Rajesh Chaudhary 
Last spring, my neighbor Tom stood in his backyard staring at his two tomato plants with the kind of frustration only a gardener understands. Both plants were loaded with bright yellow flowers—dozens of them. But … Read more
Last summer, my neighbor Maria handed me three perfect mangoes from her sister’s tree in Miami. “Save the seeds,” she said. “These are the sweetest mangoes you’ll ever taste.” I ate one that afternoon. It … Read more
My neighbor Doug — the same guy who stood in his yard holding a bag of onion sets with no clue what to do — called me over in July. He was grinning ear to … Read more
Last July, my friend Priya’s backyard Kent mango tree in Homestead, Florida, went absolutely wild. Over 200 mangoes in about three weeks. She was handing them out to neighbors, bringing bags to work, eating them … Read more
My neighbor Ray grew a beautiful Kent mango tree in his backyard in South Florida. Big canopy, healthy leaves, loaded with fruit every July. But for two years straight, he’d wait until the mangoes turned … Read more
My friend Megan called me in a panic last winter. Her favorite Monstera — the one she’d had for three years — was dropping leaves like crazy. She’d been watering it more because “it looked … Read more
Last summer, my neighbor Carlos knocked on my door holding a potted mango tree that looked rough. Yellow leaves. Barely any new growth. He’d been feeding it, watering it, giving it full sun — doing … Read more
A grower named Dennis in a South Florida gardening group learned the hard way what happens when you treat a mango tree the same all year long. He fertilized every month. He watered on the … Read more
Every winter, a wave of panicked messages floods the gardening groups I follow. They all sound about the same: “My mango tree hasn’t grown in weeks. The leaves look dull. Some are turning yellow and … Read more
A grower named Angela sent a message to a gardening group I follow with a photo that told a familiar story. Her six-year-old mango tree was covered in flower panicles — hundreds of them. Beautiful. … Read more
A grower named Beth in a Tampa-area gardening group did everything right for her mango tree during the growing season. She watered it on a solid schedule, fed it balanced fertilizer, gave it full sun, … Read more
A grower named Theresa in a South Florida gardening group once posted a photo that broke my heart a little. Her mango tree — a five-year-old Glenn she’d babied since it was a nursery seedling … Read more