We have 10 mango trees and slowly adding more. Every year we get a larger crop as more and more of them get to the point of fruiting. Like most people we love mangoes. When considering the limited effort to maintain them and their amazing flavour it is surprising that many are reluctant to grow them.
One reason for not allowing them in their backyard is because of the concern about how large they grow. The solution is to give them an annual prune. We don’t need to prune but we do wish to keep everything manageable and you can keep them at a quite small size by pruning, just as the commercial growers do. The Mango in the photo is 5 years old in Spring and last year we allowed a few mangoes to mature. This year should be a nice crop.
We prune ours yearly shortly after the last mangoes are picked. We cut back the height to less than 2.5 metres and encourage them to grow outwards. Not a lot of work when you keep them this size and you can just use the prunings as mulch around the base of other fruit trees. Limiting the size by pruning also allows a wider variety of fruiting trees in a confined backyard.
Another common concern people have is they don’t wish to encourage the wildlife such as Bats and Possums to visit and enjoy a free feed. We keep ours to a manageable size and we normally bag the fruit. When you consider the cost to purchase mangoes, the amazing taste and healthy eating, it’s not a large effort. With smaller trees you can remove any fruit that falls, keeping it clean and tidy beneath the tree and the wildlife none the wiser.
Pruning and fertilizing are so important to ensure good growing, solid fruiting and minimal effort. They are not large feeders but we still fertilize our mangoes twice a year with our compost. If you are not making your own, check with your local supplier for the ideal fertilizer or just mulch with your lawn clippings.
