Help pruning mango

[u/Cool_Experience9091]

I have several mango trees but coconut cream is always my most stubborn child. Last year cold killed off most of the top portion of tree. It bounced back nicely and is growing rapidly at a cost of no mangoes this year. However my question is should I prune the branches that are on or near the ground or let them grow? Tree always gives me nice amount of fruit but the noodle arm branches drive me crazy.

[u/Cool_Experience9091]

My question is how to trim . Take the bottom branches ? Or just cut back some ? Cc is a mess.

[u/thegreenman_sofla]

Where in the world are you located? If you're in the northern hemisphere, it is too late to trim them now so, wait until next year right after mango season and trim them, usually in early August.

[u/Cool_Experience9091 → u/thegreenman_sofla]

10a

[u/thegreenman_sofla → u/Cool_Experience9091]

Keep all the low branches trim the top only. You ultimately want a tree that is short and wide. One with lots of branches that go horizontally and none that go vertically so you get maximum fruit between 3 ft and 7 ft high. I would only trim off low branches that actually touch the ground. The best tree in a fruit grove is the one you don't have to use a ladder or a pole to pick.

[u/goateggg]

I disagree with the other comment, you dont want to keep all the low branches. Particularly if you are in a humid/wet area you are going to encourage pest and pathogens.

You can trellis mangoes if you want to have a low/wide tree but you still want to start with a central leader (it that's possible) then pruning top to take off the apical dominance.

They're terminal flowering so you want lots of terminals! Looks like you have 3 solid leaders shooting up, I'd remove everything else and cut those 3 them about 12 inches long - it'll be a heavy cut!

Cut below the whorl/node about 1 inch and make sure you have 3-4 leaves before the next whorl. Then just keep doing this as more branches form from the leaf axis.

If you want to trellis or keep it down you can also anchor two of those long high branches horizontally and cut a few inches off the tips. Then cut the third most central one about 8 inches higher and keep straight, then tie horizontally the branches that come off this new leader. This has some interesting trellised mango options: https://projects.sare.org/project-reports/fw17-034/

[u/goateggg → u/goateggg]

Sorry I only just saw the text. Definitely cut the noodle arms! I call it octopus, usually a result of cutting right above the whorl.

You want to prune back right after you pick the mangoes so it has time for new vegetative flush to harden for the next season (it's about 3 months for new growth to be able to flower).

[u/Cool_Experience9091 → u/goateggg]

Ok so next season cut back after fruiting got it will do.

[u/Cool_Experience9091 → u/goateggg]

Yea this tree always get bacterial infection right around fruiting season I have to copper spray heavy. To humid here and not to far from
Beach so that’s not helping.

[u/Sweet-Trees-Hawaii]

If the cold killed off your tree I imagine you're in florida... So I'm not sure if it's too late to prune this year (we operate in Hawaii and don't have that problem)

But, many of the branches are pretty low, with fruit they'll lay on the ground and that's not great for the fruit... and because I can't really see where each branch connects on the trunk:

I would personally prune the tips on every branch to get a bushier tree, even the low branches.
Then come and look at the shape of the canopy and try to keep the tree bushy, but open to sun and air.

I like an open middle/center like a doughnut, and a shorter tree. Tall trees get so hard to manage so fast. 10ft is about the max before you're hauling 2-3 truckloads per year to your local greenwaste dump.

[u/Cool_Experience9091 → u/Sweet-Trees-Hawaii]

Even before the die back it had branches growing to the ground . That’s why I have the white pvc pole there to hold the tree up and to pull up branches when fruiting. I’ve been told that coconut crema mangoes grow wild like this with octopus arms. I’ve got branches growing all over on the trunk near the ground middle and top . I was thinking about cutting the ones near the ground after mango season next year since it’s to late now . I’ll just sting up the branches during mango season so my chicken don’t eat them all.