Germinating Turpentine (Common Mango) Seeds

You can remove the embryo(s) from the seed shell or simply plant in the shell, both will work.

Preparing for Germination

Start by filling a pot, or growing tray for multiple seeds, with well draining sandy soil and place your mango seeds on top. Lightly cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil and water them in. Keep the soil moist until the seeds germinate.

After Germination

Turpentine mango seeds are poly-embryonic and can make from 1 to 10 trees per seed. Allow the group of trees to grow until the largest one is about 8 inches tall. At this point you can safely remove the trees from the pot and gently tease them apart, preserving some root for each tree, and pot each tree separately.

Care

Turpentine mango trees are tough and can tolerate periods of very little water. Fertilizer is generally not needed. Your trees will grow and can be ready for grafting in as little as three months.

Once you have rootstock that is around 6 months old, or older, you are ready to graft!

Turpentine Mango Seeds (ripe)

ripe Turpentine Mango Seeds Ready for Planting

Germinated Mango Seed

This germinated seed will need to have it's embryo's separated mechanically. This can be done with a dull knife, mollusk shucking tool or a wooden embryo separating tool (as seen in the video above).

How to Grow Turpentine Mango Rootstock Seeds Embryos.jpg

Turpentine Mango Embryos

One seed typically contains between three and seven embryos puzzled together. Taking them apart is a lot of fun!

One Seed = Many Trees

Here is an example of how many trees can be produced from just one seed (this seed made 9 trees)

Example of a Healthy Seedling

Healthy Seedlings exhibit deep green leaves, a straight trunk and the occasional new flush of color

Shop Now