Bark splitting clean up

Lemon Zest

This is sad. I scraped off all the black & dead bark until I reached wood and whatever green to the sides I could find. It really stinks that I couldn't pick out the trees myself before buying it. I guess its my karma to inherit this crappy diseased tree; one thing for sure, I'll never buy a 7 gallon tree again from TopTropicals. Its too expensive considering the low quality.

Notching/Scoring for new branch.

I finally tried my hand at notching/scoring with both Edward & Graham in an effort to balance the tree because the branches they have are to one side of the trunk.

 I hope Edward will bud just below the deep cut. I sprayed fungicide on the wound just in case.

Graham started bleeding latex sap. Edward didn't do this… hmmm?

Mega Pruned!

Today I pruned Lemon Zest down to 12 inches. I was so hesitant but I really wanted to make a shorter tree. I was going to try to make it taller but the node up, was ugly and looked like a branch was once cut off, leaving a scar. I happy to see the cambium was still plump and green after the cut, so it gives me hope that it will recover. But I shouldn't jinx it by saying that.  I wrapped it in a wet paper towel and plastic bagged it (not shown).

Potential grow sites perhaps.

Here's hoping for survival.

Yeow. Lemon Zest is rough.

 Lemon Zest
Poor Lemon Zest. Its seen better days. I scraped, with my box cutter, at part of the bark above and saw that it was still green underneath, so that gives me hope that it might have a remote chance of living. I will prune it down. There was some rot or damage at the base of the trunk. I carved and scraped as much as I thought I should, with my box cutter. I think its a patch of dead wood. not sure. Didn't see any green underneath as I scrapped away the blackened bark. I must admit, this is the crappy part about mail-order; you don't get to pick and choose the plant you want to bring home.

Edward II

Edward's new growth makes me happy.

Pickering

Yeah!

October 27th, pics.

Lemon Zest

Poor Lemon Zest is really going through transplant hell. I removed all the crispy dried leaves; leaving only the few leaves that weren't so crispy.

Edward II 
Doing well and continues to put on more growth.

Graham
getting bushy!

Pickering
Starting to flush! Yeah!

Julie #1
I sliced off the tip off the top. This should make it branch out.

Lancetilla
Also sliced off the tips.

Valencia Pride
Continues to flush out new leaves.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Flushed the potting medium.

So today, I flushed my new mango tree's potting medium. The EC reading was over 2900 and that's not good. I took it to the kitchen and ran a lot of water thru it, and now the EC reading is 649. Better. I wrapped a wet paper towel around the base of the trunk in the hopes that it will help keep the trunk alive.

I also flushed my Lychee tree too. its EC reading was off the charts. Now it reads about 345.

Going through transplant shock.

My new mango is going through transplant shock. I don't know if being a bigger plant than my other mangoes will make a difference but I hope it has more resources to pull thru because of its size. The green branches are showing shriveling and decline. The leaves have not dropped off yet but I suspect it will soon. I gave the guy a dose of KLN to help it along in its root development… hope it works. I don't have a large enough plastic bag to put over it, so it'll have to rough it out.
A part of me hopes the top will die off, so I can prune this baby down to 18 inches or under.

The black stuff on the branches is some sort of black fungus or mildew. If I find a sponge, I'll try to scour some off.

Lemon Zest (OS) moved to office.

My new mango has been moved to the office. I had to wrap up the pot & soil in newspaper, plastic and packing tape, so I can lay it on its side, inside my car.

I already notice shriveling happening because of transplant shock. I still feel this guy is too big for my current needs and I don't like the branches; as they are wonky and straggly. The branches are covered with a black fungus I think, not healthy looking. I am considering pruning it down to 18 inches or more. But I am going to wait and see if it survives and puts out new roots before I hack at it. There was some slight rot happening near the base of the tree, so I used my trusty folding box cutter and gently shaved off as much of blackened wood I could, without digging into any green wood. I am also thinking of scoring/girdling the trunk to get it to branch out lower but not sure how to proceed. The only advantage to buying a 7 gal tree is the thicker trunk.

Welcome 'Orange Sherbet'! But possibly a 'Lemon Zest'.

Well I got my 7 gallon 'Orange Sherbet' variety mango today and I can't believe how big it is. I feel ashamed that I didn't get a smaller one. I am thinking of chopping this baby in half but there are no leaves lower down on the trunk to support photosynthesis. Its in transplant shock, so doing so would most likely kill it. Its also probable that this tree is actually a 'Lemon Zest' variety because 'Orange Sherbet' has not been released by Zill..

Here is a pic of the box it arrived in.

 Here it is, unpacked and unfurled. Kind of wonky branches.

 Here it is with most of the original dirt shaken off.

 Here are shots of the root mass after washing it clean.

 Here I planted it into a new 5 gallon Gro Pot. Soil-less mixture of hydroton (at bottom of pot), coir and perlite. I liberally added XtremeGardening's Azos and Mykos on and around the roots before potting it up. I gave a big dose of Bioweed (seaweed additive) to encourage rooting.

Need to figure out how to transport this baby to work.

Graham & Edward update.

Graham

Putting out a lot of growth.

Edward II

New growth!

Yeeah!

today I ordered...

Today I ordered from Top Tropicals; one 7 gal. 'Orange Sherbet' mango tree and one 3 gal. 'Sweetheart' Lychee tree. It should arrive Thursday (Lychee tree) and Saturday (Mango tree) of next week.

Update: Well, after discussing my purchase with some online gardenweb folks, I do believe that I, may have, purchased not an 'Orange Sherbet' but rather a 'Lemon Zest' variety mango. Apparently Gary, of Zill nurseries, is trying to patent the Orange Sherbet and won't be releasing it for sale till late 2012. So, the tree I am getting is likely a mislabeled tree; which was caused by the fact that 'Lemon Zest' was once called '27-1' then for a short time called an 'Orange Sherbet', then to 'Lemon Zest'.
I don't mind the Lemon Zest but I would have rather bought a 3 gallon tree and have enough money left over to get an additional 'Dot' or a 'Spirit of 76' variety.
However, according to Mike at TopTropicals.com, he didn't not get his 7 gal. 'Orange Sherbet' from Zills but rather a different source. So there is a remote chance that it may be what it is.

Mango Update, October 7th.

Graham

Well, growth continues. I'm amazed by the long inter-nodal length between flushes.

Valencia Pride

VP is pushing two more buds it seems.

Edward II

I'm happy to see Ed pushing growth. I hope the other branches push too.

Hazzah!

Julie #1 & Graham update again.

Julie's new growth looks great.

Graham's new growth is really taking off. I didn't not expect shoots to be this long.

Close up.

Yeah.