Mango trees have gained quite the reputation over the past few years. Its rise in popularity has brought with it the emergence of mango groves, mango farms, and especially mango collectors! With all the craze over mango trees, we have received lots of inquires regarding whether or not mangos will grow in here in California. Well, the simple answer to that is YES! Mangos do grow in the beautiful state of Cali! With many customers asking for a growing guide we quickly got to work and brought together all of the experience of our top three head growers here at Utopia Trees. Together we have created a guide on how to grow mangos IN CALIFORNIA. Since mango cultivation is different in Florida than it is here in Cali, this guide has been specifically made for Californians.
Watering
The most logical thing to do and what has become common practice around the world is the watering of trees with a hose. While for some plants the hose may be enough to suit their needs, it can vary by the kind of tree and the type of soil the tree is in. We have been witness to lots of cases where watering by hose leads to the water splashing and going everywhere except where it needs to go. This mostly effects pot grown mangos. When watering by hose the water just slips through the sides of the pot and doesn't reach the main root ball causing the tree to grow very slowly or not grow at all, which is why we see a lot of people say their mango is not growing. We always recommend a drip system to all of our customers who come and buy mango trees from us. We walk them through our own personal trees so they can see first hand and understand the concept of it. Using a drip system allows the water to penetrate through the soil and wet the whole root ball evenly. Even watering makes sure that no roots shrivel up preventing discrepancies in its growth and development. We try our best to hook all of our trees to a drip system to ensure the production of healthy trees and root growth for our Mangos. If you don't have the resources to invest into a drip system you can take some empty plastic jugs and make a small hole on the bottom of each to recreate the drip system. Anything works as long as it drips.
Sunlight Needs
Mango trees are tropical trees so they need full sun at all times. Here we try our best to position the, where they get hit by the sun as soon as it rises and until it sets. Full sun pushes mangos to grow at a steady pace. We understand some places are much hotter than where we are and there are solutions to that. Heavy mulching being one of them. Mulching brings down the temperature significantly and keep the soil temperature cool and fresh for the roots. Going back to the drip system, If the root ball is nice and humid on a hot summer day then Mango trees won't feel the heat at all. If you are a pot grower then we recommend painting your pots white to reflect the sun and help with the temperature. Raising the humidity around your tree greatly influences its growth as well. If you spray the leaves of your mango tree on a hot day your tree will absolutely love it. Mangos need somewhere with at least 50% humidity to thrive.
Fertilization
Mango trees are heavy feeders. We fertilize around 2 times a year with the strongest organic fertilizers we can get our hands on (Avoid Manure the first couple of years). We fertilize after we harvest their fruit and before they begin to fruit. We also fertilize between that just in case they need a little bit more. As it takes a lot of energy for them to fruit they need to grow as well so we always have to make sure our trees are well fed.
Ideal Soil For Mangos
We have experimented with a wide variety of soils over the years and have lost a lot of mango trees due to our little experiments but nothing comes without sacrifice. With all those experiments we discovered a great soil for mangos. We use it for all our mangos here at Utopia Trees and when you order a mango from us they come in our "Utopia Blend". Unfortunately we can not just give out our secret recipe like that but we can tell what we did so you have a good place to start. Our soil does contain sand and perlite which makes up around 20-40 percent of mix. You can add decomposed granite or volcanic rock as well to help with drainage. Organic matter is another big part of our soil as well. We are 100% when it comes to our soil as it seems to be the best and most demanded thing our customers want so we made it possible. We also add an acidic component like peat moss to lower the soil PH as mangos enjoy slightly acidic soil.
