Tag Archives: frio

The cold-hardy Gomera-1 Mango Tree

Canarius | Sunday May 29th, 2011 |

Gomera-1 is a hardy variety of Mango suited to a coastal Mediterranean climate. It is used as a rootstock for grafting other cultivars of mango, because the roots of Gomera-1 grow better in colder or dryer areas and improve the cold-hardiness of the plant.

Two Mango Gomera-1 trees in a poorly irrigated terrace in Southern Anaga, Tenerife.

This variety of mango is well adapted to the environment of the Canary Islands. It can be seen thriving in windy areas with rocky soils. It is unscathed by cool and wet winters and fruits very well and regularly. It is found on many islands and it was probably, initially brought from Cuba. The name Gomera refers to the island of La Gomera, one of the seven islands of our archipelago. This is where Canarian agronomists collected the first samples to study this mango which is quite common in the rural areas of the islands.  Fruits are yellow, small to average size (250 g average), with  very good flavour, sweet, aromatic, with a high content in fibres.

Yellow fruits of the Cold Hardy Canarian Mango named Gomera – 1

Cultivation

It needs just the same conditions of any other mango trees. It is reproduced from seed. As a polyembrionic Mango, 90% of the seedlings are true to type. Adult trees are able to flower up to 3 times a year. If it is too cold or wet, they will loose the inflorescences and flower again, about 2 months later, until the right season for fruit set is matched. In order to achieve larger fruits sizes, it is good to remove by hand 1/3 of the fruits from the bunch. Gomera-1 fruits outdoors in coastal Mediterranean climates and it needs little or no protection in coastal Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece and also in the French Riviera.

Use as Root Stock for Grafting

Mango Gomera is regularly used as a rootstock for grafting throughout the Canary Islands and also in Andalusia. The use of the Canarian Hardy Mango as a rootstock permitted to push the commercial production of Mango in the Mediterranean basin, because the roots are hardier to cold and wet soil. All the different varieties of mango trees that we offer for sale are grafted on Gomera-1 rootstocks, so our customers in Europe will get the benefit of some added cold resistance from the roots.

Gomera mango trees used as a rootstock to graft different varieties

Gomera mango trees used as a rootstock to graft different varieties

Scientific Literature in Spanish about Mango Gomera

Mejora del Mango en Canarias

Gomera-1 en el programa de mejora del Mango

Buy cold hardy mango trees in our Shop

In our shop you can purchase small trees of Gomera mangos and also a wide selection of mango trees of different varieties. All trees are grafted by hand, with specific cultivars. We ship them directly to your home. Try also our delicious Mango jam with or without sugar, in the honeys & jams section, produced with the mangoes of the Canary Islands.

Aechmea triangularis survives to -6 C (21 F) and blooms

Canarius | Monday February 14th, 2011 |

Aechmea triangularis grows very well in mediterranean climate and warm temperate climates. It is an attractive bromeliad with golden-green leaves and brow-black spines. It produces a long lasting inflorescence in late spring, with red bracts and blue flowers. Before blooming, tips of leaves fold back forming a triangle, enhanced by dark red markings. Grow it in bright sun conditions, with little or no fertilizer, to achieve more compact and colurful plants.

Charlie Dill’s picture of Aechmea triangularis, blooming after a freeze

Aechmea triangularis can take low temperatures with little or no damage at -6 C (18 F) for several hours. About its cold tolerance, there is an interesting report written by Charlie Dill about different bromeliads surviving to -6 C (21 F) in California has texts and pictures of this species.

LINK TO CHARLIE DILL’S FROST DAMAGE REPORT OF AECHMEA TRIANGULARIS AND OTHER BROMELIADS

Charlie Dill’s picture of an unscathed Aechmea triangularis

Our Shop

Please visit the Bromeliad Section of our Shop and check back often, because we offerent different bromeliads at different times of the year. We ship bromeliads to anywhere in Europe. Our bromeliads are already growing in many European countries, such as Spain, Ireland, Italy, Poland, and Germany. All bromeliads in catalogue are sold as bare-rooted “pups”, which are the robust basal suckers produced after blooming. Our pups are very easy to root – some will already show some roots when you open the box.

Aechmea triangularis with dark leaf tips before blooming

Aechmea triangularis with dark leaf tips before blooming