How to Grow a Mango Tree in Your Garden

Posted in Exotic, Tropical

Mango miracle!

Mango is a tropical tree that belongs to the genus Mangifera in the family Anacariaceae. Mango was originally grown in India but it is now distributed to many parts of the world. Mango is one of the most exploit fruits because it has a delicious flavor and nice fragrance.

Mango trees

Mango tree can grow up to 40m in height. It has a long life span and some can continue to produce fruits after 300 years. The young leaves in the mango tree have orange pink color. As they mature, the leaves will change to a dark glossy red. Once the mango tree has produced fruits, it will take 3 – 6 months to ripen. The ripe mango fruit differs in size. Mango has a sweet taste. Its flesh has a soft and pulpu texture like that of an over ripe plum. In pickle form, the mango skin can be eaten. However, the thick skin is not eaten raw in the fruit itself.

To obtain the seed, you must purchase the mango fruit from the supermarket. You should pick healthy mangoes because they will yield the healthiest seeds. If the rotten mango is sold at half price, you should not buy it.

Once home, you must cut the fruit to bring out the seed inside. You can scrub the seed gently with a scouring brush to wash away the residue of the flesh. After that, you must set the mango seed in a dry and cool place for a number of days.

Mango seeds

When the surface shows signs of cracks, you can use a butter knife to cut the husk open. If you prefer, you can cut a thin slide on the husk rim until you observe the tiny opening inside. When you see the tiny opening, you can break the entire husks and remove the lima bean shaped seed.

When handling the seed, make sure you take extra care because there may be some roots. The root on the seed should not be removed. To plant the seed, dig a hole of 6 inches deep. You can mix organic composts and peat into the soil to make it fertile.  On the center of the pot, you can make a small hole for the water to flow out. The mango seed should be planted with the curved edges facing downward and the round hump remaining on the surface. After that, you must cover the seed completely with the dirt.

If the seed did not sprout, you can set it on a moist paper towel and put inside a plastic storage bag. The plastic storage bag must be kept at a warm temperature to encourage the seed to sprout. You can put the plastic storage bag on warm places such as on top of the water heater or television. In this way, the mango seed should begin to sprout within a short time.  When you observe root growth, you can move the seed into a potting soil. The pot must be placed in a site that receives full sunlight.

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