Mango is a delicious tropical fruit loved by the people of Russia. Depending on the variety, the fruit can taste like peach, juicy carrot, sugar pineapple and fragrant strawberry. Can you grow a mango from a seed? The subtleties of its cultivation are described in the article.
How does it grow in nature?
India is considered the historical homeland of the plant. The mango tree is found in South and East Asia, East Africa and California. The plant loves heat, so at +5 degrees it can die. The tree has spreading branches and large green leaves. In nature, it grows up to 20 meters in height, while it has a wide rounded crown.
The roots of the plant are in the ground at a depth of more than 5 meters, which ensures constant access to moisture and nutrients. During flowering, delicate flowers form on the branches. When they fall, thread-like panicles appear, on which fruits grow, two or more. The plant is able to bear fruit for 300 years.
By fruit sizeare 5-22 cm in length and come in different shapes - flattened, ovoid, curved. The peel is green or yellow with a red tint on the sunny side. The weight of one fruit can be 250-750 g. In the process of ripening, the fruits hang down on long branches of precursor flowers. Under the skin they have a rich orange pulp, and under it is a bone.
At home
Can a plant be grown from a mango seed? If you follow the instructions exactly, you will get an ornamental tropical plant with graceful leaves, similar to a palm tree. Only grafted specimens have flowering and fruitfulness. They can be purchased from a botanical garden or nursery, or grafted into a plant using the budding method using the fruiting bud.
To graft a mango tree grown at home, you need:
- Take a sterile knife and cut off a kidney with a piece of bark and wood.
- On your tree near the ground, use a sterile tool to make a T-shaped incision, bend the edges of the bark and plant a cut bud.
- Then you should wrap the grafting site with soft tape and wait for the growth of the kidney.
Flowering begins 2 years after inoculation, and if this happened, then after 3 months you can expect the first harvest of fruits. A grafted plant needs regular fertilization, especially during flowering and fruit ripening.
Growing
How to grow a mango from a seed at home? There are 2 growing methods:
- Acquisition of a finished seedling in a nursery. The purchased plant must be transplanted into the soil and provide the necessary care.
- Sprouting a bone, for which you need to buy fruit in a store. Focusing only on the color of the mango, it is difficult to determine the ripeness. Green and even coloring can hide no less ripe fruit than yellow or red.
When choosing, press the mango lightly. Elasticity without hardness, deformation is an indicator of ripeness. You need to carefully examine the tropical fruit - the skin on it should be whole, slightly shiny and without spots.
Mature fruit has a sweet aroma with a slight hint of turpentine. The presence of the smell of alcohol indicates the ripeness of the fruit and the beginning of fermentation. When peeling, the pulp of the fruit is easily separated from the stone with fruit fibers.
Seed preparation
How to grow a mango from a seed? Before germination of the bone, it is removed from the fetus. The fruit must be cut in half with a knife, peel the pulp from the core. Then you need to thoroughly wash the bone under running water.
To speed up the emergence of sprouts, you can free the seeds from the stone, similar to the shellfish. To do this, you need to open the bone and get the contents that look like large beans.
If the shell is very hard, then you should not break it - there is a big risk of injury to the sprouts. A strong bone should be placed in a transparent bowl and pour water. It is important to provide warmth and sunlight, and the water needs to be changed after a few days. A few weeks later, whenthe bone will swell, you need to open it from the side and get the seed.
From a germinated seed, a new plant emerges. This stage should be given special attention:
- The seed after extraction must be treated with a fungicide to eliminate spores of parasitic fungi. This stage is very important, because the young seed is prey for fungi and mold.
- Seed should be wrapped in damp breathable material or paper towel. The material must be breathable and not very wet, otherwise the seed may start to rot.
- We need to create a mini-greenhouse for the future plant: a damp cloth with a seed should be placed in polyethylene, and all this should be packed in a plastic food container with a lid.
- The resulting sprouting structure should be removed in a dark place and checked for humidity every day.
At home, you can germinate in another way - using a container with wet sawdust, where the seed pulled out of the seed is removed. 2-3 weeks after the appearance of the first embryos, you can proceed to transplanting into a pot.
Landing
To grow a mango from a seed at home, you must follow the planting instructions. After the last stage, you need to plant the bone in the ground, having treated it with growth stimulants, but this method is not the most effective. The reason for this is that the pit protects and stores the seeds to give life to a new tree. The new climate may not be suitable for this, so there is no guarantee that the plant will appear.
At this stage, it is importantcorrect preparation. Before planting the seed, it is necessary to prepare the container and the soil. In nature, a tree has a root system of meters, so a spacious pot is required. Frequent transplants harm and destroy the plant. If you are wondering how to grow a tree from a mango seed, then you need to follow simple rules:
- Drainage is laid out at the bottom of the pot, with a layer of 5-6 cm. This is necessary for root respiration and protection of the plant from stagnant water, as well as from decay.
- A substrate is placed at 2/3 of the height of the pot. The soil should be light and with a neutral pH. A universal soil is used, the acidity of which is determined by a special device or a paper indicator.
- It is necessary to make a small depression and plant the seed with the germ down 3/4 into the ground. If there is no embryo after germination, or the seed is planted without preparation, it should be placed with a flat area down.
- Mango is a thermophilic plant that needs the right climate.
- After planting, spray the seed with a spray bottle and cover with a domed lid or transparent container.
- It is necessary to periodically check the plant, water and ventilate the air in the pot so that rotting does not start and the plant does not die.
- The tree should be placed in a warm, lighted place.
- After 2-3 weeks, a sprout will appear, and the greenhouse protection should be removed. No need to worry if the color of the leaves will be different. Purple and green leaves are a feature of the plant.
That's all the nuances about how to grow a mango from a stone. It remains only to ensureproper tree care.
Lighting
If you are wondering how to grow mangoes from seed, you should pay special attention to suitable lighting. Direct sunlight is not harmful to the tree, so it can be left on a lighted windowsill. Do not put it in dark places, as the plant will shed its leaves and die. In winter, to extend daylight hours to 12 hours, a fluorescent lamp will be required.
Temperature
How to grow a mango fruit from a seed? In order for the tree to be he althy and beautiful, it is important to provide the right temperature. The plant does not need climate change. Suitable temperature is from +21 to +26 degrees. Do not take the plant to the balcony or garden, even in warm weather: sudden rain, a sharp change in air temperature and wind are dangerous for it.
Moisture and watering
How to grow a mango from a stone so that it can be taken at home? It does not need very dry soil, it should be watered at least twice a week. Too much moisture is not as bad as too little. It is better to use settled water for irrigation.
Dry air is also not suitable for a tropical plant. It is necessary to regularly moisten the leaves with a spray bottle, maintain optimal humidity - 70-80%, a humidifier is great for this.
Fertilizer
How to grow a mango from a seed so that it grows well? The plant needs regulartop dressing. Delicate fruit needs natural organic fertilizers and stimulants. To ensure proper growth, you need to add humus to the pot with the plant. You can make a small circular depression near the trunk, lay fertilizer and sprinkle soil on top. Feeding the mangoes once a month with minerals and a high nitrogen content will keep the foliage green.
Cutting
Mango grows high in nature, but at home, the tree turns out to be tall. If you do not plan to create a greenhouse, you need to take care of the crown of the tree. When 8 leaves appeared on the seedling, you should pinch the top. As soon as the tree is about 1.5 meters in height, it is necessary to form a crown. This is usually done one year after planting. It is desirable to perform pruning in the spring, leaving 5 branches. Pruning areas need to be treated with garden pitch.
Transfer
If the tree was planted in a small pot, do not rush to move it immediately after the sprouts appear. It is advisable to do this in a year, the mango is sensitive to changes.
To grow a tree, you need to provide a place for the roots to appear. After a year, you need to change the pot, increasing its height and depth. When the plant is 3-5 years old, it is advisable to transplant after 3 years.
Even with good care, proper watering, lighting and bait, it is difficult to grow mangoes. It is likely that in the 6th year of life the plant will bloom and in 3 months the fruits will appear. But usually bud grafting is required to get fruit.fruitful tree from the nursery. Then after 2 years the tree will bloom and give sweet fruits.
