Keitt Mango

phoenixtropicals · Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2012 11:48 am Post subject: Keitt Mango

This is my only grafted mango. It is actually very productive for its size but grafts seem to grow very very slowly in our climate. I've had this Keitt in the ground 5 years.

myamberdog · Posted: Wed Feb 29, 2012 9:28 pm Post subject:

I concur, PT - my Keitt is about a year old and has only grown like 8 inches. I can see where after 5 years, it may not be much bigger than yours. I found that my tree held 3 fruit into November last year - that didn't leave a lot of time for regular growth...now this year, I'll probably only leave one fruit.

Have you let the fruit stay on the tree each of the first five years? That could be why the ultra slow growth.....

MDog

phoenixtropicals · Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 6:54 pm Post subject:

Yes, I always leave the fruit on. I figure it might not live through the winter every year so I just try to get as much fruit from it as possible.

However, I'm not sure the fruit slows it down that much. I think grafts are just generally slow growers. I have seen mango orchards in Peru that were grafted Kent mangoes and even in a prime mango climate they were 6 to 10 foot trees. On the other hand, seedling mango trees, in Peru, that typically just sprouted up in somebodies yard can be 50 foot monsters, as big as a huge Mulberry tree, and have more mangoes than you can imagine.

I'll see if I can dig up some photos.

phoenixtropicals · Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 7:10 pm Post subject: Casma Peru Mango

Here is a photo of an orchard of Kent mangoes in Casma Peru. The Peruvian coast is super dry, but rivers run out of the mountains and create very productive valleys. All of these trees are grafted and as you can see, not too big. They are also fairly closely spaced, so I don't think they expect them to get a whole lot larger. Maybe big trees are just too hard to harvest?

The bushes you see in the foreground are a nasty thorny hedge they use to keep people out of the orchard.

phoenixtropicals · Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 7:14 pm Post subject: Costa Rican Mango Tree

I couldn't find a photo of a really big mango tree in Peru in my collection, but I did find one I took in Costa Rica. Look at this monster. Those mangoes are all as big as a man's hand so you can imagine the size of the tree, even though I lack something to gauge the size in the photo. I doubt this thing is a graft.

phoenixtropicals · Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 7:20 pm Post subject:

Here is a photo of a nice big one on the web.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rousseaufamily/1464609007/

myamberdog · Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 10:12 pm Post subject:

I never thought of the grafted ones being limited in height, but I hear your logic and see your point....but that huge GIANT tree in your last photo - OMG!!!!!!!!! Also interesting is the green leafed section of that tree and then the other blue-green leafed section....what a history that one must have......

So your worried frost will claim your Keitt one of these years??? I take it you don't cover it when cold threatens or use supplemental heat on rare nights...well the truth is the bigger it gets, the more self protection it notches, meaning, to the lower branches and the thickness of the trunk, so if it did freeze, it would be more likely to come back...

For your Keitt - this year how many mangos will it produce, do you think?

myamberdog

phoenixtropicals · Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2012 7:50 pm Post subject:

I'd guess I'll get 4-6 mangoes from the Keitt this year. Yes, I do cover it and put a light bulb in there when it gets really cold, but you never know.

Hyperfalls · Joined: 19 Aug 2011 Posts: 101

Would a grafted mango be just as productive as seedling?

Datropicalman · Joined: 22 Sep 2010 Posts: 132 Location: phx

More so. Fruits quicker. Quality or quantity

phoenixtropicals · Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 7:05 pm Post subject:

Grafted will fruit more quickly in general. Usually they will hold their fruit after about 2-3 years. On the other hand I had to wait 8 years to get fruit from my Keller seedling. However, my Manila, which is a polyembryonic seedling mango fruited in only 2 years. Maybe Manilas are special that way. I'm not sure.

Grafted mangoes will be guaranteed to have the same quality as their grafted parent. Seedlings are a gamble, except for the polyembryonic seedlings which are clones of the parent even though they come from seed.

However, in my experience seedling mangoes are not as much of a gamble as say a seedling citrus. Citrus grown from seed seem to have a very high probability of being sour, whereas it seems that people seem to have better odds with seedling mangoes.

mariolo · Joined: 06 Feb 2012 Posts: 116

Did u prep the soil before planting? What did u use? That might b the problem

phoenixtropicals · Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2012 10:32 pm Post subject:

I have found its best to back fill with the dirt I dug out and then put a couple inches of mulch on the surface.

mariolo · Joined: 06 Feb 2012 Posts: 116

I've also found that worm castings and humates help to richen the soil with leaves as mulch. That's just my two cents of advice on what I've learned. But looking forward on an update on your trees. I currently have a manila and also bought a Bombay mango tree from the master,datropicalman

Datropicalman · Joined: 22 Sep 2010 Posts: 132 Location: phx

Kind words definitely, but I would put my money on the native soil not helping much either.