Andrew - I am a Californian grower, so don't have the really climate to determine your answer - the Floridians may have an answer to your question....BUT.....I will say that I've heard that a certain amount of drought will stimulate flowering, and probably yes, combined with some cooler temperatures.

So let's see what someone else might say....

mangoD

HEy Mangodog,
How are ya? Is it getting hot out there yet? I did try easing uo on the watering, until the tree went thru growth flushes but that's about it. Thanks for trying to help me.

Andrew

Was nice and hot 5 days ago, but this whole week's been basically in the 60's near 70. But this weekend and thru next week, all upper 70's to 80's..... I'll send some heat units your way!

MDog

Hey MDog,
Going to have to post on the other forum...anyhow, today we were in the low 50's so I put my 2 mango trees out.

The other that I have is a small Carrie. I am just hoping that I really like it, all though I have to admit, I am a little concerned about the flavor. I know some rave about it, while others say it is one of the worst tasting mango fruits. What do you think?

I thought my Carrie was a goner...it never really grew and then I realized that the only problem was that it needed more water. Not is also flushing like crazy but not inflos. I don't actually want it to fruit.

I hope to be in FL for 4th of July this year. I want to pick up 1 or 2 mango trees. At the top of my list is Pickering.

Have you had this fruit before? If so what do you think?

Andrew

Hey Andrew, I'm one of those people that does NOT like Carrie, but I know you already know this,lol...it tasted like an herb, or at least for my taste had a hint of medicine it in. I know I'm probably the exception since I've read many people love Carrie just NOT me! Someone of the FL forum described it as having an off smell too, not pleasant at all. I typically like the smell of a ripe mango...I'm sure they give off this odor when its over-ripe. I've never been SO happy when I found out the Carrie I bought (by mistake) turned out to be Cogshall!!

But, you never know...you might just LOVE it??

About Pickering...I LOVE this mango and I'm planning on purchasing another one just as soon as I can find it locally. I had one (long story but it died) I tasted several fruits from it before it died and it was super YUMMY!! I'm planning on keeping mine in a Container since its a dwarf.

I'm dealing with some Powdery mildew on my Glenn (in-ground). I'm hoping I'll get to taste a few of my very first fruits from this tree since I planted it. I hope at least a few of the fruits set and the PM doesn't kill all the blooms :o(

Good luck with your Maha!

Hi Mangodog...good to see you!! We're having a few days of slightly cooler weather Sunday and Monday (low 70's)...then back to upper 70's by Tuesday. We've been SO Warm lately here...mid to upper 80's for most of Feb. Brutal! Other than 3 or 4 nights of below freezing its been really WARM even for FL.

Andrew - never tasted a Carrie and have a PIckering, very small, flowering right now - may leave one fruit on it - we'll see. But by all indications, the Pickering is a very tasty mango with many many people.....

FruitDog

Pickering's flavor is great....its rich-sweet, though not 'spicy'. A lot of people describe a coconut flavor to it; I personally haven't detected this quality but its an excellent mango nonetheless.

Carrie's flavor is extremely rich and has an orangey-citrusy quality to it in some years also. Definitely usually has some 'spice' notes to it. The flavor can vary depending on the season and perhaps more importantly, when it is harvested/eaten.

I used to hate Carrie actually.....but now its one of my favorite mangoes. Has definitely grown on me a lot. I think its a mango you either love or hate. Usually i recommend people try a mango before they buy one though some cultivars are almost universally liked so its not as much an issue.....Carrie is definitely a variety people should try first.

so which is considered sweetest of the 3, maha chinook, pickering or carrie?

I have not tried any of those yet, but believe what makes them special, from reading the comments in the forums, are the taste, aroma etc.

I have heard so many good things about the MC, that I bought one a few months ago, and in about a month I plan on getting a Pickering for my mom, to keep in a container.

Charles, not sure I can answer that question, But I can tell you I did NOT like Carrie (odd herb/weird) after taste, although many here will disagree with me. I hear it has to be picked just at the right time for optimum flavor. Maybe I had 2 bad years...One of those varieties that you either love it or NOT. I've never tasted Maha (but read many nice reviews)none bad. I love Pickering, it was very sweet and delicious.

Tropicdude...I just bought a Pickering on Saturday.

Hi Pug,
What a nice 'Pickering' you have there! I have to say, I wish I had bought this instead of 'Carrie'. I wish I could have tried it first, but what I should have done, was bought a mango variety that is popular by the majority of growers.

Anyhow, good luck with your tree. I have to say, I woke up this morning a little concerned. I had place 7 or 8 diffrent fruit trees outside a few days ago. Our temps in NY have been unusally warm for this time of year. I do watch the weather daily so I know if I need to bring them in or not. Well last nights weather was forcasted to be around 40 but when I woke up I could see a light frost on the ground. I was really worried about what I was going to find outdoors!

Thankfully, the only damage that I could see was to the new leaves on my 'Maha Chinook' mango tree. I have had this tree for 2 years now, and I am hoping that this will be the year that it will hold a few fruits.

Andrew

Thanks Andrew!! Best of luck with your Mango tree...sorry about the mistake on your forecast, believe me when I say I know how you feel. I'm glad you only had very minor damage. I had some of my blooms "nipped" on my one Cogshall because of an error in the forecast in (January)...forecast was for around 40 degrees and it ended up being 28 degrees!! Way off, Grrrr...t was SO upsetting to lose the blooms!

Hi Nancy,
I can honestly say, I know how you feel to lose those blooms. I lost mine on my 'Maha Chinook' from my own error. I still cannot believe I broke it off!

That brings me to another question. How many years did it take before your potted 'Glenn' had it's first big bloom? I am thinking that if my Maha doesn't have any blooms this year, it's time for me to haul out the pruners! You know I am modeling this tree after your 'Glenn' right? The height is getting to be a little too much. It's about 6ft tall and I would like to bring it down maybe 2ft and then try to get it to grow out so I can have longer branches that will increase its width and also I am hoping it will bush out.

What do you think? I seriously need to fix my digital camera. The funny thing is I have bought many fruit trees while my camera still sits broken in my room....priorities what can I say!

Andrew

Hey Andrew, actually just checked to see when I first had fruits from my Glenn... all I remember is it did take a while to "actually" fruit and set. Since I got the tree in the Fall it did not bloom that first year (I repotted it)...The second year the tree bloomed quite a bit...but NONE of the fruits set, the blooms all fell off. I think it was the third year before it held any fruits. Potted mangoes can be very slow to get established sometimes, that's why I really wanted a Pickering since SO many people have fruit very soon after.

As far as pruning, you know I prune my Mango trees and have for the most part good luck with it. But, its hard for me to advise someone else's tree,lol...I'm afraid that if they do it and it does NOT come out the way they like...I would feel SO guilty. I don't think you can go wrong pruning it if its getting too tall for you.

I tipped prune my Glenn Mango a couple of years ago, incase you haven't seen these pictures. You can see it responded well. Every mango reacts differently and Potted mangoes are much slower to grow than inground of course.

My Potted Glenn only has a couple of Bloom spikes this year, I'm not sure what's going on but I didn't get a lot of blooms this year even though this has been my best year with very little Freeze damage. I'm guessing because of our Below normal winter, our weather has been mostly warm and Fungus set in on some of my blooms along with that one unexpected cold snap that nipped the bloom as well. I'll be happy just to get some Mangoes this year...keeping fingers crossed.

BTW, I attached a video below for tip pruning...I'm sure you've already seen it but just in case you haven't.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tip Pruning Video

Hi Nancy,
Thanks so much for that video! No, I had never seen it until today so it was helpfull, even though I relized that I had pretty much been doing thid anyhow.

I am planning on actually cutting my 'Maha Chinook' even more this spring, but I want to give it at least a month before I prune, in case it decides to bloom.

I know it's harder for Floridians, and others that live in tropical/subtropical areas, but in my(VERY limited) mango experience, I have found that the only times I have ever had a mango bloom, was either late summer/early fall, or early spring. I think the issue is the diffrence in temps. Once I bring my mangoes in for the winter, the temps in my apartment I think are way too warm for the tree to produce inflos.

This is exactly why I was in such a hurry to get my trees outdoors this spring. I wish Jay still had some mango trees in pots but he told me that he has his planted in the ground in his greenhouse.

What I really need to do Nancy is get some pics of both my mango trees so you can see what I am dealing with. The 'Maha Chinook', I did prune as soon as I knew it went thru it's adjustment period. Frankies told me to wait 6 weeks(I believe..it was so long ago I cannot remember for sure now) before I pruned.That tree came to me bare root. It made me nervous because coming from Hawaii it still took 2 days to arrive.

When I got that tree Nancy it was just a 2ft tall tree with NO branches what so ever. I had to prune it and I am relieved to see that that was what's recommended. The tree produced 7 branches right away...within weeks actually.

One of the toughest issues for me is that I had to get all my advice from my forum mango growers. I really appreciated all the help you and all the others gave to me, but it wasn't like I could call anyone to see there trees. I couldn't even call a local nursery for help.

With that being said, I think I have done pretty well but I know that I still need to prune it and prune it hard. Please know that when I do "pug" it again, I will do it knowing fully well, that whatever outcome I have, will be a direct result of what I have done, and not because of you!

Your a terrific lady and I am glad to have gotten to know you Nancy! Thanks again and I wish you the best with all your tropical fruits!

Oh, BTW...how's your little lychee doing?

Andrew

Hi Andrew, Thanks, you're very nice as well! I'm glad you find the Video useful. I too like that video...a picture is worth a thousand words, right? I prefer to "see" how its done that being told how to do it,lol...I'm a visual person.

I would LOVE to see pictures of your Maha...please post them!

Believe me when I say you are doing an OUTSTANDING job growing mango inside the house in winter...I would never be anywhere as successful as you guys that grown them indoors. My hat if off to you indoor growers. You all deserve a huge pat in the back for a job well done.

That's truly amazing about your Maha, I had NO idea it had no branches and bare rooted when it arrived to you..even more reason you should be very proud of yourself for getting as far and healthy as it is now...don't worry about the blooms/fruits, the tree will know when its ready to produce.

Since you asked about my Lychee...here's a picture I took of it a few weeks ago. Before and After so you can see how much its grown in just one year.

Taken right after I planted it...Feb. 2011

Taken a few weeks ago...Feb. 20, 2012. I had to redo my "wind protection" enclosure and decided to do some light "pugging" as well, You can see the few tips on the bottom of the tree. its putting out some new growths already, just a few weeks later. I REALLY hope this one makes it this time around.

Took this pic this morning...took about 3 1/2 weeks to see these new growths.

Hi Nancy,
I really like that lychee. I wish we had them readily available in our supermarkets. I have only been able to try them once. Bo, sent me a small bag of them and they were good but I know if I could have had them more fresh I would have really liked them.

I am hoping I can find them when they come back into season this year.

Thanks for all the nice complimens Nancy. I think part of my success has been because of all the helpfull tips and advice I have had here and then also just pure dumb luck..LOL! Live and learn, that has been the biggest lesson I have learned with growing tropical fruit trees in pots. I have killed around 6 or 7 mango trees, and I am just happy that I have 2 that hopefully will grow into fruition.

Thanks for the pics and good luck with that nice lychee!

Thanks Andrew! I hope you're able to give Lychee another try. I absolutely love them...but the fresh ones are really the best. I've had some from the stores that tasted awful(I'm sure they were picked before they were ready). Give them another try...maybe from Harry or when you come to FL, nothing like fresh lychees!

Hi Nancy,
I wont be down there until the end of June. We plan on staying till around the 8th or 9th of July. I'm hoping that will be good for mango, and the annonas, but wont lychee season be over by then? I'm also hoping to try fresh jackfruit but I would have to get it from Harry or some where that has it cut up. I have never done it before.

Just a quick update on my Maha Chinook. I have moved it(along with Carrie) to my front yard. It's actually sitting right on the concrete where it will recieve good heat and full sun. Both trees adjusted very well and I am hoping for some pannicles on both. Carrie is still small but if I could get a fruit now, then I could figure out if it's worth keeping or not.

ANDREW

I'm not exactly sure when Lychee season is over...but I do remember getting some Brewster lychees around the 4th or July and a week or two after? Hopefully, you will make it for lychee season so you can try them fresh.

Sounds like the Carrie and Maha are doing well...hope you get to taste Carrie too. I'm very interested in your opinion...please lmk if you like it?

Hi enduser, I definitely want to give Carrie another try...as my memory of Carrie is definitely NOT good,lol...I've had it at least 2-3 times many years ago and each and every time I Hated it! I'm really hoping to try it again and change my opinion.

I also LOVE Kent...I regret not planting one but at the time I was only interested in growing dwarf and semi dwarf due to our freezes...but if I decide to get another one I might just try a Kent.