napkin.
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Self-cultivation
Mango can be grown by purchasing germinated seedlings in nurseries, or independently, using its seed.taken from the fetus. The first one not only allows you to guarantee a ready-made healthy plant, but with its help you can become the owner of a dwarf mango variety.
Dwarf mangoes are about 5-10 times smaller than their usual counterparts, but the main thing is that their root system is adapted to limited container volumes.in which they are grown. The latter allow you to get even mango trees grown in the "bonsai" style. Another advantage of dwarf mangoes is that it is much easier to make them bear fruit than ordinary representatives of this species.
"Aerobatics" in the cultivation of mango: fruit-bearing plant in the style of bonsai
On the other hand, mango is one of the few crops that can be grown from its seed.. The exoticism of such an action attracts so many gardeners, and they make just such a choice in growing mangoes.
This process is very interesting and exciting, but if you decide to go all the way from finding a seed to turning it into a flowering tree, be patient. In the best case, this will take at least 5 years of fairly painstaking work and a lot of experiments, both with the plant itself and with its conditions of detention.
Consider the sequence of actions that need to be done to grow a mango from a seed:
Fruit selection
This is one of the main questions in growing a plant. In order for the plant to hatch normally, sprout and develop, it is necessary to choose the right fruit from which the seed will be taken. The main thing at this stage is to choose a fruit with a sufficient degree of maturity.
Ripe mangoes are soft, because the number of fibers in them is minimal; as noted earlier, fibrousness is characteristic only of immature fruits. It is necessary to choose the softest fruit that is available, only in such fruits is there a guarantee that the seed has managed to develop fully.
In some cases, the mango seed sprouts while already inside the fruit, in some it just opens the seed. If you managed to get such a fruit at your disposal, consider yourself lucky, you have not only a full-fledged, healthy plant, but also at least one month of time savings.
Ripe mango fruits
The best time to buy mangoes for planting is May or June. At this time, it can be guaranteed that the plants have not been deep-frozen and that the seeds inside them are still alive.Frozen or too old fruits, as a rule, no longer contain live seeds and are unsuitable for planting.
Germination preparation
The seed of the selected fruit is cut from the pulp with a knife, and then “cleaned” manually, using only fingers, so as not to damage it. The pulp must be completely removed from the stone.. This is important, because if not all of the pulp is removed, mold can grow in it at the germination stage, which will destroy the entire mango shoot.
mango bone
On an oblong mango bone, it is quite difficult to determine where the top is and where the bottom is. At the same time, this is the second fundamentally important point in growing, since the seed should be planted in the ground exclusively with the root down.
If the bone is not opened, it will need to be opened with a knife. This operation will allow not only to determine the orientation of the root in space, but also reduce the time for the sprout to break through the hard shell of the seed.
Sliced mango pits ready for planting
The seeds must be separated from the stone, however, if there are any difficulties, you should not persist, the sprout will still germinate, perhaps a week later. Sometimes there may be several seeds in the stone. In this case, all healthy seeds are selected for germination. They are usually smooth and white or yellow; if the seed is brown, limp or shriveled, it is better to throw it away so as not to waste your time.
seed germination
It can be done in two different ways: either in a glass of water or with a damp cloth. When grown in a glass, the seed is placed in it and simply filled with water, or some kind of stand is installed so that its half with the germinal part is in the water.
Mango seed in a glass of water
The liquid in the glass is changed every 2-3 days. The first sprout will appear in about 7-10 days, and after another 2-3 days, the root process will appear. Once this has happened, the germinated seed can be transplanted into the soil.
In the case of growing in a wet cloth or gauze towel, it is folded so that the seed is completely covered on both sides.. The resulting "sandwich" is placed in a shallow bath. The fabric is regularly wetted with water so that it does not dry out. Once every 2 days, the liquid is drained from the bath, and the rag is wetted again; at the same time, it is not necessary to squeeze it and unfold it completely.
Mango seed germinated with wet gauze
The landing itself is carried out in the following sequence:
- Even a temporary, first pot should have a fairly solid bottom and be relatively deep (preferably at least 20 cm).
- About a third of the pot should be occupied by medium or fine drainage. It is undesirable to use expanded clay, it is better to use small gravel or broken bricks. A layer of soil is poured on top, not reaching 2-3 cm to the top of the pot.
- It is advisable to add a single dose of fertilizer for palm trees or cacti to the substrate before planting. It is best to use a liquid mixture that is poured into a pot and mixed with the topsoil.
- In the middle of the pot, a recess is made into which the germinated seed is placed. In this case, it is necessary to completely dig in both processes. If the stem shoot has sprouted too high and already exceeds the length of the seed, it is not necessary to drop it.
- From above, the pot must be covered with plastic wrap to create an impromptu greenhouse. Instead of a film, you can use a plastic bottle of large diameter (usually a 2 liter bottle is enough) with a cut neck, installed above the seed upside down.
Plant care at the initial stage
After planting the seed, the pot is placed in a warm and sunny place. At this stage, direct sunlight is not desirable, it is necessary to use diffused light.At the same time, it should be a lot, like an adult plant (at least 11 hours a day).
Mango planted in a pot
Plant care during this period consists of regular daily watering and airing. Watering should be done with warm settled water with a temperature of + 30-32 ° C. There should be enough water, but it is not recommended to over-moisten the substrate. Excess water must be drained from the pot tray about 20-30 minutes after watering.
Air the plant for 5-10 minutes once a day. At the same time, there should be no drafts in the room, and the temperature should not fall below + 25 ° С.
The first month the mango grows very slowly. If the sprout has not germinated sufficiently in the water, it is possible that it will hatch from the substrate not earlier than the 4th week. But, as soon as he hatches and "sees" the sunlight, his growth rate will increase significantly.
After the top of the plant appears from the substrate, it is necessary to slightly increase watering., but without excessive flooding of the soil. It is better to do 2 irrigations per day with a total volume of water of about 1.5 of the volume used for irrigation at the initial stage of germination.
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As soon as the first adult petals appear on the mango, it can be gradually weaned from greenhouse conditions and transferred to room content. Acclimatization should be gradual: every day it is recommended to open the "greenhouse" for 20-30 minutes more than the previous day, while leaving it overnight.
Mango six months after planting
After about a month, acclimatization will be completed and the film can be removed. The plant should be on a sunny windowsill or glazed heated balcony; direct sunlight at this stage is no longer just desirable, but highly recommended. The temperature in this case should not be less than + 23-25 ° С.
Watering and humidity
Some gardeners insist that mangoes require high humidity and need to be sprayed regularly. This is not entirely correct, since such a regime will lead to excessive soil moisture and the plant may die.
Normal humidity for mangoes should be around 70% and twice a month it can be sprayed with warm water, but this procedure should not be abused. It should be done in the morning or in the evening so that moisture does not remain on the leaves under the direct rays of the Sun. It is advisable to dry them thoroughly with a cloth before the sun's rays hit the leaves, relieving them of moisture residues.
Mango one year after planting
Watering mango is carried out every 2-3 days. The plant needs enough water to maintain the normal state of the leaves, but it should not be excessively curled; The top layer of soil should only be slightly damp.
Pruning and transplant
After about 1-1.5 years, the plant begins an active period of life. Its growth is greatly accelerated and it needs more and more space both in the pot (root system) and outside it.
Approximately 1.5 years after planting, the plant will have a height of about one meter and its root system will almost completely occupy the volume of its first pot. At this stage, the plant is recommended to be transplanted into a larger pot.
Transplantation is done in the spring, during the period of active growth of the roots. A pot with a diameter of 5 cm larger than the previous one is selected and transplantation is carried out either by transshipment or by completely digging out the root, fortunately, the mango root system normally tolerates such actions.
Fruiting mango in a large pot
After the first three annual transplants, they switch to transplants every 2 years., which will be few - one or two. After this, the mango can be transplanted into a large pot or tub.
The first pruning of the plant is done when it reaches a height of about 1.5 meters.. Usually, the upper shoot with a growth cone is removed so that the tree begins to grow "in breadth". Mango cuttings are recommended to be done twice a year, so that they do not coincide with the time of its transplantation. The plant tolerates such actions perfectly, because it has a high growth rate of the deciduous part and from each such procedure it only becomes thicker. It is advisable to process the cut points with charcoal.
top dressing
The plant can do without fertilizers, but in this case, its growth and appearance will be very mediocre. In order for the mango to grow and develop normally, it is recommended during the period of active growth (spring-summer) to apply universal fertilizer under it for palm trees.
Feed preparation
The main element that mango requires constantly is nitrogen., so fertilizers must contain it in sufficient quantities. Even during the flowering period, mango does not require phosphorus and potassium, but nitrogen.
Ensuring fruiting
Mango, starting from the age of 5, blooms regularly every year, but there are some problems with fruiting. Theoretically, you can wait for the fruiting of a plant grown at home, but the probability of this event will be very low (about 1 case out of 100).
The guarantee of the fruiting of a plant is its grafting from an already flowering and fruiting plant from some nursery or botanical garden. Despite the apparent complexity of such a procedure, in fact, in the post-Soviet space, fruit-bearing mango trees are found in almost all botanical gardens in large cities.
The grafting procedure itself is quite simple: one of the shoots is split with a sharp sterile knife and a bud from a fruit-bearing tree is grafted into it. The vaccination site is wrapped with electrical tape or tape. After about 1-2 weeks, the winding can be removed.
Mango grafting by split method.
The bud begins to bloom after about 2 seasons, very rarely this happens the next season. However, after 2-3 years, fruits may appear on almost all inflorescences. A grafted tree before the first fruits appear should be fed monthly (and not only during active growth) with nitrogen-containing fertilizers.
Good luck growing mango
At first, there will be few fruits, but already 3-4 years after grafting, their number on a tree 1.5-2 meters tall will be about a dozen.
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Plant diseases
One of the unpleasant features of many tropical crops is their relatively high vulnerability to diseases and pests. The reason for this, first of all, is the conditions of detention, with all the desire not corresponding to those that they have in their homeland.
Mango is no exception, so let's look at the most common diseases of this plant that its owners may encounter.
Spider mites
They are the most common and frequent pests of mangoes.. They feed on the juices of the plant, oppressing it. It is very difficult to detect spider mites directly due to their small size, however, arthropod pests give themselves away by the appearance of rusty plaque on the sheets.
Rusty plaque from ticks
Any insecticide is used for treatment. They process the stems and surfaces of healthy leaves. In this case, the leaves are processed both from above and from below. Damaged leaves are cut off completely.
Anthracnose
This disease is caused by a fungus that attacks the plant at high soil moisture. Identified by dark brown spots on the leaveswhich subsequently turn black.Over time, the fungus attacks the nutrient pathways and the plant can die.
Leaf lesions with anthracnose
The source of infection can be insects that carry spores of the fungus from one plant to another, and if the environment is favorable for it, and the soil is excessively wet, the fungus can also infect mangoes.
Treatment consists in a complete change of the substrate, disinfection of the roots with a solution of potassium permanganate and correction of the irrigation regime. As a rule, especially in the initial stages, specialized treatment with fungicides is not needed.
bacteriosis
This disease is caused by various groups of bacteria that enter untreated plant sections during pruning. Plant tissues begin to rot, and often this pathology is accompanied by a characteristic odor that is not characteristic of a healthy tree.
Damage to mango leaves with bacteriosis
If damage of this type is detected, the damaged parts of the plant should be immediately removed and the substrate completely replaced. Healthy parts of the plant should be treated with copper sulfate or Bordeaux mixture.
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Mango: description, planting and growing from the stone at home, possible diseases (Photo & Video) + Reviews
already germinated by 3 weeks. Now it grows like a tree, I don’t chase fruits.
Hello! Is it critical that something went wrong during germination (perhaps she planted the seed on the wrong side, as she planted it immediately fresh, without a sprout) and the stem of the shoot became crooked, like a spiral? Substituted small "steps" to lift the plant from the ground. Grows well, for about 2 months, does not get sick.
Julia, this shape of the trunk will only affect its decorative effect (appearance), in steel there is a stable growth, then you should worry about it.
In the photo with the vaccination, it’s not a mango, but some kind of citrus
Thanks a lot for such a quick response! WITH:
Good afternoon)) Thank you for such a wonderful site and useful tips. I wanted to ask you and those who grow mangoes. Dark spots appeared on my leaves, but I can’t determine in any way what kind of disease my brainchild has begun. So far, two leaves have been affected. I transplanted into a completely new soil and even a pot. The former soil was not much wet, but not so much that the roots would begin to rot. Leaves I will also remove. But still, first I would like the experts to tell me exactly what my mango has for the disease
Good day! My daughter skipped the mango from the pit. The plant grew well, but at some point the growth stopped, at the top, young leaves began to fall one after another. This was preceded by a significant decrease in the temperature in the room.
Over time, the top of the shoot dried up. If there is a possibility of feedback, I would like to use your advice to save the plant.
Good day! My daughter grew a mango from a seed. The plant grew well, but at some point the growth stopped, at the top, young leaves began to fall one after another. This was preceded by a significant decrease in the temperature in the room.
Over time, the top of the shoot dried up. If there is a possibility of feedback, I would like to use your advice to save the plant.