Mango in Siberia is not a fantasy if you know the trick that nurseries are keeping quiet about.
Gardening blogger Daria from Novosibirsk showed on TikTok how she got fruits on her windowsill in 3 years.
Her method: a dwarf variety called 'Amrapali', a UV grow lamp and a homemade hydroponic system.
"Mango roots die at +15°C," explains Daria . "The pot is on a heated mat, and the water in the hydroponics is always +25°C. In winter, I provide additional lighting for 14 hours a day."
The magazine "Houseplants" confirmed: under artificial lighting, tropical trees bear fruit even beyond the Arctic Circle. But there are nuances.
Breeder Artem Volkov warns: "Without grafting, the fruits will be small and sour. Use a bud from a fruit-bearing tree - they are sold in specialized stores."
Feedback from Marina from Krasnoyarsk: "I bought a grafted seedling. After 4 years I collected the first two mangoes - juicy, like in Thailand!"
The main mistakes of beginners: overfilling and cold water.
Water once every 10 days to simulate the rainy season and mist the leaves daily.
Use citrus soil with added perlite (30%).
To speed up growth, add banana peel infusion to the water – a natural source of potassium.
It is said that Catherine II herself tried to grow mangoes in the greenhouses of Tsarskoe Selo in the 18th century, but the trees died due to lack of light. If she had had modern LED lamps, the problem would have been solved.
