Growing Mango Plant from Seed in Singapore
Introduction: Growing Mangoes
I’ve been living in Singapore for just on 10 years now and growing my own pineapples for 8 of those years; taking too many to count all the way through to harvest (using tops, slips, pups, suckers and ratoons – the best fruit comes from the top when growing your own, they’ll be as big or bigger than store bought). Just this week, I’ve harvested the latest 2 from my balcony, and there is still one more that needs another 2-3 weeks to finalise fruiting.
But today, we are here to talk about growing your own mangoes from the seed of a mango fruit.
There is one clear method to use in order to obtain the plantable seed, essentially the soft inner seed that is housed inside the hard outer seed that we are all familiar with when enjoying a mango. This inner seed is then planted and within 5-8 years you could be enjoying your own home-grown mango fruit!
Growing Your Own Mango in Singapore Showing Fresh Sprouts
Method: Growing the Mango Tree from the Seed
Below I will walk you through the methodology I’ve used to successfully grow 3 mango plants from seed. These were grown in pots and they can have a limited lifespan and be quite temperamental, so the most recent planting has been done in a very deep pot, to allow more of a tree-type growth as opposed to a pot plant, and I recommend that you grow in the ground if you ever want to see fruit.
Step 1: Finish the Mango Fruit
The first step is arguably the most enjoyable. Finishing the mango fruit! I was always taught growing up to slice down the side of the mango and carve off two cheeks; each cheek you would then criss-cross with vertical and horizontal slices, and then invert using the skin (exocarp) to create the classic hedgehog pattern – those edible bite-sized squares of fruit that make it easy to eat; with no mess as your hands are protected by the mango skin. The remaining fruit around the seed you would then try to remove as much as you could, which often meant toothpicks and teeth brushing post eating of the fruit.
Once you’ve finished a mango fruit, you are left with quite a large and hard seed, which many don’t know is actually a seed pod (or if we want to be technical nerds it’s the endocarp), that contains a soft inner seed that can be used to grow a mango tree.
It’s best to try and remove as much of the pulp (mesocarp) from this seed pod before attempting the next step.
Step 2: Extracting the Seed from the Seed Pod
This is a tricky, but necessary step, to extract the soft inner seed from the seed pod.
- Firstly Dry The Seed Pod – I recommend drying the seed pod if you can because it definitely makes it easier to work with. If you have a very ripe mango then this seed pod may already be quite manageable. However, a freshly finished pod is more difficult to crack.
- Select Your Digging Tool – For safety’s sake, I recommend using a spoon as your prying tool here. You’re going to need to leverage open the seed pod, and even dried the seed pod can be challenging to work with, and you are likely to slip once or twice, so this prevents injury. The spoon is also an expert-level digging tool with it’s wide surface area and concave bowl it’s uniquely shaped to shuck that seed out! That’s not a knife, that’s a spoon! Alright, alright, you win. I see you’ve played knifey-spoony before DanDan — I have and it wasn’t pleasant, lost a fight with a bread knife and a stale baguette. Don’t do it!
- Shuck The Seed Pod – There’s a natural seam line on the side of the seed pod, once you’ve found it, you need to pry that open to get to the seed inside. Run the spoon along that seam and gently leverage it open like a crowbar. At some point you’ll actually be able to put the spoon inside and then twist the spoon to effectively shuck the seed pod like you would an oyster. I work over a sink, so if it slips, the seed pod just goes into the sink.
- Retrieve The Seed – With the seed pod shucked and pried open you now have access to the seed inside, it can look a little weird, I remember the first time I did it I thought it looked like a listening device (I won’t say where that Mango’s origin was from!). Wash any old or dried skin from the seed, it should be white-ish and has a flat edge and a concave edge.
Step 3: Planting the Mango Seed
Screeeeeeech 🎵 Wait, what? No germination step? No bathing in holy water blessed by the Greybeards in High Hrothgar for exactly 47.3 minutes while performing interpretive dance? No wrapping in The Shroud of Turin-grade paper towels and storing in a climate-controlled Vintec overnight?
No, No, and Double No!
We are gardener’s and greenthumb’s not pastry chefs! Much like the moth emerging from its cocoon, or the snake using it’s egg-tooth to sever it’s sac; We believe in letting plants do what they do naturally, so just chuck it in the soil, and let it go… right after we crowbar it open with a spoon and completely dismantle its natural protective casing. But other than that violent intervention, totally natural!
Actually, I don’t advise “just chucking it in”. The seed has two sides – a flat, broad side, and a concave side. We want to place the concave side down in around 1-inch of soil, so quite close to the surface, so it can sprout easily. Push it so that it is firmly held. The flat, broad side is where the sprout will come from, the concave side will develop the roots.
I generally like to water-in a seed to ensure it has some moisture for activation. For this particular seed I’ve chosen a deep, tall pot (this is where the 2025 pineapple was grown). The soil is already well fertilised and full of nutrients, and at the time of writing (2 weeks since I planted the mango seed) it has sprouted!
Greenthumb Tip: Used coffee grounds make an amazing natural fertiliser and pesticide. I’m make my own French Press coffee daily, because I’m disciplined enough to not use instant coffee but not a full-blown Java junkie that needs an 8-grand La Marzocco Barista-level espresso machine. So once I’ve had my brekky beverage I pour the used grounds over the topsoil of plants, and I’ve found they thrive as a result.
(Option): Water Germination currently experimental
Awwwwww hell nough! Didn’t we just say no goofy germination… Well think of this as the non-goofy method, plus it’s optional. I’m trying this as an experiment to see if, like avocados using the toothpick method, the mango seed will germinate if fully-submerged in tepid tap water.
To ensure this works for best effect I would remove the papery husk from the seed, and ensure it’s clean before putting in the water. I would change the water every 2 days as a minimum, to ensure that no bacteria grows to damage the seed.
Mango Growing FAQs
Can you grow mangoes in Singapore?
Yes. Singapore provides the ideal climate for growing mango trees. The plants thrive in the tropical conditions with strong periods of sunlight interrupted by intermittent downpours. Mangoes can be temperamental though, and a once verdant and dark green leaved mango tree can brown rapidly so be wary of the soil moisture (mangoes don't like wet feet, but they also don't like dry feet).
How many mangoes will one plant produce?
Potentially many, if you can handle the 5-8 years it will take for the tree to fruit. Typical advice for those wanting fruit quickly is to seek out a nursery that may have a grafted version designed to fruit faster - perhaps 3-4 years.
What is the hedgehog pattern for mangoes?
When you slice the mango, run the knife alongside the seed to carve off two equal sized cheeks; You then criss-cross the flesh of the cheeks with vertical and horizontal slices, being careful not to breach the skin. Invert the skin and you will have the hedgehog pattern of edible squares for easier enjoyment.
How do you extract the mango seed?
The hard seed that the fruit surrounds is actually not the seed, it is the seed coat or endocarp. So you have to find the natural seam along the side of this seed pod, then leverage it open like shucking an oyster, with a spoon (for safety). You can then extract the more delicate inner seed.
How long does it take for a mango to fruit?
Depending on climate anywhere from 5 to 8 years. Given that pineapples can grow from crown germination to fruit in 12-months flat in Singapore, I wouldn't be surprised if a mango tree can deliver in 4-5 years, or the lower-end of the guesstimate.
Has one of your mango trees ever fruited?
No. I'm mainly growing them for ornamental purposes, as they are very pretty plants with long broad and very verdant green leaves. Much like with avocado trees, which are also very pretty, you grow them for the novelty and joy of seeing something you planted grow. To be serious and grow fruit I would plant the trees in the ground not pots.
DanDan
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