Mango at home: how to grow a plant from a seed?

Mango Is a fairly common exotic fruit in our country and can often be seen on the shelves of any supermarket. In addition, the fruit of the mango tree has a pleasant peculiar taste; in many countries of the world it is used in folk medicine (to improve the functioning of the brain, heart muscle and stop bleeding). Not all lovers of exotic fruits know that mangoes can be grown on their windowsill. But it really is.

Content:

• Features of indoor mango
• Reproduction methods and grafting
• Growing conditions and care tips
• How to plant a mango seed correctly?
• Possible growing problems
• Composition and benefits of mango

Features of indoor mango

Mango or Magnifera is an evergreen tree native to the tropical forests of Burma or eastern India. But for home cultivation, dwarf varieties are used, bred by the method vaccinations... With proper care, after a year or two, fruits may already appear on them. However, in the first year of fruiting, it is necessary to leave only a couple of fruits on the tree, so as not to deplete the tree, the rest are removed from the tree.

Mango blooms from January to April, beautiful white flowers appear on it, their aroma resembles flowering lilies, and by summer the fruits ripen.

Before harvesting the fruits, watering is reduced to a minimum and resumes only after a month and after the complete cessation of fruiting. Mango quickly develops its root system, it is a rod type, so no small pot is used for planting.

The plant grows in fertile, loose, well-drained soil. It should be remembered that a nutritious and well-moisturized substrate will promote active growth of green mass, but not abundant flowering and fruiting. When planting, you need not to overdo it with the soil in order to get a harmoniously developed mango tree in the future.

Reproduction methods and grafting

Mangoes can be propagated vegetatively, but this process is laborious and, as practice has shown, ineffective. Even with the help of growth stimulants, about 30-40% of cuttings survive, and their root system does not develop in full for proper plant growth.

The most acceptable method of propagation of mango remains grafting and seedlings sprouted from the stone, which are used as a rootstock.

This method with a guaranteed result: the trees have a neat crown, their fruits have a certain taste and color. This is very beneficial when growing the plant at home. If you follow all the instructions and recommendations for growing mango from stone, you will get a wonderful ornamental plant with long graceful, beautifully curved leaves.

Unfortunately, only grafted samples will be able to bloom and bear fruit. You can graft the plant yourself, by budding, taking a bud from a fruiting tree. It is possible to inoculate a grown mango tree from a bone by taking a "donor bud" by cutting it off from an already fruit tree with a sterile sharp knife with a leg (a piece of bark).

At the base of the trunk of the grafted home tree, a T-shaped incision is made and, gently bending back the bark, the cut bud is inserted. The grafted site is insulated with a soft cloth. The grafted tree needs to be watered and fertilized frequently with quality fertilizers. After grafting, the tree will bloom only after two years, and after 100 days, a harvest of sweet mango fruits can be expected.

Growing conditions and care tips

Of course, growing mangoes yourself at home is not easy. Since in nature the plant grows in tropical conditions, at home it will be necessary to artificially create a climate close to the tropics. But with the desire, patience and some knowledge, there is a high probability of getting a harvest of mango fruits.

In order to grow a mango tree on your own, you can purchase a ready-made sprout in a flower nursery, or, by buying a ripe mango fruit, try to grow a plant from its seed.

What the plant needs:

• For growing mangoes, you can use universal soil with a neutral level. acidity... If you doubt the quality of the soil, then you need to measure the acidity level, this can be done with a meter (pH meter) or a disposable paper indicator that changes color when it comes into contact with acidic soil after a couple of minutes.
• Considering that mango trees are a tropical culture, it should be remembered that they are very thermophilic and photophilous. Their indoor types, if necessary, can be illuminated artificially with an additional lamp of fluorescent or warm light.
• The temperature and humidity of the air should be close to the natural habitat of the mango and not change dramatically due to seasonal or climatic changes. Throughout the year, the air temperature of + 20-25C must be observed, even in winter it should not be lower than 18C.
• Only a strengthened plant can be transplanted into a larger pot, this is done for a more free location of the growing root.
• Mango loves water and does not tolerate its lack, as well as high humidity. In order for the tree to have a healthy look, you need to water it in a timely manner and constantly spray the leaves with soft warm water, especially in winter. Watering should not be abundant so that the root system does not rot, but the soil should not be dry.
• During the period of active growth, the plant needs to be fed complex mineral fertilizer... To do this, you can apply vermicompost and other nitrogen-containing preparations, which are used for persimmons and citrus fruits.

How to plant a mango seed correctly?

To start growing a mango, you need to plant its seed in the ground. To do this, we need to extract it from a ripe fruit (it may not germinate from a green one). Maturity is easy to determine: if the stone is easily separated from the pulp, then the fruit is ripe.

Moreover, you need a fresh bone, and if for some reason you are not able to plant it immediately, then you need to cover it with wet cotton wool and put it in a plastic bag for a short time. It should be remembered that long-term storage of seeds in a bag can significantly reduce the guarantee of successful germination.

To plant a mango seed you will need:

1. a medium-sized pot that has drainage holes and a lid that you need to create a greenhouse effect
2. soil (you can use a universal mixture for planting this type of plant)
3. knife (to carefully open the bone)
4. clean, not very cold water (to water the soil)
5. fungicide (for bone disinfection)

The first step is to take a capacious pot, since the tree will grow up to 40-45 cm, and fill its bottom with a drainage stone. Fill the rest of its volume with soil. When the pot of soil is prepared, you need to carefully open the mango bone with a knife, so you will increase the percentage of germination.When the bone has opened, you need to treat its core with a fungicide, the drug will protect the future plant from pathogenic fungi and many no less dangerous bacteria.

If you cannot determine exactly where the bone is at the top and where is the bottom, then the landing can be done in two ways: sideways or horizontally.

You can plant a mango with a bone, just splitting it, or you can pull out the core from an already split bone, it resembles large beans and, having processed, prepare it for planting. If there are several embryos in the bone, then naturally you need to choose the largest and smoother one, it will have a better chance of survival. After that, in the prepared soil, you need to make a depression and carefully place a third of the core of the bone in it, with the root part turned down, its fourth part should remain outside. The soil is poured abundantly with water at room temperature.

After planting, the pot must be covered with a glass lid. If not, you can use a cut plastic bottle or flask, or even easier - a plastic bag.
Once a day, on the sunny side of the room, you need to ventilate the ground with a planting, lifting or removing the shelter. This will protect the bone from decay. After a couple of weeks, the first shoots may appear and no shelter is needed.

Possible growing problems

With poor watering and poor moisture, mangoes can infect spider mites. Excess moisture can expose the plant to disease. powdery mildew or anthracnose... These diseases are of course treated with many chemicals.

But in order to avoid their occurrence, it is better to adhere to the necessary agrotechnical rules and you will never have unnecessary troubles and disappointments. And for patience and attention, mango will delight you with active growth, very beautiful flowering, and later will reward you with wonderful sweet and very healthy fruits.

Composition and benefits of mango

Mango is a very healthy food, as it contains fats, proteins, carbohydrates, sugars and fiber. It contains an impressive amount of starch, which is subsequently converted into carbohydrates such as glucose, maltose and sucrose.

Mango contains citric, malic, oxalic and succinic acids, so it is sour when unripe.

It is a good source of pectin and vitamins: C, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9. It is a rich source of calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc and iron. Due to the many useful substances and high taste, mangoes are successfully used in cooking, folk medicine and cosmetology.

The plant has a wide decorative use and is increasingly grown by lovers of exotic plants at home.

More information can be found in the video: