A frost in the 40's....hmmmmm....never heard that before. I mean water freezes at 32 so......unless the overall temps in the area were in the 40's and some colder pockets had frost.....very confusing....

But me being a weather pessimist, I would cover this larger tree this year with the threat of anything in the 30's. I mean, why not be safe for 3-4 nights and by this time next year, the tree will have put on another few feet, and you should be in the clear, even if you get a little frost pugging it....

I lived in Clearwater for a year in 1979 - way before mangos were in the consciousness....

mangomuttly

Frost in Tampa!!! Who knew... must be the GD global warming.
My Brother lived in Tampa for 8 years, and I don't remember frost being one of his concerns.

we'll get frost here in the Houston area below 40'F, the combination of humidity from the gulf, a strong cold front with wind chill can produce frost on the ground. never really noticed any on the trees/shrubs.

Adult mango trees can take brief periods down to 28 F. without any significant damage. Younger trees can be more sensitive to cold, but absent a hard freeze, even a heavy frost won't usually kill your mango tree. New foliage that is not hardened off will burn off with cold windy conditions. Of course, if you can avoid subjecting your tree to frost, the tree will do much better in the long run. Frost in the Tampa area and even in the Fort Lauderdale area is not that uncommon. We have had 3 or 4 fairly heavy frosts each year over the past two years. We had a warmer number of years before that, but the present frost occurence represents a much more normal weather pattern than was the warmer, less frost occurring years.

Harry

Hi guys, thanks for the info. I think I'll not worry too much but will try to at least lightly cover the foliage if weather in the 30's is forecasted. My tree hasn't bloomed yet- I assume it still should, perhaps in January? At any rate I definitely don't want to take any chances, especially when there are blooms or even young fruit.

Good point on the frost- it is normally fairly close to the ground which might make it a lesser issue for trees (or larger trees anyway.) Frost at reps above 32 F is an interesting phenomenon, perfectly explainable but still a very curious thing.

Merry Christmas,
Brian

Brian,
Just to be on the safe side, I cover young mango trees anytime the temperature gets belox 40 F. I make a little tent using pvc pipes and I cover them with the frost protection cloth. Feliz Natal!