How To Grow A Mango From Seed And By Grafting

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Growing your own mango tree is exciting and rewarding. Here we show you how you can grow your own mango tree from seed and by grafting.

Mango trees can be propagated through seeds or through grafting to grow your own tree. Propagation through seed takes longer to produce mango fruit and can be difficult to manage compared to those that have been grafted. Therefore, grafting is considered the best option to propagate a mango tree for reliable fruit.

How To Grow A Mango From Seed and by Grafting - Bowl of Mangos

But sprouting your own mango tree from seed is an exciting option to experiment with. Just know that fruit production will not be reliable and you may be waiting a long time for your tree to bear fruit.

Growing a mango from seed is inexpensive and a fun activity to do for both adults and children. The magic of the mango seed sprouting is pretty awe-inspiring and well worth the effort for the experience.

My grandmother successfully grew a mango seed into a tree and later gifted the tree to my aunt and uncle. They now have the mango tree happily planted at home and after a number of years, it has successfully produced fruit. They also keep the mango tree heavily pruned to fence height to ensure they can continue to manage the tree in their urban garden.

So here’s how to do it.

How to Grow a Mango Tree from Seed

How To Grow A Mango From Seed and by Grafting - cutting up the mango
  1. Starting with a very ripe mango fruit, remove the flesh from the husk. Be careful not to cut through the husk. Remove all the flesh making sure the husk is completely clean and dry. Generally it’s a good idea to wait a day or two for the husk to dry out really well.
  2. Cut the husk open using a sharp knife. Be careful while doing this to not damage the seed inside (or yourself as you’re cutting).
  3. Peel off the husk and remove the seed. You can nowthrow the husk away in the compost. The seed will look like a bean with a lighter area on top called the eye.
  4. Prepare the pot and fill with an organic potting soil. Make sure that the pot has holes for drainage. The seed will rot if it’s not well drained.
  5. Slightly wet the soil. Then make a small hole at the center and place the seed with its eye facing up.
  6. Cover it with half an inch of soil. And put it in a bright place out of direct sunlight.
  7. Check if the soil moisture and water the seed as needed. Soil should be slightly moist but not soggy.
  8. The seed should sprout within 2-4 weeks.
  9. If you plan to replant it in a garden, make sure it’s strong enough before doing so. Wait for around 4 leaves and 12 inches (30cm) in height.
How To Grow A Mango From Seed and by Grafting - Potted Mango Tree

Sprouting Mango Tree Seed Using Paper Towel

How To Grow A Mango From Seed and by Grafting - Sprouting Mango Seed
Sprouting Mango Seed
  1. Follow the steps above to revel the mango seed.
  2. Prepare a plastic bag and a paper towel.
  3. Dampen the paper towel using warm water.
  4. Wrap the mango seed in the paper towel and place it in the plastic bag.
  5. Place the sealed plastic bag in a dark and warm spot.
  6.  Check it every 3 days to track the changes and dampen the paper towel again if needed. Make sure the paper towel does not dry out.
  7.  After 3-4 weeks, the seed should start to sprout. Wait for the sprout to grow about 3-4 inches long before planting in a potting mix.
  8.  Prepare the pot and fill with an organic potting soil. Make sure the pot has good drainage holes to prevent the seed from rotting.
  9.  Slightly wet the soil. Then make a small hole at the center and place the seed with its new sprout facing up.
  10.  Cover it with half an inch of soil. And put it in a bright place out of direct sunlight.

Mango Tree Propagation Through Grafting (advanced gardener)

Grafted Mango Tree
Grafted Mango after 3 Weeks Growth. Image: Source.
  1. Select the variety of mango you wish to graft. The rootstock should be vigorous and healthy. It should have healthy green leaves, without any disease or showing signs of pests and damage.
  2. Select the scion. The best scion should be obtained from the tips of mature shoots with healthy leaves and prominent buds. The scion should be semi-hard not to easily bend or dry out quickly.
  3. Cut the scion from the mother tree, about 6-8cm long, and should have the same or slightly smaller width to that of the rootstock.
  4. Cut the end of the scion into a wedge.
  5. Remove the leaves from the scion leaving the petioles.
  6. Carefully cut off the top of the rootstock and split the remaining stem in half about 2 cm long.
  7. Push the scion wedge in to the slit lining up the cambium on at least one side.
  8. Wrap the graft with a grafting tape.
  9. Place a clear plastic bag or a zip lock bag over the graft with two leaves inside the bag and seal on both sides.
  10.  After about 2-3 weeks, the bud should start swelling.
  11.  When leaves start to appear, remove the plastic bag.
  12. The grafting tape can be removed once the graft union has healed and looks stable. This will take approximately 8-10 weeks.

Conclusion

As you can see, you can propagate your own mango tree by growing from a mango seed or grafting onto rootstock. Growing a mango seed can be exciting but won’t always be a reliable fruit producer. While grafting your own mango tree is recommended for more advanced gardeners, a grafted tree will provide you with a dependable fruit harvest and a shorter growing time.

You can also choose to purchase an already grafted mango tree from your local nursery center and proceed to plant out your tree. You can read more about growing a mango tree in our article How to Grow a Mango Tree: Planting, Caring and Harvesting.

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How to Grow A Mango From Seed and by Grafting