Crap! My links didn't work very well, so here's the gallery link:

Here is a link that might be useful: February happenings

Nice looking plants, everything looks very healthy. How are the yields on your lychee (just a token amount or enough to eat fresh for a week)? I am debating, if I should get a lychee or not... I hear it does fruit but has low yields in SoCal.

Wow, nice flower spikes on your mango trees! They look very healthy and happy, especially for being kept hostage inside all winter long...What state are located? Did you use any grow lights?

-Bo

Great to have you back...you've been missed! Very NICE and very healthy trees NTM. I just can't believe you grow those inside the house half the year...excellent job! Thanks for the great pictures...truly enjoyed them.

Thanks for the compliments everyone...much appreciated.

@ Nullzero- The last time my Emperor fruited, I got about 32 lychees to eat..the count this year (so far) is around 42. The main problem is that they are potted. In-ground is far better. You should chat with Simon_grow and Phase..they are both in SoCal, and Phase had some good harvests I understand.

@ Yaslan- Yep, they are locked in the house half the year here in PA, but I don't use any special lights, just some 100w equivalent CFL bulbs, and the big windows on the south face. I do encounter a lot of leaf burn/sunburn when putting them out in the Spring though.

@ Puglvr- Thanks a bunch Pug, It's great to be back. I've got to say, They are starting to look like actual trees, and acting like it too. I water them every other day...But I think the transpiration really helps humidify the house in winter...not to mention the oxygen gain. How are your trees doing? Did they get hit hard this winter?

ASTOUNDING, ethereal flowers spikes on the Pickering and Mallika - I too am astounded at what you've overcome to tropicize PA..... Do you subject the mangos to any stress in order to flower - ie; hold back water or put them in a cooler place?

Where in PA - I'm from a town next to Binghamton, just across the PA line -

You, my friend, have earned a greenhouse!!!!!!!!

MangoMadDogg

@ Mangodog- Hah! I'll take that greenhouse whenever you want to ship it. The Lychees and Longan will be pushing on the ceiling next Fall.
I believe all of the flowering on the mangoes/longan/emperor lychee was due to me keeping them outside until the first week of November. Last Spring/Summer/Fall was quite warm, of course, mother nature caught up to us during this Winter. Usually I'm forced to bring them in around early October. The extended cooling hours, most definitely, are the reason for the blooming.
I do have to mention that the Nam Doc Mai and Pickering are new arrivals. I got them in Spring. The Mallika has been around for years, but this was the first Bloom.

Now that you have some pulasan seedlings you are finally cool enough to come back to the forum, welcome back NTM. Your trees are looking amazing and love your feline guards as always.

cheers,
-Ethan

@ Ethan- LOL, Thanks. I always felt a little...inadequate, only growing sub-tropicals, but I no longer have Pulasan envy! The little fuzzies (actually Mustelids) thank you too. Now if they can only keep that damn squirrel from doing raids on the fruiting trees. I lost about five peaches to that rodent last Summer!

Awesome. Love how your living-room is a jungle. Plus Mango flowers & fruits too!

Hi NTM, unfortunately I had 3 mango trees severely damaged by this winter's several freezes **sigh** My poor Keitt is the worst which is completely w/out a single green leaf. Talk about the ultimate "pugging". The Glenn and one of my Cogshall has a few green leaves..they all look horrible right now. I just hope they all come back to life? Only time will tell. I do have a Cogshall and Carrie in bloom, somehow these were spared.

You're trees are getting really big and tall...soon you'll have to knock your ceiling to make room for the extra growths,lol...Or you can lightly "pug" them.

Super job growing under less than optimal conditions. Very impressive!

awesome pics ntm. hows your sweetheart lychee doing?
alas not a great deal for me to take pics of this year. my largest lychee (mauritius) and my second largest (hak ip) both snuffed it during the first month of winter, as did my sole mango (fairchild). not sure of the reason- possibly, because i didnt water them for about 3 weeks.
so now im left with 2 mauritius and one sweetheart- neither of which bloomed this year, probably due to not being large enough (they certainly got sufficient cooling).
oh well at least my larger mauritius is about to push out a large growth flush. like every year, my jab has lost about half its leaves- again not sure why-its in a double container and should have access to plenty of water. i'll probably also dump 3 out of my 4 citrus trees which have slowly gone downhill since their heyday of a couple of years ago. oh well, time to restock on lychee and mango trees in the spring

Thanks again for the compliments everyone.

@ Puglvr- Sorry to hear about your trees, but don't count them out yet. They could come rushing back like many other years.
As for my trees, one more growth flush and they'll be brushing the ceiling. I will try to do top-pug...to see if I can get a little more bushy growth, rather than vertical.

@lycheeluva- Ugh, that's rough! Did you have the same setup as you did last Winter? I remember seeing those pics last Spring/Summer, and your trees looked nice and comfy.
My sweetheart is doing well. I re-potted the sweetheart and Hak ip over the Summer, so I didn't expect to see any flowers no them this season. I had to prune back half of the circling roots in the pot...it looked like a crop circle at the bottom of the root-ball. I should have taken a picture...hindsight 20/20.

Hello North tree Man,
I live in western NY and about 3 years ago, I started growing tropical fruit trees. The mango tree is what I started out with since it is my favorite fruit. When I started out, I lost 4 of them. Now, I have 3. I have a 'Maha Chinook' that I got from Frankies in Hawaii, then about a month ago I got my 'Lancetilla' from Pine Island. I really wasn't after the 'Lancetilla'. I frequently visit a greenhouse/nursery/flowershop in Erie PA and over the years, they have ordered tropicals for me. I asked them to bring me a 'carrie' back from Florida when they were there in January at a tropical fruit expo. Instead, they brought me the 'Lancetilla. Someone had told them that the 'carrie' would not make a good potted tree, whioch I don't understnad since many of the mango growers here have said the complete opposite!
Last Thursday, I got my 'carrie' from Plantogram. I got the tree with inflos all ready on it. The tree is only about 4.5ft tall so I don't know if I should expect it to hold fruits or not. My 'Maha Chinook' never bloomed this year but it's also the shortest of the 3 at about 3ft tall. Honestly, I wasn't looking for it too hold fruits. I just wanted to see if it would bloom.

I read that you kept your trees out till October. What was the lowest temps you allowed your mango trees to be in?? 2 winters ago, I left mine out till October and all 3 of my trees bloomed but our fall was much warmer than this last fall.

Do you have trouble with squirrels and/or chipmunks stealing the fruits off of your mango trees? I was thinking that if my 'Carrie' did hold onto it's inflos and produced fruit, I could wrap them in netting or chicken wire. I was wondering what you did to protect yours.

I also have been going back and forward with maybe getting a lychee tree. My good friend Bo sent me a bag of them to try last year. I ate a few and it wasn't that I didn't like them, I just wasn't too crazy about them. I read that your Emperor produced 34 fruits. How long have you had your tree and how long did it take for you to get good pollination results?

I have read that the flowers have to be hand pollinated and it's dependent on the ratio of male and female flowers.

If I did decide to buy a lychee tree, what variety would you recommend most?

I know I asked a lot of questions but your one of the few people that grow tropicals in this part of the country(including Jay and Lycheeluva).

Andrew

Welcome back ntm!

Wow, you got a lot going on in your house, looks like you will definitely need some serious pugging shortly. Good to see all your lychees and mangoes doing so well. I'm seriously considering getting an Emperor Lychee because it is so consistant at producing. I think many people have missed your posts, you are an inspiration to people living in colder weather states showing others that it is possible to grow tropicals even in areas that see snow! Oh yeah, you ever hear about Maprang? I only just found out about this fruit and couldn't believe I've never even known about it. Its supposed to taste like mango!

ntm...the legend continues!

Very nice work.

@ Andrew- A lot of questions, lol. Ok, so about the mangoes: I do think Carrie is a condo variety, but more importantly, you should read this article (assuming you haven't already) from Fairchild about mango pruning/maintenance. It represents the cornerstone of my strategy to keep them going in the north:

http://www.virtualherbarium.org/tropicalfruit/mangopruning.html

In the Fall, I usually pull them in only when the temps are predicted to drop below 34 degrees. Of course, the longer they are exposed to those temps, the more likely they will bloom. Hence, all of the blooms I got this Winter (they were all out until November.)

The Squirrel issue only affected me last Summer. Usually I use bird netting (I have a lot of cherry trees and blueberries) to keep them at bay, and it works fine. For some reason, I didn't think they would go after my one peach tree since they didn't touch the other one. *shrugs*

As for the lychees:
Not all lychees are equal, nor are everyone's taste buds. Taste seems to be a highly subjective thing, so it depends on what variety you tasted. If you ask Lycheeluva, he will, overwhelmingly, recommend Mauritius. I tend to like Brewster/sweetheart the best, and I'm sure Harry will definitely have a more informed opinion on this since he has so many varieties at his disposal.
I got my lychee trees in 2007, and the Emperor seems to be on a 3 year schedule. Other cultivars are more consistent like sweetheart and Mauritius. It varies by cultivar a lot. The Emperor is easy to pollinate because it has primarily M1 male flowers (they are the first to bloom). This is in contrast to cultivars like sweetheart that tend to push females out first, then follow with M2 males. That is problematic since a lot of the females will drop before the males show up. Cross pollination (with regard to pollen) is essential to get the best/steady yields. Of course, there are other variables in there too, but flower order is key to having available pollen for us northerners.
So, that being said, I would probably recommend a sweetheart since they are high quality/flavorful fruits with consistent blooming cycles. If you could add another cultivar, that would be advisable to get the cross pollination. I would also recommend tasting as many different cultivars as you can to get an idea of which is your favorite. I know, easier said than done. I recommend chatting with Harry about his choices before buying too.

@ Simon- There you go making me blush! I'm not sure how consistent the Emperor is in ground, but the volume of pollen can't be discounted. Probably a good choice for pollinating your sweetheart. Hey, how is that Kaw Luk doing? You know I have a standing order on an air-layer from you when it gets bigger ;) Maybe we can exchange air-layers one Kwa Luk for one Emperor?
Maprang? I've read Jay and others chatting about it, but never tried one. I'll have to put it on the tasting list.

@ Sb- Thanks, I'm holding the torch high. There's nothing like taking a picture of flowering lychees with snow in the background.
Any new pics in that nice greenhouse of yours?

MangoDog here - nice to make your acquaintence North Tree Man!

Sounds like your reputation preceeds you - I am a newby here from last fall - your trees look GREAT by the way!
Don't you just love it - parenting little baby mangos?

It's a love you can't explain to the average Sally or Joe.......the emerging shape of their little heads....the color of blush on their swelling thighs.....their laughter dancing on the ends of branches in a light breeze......

Anyway - keep the picks coming....and exactly where are you in the Artic Circle?????

yeah, I know I'm a bit loopy......too much sun I think it must be......MangoPoodleDoo

Hi North Tree Man,
Thanks for the info. I have seen this article and found it very informative. I think I have done pretty well with my pruning so far. I am very happy with how my 'Maha Chinook' has turned out. If you haven't tried this variety before, I would recommend it!! It may just make you order one. It has been my favorite mango so far but with that being said, I haven't tried a lot of diffrent varieties. I am most excited with trying the 'Carrie' I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will be able to get fruits to hold this year.

I am glad to hear that you only had problems with squirrels and chipmunks once. I hope this is how it will be for me but I have problems all ready with them. Last year they were climbing in my Meyer Lemon tree. I couldn't believe it! I regretted removing the inch long thorms on it.

The coldest I let my mangoes get was around 40 degrees last year but the Maha Chinook was so small then, I really didn't need the energy getting wasted on flower productiom. They surely would not have produced fruits! I am not too concerned with them getting the necessary chilling hours. I will try and let them be exposed to cooler temps. I was a little over protective of my Maha since it was a little expensive.

I am really going to have to think on the lychee. I don't have a lot of space anymore. I have so many fruit trees that I can probobly only fit another one or 2 and I all ready have at least 4 coming this spring!!

I do have a full basement that gets pretty cool during the winter. It never gets below freezing. At the coldest maybe 40 so I may just move my mango trees down there next winter. That may actually work better for blooming.

Thanks for all your help. It really helps to get tips from people who are also growing in the north!

Andrew

@Mangodog- Nice to meet you! I'm in southeast PA...not too far from Philly. Don't worry about being loopy, we're all a little cracked on this forum...especially the ones who are zone pushing.

@Andrew- I still haven't tasted anywhere near enough mango varieties, so I'll keep the Maha Chinook in mind. Glad I could be of help.

Hello North Tree Man,
Yes you were a big help! I also took your advice about emailing Harry and he did offer some great advice.

I will also be sampling diffrent lychee fruits this summer so I can once and for all taste good fruits, and decide if it is worth all the space 2 trees will take up. I honestly do have a lot of space between my spare bedroom and almost the entire basement. I don't know why I haven't utilized the basement yet for my fruit trees.
Especially the tropical fruits that require the chilling hours to fruit! As I said before, I will definetly keep my mango trees down in the basement next year. I plan on buying a thermometer just in case so if the temps do decide to drop below freezing I will know before disaster strikes!!

As far as the Maha Chinook goes, if I can get my hands on some fruits this year, I will email you and if you want, I can send you one so you can see what all the hype is about.

As for my Carrie mango that I just got from Plantogram, I counted 6 inflos!! I had another one grow about two inches below one of them on a tip. The buds at the bases of a couple of them are now almost mature. I cannot wait to see what will happen with them.
Andrew

Hi North Tree Man, I don't know if you've answered this questions before but I was wondering how long have you had your mango trees and have you gotten them to set fruit?

And, yes, I agree: your mango/lychee growing skills are admittedly impressive!!

-Bo

NTM - That super lucky Andrew78 is one who I am watching with very large Maha Chinook jealousy at the moment. It is supposed to be a super duper tasting fruit. Though I don't think it's in Harry's top 4, I just hear great things about it....

MahaMadWoofie

@ Andrew- I will, gladly, give the MC a try if you're able to send one. It sounds like Mangodog will be circling for the kill too.
As far as putting trees in the basement is concerned, I say go for it. Just make sure you have the lighting setup. I doubt any basement will get cold enough to freeze out a plant, so probably not a worry there. Just hope that the cops don't think you're growing Marijuana down there...LOL.

@ Yaslan- Thanks for the compliment. My Mallika is almost four years old. The Pickering and NDM are new from this past Spring. I had Anthracnose problems with the Mallika, but sprayed with a batch of homemade Bordeaux mix, and it worked quite well. It also, surprisingly, abated the scale issue too. This was the first season for any blooms on the Mallika. I have no doubt they were caused by the extra cooling hours from being outside longer this past Fall. I did learn that hand pollinating lychees is far easier than pollinating mangoes.

@ Mangodog- Well, taste is a subjective thing, so I guess we'll see when we get our hands on them. I still have to get to the Fairchild tastings one of these years.