Pickering

Whenever I have occasion to recommend mango varieties, Pickering is on the list. Perhaps the closest to a true dwarf mango tree, it bears consideration by anyone for whom space is a concern. That is, pretty much every dooryard grower.

Pickering is among the many mango varieties to emerge from the Zill enterprise in Boynton Beach. According to Walter Zill, a chance seedling caught his eye in 1980--- at four feet of height and only an inch of trunk diameter, it already carried a half dozen small fruit. They ripened to yellow, with flavor somewhat like a Carrie, or Carrie's parent Julie. A mature Carrie a few feet from the seedling was most likely the parent.

The seedling took some freeze damage in 1983, but recovered and was successfully transplanted. With its ultra-compact growth habit and reliable production of fine-tasting fruit, and a name provided by Zill's friend Dr. Wayne Pickering, a new variety was born.

There has been discussion on the Tropical Fruit Forum about whether the flavor of Pickering mangos has elements of coconut. Some folks report it, other not. Possibilities are varying flavors of fruit depending on soil and other growing conditions, two different kinds of tasters (as with broccoli), or two different versions of Pickering trees in distribution. It remains a mystery.

My young Pickering, shown at the left, was planted last December and has grown well, despite a minor assault by climbing raccoons. I'm really looking forward to its fruit in a couple of years.

(For the curious, the small shrub to the left of the tree is a Turnera ulmifolia (Yellow Alder, Jamaican Buttercup), and the colorful one to the right is Celosia argentea (Quailgrass). Both are attractive, insect-friendly easy growers. The ground cover to the left is Glandularia tapensis  (Tampa verbena), a lovely and endangered Florida native wildflower.)

A master fruitier once told me that if he had it to do over, he would have used only Pickerings for the mangos on his city lot. The growth habit is so compact that the tree can easily be maintained at six to eight feet, like the beautiful specimen in the MRFC collection at Palma Sola Botanical Park, shown to the right.

All things considered, Pickering is probably the top choice when space is severely limited.