How to grow a mango tree from seed

This is my advice on how to grow a Mango Tree from seed.

Mango Selection

Firstly you will need to select the variety of Mango which best suits your environment and yard space. You can choose from an extensive variety of Mango’s from the Common Mango, to Bowen Mango and Kensington Pride to name a few. If you have limited yard space then the Palmer Mango would be ideal.

Once you have selected the Mango tree that you would like you are ready to grow the seeds.

How to prepare the Mango seeds

Ideally you will need to have the whole mango fruit to begin with. You can either purchase the mango from your local fruit and vegetable grocery or pick the fruit up off the ground from a Mango tree that you know is the variety that you are after. If you have the whole fruit then your seed is more likely to germinate.

The next step in the process is that you need to let your fruit rot. Leave the fruit outside in the shade on a saucer until it becomes quite soft and the mango skin has gone black and/or blotchy. It is this rotting process that allows the seed to feed off the fruits nutrients.

Now that you have rotting mango fruit you need to bury the fruit halfway up its side in a moist organic potting mix. The mango has to be place on its edge and not on its side or end. The seed is like a flat oval inside the fruit and it needs to be seated along one of the longest edges of the seed.

Now that your Mango fruit is buried you need to ensure the potting mix is watered in. To assist in the Mango seed being able to strike its first tap root you should cover the pot in clear plastic. Covering the mango seed will improve the humidity between the plastic and fruit and should increase your chances of getting the mango seed to grow. You could cover the mango seed with a plastic drinking container which has had its bottom cut off, if you can find a large enough drinking container.

Results

You should start to see your mango seed striking within the first month of burying the fruit. Make sure you keep the potting mix moist, but not too wet. Once you have new growth which fills the plastic drinking container or hits the top of the plastic then you can remove the plastic and repot the plant.

I hope these methods work for you, happy gardening.