Mangosteen is a slow growing understory tree native to Malaysia and the surrounding peninsular countries. The fruit is highly prized there and considered the "Queen of Fruits." The round, purple-brown, smooth, thick-skinned fruits are apple-sized and perhaps the most delicious fruit in the world. Mangosteen is most often eaten fresh and divides easily into segments when the skin has been lifted away.

The plants have truly tropical requirements. The ideal growing conditions are with moist well-drained soil and hot (75-95 degrees F), humid (80 percent relative) weather. Mangosteens are very sensitive to the wind. Organic fertilizers like manures are highly recommended, especially when the tree is not of bearing age. The Mangosteen will start to bear any time between seven (with optimal care) to as long as fifteen years of age.

A fertilizer with micro-nutrients is also important to keep Mangosteens healthy as they grow larger. New leaves will be a reddish-coppery brown color.

Mangosteen has a long and slender tap root with very few feeder roots. Extra gentle care should be taken during transplanting. The plants are usually grown under light shade and wind protection until they are 4 to 6 feet tall. If planted into direct sun, a round cage of hog wire (4 to 5 feet tall), or other similar structure, is wrapped with a light shadecloth and placed around the Mangosteen. It will still receive full sun at the height of the day and should be acclimatized to full sun by the time the plant height is even with the top of the hoop. Then it can be removed entirely so the plant can fill out. Mangosteens are true to seed and are not normally grafted. Grafted trees tend to grow short and deformed.