When You Receive your Mango –

Your Mango tree will be very thirsty upon arrival as it has traveled for several days inside a box. When you first receive your new tree, unpack it immediately from the box and remove the plastic bag surrounding the pot. For the first 2 weeks after receiving your Mango Tree water it each day, preferably in the morning hours. On the 3rd week you can gradually start cutting back the watering to 5 out of 7 days. For subsequent weeks, continue to water when the soil appears dry. During the summer months, this could be every day. During the winter months, 1-2 times per week should suffice.

You will also need to acclimate your plant to being outside all day. Place it in a shady spot with for the first couple of days, then gradually give it more sun each day until after a week, you move it to its permanent spot in full sun for the summer. When picking that permanent spot, keep in mind that they love heat and sun!

Growing Your Mango in a Container

Transplanting to a Larger Pot

As your tree grows, it will need to be moved to a large pot every 2 or 3 years, until it maxes out to around a 30-gallon pot. Your tree comes in a 3-gallon/10” pot, and you can step it up gradually as follows:

3 gallon/ 10” pot

7 gallon/ 14” pot

15 gallon/ 17” pot

25 gallon/ 24” pot

Etcetera

Re-potting Your Mango

• You will need a good, fast-draining gritty soil mix. You can make your own, using equal parts Pine Bark Fines, Turface and granite grit (or perlite). You can also use a commercially prepared mix like Jungle Growth or Miracle Grow Moisture Control potting soil. You can add a small amount of slow-release fertilizer to the mix.
• Many recommend using a clay pot because it breathes better than plastic, but you may also use a plastic pot, if it has plenty of holes in the bottom for drainage. Use one a size larger than your current pot size, as shown above.
• You might want to place the pot on castors before you fill it, to make moving it easier.
• Line the bottom with loose stones, and make sure there are several drainage holes. Add potting mix to half-way full, wetting it as you go.
• Remove the plant carefully from the pot, keeping the root ball intact. Do not pull it out by the trunk, as this may damage the tap root. If roots are starting to circle around the outside where they met the pot, gently loosen the ends to encourage them to grow out into the new soil.
• Hold the plant in the middle of the pot (or get a friend to help!) and fill in around it with potting mix so the top of the soil around the base of the tree is still visible. Burying the tree too deeply can cause the trunk to rot.
• Gently firm the soil and water until water drains out the bottom of the pot. I f you wish, you can apply a couple of inches of organic mulch to the top of the soil, though it should be several inches from the trunk, not touching it.
• After 6 weeks, begin fertilizing as shown below. You can use a slow release fertilizer (18-6-8 or similar analysis) available at your local garden center, or an organic fertilizer if you prefer.
  
  

Watering Your Container

A general rule of thumb is the smaller the pot, the more frequently it will need watering. Also, you will need to take any rainfall into consideration in your watering schedule. That being said, you should water your pot every 2 or 3 days in the summer, and cut back to once every week or two in the winter. The goal is to keep the potting mix moist, but not wet, and to let the top couple of inches dry out before watering again. Your container should have several drainage holes and when you re-pot, you can place pebbles or shards in the bottom of the pot to help give good drainage.

Feeding Your Potted Mango

A plant growing in a container does not have access to nutrients in the ground, so you will need to feed it keep it nourished. There are a lot of differing opinions about the best way to feed your Mango, but it is generally accepted that nitrogen should be given sparingly if at all, as it will impede fruit production in favor of foliage; however, if you need to encourage flowering, you can apply a small dose of a rapid-release fertilizer just before flowering.

For the rest of the year, If you use a commercial fertilizer, use one with low nitrogen, such as a slow release 6-6-2; you can apply it in a slow-release form in spring and midsummer. Many recommend using an organic fertilizer like fish emulsion, and applying a mulch to the soil surface, but not touching the trunk itself.

Feed only when the tree is in active growth, and leave off in the winter. In the summer while the tree is active, you can also apply a foliar spray with micro-nutrients that include magnesium, zinc and manganese; chelated Iron might be needed, also. This may sound like a lot of trouble, but when you are eating those luscious Mangoes, you will be glad you took the time to grow your tree correctly!

Pruning is Important – and It’s Not Hard!

Your tree has already had a several prunings to get it started right, including tip pruning the terminal bud to encourage lateral growth. However, it will need regular pruning its whole life to keep it a manageable size and to promote fruiting. This is not a difficult or exacting process, so don’t panic!

• A major key to pruning a Mango is tip pruning the new shoots when they reach about 20 inches. You should do this several times the first growing season you have it, and 2 to 3 times during the next couple of growing seasons. After that, you will need to tip prune every year after fruiting in midsummer. You don’t have to be selective, but simply cut off the growing tips of all the branches. Branches in the center of the tree that are growing upright should be cut back farther than branches growing horizontally on the sides of the tree. After 4-5 years, the tree should be about 6-8 feet tall and wide in a pot, and the goal is to keep it that way for its lifetime.
• When the tree is 5 years old, you should start removing altogether the thick, woody branches growing upright in the middle of the tree; a small hand saw should suffice. Hold the branch upright until the cut is complete so the end is not splintered and torn. Leave the smaller branches in the tree center; the goal is not to make a vase-shaped tree but to open up the center of the tree to air and sun, as well as to remove thick, woody growth that saps energy from the smaller fruit-producing branches.
• Prune annually after harvesting in midsummer.