Mango and Papaya

Discussion in 'Tropical Gardening' started by sal73, Dec 26, 2011.

  1. sal73

    sal73 Total Gardener

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    Hi Guys , as the new growing season will soon start , das anyone had some success with growing mango or papaya? but I mean grow them to a decent size!!!
    so far I`ve tryed for the last 3 years , always manage to grow them to a foot and usually by December they all die .
     
  2. shiney

    shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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    Not grown papaya but have grown mango. It lasted six years and reached about 3ft. No flowers, no fruit.

    We just stuck the seed on some potting compost and when it started to sprout we covered the seed in more compost and let it do its thing.
     
  3. sal73

    sal73 Total Gardener

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    Hi Shiney , thank you for the information , may I ask you , how did you overwintered and when did you start to grow the seed?
    Mango and Papaya are very easy to germinate , I`ve tryed to owerwinter both on the window chill and soon as December arrive they die down.
    I heard that mango can produce fruit even on a small 3 years old tree , but if after 6 years you didn`t get anything , I don`t really know if I want to try again.
    About the papaya , same story except that it look really tropical and will worth growing one just for the look.
    For who is reading this threat 2 years ago I`ve started a small pip garden.
    so far.
    so far I`ve managed.

    lemon.
    lime
    mandarin
    guava
    avocado (apparently somebody managed to grow outside in uk)
    laquet (took -14 no frost damage)
    pomegranate (took -14 no frost damage but very slow grower 4" in 2 years)
    kiwi (took -14 no frost damage)
    dragon fruit
    opuntia
    date palm
    fig
    passion fruit
    lemon grass (a must try for tropical border)
    cassava
    addos
    yam yam
    sugar cane (only grown 3 feet in a season)
    turmeric (a must try)
    goji berry
    pineapple

    Failed
    papaya (die in winter)
    ginger (keep die in winter)
    acai (keep die in winter)
    mango (keep die in winter)
    rumbutan (keep die in winter)
    melon (short season)
    liches (die in winter)
    turmerick (die back in winter)


    avocado tree in west London
    [​IMG]
     
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    • shiney

      shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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      Well done for growing all those :dbgrtmb:

      A window sill in winter is not a good place for a non-hardy plant. Even with double glazing you get cold down draughts from the glass which are not good for them.

      The plants need to be at least 1ft from the double glazing or 2ft from single glazing and, preferably, not on the floor.

      If you are able to grow turmeric through the winter then you should be able to grow ginger as they are from the same family and require similar conditions - I've seen them growing happily alongside each other on spice farms. The ginger may be a little more susceptible to downdrafts but I have no problem growing ginger.

      I kept the mango plant for that length of time as I liked the way the leaves changed colour and shrank as they got older.
       
    • pete

      pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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      I grew a papaya for about three years.
      By then it was far too big to overwinter anymore.

      Being tropical I guess they dont like the dark winter days.
      Had mine in the conservatory for the winter with good light and daytime minimum of around 20C.
       
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      • sal73

        sal73 Total Gardener

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        Thank you Pete
        I was just thinking that the main proplem is the light , with the price of electricity going to the roof i really don`t think i can manage to keep my green house so worm just for them .
        two more out of my list even if I seen some mountain papaya on some seeds catalogue.....that`s the problem with tropical sunshine lover plants ....the only plants that we can grow over here with no light problem are all the shadow tropical lover.
        I `m really surprice about my pinapple and dragon fruit , but one is a bromeliad and the other a jungle cactus , who grow well in the forest and loves rain.
         
      • *dim*

        *dim* Head Gardener

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        avo are easy to get going ....

        take an avo pip .... stick 4 toothpicks into the pip halfway down (in the centre)

        place in a glass of water with the bottom half of the pip imersed in water

        within a few weeks, you will have an avo plant

        Grew up in zambia (northern Rhodesia) .... we had a massive one in our front garden .... was a nightmare, as the ripe avos used to fall off and dent the car

        [​IMG]
         
      • sal73

        sal73 Total Gardener

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        Lol.... I don`t thing that falling avocado will be a problem in UK....
        they need 10 years before able to produce fruit and I still think they will not produce any fruit....plus not a great tropical look tree , look like a pear tree ...my point is will it really worth growing one?
        It would be interesting to know other peoples experince with pips growing.
        I would love to have a go with .

        cardamon
        grape
        olives
        few more pinapple
        platano (apparently they have seeds)
        jack fruit
        durian.
         
      • Marley Farley

        Marley Farley Affable Admin! Staff Member

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        Hi Sal, I have 3 Advocados going at present in the greenhouse, the oldest one is over 5' tall now & over-winters in my greenhouse, but outside in summer.. I have grown all of them by just using an organic advocado & I put it in soil.. The bottom 50% in soil/compost..
        With my mangoes I grow them this way.. I lost mine last winter though sadsly but have another one on the go this year, will have to see if I can get it through the winter..
        http://gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/other-plants/38924-how-germinate-mango.html
        Oh & a pineapple too somewhere..
         
      • Sian in Belgium

        Sian in Belgium Total Gardener

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        Interesting what you find when you search for “mango”

        I have just shucked three seeds from their husks, and am about to try to grow them. Well, why not? We have date palms that have been growing now for 3 years, and are finally starting to grow palmate-type leaves. A 2 year old avocado plant that is about a metre tall, and quite happy (the second one is covered with scale insects, so is in isolation) we have a lemon tree that’s producing 8-10 large lemons each year.

        Watch this space!
         
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        • Selleri

          Selleri Koala

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          This is our 12 years old avocado, it grew to the ceiling at around 6 years old and is now pruned quite heavily every spring. Our Degus love to gnaw the branches. Sadly, it's now turning deciduous in the darkest winter so may have to be replaced with something else.

          Jaakko.JPG

          Mango has always germinated well but they tend to die young. I'll have to try again though, as well as papaya. The famous have-seeds-must-plant- syndrome :biggrin:
           
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          • Sian in Belgium

            Sian in Belgium Total Gardener

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            Less than 4 weeks later, and I have 3 mango plants!
            FCE6B969-CD5C-487C-BDBE-1A8CA6078456.jpeg
            Two came up within a day of each other (after 14 days or so), the third a week later...


            2EFBAF7A-F529-431A-ADCD-3623A3A4D097.jpeg
            Second shot with my hand folding the leaf, showing how soft it is.

            I am wondering what to do - the plants would benefit from being in their own pots, but with leaves and stem so soft, handling them will be difficult. Should I try to separate, or keep together until the plants firm up a little? What do you reckon, @Selleri ?
             
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              Last edited: Aug 15, 2019
            • Verdun

              Verdun Passionate gardener

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              No idea Selleri but well done :)

              I will follow this thread for advice too:)
               
            • Marley Farley

              Marley Farley Affable Admin! Staff Member

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              I have 3 mangoes of different ages that I germinated this way...


              Also a couple of Avocados growing well that germinate in the compost heap and then I pot them up.. :thumbsup:
               
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              • pete

                pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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                I've never tried a mango, but got a couple of papayas.:smile:

                DSC_0239.JPG
                RSM are a problem.:mad:
                 
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