I got my mango tree in 1992 at Walmart during a tropical fruit sale. The poor bud looked like a fallen branch of a dying tree when I planted it. On windy days it would dangerously bend all the way to the ground and come back up like a spring only to bend again at the will of a breeze.
I dreaded a summer storm.
It took at least four years for it to grow enough to be called a tree, having to fight Florida's cold spells in the winter, and little or too much rain in the summer.
Then one summer, a gust of wind in a tropical storm cut its young trunk in half. You could see the broken limb sticking out lifeless from the ground.
But the next summer I noticed some fresh leaves hatching from the otherwise dead stick. The miracle of nature I thought, and left it alone.
The tree took off like crazy after that. It seemed as if in agony and hurt, it took its time to heal and when ready, blossomed with vengeance. I never put one ounce of fertilizer on it. The tree did it all by itself.
I would witness in awe from the side window of the family room how the tree would change from one day to the next.
I was elated when I saw the tree what seemed liked covered with snow in the late winter of 2000. It was full of tiny yellowish flowers that would in time bear fruit.
But my first harvest gave me a bad rash.
The mango plant (Mangifera indica L.) native to southern Asia, especially Burma and eastern India, produces oleoresin, an oil-like substance present in the sap, bark, leaves, skin and root. The rash is an allergic reaction that takes place on the skin where the oleoresin touches. It's not the fruit that causes the allergic reaction as often believed.
I decided to stay away from mangoes for a while anyway, which wasn't so hard since the next year gusty winds took care of the flowers and the tree had no fruit at tall.
Then in 2003 the tree went nuts. You wouldn't believe the size of those mangoes and the number of them, and their flavor. Harvested mangoes 9 inches long. I'm not kidding.
The next year, on August 15, 120-mile winds from Hurricane Charley completely uprooted my bountiful tree. The tree broke the roof when it fell on top of it breaking our power and phone lines.
The sound of chainsaw became an habitual sound in Cape Coral and my back yard. Had to chop the trunk in order to remove the fallen tree from the electric lines.
But what do you know, the next summer bush-like branches covered the bump on the ground.
It took the tree four years to recover and bear fruit again.
This year I’m enjoying one of my best harvests. Not only these mangoes are huge but they’re like no other mango in richness of flavor. I peeled it and devoured it, the juice streaming down my mouth.
I also make mango chutney, mango juice, mango marmalade, mango sauce, mango shakes.
Looking at the mango tree is a habit, when I wake up and the sun reflects on its huge trunk and at night when I close the blinds before I go to bed.
I love my tree and I’m so proud of it.
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