Germinating Turpentine (Common Mango) Seeds
You can remove the embryo(s) from the seed shell or simply plant in the shell, both will work.
Preparing for Germination
Start by filling a pot, or growing tray for multiple seeds, with well draining sandy soil and place your mango seeds on top. Lightly cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil and water them in. Keep the soil moist until the seeds germinate.
After Germination
Turpentine mango seeds are poly-embryonic and can make from 1 to 10 trees per seed. Allow the group of trees to grow until the largest one is about 8 inches tall. At this point you can safely remove the trees from the pot and gently tease them apart, preserving some root for each tree, and pot each tree separately.
Care
Turpentine mango trees are tough and can tolerate periods of very little water. Fertilizer is generally not needed. Your trees will grow and can be ready for grafting in as little as three months.
Once you have rootstock that is around 6 months old, or older, you are ready to graft!
One Seed = Many Trees
Here is an example of how many trees can be produced from just one seed.
Turpentine Mango Seeds (ripe)
ripe Turpentine Mango Seeds Ready for Planting
Germinated Mango Seed
This germinated seed will need to have it's embryo's separated mechanically. This can be done with a dull knife, mollusk shucking tool or a wooden embryo separating tool (as seen in the video above).
Turpentine Mango Embryos
One seed typically contains between three and seven embryos puzzled together. Taking them apart is a lot of fun!
Example of a Healthy Seedling
Healthy Seedlings exhibit deep green leaves, a straight trunk and the occasional new flush of color