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Magnificent Mango Madness
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Posted by kaktuskris 5 (barharbor75@yahoo.com) on Wed, Feb 3, 10 at 19:08
| On this forum, Josh (Greenman) mentioned his method for sprouting avocado pits. The pit is wrapped in a wet paper towel, and put in a partially open resealable plastic bag in the cupboard, and after several days, roots will appear. I have tried the same method with mango pits, and can now report they sprout more quickly than avocado. The crucial element is removing the seed from the shell intact. I leave the papery skin on as well. Here is the result after a few weeks.
Christopher
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Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Magnificent Mango Madness
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Very cool Christopher...thanks for posting! Mango is my favorite fruit, I have several trees planted, I love them!!
Good luck growing your seed. |
RE: Magnificent Mango Madness
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| Chris...That is an occomplishment, a big one considering where we live...Sweet.. Wiat till you see what it does once it sees the great outdoors for the first time..:-0) Thank you for sharing.. Mike |
RE: Magnificent Mango Madness
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| Thanks puglvr and Mike, had a mango tree growing in soil a while ago and it died on me, hope this doesn't share the same fate. Just potted this up last night. To me, a mango, if perfectly ripe, has to be the most delectable fruit there is. And the tree, with its shiny leaves, is more attractive than an avocado's to me (sorry, Josh). Christopher |
RE: Magnificent Mango Madness
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| I grew up w/ a Mango tree next door, dropped lots of fruit in my yard, fond memories. I've grown them indoors from the pit maybe half a dozen times. I've lost them after about 6" tall & they got gnat- like things. Yes, the hardest part is getting the seed out of the pit w/out damaging it. What I enjoyed most is the plantlet goes through dramatic color changes. I used to describe it as a plant from another planet, especially how it will change from all apricot colored to all burgundy to apple green & tehn finally it settles into ordinary 'leaf' color as we know medium green, etc. I agree abt how tasty they are, just delicious. It happens they sometimes sell them at the beach near where I leave. Expensive, but served on a skewer & scored nicely sort of artichoke-like such that one can eat it off the stick in bites -- very cool way to eat a Mango. Anyway, I encourage people to try growing the pit, it's a fun experiment. I'd be very interested in learning results beyond 6" tall. When trying to grow Mango from seed, it's helpful to scrape as much of the fiber off the pit when eating it. Leave it out on a paper towel to dry a couple of days & sometimes that splits open the side seam of the pit & one can get to the seed & gently pry the pit open to get it out. |
RE: Magnificent Mango Madness
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Great job, Christopher!
I'm so pleased that the seed sprouted! As far as preferring avocado...don't worry, you aren't going to hurt my feelings any. I don't even like avocado (other than guacamole), nor do I think it's an especially appealing plant. Why grow it, then, you might ask. Well, as a challenge and as an experiment. Most (house-grown) avocados that I've seen are ugly, gangly plants with pest problems and dry leaves. I want to see if there's any way around this. Like Karen, I'll be interested to see the progress!
Thanks! Josh |
RE: Magnificent Mango Madness
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| Hi Christopher, I thought I would share my "mango seedling" that I planted appx. 2 1/2 years ago. I bought this mango at a local grocery store and although I already have grafted mango trees planted, I wanted to see if I can grow one from seed like Josh said as an experiment. I do remember it growing very slow...then I decided to behead it, in hopes of grafting a cutting from one of my grafted mango. You can see the "white grafting" tape. I don't think it ever took(the cutting I grafted on it), I can't tell...but as you can see this is the smallest/shortest 2 1/2 yr. old tree I think I've ever seen,lol...I'm not sure if its because I beheaded it or because I tried to graft something on it that caused the dwarfness of it. The mango is in an 8" pot and measures from the bottom of the trunk to the tallest leaf is around 16" tall.
You can see the white grafting tape I used...check out the odd twisty trunk, this is how it grew when the seed sprouted.
 Please keep us posted with its progress. |
RE: Magnificent Mango Madness
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| I'll need to give this a shot the next time I eat a mango. The only plants I've grown from fruit leftovers are pineapples. Mangos look more enjoyable because they're not covered in jagged edges and things that will cut you/puncture corneas/cause peculiar, persistent numbness. Then again, they have urushinol or whatever in them, so... |
RE: Magnificent Mango Madness
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| amccour, you should def. give it a try, its fun and it makes a nice houseplant. Christopher, have you planted your seed yet? |
RE: Magnificent Mango Madness
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| Thanks to all for your encouragement. I potted the seed in soil just after I took the photo. I have two more mango and one avocado seed that are almost at the same stage. Mangoes were 2 for a dollar, I bought a lot! Puglvr, your little mango has character. Wish I had your climate to grow mine in. Christopher |
RE: Magnificent Mango Madness
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| "amccour, you should def. give it a try, its fun and it makes a nice houseplant. " I should. So you really need to remove the seed from the outer, fibrous hull, then? Or am I misreading that? |
RE: Magnificent Mango Madness
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| Thanks Christopher and good luck with yours! Amccour, I know that it works both ways, but seems a little easier I think if you remove it from the husk? Here's a link below that might help. |
Here is a link that might be useful: How to grow mango from a seed...
RE: Magnificent Mango Madness
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| I took a photo of my plant today, now that the leaves are growing. (Pay no attention to the wayward pumpkin seedling growing next to it.) The seed will germinate much more easily if the shell or hull or husk or whatever it is, is removed first. Christopher 
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RE: Magnificent Mango Madness
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| I've tried many times to get the seed to sprout in dirt with no luck but I tried this way last week and have a little sprout about an inch long! Thank you!! |
RE: Magnificent Mango Madness
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| Looking great Christopher! Thanks for the picture. Pattirose, congrats on getting yours to sprout! |
RE: Magnificent Mango Madness
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| Hope mine can take the dry indoor heat. I have been misting it since I potted it. I also mist my mangroves daily and I think it really helped. Christopher |
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