ORANGES & MANDARINS
MANDARINS
CLEMENTINE
The clementine produces a small, juicy, sweet fruit with vibrant orange peel and flesh. The fruit holds to the outside of the tree for months and makes it an excellent ornamental. They are a full sun tree, requiring regular watering even after established, more during extreme heat. The tree blooms with small, white blossoms in early spring offers a slightly earlier harvest than many other citrus. It makes an excellent patio plant. Since the foliage is slightly weeping, plant with some spikey blue Bird of Paradise or burgundy flax for contrast.
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Harvest between December and January.
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Self fruitful.
GOLD NUGGET
A recently-released mandarin variety developed within the University of California Riverside citrus breeding program. The tree grows vigorously and is upright in form. It can grow to a moderately-large size at maturity. Gold Nugget fruits are usually medium in size and oblate in form with a somewhat bumpy orange rind. The aromatic rind is moderately easy to peel. The flesh is bright orange, finely-textured, and seedless. The flavor is rich and sweet. The fruit usually matures by early March, but holds exceptionally well on the tree, with summer-harvested fruit still being of good quality. A seedless mid to late-season mandarin.
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Harvest between March to April.
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Self fruitful.
OWARI SATSUMA
This mandarin is a beautiful tree. The fruit is small to medium sized, sweet and juicy if picked promptly. If allowed to stay on the tree too long, they tend to lose their flavor. Young transplants of Owari Satsuma can be temperamental about water, fertilizer, and soil quality. For beginner gardeners, older trees are recommended. It is a partial to full sun plant and needs to be watered regularly the first year after transplant with well-drained soil. This tree is prone to root rot and it won't thank you for wet feet!
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Harvest between November to February.
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Self fruitful.
PIXIE
What the Pixie Mandarin (Citrus reticulata 'Pixie') lacks in size, it makes up for in sweet, indulgent flavor. These tiny little fruits are ever-so-popular. Beloved by kids, but adults also love their sweet, juicy goodness. The fruit has a mild, sweet taste with lots of juice and deep orange flesh. The Pixie Mandarin is a citrus fruit that is completely seedless, making it even more desirable to both kids and foodies in general.
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Harvest between February and March.
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Self fruitful.
SHIRANUI
This Japanese mandarin hybrid between a Ponkan tangerine and a Kiyomi tangor. Its fruit is large, very sweet and produces no seeds making it a highly desirable fresh fruit variety. Although officially known as Shiranui in Japan, this mandarin variety has been trademarked as both ‘Dekopon’ and ‘Sumo’. In Korea it is called ‘Hallabong’ and in Brazil it is called ‘Kinsei’. No matter what you call it, the Shiranui can be recognized by its large protruding bump on the top of the fruit, which is ripe in early spring to early summer.
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Harvest between November to February.
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Self fruitful.
TAHOE GOLD
One of the newer varieties of mandarins, the Tahoe gold is very juicy (nearly 48% juice content!) It is rich and sweet when fully mature, but is less sweet if picked too early. It is a full sun tree, requiring well-drained soil and regularly watering to establish. Most of the fruit is borne inside the crown of the tree, improving the color of the fruit. Tahoe Gold mandarins do not hold well to the tree and should be picked promptly upon ripening.
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Harvest between March and April.
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Self fruitful.
TANGO
The Tango Tangerine is juicy, sweet, and mostly seedless. Typically ripening from February to April, the Tango offers a "late harvest" that can interupt production. Fruit should be removed from the tree before new flowers open to prevent alternate fruiting. It is a full sun plant requiring regular watering during its first year after transplant with less in subsequent years. It needs well-drained soil. For larger fruit, some thinning is required as Tango produces a large harvest in relation to its tree size.
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Harvest between February to April.
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Self fruitful.
This mandarin was imported to California from Morocco in 1985 for its delicious fruit. The sweet, juicy orange fruit is easy to peel and matures during the winter months but holds onto the tree well into spring. It may be eaten fresh or juiced for a delicious, healthy beverage.
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Harvest between January to May.
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Self fruitful.
W. MURCOTT (HONEY)
ORANGES
VALENCIA
One of the most common cultivars of oranges, the Valencia offers a larger, juicy, sweet-tasting fruit with few seeds. The rind is golden orange like the flesh. Valencia orange trees require full sun and watering 2 to 3 times per week until established. Once established, you can cut back to once per week (more during hotter climates.) The tree prefers sandy, well-drained soils. It can be fertilized with citrus fertilizer if necessary. The tree is quite fragrant while blooming. Fruiting and harvest times vary with variety.
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Harvest between late spring to early winter.
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Self fruitful.
MORO BLOOD
The most popular red flesh orange is the Moro blood orange. The deep red, maroon color inside is intense. The fruit is round, medium size, has smooth texture, and a red tinge color skin. The flesh is juicy, sweet, delicious berry flavor. Also, the fruits have few seeds. The blood orange tree is a beautiful evergreen citrus variety that grows at a moderate rate. In addition, the trees produce a flush of sweet scented white flower blossoms.
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Harvest between November to May.
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Self fruitful.
ATWOOD NAVEL
This orange has very similar characteristics to the Washington Navel. The internal characteristics of the Atwood such as the appearance, texture and flavor and also the external appearance can often be indistinguishable when compared to the Washington Navel. Trees have high early yields and the fruit is round in shape and large in size with a medium to high juice content.
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Harvest between December to April.
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Self fruitful.
This seedless, late season navel ripens long past the regular ripening season of most of the common navel oranges. Originally from Australia, ‘Autumn Gold’ is one of the best new varieties in terms of fruit quality for sweet flavor and juiciness. In some of the trials, fruit held on the tree until June.
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Harvest between January to May.
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Self fruitful.
AUTUMN GOLD NAVEL
WASHINGTON NAVEL
This tree has a rounded top but is somewhat drooping. It produces large, juicy, sweet-tasting fruit and is seedless. The blossoms do not produce viable pollen and thus cannot pollinate other orange trees (resulting in seedless fruit.) It lacks the vigor of other citrus and is a moderate grower. It is a full sun tree requiring regular watering until established. Plant in well-drained soil and protect from heavy frost. The tree is heat sensitive during blooming and fruiting periods.
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Harvest between January to April.
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Self fruitful.
CARA CARA PINK NAVEL
The Cara Cara produces a deep orange skinned fruit of medium size with a pink flesh. It offers the delicious flavor of a navel oranges, but tends to be seedless. This is a full sun plant, meaning it needs at least 6 hours of sun daily. While getting established, be sure to keep a regular watering schedule. Once established, it will need less water, but it isn't necessarily drought-tolerant. The tree blooms in spring with sweet-smelling, white blossoms and is evergreen. Try pairing your Cara Cara trees with hibiscus or lavender for added perfume and color.
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Harvest between January to April.
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Self fruitful.