Field notes for mango people

Whether a seed-grown mango tastes like its parent depends on one thing: whether the seed is polyembryonic or monoembryonic. Here's how to tell which you have, and what to do about it.

A young mango tree wants light, frequent, balanced feeding that tapers off every fall; a fruiting tree wants a nitrogen cut and a potassium boost timed to bloom. Here's the schedule broken down by stage.

Nurseries disagree about which mangoes are truly dwarf, and some lists stretch the term badly. Here is the honest version: the true dwarfs, the semi-dwarfs, and the ones sold as dwarf that aren't.

A mango tree blooming or setting fruit in its first year or two isn't a bonus. It's usually a tree that isn't ready. What to do about it, and how to tell if yours is just a precocious variety.

Black spots on mango leaves are usually anthracnose, a fungal disease that can take your flowers and fruit too. How to confirm it, treat it, and stop it coming back.

Only 46 of 300+ documented mango varieties are recommended for container growing. What separates them, which famous names to skip, and how to pick a pot mango that will actually fruit.

Mango season runs longer than most people think. A month-by-month look at when mango varieties actually ripen, from April early birds to Keitt hanging on until December.

Commercial, heirloom, specialty, collector: a field guide to how mango varieties are actually organized, why supermarket mangoes taste the way they do, and how to explore beyond them.

Only 37 of 300+ documented mango varieties rate 'very high' for sweetness. Which ones, what sweet really means in a mango, and why fiber and flavor family matter just as much.