It doesn't matter if you live in the tropics, sub-tropics or arctic (well maybe that's exaggerating a little bit), whether you have a big yard or no yard at all - you really don't have an excuse for not growing this delectable (and possibly best fruit in the world).
How can that be, well there are various 'Condo Mango' varieties, so named because even condo owners can grow these in a container on their patio/balcony and bring it in during cold weather.Here's a very good link with excellent information about all the mango varieties, look for the Condo Mangoes section.
This is a picture of my Lancetilla Mango, which can be maintained at just 10 feet - its a semi-dwarf. I bought this little tree at Lowes last summer, its now been in the ground just under 1 year and its filled with flowers and little developing fruit. Just a couple of crops (maybe even one) will make up and exceed what I paid for it. This little tree is capable of bearing 5 lb blood red fruit !
On my "wanted" list are:
1. Mallika (in India its ripened in camel dung! I'll stick with a dark cardboard box thank you.)
2. Glen (not dwarf, but can be maintained at 15 feet).
3. Nam Doc Mai
I must admit that my eyes widened just a little bit when I got to the camel dung part. I've never heard of that, and yes, I do grow mangoes in India! Not the 'Mallika', but plenty of other varieties. (And sadly all of them threaten to take up almost my entire garden ... I must look out for the Condo mangoes)
ReplyDeleteHi Sunita, yes I was also amazed by the camel dung part :) Here's another excellent link with information about mangoes. http://www.toptropicals.com/html/toptropicals/articles/fruit/varieties_mango.htm
ReplyDeleteAccording to them, it has superb flavour, unparalleled disease resistance, its small but extremely productive - seems to be the perfect fit for a small backyard, or for a large backyard that has already been filled - you can always find a sunny spot to grow this little beauty.
The Carrie variety is supposed to be the best tasting mango in existence, according to them its a dwarf - but I've seen a Carrie at Excalibur and it was defnitely not a dwarf, granted it was about 15 years old, but I guess it must be about 20 feet high with equal spread. Maybe it can be maintained smaller with pruning.