How to Grow a Mango Tree

Choose a warm spot with well-drained soil that receives at least six hours of direct sunlight a day.

Dig the planting hole twice as wide and to the same depth as the root-ball. Remove the tree from the container, gently tease the roots and cut away any circled or tangled roots. Enrich the soil in the planting hole with Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser. If the soil is heavy clay, add Yates Gypsum Clay Breaker Soil Improver Granules and fork in well.

Position in the hole and backfill with soil, gently firming down. Form a raised ring around the plant, creating a well so that water will go where it's needed most. Water in well.

Keep the soil moist as the tree establishes. Applying a mulch, like Yates Dynamic Lifter 4 in 1 Mulch, around the root zone will help retain soil moisture. Keep the mulch away from the trunk.

Water deeply, once or twice a week, depending on weather conditions. To promote healthy growth and fruiting, feed Mango trees every 8 weeks from spring to autumn with a specialised fruit fertiliser like Yates Dynamic Lifter Fruit & Citrus Plant Food Pellets.

Harvest Mangoes when they give slightly when squeezed. Colour is not a reliable way to gauge ripeness. Wear gloves and use a pair of secateurs to cut the stems holding the fruit, taking care to avoid the sap from dripping onto the Mango skin or contacting your skin. The sap can be a skin irritant and can cause mild dermatitis or severe burning sensations. Wash off any sap immediately under running water and seek further medical advice, if necessary.

If planting in a pot, look for dwarf grafted Mango trees like 'Palmer' or 'Sensation'. Dwarf varieties usually grow three to four metres tall but will be more compact when grown in a pot.

Choose a well-drained pot at least 500 mm wide. Position in a wind-protected, warm sunny location that receives at least six hours of sunshine a day. 

Choose a quality potting mix, such as Yates Premium Potting Mix with Dynamic Lifter. Part fill your chosen pot with potting mix. Remove the tree from the container, gently tease the roots and cut away any circled or tangled roots. Place the root ball on the potting mix and backfill around the roots with more potting mix. The final level of mix should be the same as the current level currently around the plant. Water in well to settle the potting mix around the roots. 

Keep the potting mix moist while the Mango establishes. 

Water potted Mango trees deeply, two or three times during the week, depending on weather conditions. Feed potted Mango trees every 8 weeks from spring to autumn with a specialised fruit fertiliser like Yates Dynamic Lifter Fruit & Citrus Plant Food Pellets.

Ripe Mango fruit will give slightly when squeezed. Colour is not a reliable way to gauge ripeness. Wear gloves and use a pair of secateurs to cut the stems holding the fruit, taking care to avoid the sap from dripping onto the Mango skin or contacting your skin. The sap can be a skin irritant and can cause mild dermatitis or severe burning sensations. Wash off any sap immediately under running water and seek further medical advice, if necessary.

Looking to grow a Mango from seed? It's a fun project, but bear in mind that it can take between 5–10 years for a seed-grown Mango plant to reach fruiting maturity. If you're going to try, use seed from Kensington Pride or Bowen Mangoes as these will grow into a tree with the same characteristics as the parent tree (known as polyembryonic seeds). 

For best results, collect the Mango seed as soon as the fruit has been removed from the tree or purchase a ripe Mango from a supermarket or greengrocer. Here is a step-by-step guide to growing a Mango tree from seed.

Remove the flesh from around the husk – this is the large hard 'seed' in the centre of the fruit that protects the embryo. You can use a knife or soft brush to gently remove as much of the flesh as possible. Pat dry.

Cut a slit into the pointy end of the husk and gently pry it open, taking care not to damage the embryo inside. Carefully remove the embryo.

Fill a tray or pot with Yates Seed & Cutting Mix. Insert the embryo into the mix, with the concave edge facing down, and leave the top edge slightly exposed. If planting multiple embryos, space them 10 cm apart in the tray or pot. Position in a warm bright spot, out of direct sunlight and water as needed to keep the mix evenly moist.

After a few days, if the top edge turns green, the Mango seed is viable and will grow. Germination usually occurs within 10–14 days. If the edge turns black, discard the seed and start again. Polyembryonic seeds will each produce several seedlings.

With polyembryonic seeds, discard the weakest seedling (which will usually result from fertilisation and not grow true to type) and then after a few weeks carefully separate the Mango seedlings and plant them into individual pots. Keep the potting mix moist and continue to nurse the seedlings as indoor plants on a brightly lit windowsill, or move outside into a well-lit spot, out of direct sunlight. After a few years, plant the young tree into the garden. See How to Grow a Mango Tree in a Garden.

Mango trees prefer warm, frost-free climates, so are suitable for growing in tropical, subtropical, or warm temperate zones.

Position in full sun with protection from strong winds.

Mangoes are self-pollinating, so you only need a single tree to produce fruit. However, flowers still need to be pollinated, so encouraging pollinators like bees into your garden, by planting lots of flowering plants, is important. Flies are also particularly effective at pollinating Mango flowers.

Mangoes do best in deep, moist and well-draining soil that's rich in organic matter.

For more fertile soil that has improved structure and moisture holding capacity, enrich the soil in the planting hole with Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser.

To test if your soil is deep enough, dig a 40 cm deep hole in the ground and if you hit clay or rock before reaching 40 cm, choose a different spot in the garden with deeper soil where the top 40 cm is rich, brown and crumbly.

If the soil in your garden isn't suited to a Mango, or you don't have the space, choose a dwarf variety and plant in a pot filled with quality potting mix, like Yates Premium Potting Mix with Dynamic Lifter.

Feed Mango trees every 8 weeks from spring to autumn with a specialised fruit fertiliser like Yates Dynamic Lifter Fruit & Citrus Plant Food Pellets.

There are hundreds of different varieties of Mangoes, with the most popular in Australia being Kensington Pride (also known as Bowen), R2E2 and Calypso. Honey Gold, Palmer, Keitt, Kent, Parvin and Brooks are other varieties commercially grown in Australia. Home gardeners can also grow other varieties like King Thai, Irwin, Florigon, Alphonso, Valencia Pride and Royal Red. Different varieties can be suited to different climates, for example Kensington Pride and R2E2 can still be productive in frost-free temperate climates. So choose a variety that's suited to your climate (check your local garden centre). Also consider your favourite taste, with different Mango varieties having a variable spectrum of flavours and aromas, and the available space you have.

Water the new tree regularly until established. Once established, Mangoes are rather tolerant of dry conditions and can typically rely on seasonal rainfall for water. Applying mulch, like Yates Dynamic Lifter 4 in 1 Mulch, around the root zone will help keep the soil moist. (see How to Mulch a Mango Tree). If there are extended dry periods, especially when flowering or fruiting, water deeply to help reduce drought stress.

Water the soil near the trunk and around the root zone (underneath where the leaves are growing). If you are installing irrigation, use drippers or low sprinklers and avoid overhead watering to conserve water and minimise the time that leaves stay moist.

If you are using bore water or recycled water, if the tips of the leaves start to go brown, you might need to use a different water source with lower salinity.

Heavy and prolonged rain, or over-watering can make Mangoes prone to various diseases, so good drainage and correct watering is key to disease prevention.

Keep mulch away from the base of trunk to help promote good air circulation and keep the trunk dry. Otherwise, the trunk will stay too wet and make it prone to diseases like Root and Collar Rot.

Depending on the variety, Mango fruiting season is between spring and autumn. For some, Mangoes a change in skin colour from green to a dull yellow or orange, or the development of a red blush, can indicate ripeness. However, colour is not a reliable way to gauge ripeness and the best indication is if the fruit gives slightly when squeezed. When picking fruit, wear gloves and use a pair of secateurs to cut the stems holding the fruit, taking care to avoid the sap from dripping onto the Mango skin or contacting your skin. The sap can be a skin irritant and can cause mild dermatitis or severe burning sensations. Wash off any sap immediately under running water and seek further medical advice, if necessary.

Once the new tree reaches over 1 m tall, cut it back to 0.6–0.7 m. Do this in spring or summer to help encourage multiple branching and a strong, open framework for a healthy tree. As the branches develop from the main stem, choose four-to-five strong branches, ensuring they fan out like an open vase and remove the rest. This will ensure sunlight and air is well-circulated within the canopy.

Over the next couple of years, tip prune each of the main limbs in summer to encourage branching. Once the tree starts to produce fruit – normally in its third or fourth year – wait until after fruiting finishes before pruning the tips, cutting away dead or dying branches, and removing any upward growth.

After pruning, spread apply Yates Dynamic Lifter Fruit & Citrus Plant Food Pellets and water in well.

You may occasionally find Leafhoppers on Mango trees. If control is necessary, spray with Yates Nature's Way Citrus & Ornamental Spray. If a concentrate is preferred, use Yates Pyrethrum Insect Pest Killer Concentrate.

Fruit Fly also find Mangoes attractive. Control Fruit Fly early in the fruiting season by spraying the branches and foliage with Yates Nature's Way Fruit Fly Control – do not spray the fruit.

If the ripening fruit has fallen off too soon and now has small wipe legless pests (fruit fly maggots) inside, then see How to Stop Fruit Fly Attacking Mango Fruits.

Poor fruiting, or not fruiting at all, can be for various reasons: the tree is too young to fruit, poor plant stock, seed grown fruit (see How to Grow a Mango from Seed), incorrect feeding (see How to Feed a Mango Tree), low temperature, and poor pollination. 

Flowers produced in late winter and early spring can be affected by cold temperatures and rain, so mild dry winters are ideal for mangoes. 

During hot summers, spray leaves with Yates Waterwise DroughtShield and cover with a shade cloth (up to 50 per cent shade rating) in summer to help reduce sun burn.

The most common causes of spots on Mango leaves are Anthracnose and Bacterial Black Spot.

Anthracnose on Mango leaves causes sunken, circular ,dark brown spots with darker edges and mostly affecting the leaf edges (margin). As the disease progresses, spots enlarge and come together, and the centre of the spots the leaf dies causing tiny holes - like a shot hole.

Bacterial Leaf Spot on Mango leaves causes raised, irregular, black spots that sometimes have a yellow around the edges.

See Best Treatment for Anthracnose & Bacterial Black Spot for how to get rid of these common diseases of Mango.

The most common Mango diseases are Anthracnose and Bacterial Black Spot. Both diseases are prevalent in wet conditions but can be managed with preventative sprays of copper-based fungicides like Yates Liquid Copper Fungicide. Timing of treatments with this spray are critical to prevent the spread of the disease. For the fungal disease Anthracnose, spray from the end of flowering until harvest, spraying every 4 weeks. For Bacterial Black Spot spray after fruit set until harvest, spraying every 2-4 weeks.

Premature leaf drop can be caused by incorrect watering (see How to Water a Mango Tree), diseases (see Best Treatment for Anthracnose & Bacterial Black Spot) and sap-sucking pests (such as Leaf hoppers - see How to Get Rid of Leaf Hoppers).

Under-watering and/or poor water source (see How to Water a Mango Tree).

Mangoes can be prone to various Root & Collar Rots, but most of these are caused by planting in the wrong soil, poor mulching technique, or over-watering.

Anthracnose can cause the branch tips to die off (see Best Treatment for Anthracnose & Bacterial Black Spot).

If it's too cold, too wet or if there are frosts, these can all cause sudden tree death.

Although Mango tree roots are not 'invasive', it is best to avoid planting trees near a driveway or pathway, or near water services where roots might go.

Mangoes are very large trees and are best planted in medium or large sized gardens where their roots are free to spread. With pruning (see How to Prune a Mango Tree) plants can be kept smaller which will also help to keep their roots more contained.