Is it hard to grow dwarf mango trees?
There’s a reason why mangos are one of the most popular and loved tropical fruits. They are sweet, spicy, sour, and smell good. But don’t worry if you don’t live in the right climate or have enough room to grow these yourself. You can still grow dwarf mango trees in pots. And we have all the tips you’ll need, so keep reading!
Mango Basics
Many people call the mango “the king of fruits.” It grows best in tropical and warm places. The mango is not meant to grow in places that get cold in the winter. If the temperature drops below 30 F, your mango is likely to die. Also, if you want it to grow well, it does need a lot of space. Most people who like mango think they have to buy it even if they live in a colder place or don’t have a big yard. But this is where the dwarf mango comes in!
Getting Used To
If we’re talking about a native mango tree, it can grow very big. Some of these can grow taller than 100 feet! Also, this fruit comes in more than 500 different kinds all over the world. If you take care of your mango tree, it might live to be 100 years old.
But if you want to grow this kind of tree on your own, it’s not a good idea to start with a seed. You won’t see any results from it for almost a decade. Even after all these years, there’s no guarantee that this tree will even bear fruit. So, you should buy a dwarf mango plant that has been grafted. With the right container and a good gardener to watch over it, these dwarf types are easy to grow.
Once a mango tree has been grafted, it will take a couple of years before it starts to bear fruit. But in the first three years, it will grow and produce more fruits and fewer flowers. After five years, the fruiting will be really good.
Choosing the best kinds
The dwarf mango tree can only grow to be 2–4 meters tall, unlike its bigger cousin. You can easily keep one in a pot. You can try a lot of different kinds, but the Nam Doc Mai and Irwin trees work best in pots. Other good restaurants are the Palmer, Amrapali, Glenn, and King Thai.
Putting the tree there
You can plant a dwarf mango tree in a pot if you know the right size of the rootball and the size of the mango tree. Then, change the pots every year or two as the plant grows and the rootball gets bigger. Even so, a mango tree will need a bigger pot right from the start. The best time to plant this kind of tree is in the spring, according to our research. Even so, in their native places, like India, dwarf mangoes are planted either before the rainy season starts (in August or July) or after it ends.
How to Grow Dwarf Mango Trees
Soil
First of all, the soil is the most important thing a dwarf mango tree needs. You want soil with a lot of living things, a lot of light, and good drainage. You want the pH to be between 5.5 and 7.5, which means it should be neutral or just a little bit acidic. If you don’t want to use regular garden soil, you might want to find a good potting mix. Also, add some aged manure or compost to the soil when you first plant it.
Positioning
Mangos grow best in tropical climates, so even a dwarf mango tree in a pot will need a lot of sun and heat. For this plant to be productive and grow well, it needs at least 8 hours of full sun. Keeping this in mind, if you have a garden, place the mango so that it faces west or south.
Watering
If you’ve talked to other people about mango trees, you may have heard that they don’t need a lot of water to grow. But that’s only true for plants that grow in the ground. If you’re growing dwarf mangos in a pot, you’ll need to water them often for the first two years of their lives. Once the tree starts to bear fruit, you should only water it a little bit until it starts to flower.
Fertilizer
You should give the tree a balanced fertilizer as long as it is still growing. Then, when the tree starts to bloom, you should lower the amount of nitrogen and give it a lot of phosphorous and potassium.
Pests
If you want your tree to grow well, you need to think about the pests that like to eat it. These are Scale, Mealybugs, Hoppers, and Spider Mites. When these bugs attack a mango tree, they weaken it and make it produce less fruit. To get rid of these pests early on in the tree’s life, you should use organic pesticides.
The Trees Grow Bigger in Colder Climates!
You could also try to grow a dwarf mango tree in a colder climate, as we’ve already said. But in that case, you should do everything you can to get as much heat as possible to the tree. For example, put it in a pot or container with a darker color, like black, which tends to absorb and hold more heat. Also, make sure the bottom of the pot has enough holes for drainage.
Read more: Planter for Trees.
Also, you should cover the pot with bubble wrap once the temperature starts to drop. During the winter, you should bring the pot inside or, if you have one, put it in a greenhouse. It only needs to grow in a place that never gets frost.