Southern California's Coastal Mango Varieties

Early

• "Aloha" originated from Hawaiian seed, but was developed in San Diego. It has large yellow and red fruit, and an open, spreading growth habit. The tree does not always bear heavily, though this depends on the rootstock to which it is grafted. It fruits in October and November.

  "Fascell" is a coastal variety with a more acidic fruit flavor than most other mangoes. It has a large yellow fruit with a pink blush, and the tree grows slowly into an open, spreading form.

  "Costa Rica" is one of the earliest of all varieties suitable for the Southern California coast. It originated in East Los Angeles in 1980 and has small green fruit averaging about 10 ounces each.

Mid-Season

• "Doubikin" is a South African variety that does well on the coast. The tree has a compact, rounded growth habit with large fruit up to 16 ounces in size. It is propagated directly from seed, without grafting, and grows slowly at first, yet bears fruit only two years after planting seed.

  "Macpherson" originated in the coastal city of Encinitas, California in 1944. It has small fruit with a nice red blush on green and yellow skin. The tree has a dense growth habit and stays low to the ground.

  "Villasenor" originated in Los Angeles in the 1950s and is a dwarf variety with a wide, spreading growth habit. The green and yellow fruit is medium sized and has a pink blush. It ripens in December and January in coastal California.

Late-Season Varieties

• "Gouveia" is a coastal variety with large, fiberless fruit maturing over an extended period late in the season. The tree has a strong upright growth habit with fruit that can be anywhere from 10 to 20 ounces, turning bright red when fully ripe.

  "T1" ripens very late on the coast -- in January and February -- and has a low, wide-spreading growth habit. The large fiber-less fruit has the classic red blush over green skin of familiar grocery store mangoes. "T1" was developed near the coast in Vista, California.

  "Reliable" originated in San Diego in 1966 and is a large tree that produces regular crops along the coast. The fruit is yellow with a red blush and is variable in size. It has an unusually long ripening period from October to February.

Disease Resistant

• "Manila" is an early-ripening coastal variety that is resistant to anthracnose, a fungal disease that is a common problem for mangoes. Manila is a dwarf tree with small yellow fruit and is one of the few vareties that is seedling grown, rather than grafted.

  "Thomson" is a mildew-resistant variety for the coast. The fruit is small and yellow with a flat shape, and has a long ripening season from September to November. The fruit of this variety is less fibrous if fertilization is kept to a minimum.

  "Julie" is a disease-resistant variety that was bred specifically for indoor growing, which is an option for coastal gardeners to provide the heat necessary for ripening mangoes. It grows well in containers and is easily maintained at a height of 6 feet or less.