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Named in honor of Gary and Walter Zill’s mother, Dot Mango is an incredibly delicious mango with a unique combination of flavors rarely found in other cultivars.
While Dot’s growth habit and disease resistance may not be 100% ideal, it’s one of those cultivars that people still choose to grow because the flavor is just that amazing.
With that being said, this grow guide will cover everything that you need to know about Dot Mango:
Table of Contents
- Dot Mango Tree Growth Habit & Fruit Production
- Dot Mango Flavor Profile
- Dot Mango Season (And When To Pick)
- Dot Mango Disease Resistance
- Dot Mango History
- Dot Mango Tree For Sale
- Conclusion
Dot Mango Tree Growth Habit & Fruit Production
The Dot Mango is considered a medium-sized mango tree.
Dot Mango Trees have a very vigorous & spreading growth habit that produces an open canopy. As a result, Dot can realistically be kept between 10 – 15 feet tall with annual pruning. Due to their vigor, as well as lack of natural compactness, Dot would not do well long-term in containers and would not be considered a “condo” mango.
To manage the tree’s natural vigor, we can implement effective pruning practices such as tip-pruning. This encourages the tree to produce more fruit, which, in turn, can slow down the tree’s growth rate.
Despite its vigor, Dot Mango is fairly precocious and has consistent fruit production ranging from average to good.
The mangos themselves are small to medium-sized fruits that typically weigh between 0.8 – 1.2 lbs. However, Dot has a larger seed, contributing to a poor flesh-to-seed ratio in the fruit.
Dot Mango Flavor Profile
Dot Mangos are considered a Classic Flavored Mango.
Slicing into the fruit will reveal a fiberless orange flesh that is juicy & creamy with a nice smooth texture that is also somewhat firm. Furthermore, Dot has a fruity aroma that is very tropical smelling.
From a flavor perspective, Dot Mango has a classic mango flavor with enough acidity to give way to other delicious and prominent flavors. The flavor consists of a very warm, rich and syrupy-sweet mango flavor that is balanced out by a slight tartness in addition to some very subtle resinous notes as well, similar to a Phoenix Mango.
Additionally, there is a sub-acid component that is expressed with a very prominent and concentrated citrus flavor that is reminiscent of Orange Sherbet & Orange Essence.
When eating more near the skin, there are some additional chalky/resinous flavors present as well. However, they are present in just the right amounts to bring home a well-balanced, slightly-complex and overall exceptional flavor.
Overall, Dot’s flavor will be mostly appreciated by those who are looking for an exceptional classically-flavored mango that packs a punch with its distinct notes of citrus and tartness.
Finally, it’s worth noting that Dot Mangos produce monoembryonic seeds, which means that planting a seed from a Dot Mango won’t yield another Dot Mango Tree.
Dot Mango Season (And When To Pick)
Dot Mangos are considered a mid-to-late season mango (June – Aug).
So if you are looking for a mango cultivar that can be enjoyed over the span of a few months vs having to eat all the fruit at once (and getting Mango Belly in the process 🙂) then Dot Mango is an excellent choice.
With that being said, the best time to pick Dot Mangos are when they are mature and beginning to ripen on the tree. From a color perspective, this is when the fruit is beginning to show signs of yellow color break. Dot is perfectly ripe when the majority of the fruit turns a bright yellow color.
While Dot Mangos can also develop a coral pink blush that can either be localized to the top of the fruit and/or cover the fruit in it’s entirety, it’s important to remember that a mango’s blush has nothing to do with the fruit’s ripeness. A rule of thumb to remember is that More Sun = More Blush, Less Sun = Less Blush.
Additionally, it is very important to NOT allow Dot Mango to ripen on the tree. That is because Dot has an unusual characteristic of ripening on the tree without falling. As a result, they will continue to hang on the tree even when they are perfectly ripe and will either 1) go overripe and develop a musky flavor or 2) completely spoil.
Aside from color, here are some additional tips to knowing when Dot Mango is ready to pick:
- Fruit fullness & shape
- How does the stem look? It’s it drying up near where it connects to the fruit?
- Is the fruit’s skin beginning to stretch?
- Is the fruit beginning to soften ever so slightly?
What I also really like about Dot Mango is its long shelf life. Consequently, if we were to harvest a lot of fruit at once, they can easily be enjoyed over several days, rather than needing to eat them all right away.
Dot Mango Disease Resistance
Dot Mango is moderately prone to both Anthracnose & Powdery Mildew. As a result, Dot would not be a good cultivar to grow in more humid areas and should instead be planted in drier areas, such as along the coast.
With that being said, Dot Mango has very good resistance to Bacterial Black Spot.
Dot Mango History
The first Dot Mango Tree was planted in Boynton Beach, Florida, by Laurence Zill. Dot was named after Laurence’s wife, Dorothy, who is also the mother of Walter & Gary Zill of Zill High-Performance Plants.
Dot has been consistently promoted by Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden as a delicious backyard mango cultivar.
Dot Mango is a seedling of Zill Mango. It’s pollinating parent is unknown.
Dot Mango Tree For Sale
Depending on where you live, Dot Mango Trees can range from uncommon to rare. When visiting my local nurseries, I have only seen Dot for sale a handful of times over the course of several years.
With that being said, if you are unable to find one at a local nursery, your next best option is checking out Tropical Acres Farms (not sponsored). They are the only legit place online (from my experience) that you are getting exactly what you are paying for.
They have over 300 varieties of mangos available. You can either order budwood to graft yourself or submit a grafting request to have a grafted tree created for you. They do ship!
Conclusion
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If you have any questions regarding anything mentioned in this grow guide, please comment them below! This way, others can also benefit from the answer to the same question. For any other questions or growing tips that you think may be helpful, feel free to use the contact form and drop me a line.
Thank you for reading! 🙂
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