Placement

• Plant mangoes within 8 to 12 feet of the south or east side of your house to provide them with maximum protection from the cold. Mango trees require full sun for best fruit production. Avoid planting trees in low pockets where cold air settles. Mangoes do best at the top of a slope. Provide a windbreak if the area is exposed. Nearby pavement provides additional heat.
  
  

Damage

• Although young mango trees can be killed if the temperature drops to 29 or 30 degrees, mature trees can tolerate temperatures as low as 25 degrees Fahrenheit for a few hours. However, their leaves and small branches will be injured. Signs that your tree has been damaged by freezing temperatures include leaves that are wilted, water-soaked or brown, leaf drop or the appearance of dead leaves hanging on the branches. If the leaves have dropped off your tree, you know that the stem tissue was alive, but leaves that remain attached to the tree mean the stem was also damaged. Flowers and fruit may also look water soaked, shriveled or brown. Other signs of freeze damage include discoloration of limbs or trunk, water-soaked wood, split bark and oozing sap.
  
  

Protection

• Young trees can be covered with a blanket, cardboard or other covering that extends to the ground to help hold in heat. Remove the covering during the day, if temperatures rise above freezing. Placing a bank of soil around the tree trunk, or wrapping it with bubblewrap or fiberglass will also provide some protection. Wrap Christmas lights around the branches to provide additional heat.
  
  

Treatment

• Don't prune your mango tree if you don't see visible damage to the twigs and branches. Wait for new growth to appear in the spring, and bear in mind that buds on older parts of the tree may take longer to appear than those on younger branches, when freeze damage is severe. Another reason not to prune right away is because any dead leaves and branches that do exist on the tree will help protect it from further heat loss, if there's another freeze. Don't water your mango if it's lost all its leaves because it will predispose your tree to root rot. Wait for new leaves to grow.