Mango Tree Chronicles: Amputation

We have a dog, three cats and a tiny human, but one of the most babied creatures in the house is Mango Tree. A few years ago, my dad ate a mango, put the seed into the ground and up sprung a little tree. He gave it to us when he moved to Europe and we drove the tree to Texas, where it thrived for awhile, and then moved Mango Tree with us to DC, where he faced a near death fungal scare but survived.

Since the 2011 fungal scare, Mango Tree sprouted a whole new limb and has grown at least six inches. But last week, something scary happened. One of his limbs started showing signs of decay, and all the leaves on that limb started drying up. It didn’t make sense, since the main limb is doing fine, and below it a new branch is growing.

Today Matty rushed Mango Tree to a nursery where the gardeners gave us the bad news: Mango Tree would have to lose a limb if we want him to have a chance at survival.

The amputation just happened. Matty is mourning. Any advice you have or stories you can share that might help will be appreciated.