How to Plant & Grow a Mango Seed

Mango trees

Mango trees (Mangifera sp.) are tropical fruit-bearing trees that are native to southern Asia. Mangos can grow in only frost-free, warm climates where temperatures don't drop below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Mango trees are also beautiful houseplants that you can grow from the fruit's seed pit. Mangos grown in this way may or may not produce fruits, but they're nevertheless attractive houseplants with large, dark green leaves and panicle clusters of yellowish or reddish flowers.

Things You'll Need

• Mango fruit
• Sandpaper or kitchen scrubber
• Butter knife
• Planter pot, 6- to 12-inch diameter
• All-purpose potting soil

Instructions

1. 

   Mango with pit

   Purchase a fully ripened mango that feels soft to the touch. Cut the mango open and remove the large inner pit.

2. Clean off the excess fruit on the mango pit's outer husk. You can use a piece of sandpaper or a kitchen scrubber to do this if needed. Allow the mango pit to dry for two or three days.

3. Remove the outer husk of the mango pit by prying it open using a butter knife. Be careful not to damage the inner seed pit.

4. Fill a 6- to 12-inch-diameter planter pot that has drainage holes in the bottom with an all-purpose potting soil. Insert the pit into the potting soil with the eye facing up. Plant the mango pit so that the eye is just 1/2 inch below the soil surface.

5. Water the potting soil to dampen it thoroughly, but not so that it's waterlogged or soggy. Water the mango pit again two or three days later, when the top 1 inch of potting soil begins to feel dry to the touch. Always provide room-temperature or lukewarm water.

6. Keep the pot in a warm spot with air temperatures of at least 70 degrees Fahrenheit. When the mango seed germinates and begins to sprout, which can take two to four weeks, move the pot into a sunny spot.

Tips & Warnings

• The eye of the mango pit is the lighter-colored area that's located at the top of the pit. If you're unsure about which end of the pit is the eye, place the de-husked pit in a moist paper towel until a green shoot appears from the pit. Then, plant the mango pit into the potting soil with the green shoot above the soil level.

• Don't forget to pot up your mango plant as it grows. When the mango plant's roots begin to fill the pot, re-pot it into a container that's the next size up to keep it growing healthy and robustly.

References

• Mango-Fruit.com: Grow Your Very Own Tree from a Mango Seed
• PlanTea: How to Grow a Mango Houseplant

Resources

• California Rare Fruit Growers: Mango, Mangifera indica L.