I remember walking outside in the early morning, the weather was beautiful. I walked towards our mint garden and noticed some leaves that looked different then mint. I noticed the plant had a straight stalk, and as I looked closer it was a mango seedling no more than 8-10 inches tall. I knew right away that the mango needed to be transplanted. I dug a hole about 4’’x4’’x1’ and removed the mango seedling from the mint patch. Now I could have potted the plant, however I decided to plant it directly in the ground. I had a thought to myself, “what if I can grow a mango tree that can handle full sun in the heart of the desert?” That thought gave me the ideal spot in my yard to plant the mango seedling. It was not far from the mint patch.
Here is a picture that can help you understand how far away I planted the mango seedling from the mint.
Keep in mind in Arizona soil conditions are not typically suitable for sub tropical plants like mangoes. The soil is alkaline, very little to no organic matter, mainly clay, some rock dust, and some sand.
Now I understand the area I planted the mango does not see the sun until about 11am. After that the tree receives sun until the sunsets. It was the perfect spot to really put this mango tree to the test and push it to its limits.
After the first summer I thought the tree was dead. It looked like a black stick with just a little bit of green remaining at the bottom. As soon as the temperature started cooling the mango tree sprang back to life! The mango seedling grew rapidly during the fall, and did not get phased by winter. The tree never got any special attention using shade structures or regular fertilizing. The only care given to the tree was simply mulching, composting, occasional pruning, and the occasional foliar feeding. After the first growing season the tree was now 1 year old and at this point I knew we had something special.
Six years have gone by since it’s spring, flowers are blooming, and the mango tree is 7 years old. I went to check out the now mature mango tree to see the tree is now FLOWERING! 
The flowers had a cocoa butter-like aroma. This had me super excited, I knew now we would have fruit. As the flowers settled and began to develop, fruit started to set. As excited as I was I knew mangoes are notorious for self thinning. Self thinning is when the fruit falls off on its own leaving only fruit that the tree can handle to develop without draining the tree of all of its energy. Early summer there were mangoes about the size of quarters or smaller. I really thought I was going to be able to enjoy my first home grown mango from a six year old tree.
“Fun Fact: There are two types of seeds that are produced by mangoes. They determine how true the seed is to the original fruit and how fast the tree will produce fruit. There are monoembryony and polyembryony seeds. Monoembryony seeds will only grow one sprout and will produce fruit that will be less likely to be the same as the fruit the seed was collected from. As well, the fruit tree takes an average of 10 years to begin to fruit. Polyembryony seeds produce multiple sprouts and will have a better chance of producing fruits that are identical to the mango it was obtained from. The best part about Polyembryony seeds is that fruit can be produced in as little as 5-7 years.”
Sadly, no mangoes held on and I did not get to enjoy my own home grown mango. 
However, the very next season it’s 2022 and the tree is 8 years old. The mango tree began to set flowers and I knew we were going to have mangoes. As summer proceeded the mangoes began to grow. We had a total of 6 mangoes on the tree after the thinning. They all became medium to large in size. One got eaten by a possible rat, three were harvested too early, and one was harvested too late. We had one mango left, the last chance. It’s now September of 2022 at the end of summer and the tip has begun to become soft. It was time to pick the mango. The issue about the mango was that the rest was hard. So I put the mango in a paper bag and put it into a dry warm area.
A few days later it was time to enjoy our first mango. I took the mango out of the paper bag. It felt perfect except for the soft nose. I put the mango in the fridge and waited for the evening. Once I remembered I had a mango in the fridge, I gathered my wife, daughter and father to the kitchen to unveil our first home grown mango. Remember we are in the heart of the desert where summers can reach temperatures of 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Now we have everyone’s phones out, the camera is out and it’s time to cut the mango!
Click Sunny the Mango to watch me cut it open!
Cutting into the mango was satisfying. It cut extremely smooth and was juicy. After cutting slices we all began to indulge on a mango that grew in direct desert sun. We all had the same reaction, it was the best mango ever! Now I know everyone probably says that, however, this mango was produced in very specific circumstances that most trees wouldn’t survive in. Due to its conditions the mango was extra sweet, it was fibrous, had no tartness, and had a pleasant mango flavor.
As we were eating the mango I asked, “ what should we name the mango?” My daughter right away shouted with excitement,” Sunny!” With no time to think about it “Sunny” became the name of this mango!
I will be trademarking “Sunny” and growing each seed produced by this tree. Whoever will get Sunny’s first generation plants will have a well acclimated tree to extreme weather conditions.
As generations go on I will produce the best mango tree for extreme conditions. In the next 5 years you will begin to see “Sunny” in production, trees will be produced by seeds for locals and others in similar conditions. As well as grafted trees for those who have conditions similar to Florida. Tell me what you think. Would you want to grow this mango? Let me know in the comments below.