If you are looking for a large, fast-growing tree that produces delicious and beautiful fruit, Valencia Pride may be a mango to consider adding to your yard 🙂
Despite being around for almost a century, it remains a popular mango cultivar today. In 2009, it was even named a “Curator’s Choice Mango” at the Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden’s International Mango Festival.
With that being said, this grow guide will cover everything that you need to know about Valencia Pride Mango:
Table of Contents
- Valencia Pride Mango Tree Growth Habit & Fruit Production
- Valencia Pride Mango Flavor Profile
- Valencia Pride Mango Season (And When To Pick)
- Valencia Pride Mango Disease Resistance
- Valencia Pride Mango History
- Valencia Pride Mango Tree For Sale
- Conclusion
Valencia Pride Mango Tree Growth Habit & Fruit Production
The Valencia Pride Mango is considered a large-sized mango tree.
Valencia Pride Mango Trees have a very vigorous & upright growth habit that produces an open canopy. As a result, Valencia Pride can realistically be kept between 20 – 25 feet tall with annual pruning. With that being said, Valencia Pride would not do well long-term in containers and would not be considered a “condo” mango.
In the mango growing community, Valencia Pride is often regarded as the poster child for what constitutes a fast-growing and large mango tree. Due to its aggressive growth habit, Valencia Pride may not be suitable for smaller yards. Regardless of your yard size, it’s essential to avoid using any Nitrogen-Based fertilizer on Valencia Pride.
Given its vigorous growth, Valencia Pride would likely thrive in California.
Additionally, any attempts to maintain the tree at a height below 20 – 25 feet will lead to the tree channeling most of its energy into new foliage growth, rather than the production of flowers and fruit, which can significantly reduce fruit yields.
Valencia Pride’s fruit production consistently ranges from average to good. The mangos themselves are medium to large-sized fruits that typically weigh between 1.5 – 2.5 lbs. The fruit’s shape is oblong, similar to Maha Chanok but much chunkier 😀
It’s worth noting that Valencia Pride’s fruit production can alternate between strong and weak crops from year to year. This can be attributed to factors like a late season and the large size of the fruit, which, in turn, allows less time for recovery during dormancy.
Valencia Pride Mango Flavor Profile
Valencia Pride Mangos are considered a Classic Flavored Mango.
A properly ripened Valencia Pride Mango will feature the classic mango aroma with subtle hints of honey. Its flesh is dense, firm, and yellow, containing minimal fiber. Moreover, the fruit boasts a smooth, melting texture reminiscent of other creamy mango varieties like Coconut Cream.
From a flavor perspective, Valencia Pride offers a very classic mango taste. The fruit is mildly sweet with subtle notes of citrus, peach, and pineapple. While there might be a slight resinous or spicy flavor near the skin at times, these flavors are not present in the main fruit. Underripe fruit may have a hint of tartness, while overripe fruit can develop an off-putting ‘musty’ taste.
Overall, Valencia Pride can be quite delicious, though I personally don’t find it as impressive in terms of flavor when compared to other exceptional mango varieties I’ve tasted. Nonetheless, I’d gladly accept one if offered! 😀
Finally, it’s worth noting that Valencia Pride Mangos produce monoembryonic seeds, which means that planting a seed from a Valencia Pride Mango won’t yield another Valencia Pride Mango Tree.
Valencia Pride Mango Season (And When To Pick)
Valencia Pride Mangos are considered a late season mango (July – Aug). However, depending on when the tree blooms, Valencia Pride can sometimes be enjoyed as early as June.
With that being said, the best time to pick Valencia Pride 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. Valencia Pride is perfectly ripe when the majority of the fruit transitions to a soft yellow color.
While Valencia Pride is known to develop a red blush, 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.
However, color is only one factor when determining whether a Valencia Pride is mature and ready to pick.
That being said, here are some additional tips to knowing when a Valencia Pride Mango is ready to pick:
- Is the fruit beginning to soften?
- How does the stem look? It’s it drying up near where it connects to the fruit?
- Are there beads of sap present on the fruit?
- Is the fruit’s skin beginning to stretch?
Finally, similar to other large mango varieties like Lancetilla, Venus, and Harvest Moon, Valencia Pride is prone to splitting during heavy rains. If a storm is approaching and the fruit is mostly mature, it’s a good idea to harvest them and let them finish ripening on the counter.
Valencia Pride Mango Disease Resistance
Valencia Pride Mango exhibits moderate resistance to various fungal diseases, such as Anthracnose and Bacterial Black Spot. As a result, Valencia Pride would be an excellent addition to yards with less than ideal conditions, such as higher humidity levels and low winds.
Valencia Pride Mango History
The first Valencia Pride Mango was planted in Miami, Florida in 1937, and it bore fruit for the first time in 1941.
Valencia Pride is a seedling of Haden. It’s pollinating parent is unknown.
Valencia Pride is also a sibling to Edward, Cogshall, Spirit of 76, Kent, Glenn, Bailey’s Marvel, Van Dyke, Florigon, and Cushman. Additionally, Valencia Pride is also a parent to Val-Carrie.
Valencia Pride Mango Tree For Sale
Valencia Pride is a relatively common mango and can be found in most Florida nurseries. During my visits to local nurseries, I often spot a few here and there.
That said, the growing demand for dwarf and semi-dwarf mango cultivars due to shrinking plot sizes means you won’t find Valencia Pride being sold in the same quantities as slower-growing cultivars like Carrie, Julie, Pickering or Dwarf Hawaiian.
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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Thank you for reading! 🙂
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