Grow Your Own Mango Plant

Have you ever eaten a delicious juicy mango, looked at the stone, and wondered if there was any use for it? The short answer is yes! Green fingers or not, we’re going to show you a tried and tested method to grow a mango plant from your store-bought mango. You’ll need to make sure you have the following supplies: a ripe mango, glass of water, kitchen scissors, paper towels, an airtight container or bag, potting soil and a medium-size pot. Let’s get to it.

It’s important that you start with a ripe mango, if not, then the seed inside may not be mature enough to grow into a plant. First things first; remove the husk from the mango, i.e. eat the yummy mango and leave the husk behind. You want to clean it and get rid of as much pulp as possible. Some people like to leave it to dry for a day or two, but this isn’t vital. The next step can be quite tricky, so just be careful. Using kitchen scissors, gently cut the edge of the husk to reveal the seed inside. Taking care not to damage the seed, it might be best to peel away the rest of the husk. If the seed appears rotten or shriveled, start again with another mango.

Getty Images / Moment / David Neil Madden

Carefully rinse the seed, and wrap it in a damp paper towel. It shouldn’t be soaking wet, but moist enough. Place this inside your airtight container, and put it in a dark kitchen cupboard. Now you just have to be patient. Check on the seed once or twice a week to make sure the paper towel isn’t drying out, and that no mildew or slime is growing. If this does happen, gently wash the seed and replace the paper towel.

In about 3-5 weeks you should notice the seed sprouting about an inch or so. About a week or so later the sprout will have developed some mini roots, and the seed may even have started producing a shoot. It’s now the time to pot the seed. Plant the seed with about an inch of soil above the seed, making sure the soil is moist but not damp. It will start to grow fairly quickly at this stage, and you should be able to see the first leaves within a week.