Congratulations on your success with the Carrie. I have one too and picked the last of a bountiful crop about three days ago. They are lovely trees and I've had no problems with disease or pests. I do find them almost sickeningly sweet, so unless that's what you like, you might not like this cultivar. You are right about the slight yellowish tinge that they sometimes have. They tend to ripen from the inside though so they will get mushy if left too long. Another way to tell if they are ripe is to give them just a slight twist. If they fall off into your hand, they are ready to pick, if not leave them. By the time they feel soft, they are sometimes too ripe.

Enjoy your harvest!

That really is an accomplishment. I have a Pickering that has not fruited. I live in 9b but have mine in a container, tempted to plant in yard.

I am going to plant a Pickering and a Carrie........Christine how do you protect it?

Congrats on ytour beautiful Carrie tree...my fruits also have those on the skin, its from all the rain we've had and it doesn't affect the taste of the fruits at all...

I just picked my last Cogshall last week :o(...its a very sad day for me as well. I will truly miss them.

Loree and Bamboo...you will LOVE PIckering!! I've had about 4 fruits from my young tree and they were absolutely delicious, it had a hint of coconut flavor, very, very good!!

This was taken in early June...fruits are all gone now...thanks to me and the Critters "helping themselves" :o(

pawsnplants - This is the second year that I have gotten some fruit from this mango tree. Last year I only got 6 fruits but this year I got 2 dozen. I'm hoping for lots more next year. As for the flavor of the fruit - yes, it is very sweet but it has a nice depth of flavor that I like. I'm quite thrilled to be eating mangos that I grew.

I'm glad that you are pleased with your Carrie. The first few fruits that I ate were over ripe but I'm more careful now.

I recently went to YouTube and watched a video on the Carrie. They showed how to turn the fruit to "3 o'clock" and if the stem breaks the fruit is ready to pick. If not, then try another day. I gave it a try this morning and found this to be very helpful advice. It is very similar to what you say about twisting the stem to check for ripeness.

morningloree - I'm not familiar with Pickering. I need to learn about that one.

puglvr - I was hoping that you would see this post. I was hoping for your input. Lovely looking tree and fruit. Is this your Cogshall? Lots of fruit for a young tree. Your doing something right.

bamboo - Cold protection only has to be done when the temps go below 32. I put stakes all around the tree and cover it with plastic. For the last couple of years the tree has to be topped off at 10' otherwise it is impossible to cover. At this height I can't do it anymore. I help my husband do it. As for heat, if the tree was closer to the house I would prefer to use the old style Christmas lights. But, this tree is about 400 feet from the house, so I use hurricane lanterns with kerosene.

This photo was taken 1-3-08, it's first winter.

Christine

This is my young Carrie mango the next morning after a hard freeze. Plastic with a heat source works great.

Christine

Hi Christine...Yes that's my Cogshall. I've had many delicious fruits from that tree...I have (3) Cogshall but only 2 produced quite a bit, the 3rd one only had 2...

This one was taken from my other Cogshall...this cluster had 5 in one stem! A pretty productive tree...they produced large and very delicious fiberless fruits. The tree is also a dwarf/semi dwarf which I like.

I also have a Pickering which I'll post after...

This is my Pickering...one of the fastest growing Dwarf mango tree I've ever had...I planted this tree May 2011 and it has really grown so much in just a little over 2 years :o)

I'm hoping it will be productive next year assuming we have a mild winter? This tree gave me 5 fruits this year, not too shabby for such a young tree.

This is my 6 year old Cogshall...this one is planted close to the house so I "pug" it aka (prune) it yearly to keep it small...

I use a similar type of freeze protection as Christine...a light source for heat underneath and frost cloth and or Plastic, blankets, etc.

This post was edited by puglvr1 on Mon, Aug 26, 13 at 12:39

Christine and others growing mangoes in zone 9a, how cold does it get before you cover - 30s? And after you cover, do you take it off nightly? finally, does the plastic cloth touch the leaves or does the hurricane lantern hold the plastic up? Thanks so much! Just got a small Val Carrie and want to plant it in ground.