Mangifera indica: Mango1
Introduction
An abundant harvest of juicy, red-gold fruit and attractive dark green, tropical foliage make Mango a popular home landscape item in very large yards for warm climates. The trees grows to be 30 to 45 feet tall and almost 50 feet wide, so allow plenty of room for growth. New foliage is a brilliant purple-red, and flower and fruit clusters extend well beyond the long, glossy leaves. The tree is covered with very showy, white flower spikes in March and early April. Mango trees grow quickly into round, multibranched, dense, spreading shade trees but placement is limited due to the falling fruit. Some people are allergic to the pollen, the sap and even the fruit. Figure 1. Middle-aged Mangifera indica: Mango
General Information
Scientific name: Mangifera indica
Pronunciation: man-JIFF-er-uh IN-dih-kuh
Common name(s): Mango
Family: Anacardiaceae
USDA hardiness zones: 10B through 11 (Fig. 2)
Origin: not native to North America
Invasive potential: little invasive potentiaUses: hedge; screen; shade; fruit
Availability: not native to North America
Figure 2. Range
Description
Height: 30 to 45 feet
Spread: 30 to 40 feet
Crown uniformity: symmetrical
Crown shape: round
Crown density: dense
Growth rate: fast
Texture: coarse
Foliage
Leaf arrangement: alternate (Fig. 3)
Leaf type: simple
Leaf margin: entire, undulate
Leaf shape: lanceolate, oblong
Leaf venation: pinnate, brachidodrome
Leaf type and persistence: evergreen, broadleaf evergreen
Leaf blade length: 8 to 12 inches, 12 to 18 inches
Leaf color: green
Fall color: no color change
Fall characteristic: not showy
Flower
Flower color: white/cream/gray
Flower characteristics: showy
Fruit
Fruit shape: oval
Fruit length: 3 to 6 inches
Fruit covering: fleshy
Fruit color: green, red, yellow
Fruit characteristics: attracts squirrels/mammals; showy; fruit/leaves a litter problem
Trunk and Branches
Trunk/bark/branches: branches droop; not showy; typically one trunk; thorns
Pruning requirement: needed for strong structure
Breakage: susceptible to breakage
Current year twig color: gray, brown
Current year twig thickness: medium, thick
Wood specific gravity: unknown
Culture
Light requirement: full sun
Soil tolerances: clay; sand; loam; alkaline; acidic; well-drained
Drought tolerance: moderate
Aerosol salt tolerance: moderate
Other
Roots: not a problem
Winter interest: no
Outstanding tree: no
Ozone sensitivity: unknown
Verticillium wilt susceptibility: unknown
Pest resistance: sensitive to pests/diseases
Figure 3. Foliage
Use and Management
Mango trees grow best in full sun on fertile, well-drained soils and should have ample moisture. Leaf, flower, twig and fruit litter is a constant nuisance for some, and branches are subject to breakage during severe windstorms. It seems like something is always falling from a Mango tree to litter the lawn. Place it in a bed with other plants to hide the litter. There are several cultivars available which have been selected for fruit quality: `Keitt', `Hent', `Edward', `Glenn', `Haden' and others are best for Florida; `Alolia', `Edgehill', `Haden', `Manila' and others are recommended for California. Propagation is by budding or veneer grafting on seedling rootstocks. Pests
Scales followed by sooty mold and Mediterranean fruit fly are pests of this tree. Diseases
Anthracnose on fruit and leaves is a serious problem for Mango. Footnotes
1. This document is ENH-563, one of a series of the Environmental Horticulture Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Original publication date November 1993. Revised December 2006. Visit the EDIS Web Site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.
2. Edward F. Gilman, professor, Environmental Horticulture Department; Dennis G. Watson, associate professor, Agricultural Engineering Department, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville FL 32611.The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal
Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational
information and other services only to individuals and institutions
that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed,
color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital
status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations.
For more information on obtaining other extension publications,
contact your county Cooperative Extension service.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service,
University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative
Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Millie Ferrer, Interim Dean.
