There is a particular smugness that comes from eating a mango you grew yourself, and it is entirely earned. A grafted mango tree planted this spring can be producing fruit within three to four years, and a mature backyard tree in a warm climate will hand you more fruit each summer than your family, your neighbours and your worm farm can process. Mangoes are long lived, handsome evergreen trees with glossy foliage and flushes of coppery new growth, so they earn their spot even between harvests and sit comfortably in the planting plans in our guide to designing a tropical garden.
The catch is climate. Mangoes are tropical trees that fruit best from about Coffs Harbour north, though warm temperate gardeners on the coast succeed with a sheltered, sun-drenched position and frost protection while the tree is young. In exposed coastal gardens, pair the mango with something from our list of hardy tropical plants that handle wind and heat to take the edge off the prevailing breeze. Always buy grafted trees: they fruit years earlier than seedlings and the fruit is true to the variety on the label.
Quick facts
| Botanical name | Mangifera indica |
| Type | Evergreen fruiting tree |
| Height | 4 to 8m grafted, kept smaller with pruning |
| Position | Full sun, sheltered from cold wind |
| Soil | Deep, free draining |
| Growth rate | Moderate to fast in warm climates |
| Climate | Tropical and subtropical, warm temperate with care |
Choosing a mango tree
The Australian classics
The Bowen Mango Tree, from $96.95, is the north Queensland original: the famous fibre-light, richly aromatic fruit that built Australia's mango industry around the town of Bowen. Its close sibling, the Kensington Pride Mango Tree, from $104.95, is the variety selected from those Bowen orchards in the late 1800s and remains the benchmark Australian mango, sweet, tangy and heavily perfumed. If you only have room for one tree and you want the mango that tastes like an Australian summer, either of these is the answer.
For something different
The King Thai Mango Tree produces very large, sweet, fibre-free fruit and has a reputation for setting fruit reliably, including in subtropical gardens where humid flowering weather can trouble Kensington Pride. It is a strong choice as a second tree, and its fruiting window helps stretch your season.
Planting
Plant in spring once frosts have finished, giving the tree the sunniest, most sheltered position you own, ideally with a north-facing aspect. Mangoes demand free-draining soil; on heavy clay, plant on a mound 30cm to 40cm high and a metre wide rather than digging a hole that will hold water like a bathtub.
Allow 6m to 8m between a mango and buildings or other trees if you plan to let it grow naturally, or 4m to 5m if you will prune annually to keep it at picking height, which most home growers should. Our edible backyard layout guide shows how to fit a tree this size around beds, paths and a clothesline. Dig the hole twice the width of the pot, plant at the same depth as the pot, backfill without fertiliser in the hole, water in with 20 litres and mulch generously, keeping mulch off the trunk. Stake loosely for the first year in windy sites.
Ongoing care
Watering: Water young trees deeply once or twice a week for their first two summers. Mature trees are drought hardy, but a dry spell while fruit is sizing up will cost you fruit, so water fortnightly from flowering to harvest if rain fails. Ease off in late autumn; a slightly stressed tree flowers better.
Feeding: Feed with a balanced fruit tree fertiliser in early spring and again after harvest. Go easy on nitrogen once the tree reaches fruiting age, because a lush, overfed mango grows leaves instead of flowers.
Pruning: Prune straight after harvest, never in spring. Tip the main shoots each year to encourage a low, spreading frame, keep the centre open for airflow and cap the height at 3m to 4m. Fruit on a 3m tree is yours; fruit at 8m belongs to the flying foxes.
Frost protection: Young trees are killed by frost that mature trees shrug off. Cover trees under two years old with frost cloth on cold nights, or grow them in a large pot for the first year or two in marginal climates.
Common problems
Anthracnose: The main mango disease in humid areas: black spots on leaves, flowers and ripening fruit. Spray with copper at flowering and repeat two or three times through fruit set, and prune for airflow. King Thai shows useful tolerance.
Poor fruit set: Usually rain or cold nights during flowering. Nothing to fix in the tree; a copper spray protects the flowers that do set, and a warm dry spring will restore normal service.
Fruit fly: In affected regions, bait from six weeks before ripening and consider exclusion bags on the fruit you most want to keep.
Sap burn on skin: Mango sap can irritate skin and blemish fruit. Pick with a little stem attached and let fruit drain stem-down for a few minutes.
Frequently asked questions
How long until a grafted mango fruits?
Grafted trees typically flower in their second or third year and carry a worthwhile crop by year three to four. Remove fruit that sets in the first year so the tree puts its energy into a frame.
Can I grow a mango in Sydney or Perth?
Yes, in a warm, sheltered, full sun spot with winter frost protection while young. Expect lighter crops than in Queensland and choose a reliable setter.
Can mango trees be kept small?
Comfortably. An annual prune after harvest holds a mango at 3 to 4m indefinitely, and commercial orchards do exactly this for easier picking.
When are mangoes ready to pick?
From roughly November to February depending on variety and region. Pick when the shoulders fill out and the base colour shifts from green toward yellow, then ripen on the bench.
Ready to plant?
A mango is at its best with a supporting cast: citrus for winter fruit, as covered in our guide to growing citrus in an Aussie backyard, and a spread of ripening times as set out in fruit trees for every season. Browse all our fruit trees to build a backyard orchard, or add instant structure with advanced trees. Large trees ship further than you might expect, see our delivery page for details.
