Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 17 Dec 2024

How to care for your mango tree in winter

Q: I bought a few mango trees from you this year, and they're doing great! So far, winter's been pretty mild here in Florida, but I know January and February can get chilly. Is there anything special I should do to keep my trees happy so I can enjoy fruit next year?

A: If you want to enjoy mangoes like ours (in the photo) next summer, protecting your tree in winter is a must! Give it the care it needs now, and you'll reap sweet rewards when the warm weather returns.

Keep it cozy and protected: Mango trees love warmth, so when winter comes, they need extra care to stay happy.

Temperature: Mango trees are sensitive to cold. If temperatures drop below 35F, cover the tree with frost cloth or burlap to protect it. For potted mango trees, move them indoors or to a greenhouse.

Watering: Reduce watering during winter. Mango trees don't like soggy roots in cold weather. Let the soil dry slightly between waterings.

Mulching: Add a thick layer of mulch around the base of the tree to insulate the roots and retain warmth. Keep the mulch a few inches away from the trunk.

No pruning: Avoid heavy pruning in winter, as it can stress the tree. Besides, pruning promotes young tender growth that may get cold damaged. Save major trimming for spring.

Feeding: Stop dry fertilizer in winter. The tree slows its growth, so too much dry fertilizer can do more harm than good. You can continue using Sunshine Boosters Mango Tango year-round because it is water-soluble and natural, and the amount of food needed will adjust with reduced watering.

Shop Mango Trees

Date: 14 Jul 2019

Dwarf and Condo mangoes - easy mangoes

Q: We leave in zone 6a, could you tell us what is the list of different types of mango plants that could be planted indoor and that they can bear fruits?

A:There is a large group of mangoes called "Condo Mango" - they literally can be grown in your apartment! Those are dwarf varieties that can remain compact in containers with minimal pruning and successfully bear fruit providing bright light and proper care, including plant food.

The best dwarf and semi-dwarf varieties are: Carrie, Cogshall, Cushman, Fairchild, Graham, Ice Cream, Julie, Mallika, Nam Doc Mai, Pickering, Irwin, Jahangir, Juliette, Lancetilla, Little Gem, Manilita, Sia Tong, Torbert, Pim Seng Mun, Super Julie.

They produce juicy, fiberless sweet fruit. Julie is also a very popular dwarf variety, however, it is very cold sensitive and not the easiest to grow. If you get a 3 gal size mango, step it up to 7 gal when the plant reaches 4 ft; you may use a bigger container as the root system grows, up to 15 gal or even 25 gal, space permitting. Trim the tree under 6-8 ft after production season is over (summer-fall).

See more information on growing condo mangoes

RECOMMENDED FERTILIZERS:

Mango-Food - Smart Release Fruit Tree Booster
Fruit Festival Plant Food - Super Crop Booster
For sweeter fruit, use SUNSHINE-Honey - sugar booster

Date: 20 Apr 2019

More about Mulberries

Customer comment on our Mulberry column in the previous newsletter:

...I planted a Himalayan mulberry, Morus macroura, about six years ago. For several maddening years, it shot only very long, un-branching tentacles out there, and it resisted my efforts to force some branching by pruning. It would send another long, reaching shoot from the tip of the pruned branch, with NO laterals. Several times, it did this. Finally, two years ago, it broke buds that looked like they meant it all along those long branches, and in one season, it fluffed out. The next season it elaborated on this, acting much more like a proper tree. The fruit is fabulous, three or more inches long, very sweet, with a rich berry flavor that's more raspberry than mulberry. I guess it just needed more time. My understanding is that mulberries don't really like to be pruned, but it needed to happen in this case, along a driveway, so I reigned it in, and now it's a treasure. Be patient.
Cheers, your admirer, C

Check out our Mulberry trees.

Date: 8 Aug 2024

Mango Rainbow tasting table-2: whats the taste of that Mango variety?

Mango Rainbow tasting table

🌈 Mango Rainbow tasting table-2: what's the taste of that Mango variety?

🥭 We've had another mango tasting table and asked participants to describe the taste in a few words. And this is what we got:

🟠 Haden - mild, melting, classic heavenly mango flavor,dark yellow flesh, almost fiberless.
🟠 Ugly Betty - opposite to the name, the taste is excellent , juicy, melting, sweet.
🟠 Cotton Candy - true candy, fiberless, sweet, melting.
🟠 Madame Fransis - dark orange pulp, slightly fibrous, robust, meaty like a steak, good with cognac. A little pulpy but unique flavor.
🟠 Diamond - bright yellow, fiberless, sugary, juicy, no pulp at all, classic mango taste, good with ice cream, "wow" taste!
🟠 Pickering - zesty, waterfall: all the flavors come at once, eat with White wine and/or a cake. Oval fruit somewhat flat, very large for a dwarf tree!
🟠 Baptiste - hint of citrus, melts in your mouth, dark orange flesh, crisp, eat with Red wine and cheese.
🟠 Florigon - creamy, buttery, spicy. Eat with Ice cream!
🟠 Tommy Atkins - has a bit zing to it, perfect consistency, perfect taste. Super colorful, crimson red to purple skin!
🟠 Nam Doc Mai - gold standard! Perfect every day.
🟠 Carry - tastes even better than all others, smooth buttery, lite!

❔ What Mango varieties have you tried this year?
Share in comments 👇

📝 Previous post: Mango Rainbow Tasting Table

🛒 Shop Mango varieties

#Food_Forest #Mango #Mango_Rainbow

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Date: 8 Jan 2026

Is winter killing your mango flowers? 33 winter-proof mid-season mango varieties in 90-sec tour

33 winter-proof mid-season mango varieties

❄️ Is winter killing your mango flowers? 33 winter-proof mid-season mango varieties in 90-sec tour

🥭 Mid-season mango varieties make up the heart of the mango harvest. They are not as early as the first winter bloomers and not as late as the extended-season types, but they fill out most of the season.
🥭 Mango trees are winter bloomers, but freezing temperatures can damage them, especially when the trees are still young.
🥭 Right now it is January, and many mid-season mango trees are in bloom or just starting to bloom. While a winter cold snap can damage flowers, mango trees are resilient and often re-bloom once warmer weather returns.

🥭 A list of winter-proof mid-season mango varieties in Top Tropicals garden - Winter 2026

Blooming time: late December - January, may re-bloom February-March

🛒 Explore Mango varieties

📚 Learn more:

· #Mango_Rainbow - varieties you should try
· How to take care of a mango tree in winter
· Mango winter tips

#Food_Forest #Mango #How_to

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