Which Mango Tree Should You Plant? 5 Grafted Varieties Compared

The Mango Tree You Buy Determines Everything

Which mango tree you buy determines everything. How big the fruit gets. Whether it ripens in early summer or holds out until everyone else’s mangoes are gone. Whether the tree stays small enough for a balcony pot, or wants a full backyard. And — unlike the avocado — you never have to buy a second tree for pollination. A single mango tree sets fruit on its own.

This guide covers five grafted mango varieties — Keitt, Jinhuang, Tainong No.1, Siji, and Guiqi — with one goal: to help you pick the right tree for your climate, your space, and your kitchen. Every variety here is grafted, which means fruit in roughly two to five years instead of a decade or more from seed. And every one of them is a genuine find: four of the five are rare Chinese and Taiwanese varieties that almost no American nursery stocks.

No Pollination Partner Needed — the Difference From Avocados

If you have read our avocado guide, you know avocados come in Type A and Type B, and planting one of each can more than double your crop. Mangoes are different. A mango tree is andromonoecious — it carries both male flowers and perfect (bisexual) flowers on the same panicle, and those perfect flowers pollinate themselves. That means one mango tree is enough to set a full crop. No partner, no flower-timing math, no matching bloom windows.

The practical upshot: you can buy exactly one mango tree and get fruit. The only pollination variable to respect is the weather — mangoes set best in warm, dry conditions with active pollinators like flies and bees around. But that is a care note, not a second-tree requirement.

Pick by Season: Early, Late, or Off-Season

The smartest reason to think about season is a longer harvest window. Mango varieties ripen in waves, and by choosing across them you can eat fresh mangoes for months instead of weeks.

• Early season: Tainong No.1 fruits first — a head start before the main rush.
• Late season: Keitt (August–October) and Guiqi (mid-to-late summer) hold out until after most mangoes are done. Jinhuang is also a late-season giant.
• Off-season: Siji can push multiple flushes of fruit in a warm year — the closest a mango gets to fruiting on demand.

Plant one early and one late, and your season stretches from the first warm weeks of summer into fall.

Pick by Size: Dwarf for the Patio, Vigorous for the Yard

Not all mangoes grow the same. Two of our five are genuinely compact; the others want room to spread.

• Best for pots and patios: Tainong No.1 (a true dwarf, 6–10 ft in a large pot) and Siji (compact and upright). These are the mangoes you can actually keep on a balcony and roll indoors for winter.
• Needs a big pot or the ground: Jinhuang grows vigorously with a full crown, and Guiqi is a moderate grower. Give these room, or prune them hard in a 20–25 gallon pot.
• The balanced middle: Keitt is semi-dwarf — a full-size mango with an open, manageable canopy.

All Five at a Glance

Variety	Origin	Fruit	Season	Habit	Price
Keitt	Florida, 1939	1–4 lb, fiber-free	Late (Aug–Oct)	Semi-dwarf	$115
Jinhuang	Taiwan	1.3–4.4 lb, ~88% edible	Late	Vigorous	$139
Tainong No.1	Taiwan, 1985	5–10 oz, sweet	Early	Dwarf	$125
Siji	Guangxi, China	7–9 oz, clean-fleshed	Multiple (warm zones)	Compact	$119
Guiqi	Guangxi, China	7–12 oz, aromatic	Late	Moderate	$139

The Five Rules That Keep Any Mango Alive

All five varieties share the same fundamentals. Get these right and the rest is patience.

• Full sun, 6+ hours a day. Mangoes are sun worshippers and fruit best in all-day light.
• Drainage before everything. The #1 mango killer is overwatering into soggy soil, which rots the roots. Water deeply, then let the top few inches dry before watering again.
• Zones 10–11. These are true tropicals. North of Zone 10, grow them in a large pot and bring them indoors before the first frost. Mature trees can briefly take near 25°F; young trees and new growth are tender below 30°F.
• Feed through the warm months. A balanced fruit fertilizer every 6–8 weeks from spring through summer pushes growth and fruit. Stop by late summer.
• Respect the sap. Mangoes are in the Anacardiaceae family, same as poison ivy. The ripe fruit flesh is safe for people and pets, but the skin and sap can irritate, and the pit is a choking hazard for animals.

Every tree in this guide ships as a grafted plant about 70–100 cm (2.3–3.3 ft) tall — already on proven rootstock and on track to fruit years sooner than any seedling. If you are still deciding, start with the variety whose season and size fit your space, and remember: with a mango, one tree is all you need.

Ready to grow? Browse our Fruit Trees collection for all five varieties, or check the complete mango care guide for detailed growing guides.