Hey, I'm new to the planting gig and well i wanted something to do in my spare time and i thought, why not try and plant and grow a mango seed. I live in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and the climate here is very strange so i thought i would try to grow the mango seed in a pot indoors. It has been three weeks now and my little plant is doing well, but the thing is.... I planted one seed and for some reason i have two stalks growing? Like i said i am new to this and I just wanted to know if this poses a problem for the future tree to be grown healthy. Any suggestions?
Me thinks it may well grow like the avacado does down here but will probably never bare fruit. If it does the possums will get it. If they don't parrots will. :) I think that twin sten thingy has also been mentioned by the citrus people. Let it grow and see what happens. Liz (in the hills)
Ok i might be a little under skilled when it comes to knowing things about plants and such, but i swear i can see a third stalk developing from the one seed, i will add more pics as the plant develops but i just don't understand what is going on. As for the tree bearing fruit, well i hope it does either way. In truth everyone who knew i was trying to grow a mango tree said i would have no hope, but the little guy is doing well so far and i have shocked a few people with it. So who knows maybe it will bear fruit to :)
I believe what you have is a variety of mango that produces polyembryonic seed. The individuals will be identical to the parent.
Sorry, but when you say Polyembryonic, your implying that the seed type i planted is going to be having twins/triplets? And that these twins/triplets are going to be like the parent mango tree from which they came?
Yup, that's what Junglekeeper is saying. You're going to have twins or triplets or even quadruplets identical to the original mango. I have no idea if it will ever set fruit for you in Melbourne. What type of mango did you plant?
I don't know what kind to be honest.... I was eating a mango at the time and thought to myself...."I wonder if you can plant this massive shell thing inside the mango", so i jumped on Google (Google is our friend who loves us) and looked up planting mangoes. I tried doing the whole germinating process (which didn't work i might add) and then just ended up planting the bean in a pot from soil which i took from underneath a 3 year old fig tree. I didn't use any fertilizers or special mulch, but what i did do was plant the bean on its side about 1 1/2" deep in the pot and added a little water and then i bagged it knowing that mangoes like moist warm weather.......Yeah so to answer your question I don't know what kind of mango it is but if it does end up like the parent, then there are possibilities that it may bear fruit and this would most likely be with a controlled climate indoors (because Melbourne weather is completely spontaneous) and good pollination according to what I've read on the net.
And be cautious of it if and when it starts blooming. Mango trees are characteristically fragrant, but unless you happen to be one of the lucky few who doesn't react to it, it smells a bit like mango-turpentine, and can get very strong in close quarters. It gives some people contact dermatitis (not me, thankfully, I have several developed mango trees of different varieties...) If it was a honking big mango with red-green skin and a honking big pit, chances are it was a Tommy Atkins. They're the most common for export. If it had yellow-red skin, it was most probably a Kent or Haden, and if it was all-yellow, most probably a Keitt.
Though I am not 100% sure, it may have been a yellowish red colored mango and it wasn't the largest mango Ive seen but it certainly tasted good.
I forgot to mention am not so sure about watering.... How much and how many times should i water the plant per week?
There's a high chance it may have been a variety of Bowen mango or 'Kensington Pride' if it was grown in Australia and not imported. They need moderate watering and reasonable drainage. Don't let them dry out too much while young. Up here we get Anthracnose fungus affecting flowers and forming fruit, seriously damaging a plants crop. It can be controlled with Mancozeb if yours gets to flower. Melbourne has variable weather and I reckon you'll eventually get some fruit on it, find a warm spot in your yard but be aware these will eventually become BIG TREES. They can begin flowering after 3-4 years but won't really set fruit until a few years after that. As for the seed sprouting more than 1 plant; I've seen a lot of that on palms that eventually flowered and seeded but they are a totally different plant altogether.
Ok, i noticed this while the plant was growing about 4 days ago but now im worried if something might happen to my poor little fella(s). What is this thing attatched to the stalk and why is there black stuff on it? should i trim it?
I'm going to go with it's the cotyledon, which is probably being reabsorbed to the plant. You can trim it if you wish, or leave it.
Ok.... Here are some pics of the progress of the mango plant. The triplets look fine but to my surprise there is another stalk forming... a fourth!? Is there the possibility that they might choke each other or something? What do i do? I mean i understand that the seed was polyembryonic but now I'm afraid that the pot the plant is in will be too small for them all and i need to move them to a bigger pot, but that's dangerous at this stage of the plants life isn't it? Help.....
Don't stress too much they'll get to a reasonable size in the pot they're in, don't rush into potting them up too early, let the roots fill the pot (not to the point of rootbound of course). Being multiple plants they will compete with each other for the nutrients and room and you may find one dying off or most definitely 1 or 2 becoming the dominant ones in the pot stunting the others.
When a plants been in a pot too long to the point where: It holds little water, There's a higher amount of root than soil in the pot. You'll find the plant dries and wilts quicker and won't be as vigorous in it's growth. Average time in what I think you have (140mm or 6' diameter pot) should be 6-12 mths, controlled by rate of plant growth. Like I said you'll notice the plant will considerably slow up in growth (don't confuse seasonal change with this) when it's reached it's limit in the pot. Best time to re-pot is when there is a good rootball that does not loose it's shape or drop soil everywhere if knocked out of the pot.
Wow! Good luck with your ickle baby Mango trees, they look good so far :) I'm guessing there's no chance of getting a mango seed to germinate in England? :(
Actually I don't think the first post..posted! I planted this mango from a tiny baby that was curled up in a split mango seed. I hope to keep it a long time by repotting and trimming. It seems to be healthy and happy and spent the summer outdoors last year. ( live in Tennessee USA so it can't survive outside all year. It is 1 foot 10 inches tall now.
Yay! So I get a yummy Mango Lassi AND a new plant to boot..the question is do I really have room? LOL
You can sacrifice a lot of things for plants. Do you own where you live? You can build an arboretum extension if you do....
OK, here are some pix of my babies growing and the leaves seem to be growing a nice size.... I never new i could be attached to a plant, I think I'm becoming obsessive. I have decided to try growing an avocado from seed also and thought that it would be good if the mango and avocado grow together side by side because i figured this might help pollination especially considering i will be bringing both plants indoors for the winter, perhaps they can support each other.
