Why Is My Mango Tree Producing Bitter Fruit?

About This Episode

The Grumpy Gardener answers a reader’s question on why their mango tree is producing bitter fruit. Plus, Grumpy’s gripe of the week.

Question Of The Week

"At our home in south Florida, we have a giant mango tree that produces bitter fruit. We would cut it down, but we love the shade. How can we prevent it from blooming next season?" - Deb

Grumpy's Answer

Well, Deb, unless you have a chain saw, you can't. But, perhaps you can swap a copy of my book, The Grumpy Gardener, for a box of sweet mangoes from your neighbor's tree. That's more than an equal trade. Or you can sell your mangoes at a farmers market and your customers would never know how horrible they are until they got home. That's what I would do.

Once you have a, a big tree and it starts producing fruit, there's nothing you can do to stop it from flowering and producing more fruit-because mangoes get to be big trees. The only thing you can do if you don't want the fruit is you gotta cut it down.

Gripe of the Week

Are you looking to plant a tree this spring? Well, in the name of all that's holy, do not get talked into choosing a river birch. The botanical name is betula nigra. It's popular in the Southeast because it's native and it's the only birch that likes our climate and soils, but it grows really big and it grows really fast, up to about 70 feet tall with a wingspan that can reach from your house all the way to the curb. Plus it drops leaves, twigs, and flaking bark nonstop. Now if you want a better substitute, I would suggest you could plant a Japanese maple that has nice red leaves all summer, a coral bark Japanese maple that has red twigs and pretty foliage. You could plant a maple called October Glory. Now, this isa big tree that's gonna get about 60 feet tall or so, but it has blazing red color in the late fall.Others you could plant are maybe a Shumard red oak, an Allee Chinese elm, a Chinese pistache, which is a mid-sized tree, very easy to grow, and has really bright orange and red leaves in the fall. you might try an Eastern Redbud if you like those lavender and pink flowers in the springtime. And another one would be a European hornbeam.

About Ask Grumpy

Ask Grumpy is a podcast featuring Steve Bender, also known as Southern Living’s Grumpy Gardener. For more than 20 years, Grumpy has been sharing advice on what to grow, when to plant, and how to manage just about anything in your garden. Tune in for short episodes every Wednesday and Saturday as Grumpy answers reader questions, solves seasonal conundrums, and provides need-to-know advice for gardeners with his very Grumpy sense of humor. Be sure to follow Ask Grumpy on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen so you don't miss an episode.

Editor’s Note: Please be mindful that this transcript does not go through our standard editorial process and may contain inaccuracies and grammatical errors.