gruntking, from the characteristics you mentioned, I would recommend a Neelum. It is a late season mango, it's a small tree and its an Indian variety. This will be a nice contrast with your current collection of Mangos. It gives fruit around september-october. The only drawback is that since it is an Indian Mango, the fruit must be picked green from the tree for optimal flavor. I am sure the other folks might have other varieties that can be recommended also...

Adiel

You could try putting some hardware cloth around the trunk of the tree(s). I use it around my fruit trees so the voles in the winter don't chew the bark off.

My lancetilla is a brute. I bought it for the same reasons your looking for "condo" and late season. It has gone bizerk even with constant pruning. The neelumm however is a dainty little thing that seems happy but is very compact and small. I let the fruit ripen on the tree and the are very sweet.

Thank you franktank, Adiel for your replies.
J-grow, I'm interested in your Lancetilla. Actually I have some overhead room because the spot where I would plant the tree is approx. 17 feet from the power lines that come from the transformer. Does "brute" mean it is a heavy producer and/or is it a vigorous grower. I assume that you also have a Neelum... if so do you still recommend the Lancetilla instead? Pine Island has the Lancetilla taste 4 stars and production at 3 stars. I have in several cases disagreed with PI on their rating, and especially with the Valencia Pride which I think is a strong 5 star mango but they have it as a 4 star. FYI I live in SW Miami.

Lancetilla is a very vigorous tree in my opinion,i dont know why P.I have that tree like a dwarf... and the production is not so good, i think that is because the size of the fruit(huge).Neelum i think for other people experience is more dwarf and also produce the fruit later that Lancetilla(that im not 100% sure ,i think Harry can say the last word here)

Thank you Maniatico. I'm gathering that the Lancetilla is a vigorous grower, and actually it may be just fine with the overhead space that I have... besides pruning can be a solution at a given point. Now production and quality are the key. In the same spot where I'm going to plant this I had an Edward that was not doing too well. Knowing that Edwards are large and bad producers... and I'm not very patient, so I decided to hacked it down. However, I believe that the Lancetilla produes better than the Edward...right? And what about the quality? LOU

Lou:

I have the three you mentioned. My Emerald is a new planting so I cannot give you much practical info on it. The description from Fairchild sounded interesting so I bought and planted one last year. It was one of the very few mango trees in my yard, regardless of size, that did not bloom this past season. Not sure if that is significant or not. At the small size that mine was, I wasn't concerned.

Regarding Lancetilla.......I will echo the warnings about its growth habit. It has not performed like a dwarf/semi-dwarf at my house. It isn't quite in the category of Valencia Pride in growth habit, but it is no Pickering or Julie (both true dwarves) either. The fruits are extremely large and the tree is moderately fruitful. Yes, it does produce more fruit than Edward, but Edward is a superior tasting mango. Neelum is a good choice for a late bearing mango. You already have a Beverly....which is a later variety but is done with long before Neelum. osigold is a very nice early mango and I am beginning to think that Angie should be right there in the consideration from early mangoes.

I would stay away from Jean Ellen. Good luck in your selection process.

Harry

Thanks Harry for the info.
I�ve been telling my wife that when we sell this house I�m going to buy something with considerably more land sq. footage. I presently have 7 mangos and I still feel it�s not enough; plus I also have a Meyer�s lemon. The Meyer�s is fantastic� it�s 2 � years old, about 5.5 feet tall and loaded with green lemons. When ripe they are huge and juicy. The problem that I have had is with the boat-tail grackles damaging the lemons by pecking the skin; my experience with the birds and my attempt to get rid of them is another story to be told.
Back to mangos� when I remove the Fairchild I want to plant the perfect replacement (for me). I think the Valencia Pride is a fabulous tasting late mango but size may be a problem since I have power lines 17 feet up� however it still may work with some pruning.
If the Lancetilla is a superior tasting mango I could go with it considering the room that I have, but I need to be further convinced.
*The Emerald is reported to be a very productive and excellent tasting mango, what I�m not sure about is the ripening season.
*What are the pluses with the Neelum other than it being a late mango?
*What are the pluses and minuses of the Angie?

I still have not tasted the Pickering I planted last year, but by the present color change I should be having one in the very near future. Also, I already have a couple of green Mallikas in the cabinet waiting for them to ripen. Presently I�m enjoying my favorite Glenn and my wife�s favorite which is the Carrie.

I love mango season! LOU

By brute I meant it grows like crazy! Condo it is not unless they mean it will grow into the size of a condo :). I will say this though, it s a tree worth having as the fruit are beautiful and huge. The tre gets a lot of comments simply because of the enormous mangoes that hang from it.

I have a Lancetilla but its been "freeze damaged" 3 winters in a row. Needless to say its very, very small right now. I guess I should be glad its even alive after all its been through. The tree is less than 3 ft. tall and has only a few leaves on it at the moment. I really wanted this one for the size of the mangoes its suppose to get. Hopefully, I will see it fruit one day.

Due to all the freeze damages and my "pugging" mine will definitely end up being a dwarf if it survives.

I have a Lancetilla, Neelum, and Rosigold. My Lancetilla has not grown fast, and actually suffers some dieback. Possibly there is something wrong with the planting site. I find that animals and humans pick the large, gorgeous fruit before they are ready. They are a bit tart for my taste, but that may be that I haven't picked or eaten them at the right time. This year the Lancetilla are nearly full size already, but all of my trees are bearing early this year.
Rosigold is tasty and really does bear a lot sooner than most varieties. The first couple years I didn't think they had much flavor, but last summer they were quite good.
Like Rosigold, the Neelum sets a lot of fruit, which are smallish despite being late-season. Good flavor, but not my favorite by any means. But then maybe I haven't been picking them at the optimal time.

Thank you mangomandan, and thank you puglvr1 for your input.
While I envy you all that live in areas of Florida that are a lot less congested smaller towns, I don't envy the issues with freeze damage and "animals" damage that I hear about. Miami-Dade County has its negatives and its positives.

I would really love to taste a Rosigold so that I could make a final decision to plant this summer, however probably no fruit can be found at this time.
I just got to taste a Fairchild from my small damaged tree, it had three mangos for this year. The small fruit has a tangy lemon/citrus/pineapple taste that is quite unique and very good... though I can't agree with the super high rating that it has gotten from some forums. Again, taste is a personal thing that differs from person to person. My Mallika which I finally got to eat this week is right up there with the finest in eating quality, and gives me some flavor variety as well. But I don't know if it's just me but it seemed that it had different tastes throughout the same single fruit. And as I've said before, I wish that I had more room to plant a Kent, cause they are fabulous and a late mango.

LOU

I have both a Rosigold and an Angie. I find the Angie to be much, much better.

Lou, you made a good point about different flavors even on the same mango. On some of my mango varieties the part by the skin tastes the best, the part by the seed isn't so good, and the stem end seems to taste bettr than the other end.
I agree about Kent, too. It has a great "tutti-fruity" flavor, and I love that you can pick them mature green and ship them to relatives up north, and they won't ripen during the shipping. I should have replanted Kent when I lost mine to a hurricane. I've never tasted Edward, so can't compare it. My first Tebow mango didn't taste as rich as Kent, but hey, the tree was only three feet tall.

Sleep, could you tell me a bit more about the differences between Angie and Rosigold?
As far as flavor, productivity, season?
Thanks!

Flavor ratings are very subjective, therefore tasting the varieties yourself is really the best way. That being said, sometimes that is not possible, so we have to make variety choices based on the opinions/palates of others.

I find Rosigold to be an average mango as far as flavor and texture. Angie on the other hand, I find to be a superior mango in flavor and texture. Rosigold is an earlier variety in my yard whereas Angie is more like a mid season, about he same timing as Carrie, Haden, and Glenn.
If I had to do it over aagain, I personally would not plant a Rosigold, as it does not fit my palate as well as many other varieties do..

The reason to plant Rosigold is not because of its fabulous flavor......but rather for its bearing season. This is the earliest of all of the cultivars that I have or am aware of. It can mature and provide ripe fruit as early as March or April. No other mango that I am aware of can do this. Angie would be considered an early mango meaning that its basically a late May into June ripening mango. It does have a superior flavor to Rosigold.....but when you have no other mangoes in March or April, Rosigold is the best tasting mango in the world....and certainly a whole lot better than anything that you might find in the stores at that time imported from who knows where. It might not win a taste test against some of the other varieties during the main mango season, but it is still a pretty good tasting mango with no fiber and lots of nice skin color.

Harry

Thanks for your comments. It's true that we don't always have a chance to taste before we plant. I'm planning to replace a couple of the trees that have disappointed me, so I'm always interested in the opinions of other mangophiles.

Thank you mangomandan, Harry and sleep. I'm digesting a lot of information here but like Harry said the Rosigold will not win the taste test, but for those who love to eat mangos, any mango in April is a treat. On the other hand I understand sleep, if the Rosigold doesn't make you completely happy, then it's not a mango that you would recommend.
Also, I finally got to taste my Pickering mango some weeks ago... and I am fascinated by the prevalent taste of coconut that it has. It definitely is a winner and it adds variety to the palate. However, I still vote my Glenn as the top mango in my yard. My Glenns are the sweetest that I've tasted anywhere. Everytime that I eat one I hum with pleasure. They have a uniform taste throughout the fruit, whether you suck the seed or scrape the flesh off the skin it all tastes the same... delicious! Mild and sweet as cotton candy.
But now that all my Glenns are off the tree and just a few Carries are left, I still have my Duncan with most of the original fruit still dangling, and the small Pickering with some fruit left. Plus my Beverly who has yet to drop any.
I'm still banking on that one of my "Mega" or "Lottery" tickets is a winner...LOL. You can be assured that I would be buying a multi-acre farm and visit my favorite nursery every day. Sorry folks I was just daydreaming again.

Later you'all... LOU

Speaking of mangos that taste of coconut, are there some good varieties other than Pickering?
My Jacqueline does, at least some years. I just planted a Pickering, and don't think I'll be eating from that tree for a good while.

Mangomandan, I planted my Pickering last summer and it was a small tree in a 15 gal. container. Just after planting it it went nuts sprouting leaves. Surprisingly, this year it gave me approximately 12 mangos, several of them dragging the ground. Very impressed by it's performance... I hope you have the same results.
LOU

Thanks, Lou. I planted a Pickering about six weeks ago, and so far it hasn't done anything at all. I'm thinking that, for whatever reason, I got a tree that isn't going to do well. I may buy another Pickering that looks healthier.

Gruntking - not to hold up a fallen mango, but my Rosigold has a fabulous fiberless flavor. I've only had one ripen so far (I live in the desert of Palm Springs, CA) but that orange soft flesh was just bliss to me......sorry to not make your decision easy, but so far its the best one I've grown...and yeah Early is Good!

And it's also quite possible that they become superior tasting in the hot dry climate I live in.....

Someday, someone will organize a comparison of how identical mangos fare when grown in different parts of this country - I think that would be an interesting study......

Good luck - mangoPerro

MangoDog,

there are only three states that can grow them....FL,TX and CA.Of course, they can grow anywhere in a contanier or a GH. Rosigold sound like a good cultivar for the desert but I would not consider growing it. Angie is the experts choice, I wonder if PI carries them?

JF

Dan,

you have a Jacqueline tree? Where did you get it? That's an older cultivar from West Palm Beach that I haven't seen being sold at any nurseries.

I bought it about 10 years ago from a man who sometimes attended the Palm Beach County Rare Fruit Council meetings. He was from Broward, but I don't remember his name.
This year, despite NO rain, it's a bit watery tasting. But generally I've found it to be a nicely flavored and colored mango, and a good shade tree. If you or anyone would ever like budwood from it, you are more than welcome. The same goes for Joellen, which is the only other relatively rare tree I have.

MangoDog - If I ever get around to visiting California I would love to see how mango grows in the desert. Thanks for the Rosigold plug.

JF - I don't think that PI sells the Angie. I usually go to Lara Farms Nursery (18660 SW 200 ST.) when I'm shopping for trees. They have a good selection of odd varieties, and you are going to pay less too. They are not as organized as PI but you can pick and choose the better looking trees. I bought two trees from them and they are doing great... the Duncan being on of them is really kicking butt. The owner Julian is quite knowledgable and friendly. Their ph.# is 305-253-2750

Getting back to the Angie... one of my guys at work recently gave me two mangos. After tasting them I got on his case for never before having brought fruit for me (his boss) to try:-). The mangos each weighing approx. a pound were excellent tasting and the texture was great, and the uncut fruit has a strong fruity fragrance. I believe it is an ANGIE... can anybody post a picture of their Angie so I can compare? If I ever learn how to post pictures here on GW I will show you all the pictures that I took of the fruit. The tree was given to him and he is unaware what mango variety it is. He said that he set up a stand in front of his house selling them for a dollar a piece. People were coming back for more after tasting these mangos, and unwittingly he was telling them that they might be Fairchilds... Not!

LOU

Lou:

You can see the two compared in the Fairchild Curator's Choice for this upcoming Mnago Festival. Angie will be for sale at the festival I am sure. My Angie's did get a nice yellow color, but never showed any of the blush colors they show on the Fairchild Garden site. Angie produces a larger fruit. Angie is a more symetrically shaped fruit and is broader. Both are excellent and well worth the effort of growing them IMHO.

Harry

Here is a link that might be useful: Pictures of Angie and faorchild

Harry:

Yes, I had previously seen the Angie picture in the Curators Choice list. However, that picture does not offer conclusive evidence that would make me say the my employee's tree is an Angie. When I get back form vacation on the Forth of July I will try to figure out how to post the pictures that I took of the fruit on GW.
And as for the Fairchild, yes I have a small tree in my yard and have experienced the fruit many times. Let me also add that I think that the Fairchild is over rated... to my taste buds that is.

Do you have any pictures of your Angie fruit that I can use to make a comparison?

Thanks. LOU

Harry, sorry but after I sent the previous reply I noticed that the 2011 Curators Choice also incudes the Rosigold, and that you were probably refering to that.

LOU