Mangosteen Tree

About the Mangosteen Tree

Often called the queen of fruits, mangosteen has a deep-purple rind that opens to reveal snow-white segments with a delicate, sweet-tart flavour hinting at peach, lychee and pineapple. It is one of the most sought-after tropical fruits and a true collector's tree. Mangosteen is slow and demanding: it needs constant warmth, high humidity, plentiful water and some shade while young, and it usually takes many years to fruit. Grown with patience in Mexico's hot, wet lowlands, such as the Soconusco region of Chiapas, it is deeply rewarding. Grown on our farms in Yucatán and Chiapas and shipped via DHL.

How to Care for It

Provide partial shade while young, gradually more sun as it matures. Use deep, rich, slightly acidic soil that drains well but stays moist; never let it dry out. Feed lightly and often with balanced fertiliser and compost. Mangosteen is very cold-sensitive and suffers below about 5 °C, so choose a warm, sheltered spot. Prune minimally, only removing damaged branches.

Grow fruit most people have never tasted. Our exotic fruit trees, from Monthong durian and Emperor lychee to jaboticaba, achachairú and red finger lime, are raised on our farms in Yucatán and Chiapas and shipped by DHL across Mexico. Most love heat and humidity; several do beautifully in large pots.

Growing Profile

Botanical name

Garcinia mangostana

Family

Clusiaceae

Native to

Malay Archipelago (Southeast Asia)

Mature height

6–12 m

Plant spacing

7 m

Years to first fruit

8–12 years

Light

Sun to part shade

Water

High, keep moist

Cold tolerance

down to 5 °C

Best climates

Humid tropics

Grows in a pot

Best in the ground

Ships from

Our farms in Yucatán & Chiapas