How easy is it to root a mango cutting? I have a dwarf Carrie mango in a pot. It is about two feet tall and has three top branches about a foot long. Today I noticed one of the branches had broken off (still attached by the bark). Is there a way I can save this branch? I'll post a pic if it will help. I think my trunk is too small to regraft onto so I'd like to try to root it if its possible.

Mangoes can be propagate from cuttings, but only with difficulty. - Millet (1,213-)

They are among the most difficult of all fruits to root. Even with perfect mist bed conditions, expect less than 1% success.

That's a bummer. Hopefully, the breakage will spur new branches to form but I doubt it since all three branches sprouted from the very top of the trunk. It doesn't look like there is much room for new branches. Right now the broken branch is still on the tree hanging by a hinge of bark. I'll leave it there for now until I decide what to do. Its in a very difficult spot to tape with parafilm. Who knows, maybe it will survive.

If it lives long enough, you might try air layering it -- also very difficult with mango, but possible -- Dr. Tom Davenport (you could look up the reference) published, years ago, that you could air layer them by using a paste of 1% naphthaleneacetic acid in lanolin on the wound. Of course in this post-9/11 and crystal meth-making society, no one is likely to sell you NAA. But if you can get it, it works. Lesser concentrations of other hormones usually fail on mango.

Wow, I had no idea NAA was a terrorist's or a drug chemist's tool. But how can the tiny amount we need for plant propagation be useful for anything else?!
OK, I'll quit ranting now.

It looks like the branch is starting to dry up. Oh well, hopefully the remaining branches will get bigger as a result. Thanks for all the advice.

As far as I know NAA could not possibly be used in making drugs or bombs. It's just the fact that it's a purified chemical (of any sort) that allows its sale to be restricted. Totally unreasonable and illogical, but that's the level of paranoia.

We had some really strong winds up here and as a result my Carrie mango tree lost its other branch. Now there's one branch remaining from the original three. It looks like half a letter Y, all lopsided.

Should I chop off the top of the tree to give it another chance to develop a new top structure? Its lopsided as it is now with only one branch coming off the main trunk. I'm wondering if I should chop off the top so that new and more branches can grow from it. Is this a good idea? Or will the tree somehow balance itself out? I forgot to take a picture but can get one if it will help.

Here is a picture of my mango tree. Should I just chop off the top to start over again and hope new branches sprout out evenly from the top?

I pushed the broken branch into the soil in the hope that it may root but I know the chances are next to none.

Next Spring I want to chop off the top of this tree so that it could sprout new branches. But the branch looks really healthy and is almost as tall as the main trunk itself. I'd hate for it to go to waste.

How easy would it be to air-layer this branch so that I could turn it into another tree? If I were to do it, do you think it would be able to be separated from the trunk by spring time so that the main tree would have a chance to grow new branches?

If you can get some NAA and make a 1% paste of it in lanolin and smear that on the wound of an air layer, you have a reasonable hope of rooting it. Otherwise, air layers of mango usually fail. If you can't do that, use the strongest rooting powder you can find.

I read somewhere that you should mar the branch somehow either through cutting marks or even breaking the branch without separating it. Are either of these recommended and what would be the best way?

I plan on using peat moss enclosed with a plastic bag. Whether I see roots through the bag or not, how long do I have to wait before I can cut the branch off and plant it.

http://gardenofgary.blogspot.com/2009/11/carrie-mango-tree.html

Here is what I did to my Carrie mango tree. Feel free to comment on it as well as my other trees.

Update: The branch I cut off died. It didn't make it.

On the other hand, I bought a Manila mango about a month and a half ago and it was about 4 feet tall. When I got it home, I cut it in half and planted the upper half in a pot. I then cut the bottom off of a liter sized soda bottle and placed it over the plant. The top of the tree stuck out about an inch from the bottle so I but a plastic bag over the top. Lo and behold, about a month and a half later the top sprouted some leaves!!! Hopefully, it will survive to form another tree. As for the bottom half, it sprouted four branches. If only I would have placed a bottle over my Carrie tree too.

http://gardenofgary.blogspot.com/2010/06/manila-mango.html
I don't have updated photos of the sprouted Manila.