Q: I received a mango tree we ordered last week (I am in
California) and am trying to make sure we take care of it properly. I noticed the
corners of some leaves have began drying out. I wanted to see if there was
anything else we should be doing or if it is something normal. Overall the tree
looks good and the leaves have perked up, but I noticed the dry tips on a
handful of leaves. Any help is appreciated! I have not fertilized in the pot yet
or applied the mango sunshine booster.
A:Your mango tree looks pretty healthy, and these dry leaf tips
may be caused by overall shipping stress. You have dry air in California, and
temperatures may be getting up, this may cause additional drying effect. You
may start fertilizing with a liquid fertilizer, it will help the plant to get stronger and grow
faster - then heat and dry air won't be a problem as soon as the plant becomes
better established and hopefully go into a bigger pot soon, or in the ground.
Make sure to provide regular water if you have hot dry summers.
Q: I have 5 avocados. Three of your cold hardy varieties and two
others that have all flowered and set fruit in the past. The last two years
including this year, not a single one of them has put out any flowers. I am
getting lots of new growth like one would expect on a tree too young to flower.
The last two years have been very mild with out any damaging frost where in
previous years they lost all their leaves due to frost yet started putting
out flowers once winter was over. I am confused because they have all flowered
and set fruit previous years. Any ideas would be appreciated.
A: From information you provided, and considering the trees get
lots of full sun and cold was not an issue, the only explanation is - lack of
nutrients. Here is an example.
Very common situation: you get a small 2-3 ft Avocado or Mango tree in 3
gal pot (or even smaller) from a nursery, full of flowers, and sometimes even a
small fruit. You bring it home, plant it in the ground or a bigger pot, it
looks happy and grows like crazy. Then next year - oops, no fruit, sometimes
not even flowers. What happened?
When the tree lived in a nursery, it was provided with all necessary
nutrients through the injector systems (continuous feed); or some nurseries may use
top dress smart release on regular schedule. Regardless of fertilizer type,
professional grower's set up delivers plant food non-stop, on regular basis, with balanced formulas. Plants are not only growing fast but also ready to produce, since nutrients are always available for a full growth cycle.
When you plant a tree in the ground (or larger pot), conditions change.
They may be beneficial for the plant: lots of room for roots to establish, hence
lots of vegetative growth. Even if you planted it using good quality fertile
soil, this soil may contain mostly nutrients responsible for vegetative
growth (branches and leaves). Chances are, your soil may be rich in Nitrogen
(good for green growth), but poor in other elements responsible for flowering and
fruiting (Phosphorous, Potassium, and many important micro-elements such as
Molybdenum, Boron, Iron, etc.). Besides, existing soil gets exhausted
quickly, and within a year a two, if you don't add fertilizer, flowering and fruiting may be reduced or even stopped.
This is why fertilizing program is very important for fruit trees that are expected to bring a crop soon.
Also keep in mind that some fruit trees have a habit of "skipping" a year and may either produce less or not produce at all every other year. In any case, balanced nutrition program can help to fix this "bad habit".
...Thank you for the email about mango booster. My mango tree has never
fruited so I bought it. Attached is picture from today. So excited. Used it
on lychee as well - same result. Very happy!..
...The Loquat is a wonderful tree, ideally suited to small gardens
thanks to its compact growth habit. The plant is very fast growing, drought
tolarant, and cold-tolerant to mild frost. It is an ideal fruit tree for the
beginner...
...The flavor is a mixture of peach, citrus and a mild mango...
...In China, the Loquat because of its golden color, represents gold and wealth. It is often one in a bowl or composite of fruits and
vegetables to represent auspicious wishes or the "Five Prosperities" or
wurui...
Q: What are the good varieties of mango trees available for container grow? Can you please share the
details?
A: There are some great varieties of Mango selected specifically
for container culture, they even have a nick-name - "condo mangoes". They
have compact growth habit and respond well to pruning to keep them in small
size. Here are a few of our favorites that we currently have in stock:
Glenn Ice
Cream Cotton
Candy
Mallika
Manilita Pram
Kai Mai Mun
Kun Si Maha
Chinook
You can see more condo mangoes on this page.
Q: As the World's Leading Authority on Tropical Plants, I hope you can help us out. We obtained a mango tree from a City giveaway, and planted it a few years ago. This is the
1st year it has produced fruit.
They are almost all green color, & range from 6-7 inches in length. Attached are a few photos of the tree & its fruit. Please help to identify the type, and how to determine when they would be ready to pick. Or should we just wait until they fall off of the tree?
A: If the tree is grafted, it normally starts flowering within a year after planting. If
the tree is over 6 years old and just now started fruiting - chances are, this is a seedling (possible at giveaways)
without specific variety. However the fruit looks pretty good size and shape, hopefully it tastes great. You will find out soon!
Based on the pictures, there maybe a few possible choices, including
varieties (or their seedlings) Keitt, Rosigold, it can be even Lancetilla if fruit grows bigger than 7" long. The next step would be, wait until the fruit get some color, then it will be easier to narrow down the variety.
Also see if there is a lot of fiber or no fiber.
You may wait until at least one fruit ripens on the tree and let it fall naturally - that
will be the color (can be all green, but in your case it looks like it's turning yellow blush). After that, you may pick full size fruit before they fall and let them
ripen on a kitchen table. Usually once the fruit starts showing color, it is close to ripening. For all-green varieties, just wait till fruit grows to maximum full
size. You may also check if the fruit gets softer to touch, then it's ready.
Q: I purchased Mamey sapote last fall and am very excited about having it in my yard.
It lost leaves during the winter, but then budded and put on a lot of
beautiful leaves. I was hand watering since this covid stay at home event, and
thought I'd put it in a larger container, 10 gallon. About 2 months after transplant and hand watering the leaves turned yellow. I cut back on watering, allowing some dryness between. Some leaves now have fallen off, but looks like new ones forming. What have I done and most importantly now, what do I need to do so she survives? I haven't yet decided exactly where to plant her... so hoping she can stay in container for a bit longer while recovering.
A: It is possibly a combination of over-watering and seasonal
changes (re-leaf). During this time of the year, Pouteria sapote loses old
leaves and grows new ones. This plant is semi-deciduous, which means, it drops
leaves during unfavorable conditions (too dry, too wet, too cold, to hot, etc. =
any stress).
The new buds are healthy. Give it a couple of weeks. Reduce watering. Don't water again if the soil is still moist.
If planted in the ground, it will be easier to control the moisture, as long as you plant it high enough (at least 3-4" above the surrounding area, like on a little hill, for a better drainage.
See
how to plant a tree.
Once you notice a new growth and healthy leaves, give the plant some
food: SUNSHINE C-Cibus - Crop Nutrition Booster Mango-Food - Smart Release Fruit Tree Booster
Healthy Plants. Q&A from Mr Booster: Fertilizing Mango trees in Winter
Q: I'm living in Maryland growing zone 7A and would like some
info on when to fertilize my potted mango trees. I ordered your Sunshine Mango Tango 2-2-4. All your mango trees are in pots.
A: You can start using this fertilizer right away, any time of
the year, and every time you water your plants.
Sunshine Mango Tango, as well as other Sunshine boosters, is an amino-acid
based liquid fertilizer that is scientifically developed for daily plant
needs in all necessary nutrients. This means, you may use this fertilizer with
every watering, including winter period.
Traditional fertilizers (both granulated and soluble, EDTA-chelated) can
only be used during hot months while plants grow actively, and must be limited
or not used at all during cooler months, to avoid nutrient lock up in soil
(which basically means "building up unused elements"). With Liquid Sunshine Boosters, it is safe to add them every time you water
your tree.
During cooler weather and when plant metabolism slows down, a tree will
consume less water (as well as food), and you will automatically reduce
watering, to keep over-wintering plants on a dry side. This means, less fertilizer
too. This allows you to control elements intake naturally, like you control
water amount just as much as the plant needs.
Q: More of a question than a review, but a review regarding
your catalog, it would be easier for us buyers, if we could search for plants
that produce fruit in 2 years or less, I don't have the patience to wait
longer than that for fruit. I'm trying to buy for a fairly good sized garden but
want some fast growers and fruit produced in 2 yrs. Can you help me out?
A: Fruiting time depends on many factors (established size,
growing conditions, fertilizing, and even specific variety), this is why we can
not just put a simple icon "will fruit within 2 years".
However, most grafted and air-layered fruit trees, including all Mango, Avocado, Loquat, Sapote, Sapodilla, Lychee/Longan, Peaches and Nectarines - will fruit right away. If you see in our store
"grafted" or "air-layered" in plant description - these trees will fruit
soon. Some of them already flowering and fruiting.
Some non-grafted trees or seedlings like Annona, Artocarpus (Jackfruit), Eugenia, Guava, Banana, Dragon fruit, Mulberry, Blackberry/Raspberry - will fruit within 3-4 years from seed or even
sooner (Banana, Mulberry, Dragon fruit, Blackberry-Raspberry - within a year).
Usually it says in description that this plant can produce fruit soon.
Bigger size plants are more established and have more energy to produce, so
try to get larger size plants if your budget permits, and especially if you can
pick up bigger plants rather than shipping them - obviously, shipping has size
limitations.
In addition, all spice trees like Bay Leaf, Bay Rum, Allspice and many more - they will
produce spice for you right away, so you don't need to wait at all!
If you have questions about fruiting time on any specific plant you put
your eye on, don't hesitate to ask!
Q: Hello, I have a five-year-old Lemon Meringue tree that has only given me fruit one year. It put out
about 50 mangoes and has done nothing for the past three years. Do you
recommend any vitamins or any of the nutrients that you guys sell to help with this
for next season?
A: We've had very similar problem with our Nam Doc Mai Mango tree, fruited once and no more next year. Usually the reason is nutrients deficiency, here in Florida we have poor soils.
We applied Mango-Tango tree booster and it
started flowering within a couple of weeks.
Generally, Mango flowering season is over by now, however, we recommend to
feed the tree starting now, during active growth season. This way it will get
better established before winter and also will store away all elements
necessary for triggering flowering and fruiting. So by late Fall through Winter it
will be ready to flower.
Along with the fertilizer, additional micro-element supplements will be
beneficial. For improving fruit quality and increasing number of flowers, we
also recommend to use
SUNSHINE-Honey - sugar booster
