Mango is one of the most beautiful exotic plants with magnificent fragrant fruits. It is grown in Thailand, India, Pakistan, USA, Mexico, Australia and Spain. The evergreen miracle can be found not only in gardens and plantations, but also in the homes of amateur flower growers.
A small mango tree can be grown indoors from the seed of a ripe fruit. This process is quite simple, but it is almost impossible to achieve fruiting by artificially growing a plant. The article provides information about growing mangoes at home (see the photo in the article).
General information
Growing this exotic plant at home is not worthexpect from him flowering, and accordingly, fruiting. Even with absolutely all the necessary rules for the growth of this tropical tree, providing a humid, warm and sunny place, the plant will not be able to develop the good root system that is characteristic of this crop. However, in any case, a mango can be a wonderful home decoration, as it has a decorative and very attractive look for our latitudes.
Growing a mango from a stone at home is not only about successfully germinating it until a seedling appears, which is only half the battle. In order for the plant to develop properly, it should be placed on the sunniest side of the room, and in the summer it should be taken out to the balcony. Mango loves warmth, direct sunlight and a certain amount of humidity.
Tropical mango fruit
Growing at home a representative of the humid tropics, unfortunately, does not give those real fruits that ripen in nature. Mango is an attractive evergreen tree. His homeland is India, but today such trees are grown in many countries and even continents. They grow successfully in Mexico, America (Central and South), Australia, tropical Africa.
Under natural conditions, a tree can grow up to about 20 meters or more in height. The plant has large leaves of a dark green hue, up to 20 cm long. The color of the leaves of mature trees is more saturated and dark, while in young trees it is yellow-green.
It would be nice to receivedelicious and juicy exotic fruits in home cultivation. Mango is a big fruit. Mature fruits, depending on the variety, can be very large in size (up to 15 cm) with a weight of up to 2 kg. Their skin is soft but thick. The taste of the fragrant fruit is determined by the variety of the plant itself. Mango fruits have an oblong-shaped large stone, inside of which the seed is located.
The pulp is juicy, pleasant and sweet in taste. Depending on the variety, the fruits may have a light green or orange tint. Flowering time is February-March. The fruit ripening period is approximately 90 days after the end of flowering. There are varieties whose fruits ripen even later, after about six months.
In total, there are about 50 varieties of mangoes in nature. It is impossible to grow large mango trees at home. Yes, and on industrial plantations, preference is given to dwarf varieties. These species are also recommended for growing at home.
Preparing for landing
To prepare for planting a mango seed, you will need the following:
- ripe mango fruit;
- paper towel;
- dull knife;
- polyethylene bag with zip fastener;
- plastic container with lid (to create greenhouse conditions).
Steps of preparing the bone for planting
Growing mango from seed at home requires following some planting rules:
- It is necessary to pick up a ripe, without damage and wormholes, the fruit of the correct form. Cut off all the pulp, scrape it offremains from the shell and rinse well with water.
- Put the bone for 1-2 days in a sunny place to dry completely. When one side is dry, turn over.
- Carefully open the seed from the rounded tip with a blunt knife, without damaging the seed. It is advisable to break the shell with your hands.
- Remove the bean-shaped seed from the shell. Do not remove skin.
- Wrap the seed in a paper towel and moisten it lightly. In case of high humidity, the seed may rot.
- Put the wrapped material into a plastic bag and seal tightly, and then place it inside the plastic food container. It is a kind of portable mini greenhouse.
- Put the seed container in a dark place.
- The seed should be checked daily. It should always be moderately moist, not too wet.
Planting a mango seed
One of the important stages in growing mangoes at home is planting a germinated seed, as the seedlings of a tropical plant are quite vulnerable at an early stage of their development. In this regard, it is best to plant the seeds immediately in a pot in a permanent place.
For this you will need:
- pot;
- scoop;
- loose light soil;
- drainage;
- water.
Ground
To grow mango at home, the substrate should be light.
You can use a mixture for succulents by adding universal soil to it, andalso small pebbles or expanded clay. Special soil should be mixed with sand in a ratio of 2:1.
Steps of planting
Quite painstaking work - growing mangoes at home from seeds. In order to get a positive result, you must follow all the landing conditions.
- A small layer of expanded clay or gravel drainage (approximately 5 cm) should be poured onto the bottom of the prepared container.
- Fill the pot 2/3 full with soil, moistening it and letting the water drain.
- Place the seed flat side down and gently cover with soil, then lightly press the soil without damaging the young sprout.
- Cover the landing with a plastic cup and place the container in a sunny place.
- Periodically ventilate the seedling and moisten the ground.
- Leaves will start to appear in 14-28 days. Some of them will have a bright green color, while others will be purple, which is quite normal for this culture.
- After a couple of months, the seedling (when growing mangoes at home) should begin to be accustomed to the environment, periodically opening a makeshift greenhouse.
- After three months after planting, remove the cup and install the plant in a place illuminated by direct sunlight.
Approximately 90 days after planting a seed from a mango pit, you can get a real small tree.
Care, watering, fertilizing
Whengrowing mangoes at home, it is imperative to create conditions close to natural.
The plant loves moisture. To create it sufficiently, firstly, regular watering is necessary. It should be carried out when the top layer of soil in the pot is completely dry, and in order to keep the moisture longer, the soil should be mulched with sawdust, rotted or humus. It is also important to consider that, although the mango is moisture-loving, it does not tolerate stagnant water.
Microfertilizer should be applied to the soil about a month and a half after emergence. Every two weeks it is recommended to apply organic fertilizers to the soil. In summer, you need to enrich it with nitrogen-containing dressings, about once every seven days, in winter their number can be reduced to one per month.
The plant should be watered and sprayed regularly, and if necessary, you can create heating and additional lighting. It should be remembered that the mango does not tolerate darkness, cold and tightness.
Mango crown formation
This process when growing mangoes at home is also quite important for this plant. It calmly reacts to pruning and quickly restores the crown.
The procedure is usually carried out when the mango tree reaches 1.5 meters in height. Pruning is done up to two times a year. It is necessary to maintain good shape and attractive appearance, as well as to regulate the volume of the plant.
There are no special rules for this event. Usually all branches that thicken the crown are cut out, andthe central one is shortened to the required size. The plant can be given any desired shape: a ball, a pyramid, make a picturesque sprawling bush out of it.
Reproduction
Although this plant cannot be called unpretentious, there are no special financial costs for growing mangoes at home. Small troubles are delivered only by complex and frequent care.
And the reproduction of the mango tree is quite affordable for any gardener. The vegetative method is not so popular due to the fact that it is very laborious and ineffective. Even when cuttings are treated with stimulants, no more than 405 of them take root. But they also poorly develop the root system, which is not enough for the normal growth and development of the plant.
The most popular and common method of reproduction is grafting. In this case, it is the seedlings germinated from the stone that are used as a stock. This process allows you to get a guaranteed result. It turns out a tree with magnificent compact crowns.
It turns out that when growing mangoes at home, sometimes you can get real fruits. Experienced flower growers achieve the desired results by grafting a fruiting twig onto a two-year-old tree.
Useful properties of mango
It would be appropriate to touch on the valuable qualities of the fruit, since the benefits of this fruit for humans are undeniable. With its unique natural composition, it is able to influence many diseases.
Doctors today actively recommend the use ofmango for the treatment of various eating disorders, diseases of the urinary and reproductive system, some types of cancer, as well as for weight loss. If you consume the fruits of an exotic plant in small doses every day, you can get rid of nervous and stressful tensions, calm down and cheer yourself up.
Mango fruit is an excellent hematopoietic agent that can not only increase hemoglobin levels, but also improve the composition and condition of the blood. For eye diseases, such as retinal detachment, "night blindness", itching of the mucous membrane of the eye, flavonoids and vitamins contained in the pulp of the fetus help. This Asian exotic fruit is also used in cosmetology. His tasks in this area are: the fight against skin aging, varicose asterisks and nets, rosacea and others.
Mango also brings great benefits to children. It helps to strengthen their immune system, proper development, normalizes the general mental state and sleep, stabilizes the stool, and contributes to the normal functioning of the intestines, stomach and liver. However, we should not forget that it is necessary to introduce this product into baby food carefully and carefully. It is necessary to do this in small portions and be sure to follow the allergic manifestations. If any are found, mangoes should be removed from the diet immediately.
In closing
In nature, mango blooms only in the sixth year of its growth, but when grown in Russian latitudes, such a holiday may not come at all, unless a miracle happens.
Mango is an evergreen tropical tree,capable of growing to gigantic sizes under favorable conditions, so many amateur gardeners are passionate about the idea of growing this exotic miracle at home. This idea can be brought to life, only subject to certain planting subtleties and mango care rules.
There is one important piece of advice. It is best to take the bone of an overripe mango for planting. When using an unripe fruit, the chance of seed germination will be minimal.
