how to grow a mango plant from seed

Hi, I've started a mango tree from seed, it's about 6 months and it only has 4 leaves. Can someone tell me what is wrong with it? The first 4 leaves came about 4 weeks in and it's been the same size and it hasn't gotten any taller and it's not dead. I will try anything to get it to grow. Any suggestion?
Thanks.

 

Ok! Joining the "Mango Madness"

I've decided to take a swing at this Mango madness.
I live near Birmingham, AL

I am planting a mango from the store. Sticker says "mayan valley quality" #4959 product of mexico.

Mango was eaten. I am cracking the white pod up. Putting the bean thing inside in a plastic bag with wet paper towels and laying it the sun.

My other odd ball tree-- I currently am growing a satsuma orange that I grew from seed 2 years ago. Its pretty nice size. Leaves smell EXACTLY like the orange it came from. If it doesn't fruit, then I can just pick leaves and be happy.

Viscera.. YOUR tree is LOVELY!!! I wonder where everyone else is or if their trees died.

 

day 3 update

So on 5/19 I planted a freshly eaten Mango-took the pit, popped it open, the seed looked like a gigantic lima bean. I put it in wet paper towels, placed it in a sealed clear sandwhich baggie, left it outside in the sun. Its been about 70-85 f daily. Warm nights.

Today, 3 days later, I opened it to find my mango "bean" had sprouted. I removed the paper, filled the bag with slightly moist dirt. I sealed it up again. Will check in a few days.

I'm certain it will grow. Its keeping it alive over the winter inside that is difficult.

 

update: 1 month later

Well, it's been a month now since I planted.

11 leaves.

Once I planted it, I made sure it had full sun and the soil was moist in the middle. It looks dry but it is moist underneath.

Days are in the 90's and evenings no lower than 75 now.

Happy Mango tree.

I planted it in front of the AIR CONDITIONING Unit outside so it gets plenty of airflow. I think that breeze is helping it to grow a strong stalk.

 

Wow! Mango looks great. Can't put mine in front of aircon because it is too shady.

 

Mango at 4 years - 11 feet tall

Another year has gone by and the mango, grown from a seed, is another 3 feet taller. That is my tape measure showing in the photo of the tree. In March of this year, it looked like we might have the first fruit from the tree, but unfortunately all those little blossoms fell off within a week or so. I apologize for the blurry photos but it was almost impossible to stop the leaves from rustling in the wind. I think this bodes well though. Maybe next year, we will have our first edible fruit. Does anybody know if this seems like a reasonable possibility?

If you click on my user name, you will be able to view previous photos to see the progression of the tree from seedling to its current state.

In a separate post to follow I will show you our current problem with the tree for which there is no cure unfortunately.

 

little leaf notcher weevil

The little leaf notcher weevil is a pest here in South Florida that it is eating the leaves of many varieties of trees. You would think that the spider in the tree could feast on all of them, but I guess they don't taste good because they don't seem to have any predators. Most accounts of this pest say they do not fly, but they do. We have these white bugs on most of our trees, and as you can see they do a great job eating the leaves. There are better, non-blurry, photos of the little leaf notcher weevil on the web.

 

Visarlene - first of all, congrats! Next year you should see at least 1-2 edible fruit, and after that the tree will just take right off.

As far as notcher weevils, the best defence I've found is neem oil as a foliar spray. It smothers the bugs but the mango doesn't seem to have a problem with it.

 

Hi Lorax. Thanks for the neem oil recommendation, and we will definitely give it a try! I remember there was talk that trees grown from seed might not bear fruit, so I am glad that you said we are on track for edible fruit in a year or two. Can't wait!!

 

Visarlene

your plant motivated me to take a swing at growing one myself! Beautiful tree!

Ever thought of looking for a different type of mango at an ethnic store and growing a different variety? I think your Mango needs a buddy. You did so well with the 1st one!

 

Hi, redstepchild ... Glad you are motivated. I'm thinking about planting an avocado next, also from seed. I have not had much luck so far, but haven't given up yet.

 

Ive done the avocado thing. I found if I just stuck it in a gallon plastic bag w moist dirt and sealed the top.. and laid it out to bake in the sun.. it started growing pretty quickly. A few weeks at the most. Then I planted it in a pot, kept it moist but not wet. Full sun, lots of heat.. grew real nice.

Had it growing GREAT for years and my ex left it outside in the cold when I went on vacation. I was devastated.

 

Sounds good, redstepchild. Will give it a try. Sorry you lost yours. :-(

 

I can't wait to grow a mango tree... I'm going to have to have it inside when I do it though since I live in NS!

 

Year 5 and I have fruit!! I think I need at least 6-8 more weeks before they will be ripe, and I can't wait to taste them. The tree still has leaf notcher weevils and probably white fly too, but while the leaves are eaten up, the fruit seems to be okay. The neem oil did not seem to do the trick unfortunately. Will post again when I have edible fruit!!

 

Planted the seed about 4 days ago, the seedling about 2 weeks ago... the two flowers coming out of the pot are poppy flowers

 

Hey Visarlene, How about update?

billp