Mango bending a branch.

Brilliant its doing so well now Stan I think I would support that branch too.

At one time I had lots of left over lumber bits. Then we tossed it all out 3 years ago. Now,I have to see if I still have enough of it left to make a decent stake!
Its why I tell the wife- when you have a home you never know when you will need things. She always wants to toss it away.

lol Stan I can be the same but I do have a clear out only saving what is important to me my son normally comes over and clears it out saying I dont need this and dont need that lol bit like hour wife.

Way to go, Stan! If you can find clean shipping pallets they can be taken apart for stakes. Also, are there any logging companies near you? The outer slabs of trees can be run through a saw to produce some lovely long lattice. I admire your wife's discipline...I tend to collect lumber.

Logging companies?! LOL! Sorry Lori! I had to say that!:>))

Stan,

It must be staked. You don't want it to be like the one around the corner from me. The mango tree has so many large mangoes, it's ready to topple over. If that branch breaks you won't have the branch nor mangoes!

Sorry if that was ignorant, Stan... You're in redwood country, or close to it, RU not? Or is that a thing of the past?
I need a geography lesson Andy? LOL... glad I could give you a smile. I claim senility. ;-)

We have Lumber yards also ( or had). Then we have Home Depot. Lately if I have to buy a stake,I will instead buy rebar- never rots or bends.
But,it was always I had some left over 2x2's or pipes even. She had me dump it all 3 years ago. Should have kept the old galvanized pipes.
I had guys tell me "If you haven't used it in 5 years,why do you need it"..and this friend who said that has every tool in the book!..he's an engineer and likes to do home remodeling also on the side.
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!

Lori,

There used to be logging companies not too far from the SF Bay Area (not anymore)...most are in the most northern parts of the state. Pretty much all of the redwood forests (from California to Oregon) are protected. Only trees which fall can be cut up and logged as far as I know.

Home Depot does have some really good 2" x 2" x 8' stakes which are very strong. I've had to hammer a couple together to stake my large Plumeria. They're never long enough for my trees.

Rebar works well Andy. Although I've never tried it on large plants. They have long lengths of it at HD..it gets heavy and a bit pricey in the larger diameters too.

One thing I noticed about this year about this tree? It has some secondary blooms on it. They are not aborting,look normal, and that should really extend the picking season.

Its like this tree evolves something every year. First,it was small leaves to large leaves,then I was happy to see large leaves one year...then,it was the stems went from thin to more tree like. Now this,flowering that is staggered if only by a few stem tips.

I agree about the rebar, Stan. And those zip ties (that they used for electric wire bundling) work for holding it together. just an idea but if you have some short scraps of 2x4 and a drill with a half inch spade bit you can fashion your own Mechano set structures that can be taken apart and reassembled in different ways. I bought a Sunset book of trellises and obelisks. will look for the ISBN number if you're interested. I was able to make an obelisk with their instructions with a table saw and a rechargeable drill and 4x4 and 2x4 lumber from Home Depot.

Stan,

You can always use PVC piping. It tends to be pretty strong and is cheap.

Most trees go through many changes through their life-span...just like humans. lol!

I'm so glad you're going to be getting a good crop of mangoes.

I used some green plastic tree ties Lori for now. Our summer weather is as calm as can be...no rains or winds. Hopefully its good enough to make it through a winter also.

Hope it works for your mangoes, Stan. :-)

Did you tie it up to the main trunk?

No,the main trunk is perfectly vertical and if I had 20 years to kill,I guess I would prune away all the secondary trunks. But in the bay area,I think it needs all the foliage it can grow over the summer.
Funny thing is Andy,is that the Champagne Mango branched low on its own just as good as pruned with a triple thick branch off of a short vertical trunk.
Unlike the big Manila that is like some sort of wild tree with branches I know will die off as it grows and grows. One branch is like that now..a big lower that is in the process of being shed.
The Fremont guy did what I should have done..stake to one trunk until it reached 5' or so..then it would be more tree like.
He unlike me,didn't worry a frost would kill off a single trunk/no branches little tree.

One of the major things all the mango experts say is: continually cut the tips. It's the most constant advice ( I read) to get a really nicely shaped tree. I did that to my small tree and now it has 5 new shoots coming out. The heat is finally high enough to get it growing. It's in partial sun so hopefully with the new growth it'll grow enough to be into full sun.