Hooray, more mandarin!!!
To stagger the harvest we planted one each Satsuma and Gold Nugget. The Satsuma stared from Christmas and gave us sweet, flavorful, almost seedless fruit for 6 weeks. Now the Satsuma season is done, I've been anxiously waiting for GN. Everyday I check out the tree, but GN fruit doesn't give the "spongy" feel as Satsuma does. How do you know when it's ripe?

I read the article in LAT, but haven't seen the Sumo variety at either the farmers' markets or Co-Opportunity - but I've missed the S.M. Saturday markets for a few weeks.

The article made the Sumo development sound as secretive as the Manhattan Project.

I've found my gold nuggets to be ripe as soon as they change from green to orange -- and actually pretty good when still partially green.

I thought something similar, Nancy! It certainly convinced mt to try them and I'm glad I did, but I'm pretty content with what I have (and not paying $5 for three mandarins).

Well, this is a very interesting thread. I planted a Pixie and an Algerian semi-dwarf last year. Have one ripe tangerine on the Algerian, and a bunch of small tangerines on the Pixie I'll have this year. I might have to try a Gold Nugget or this Sumo. I'll check for them at the Farmer's Market and see how I like them and see if they will grow well in my area. have some space in the front yard for a couple more citrus. I love the taste of a super duper sweet tangerine that tastes very "tangeriny". Not too tart, but on the sweet side. That's why I picked these two varieties, plus they grow well in my area (N. San Diego county not too far from the ocean). My favorite citrus right in front of a sweet juicy Melogold grapefruit. :-) Yumm :-)

Patty S.

wasn't that article interesting? Glad the smuggled in virused citrus didn't infect other trees in CA. I have to go try this fruit. I remember all the fuss over Fuji apples when they first went on sale here. Hopefully prices will come down as the trees are more widely grown. Sorry the man who first tried went bankrupt and had to sell to the bigger corporation.

Well, just read the full article in the LA Times, and you're right, super secret project, and an opportunity for this company to get a foothold in the marketplace before anyone else. But, at least the budwood has been re-acquired, so maybe one day, we will have a Sumo tree in our backyard gardens :-) Hope I can come across a Sumo to see if they really taste as fantastic as they are being reported to taste. Could be some marketing hype to set the stage for this new fruit, and the verdict is still out.

Patty S.

Has anyone found these Sumo mandarins in stores outside of the Los Angeles area or Whole Foods? I have yet to find them in N. San Diego county. I'd love to try them, and give them my own taste test.

Patty S.

Do you have a Bristol Farms down there? I think they have them too.

Has anyone found these Sumo mandarins in stores outside of the Los Angeles area or Whole Foods? I have yet to find them in N. San Diego county. I'd love to try them, and give them my own taste test.

Patty S.

I saw them at Gelson's this past weekend...haven't seen them at the Studio City Farmer's Market yet. But I'm with all of you - thought the article was fascinating.

On a related note, my little tangerine tree (clementine?), after 2 1/2 years in the ground, had it's first a batch of really good fruit this year. Yippee!

Update on the Sumo. Found them at Mitsuwa Marketplace in San Diego. Mine were extremely sweet, large thin membrane and easy to peel. Also, so far, completely seedless (after 7 of them). To me they lack that "tangeriny" taste, but are still good. Not what the article touted - I think Page is far better, and even my Algerian clemintine is better - but they are still very good, and are great in a green salad. Hoping to come across a few seeds in our 2 cases (case of 8-9 at $12.99/case, so about $1.44 to $1.60 a piece).

Patty S.

I tried these and thought they were really good, but didn't quite live up to all the hype, or the price tag. They were so big and hard to finish one, I definitely prefer a smaller size for my citrus.

Second update on the Sumo. After 10 Sumos, I finally got one very plump little seed. So, potted it up and put it on my seed warming mat. Will see if I get a little sprout in a week or two.

Patty S.

Hey Patty S., did your Dekpon seed sprout? My wife ate the only Dekopon seed we came across so I ordered some seeds online. I ordered 10 seeds but when they arrived in the mail today, 4 were mushy, 4 have a small root starting to pop out and 2 feel hard and I think will pop out a root shortly. I'm going to pot mine tomorrow and hope that they do come true to seed.

Somebody on another thread mentioned that they do come true to seed. I wonder if it will come true to seed even if it isn't polyembryonic? I can't tell if it's polyembryonic yet, only see a single root so far.
Simon

Why, yes, Simon it sure did, yesterday! So, that was 15 days. I can see the teeny first leaves starting to develop:
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And yes, they most likely come true from seed. They have Ponkan mandarin in their background, which is polyembryoonic. I'm hoping I see another sprout popping up in the next few days. If so, then it's confirmed. If both seedlings look essentially identical, they are probably clones and will be true. If you get seedlings that look different, one could be a clone and the other a hybrid. If you only get one seedling from a polyembryonic variety, well, hard to say until it bears fruit! With monoembryonic seeds, you might get something the same, similar, better or worse. It's kind of a crap shoot with fruit that do not come true and are hybrids.

Patty S.

Sumo Mandarins are on sale at Whole Foods for $1.99 a pound so I bought a couple. If I find any seeds, I'll try growing them out.

My Kishu and Gold Nugget are so confused this "winter." kishu has fruited twice and now is re-blooming a 3rd time stronger than ever. GN has yet to fruit, but is in a growth flush now. I wish i could bottle that kishu fragrance, it's intoxicating.

Great news that the Sumo might grow true from seed. That makes over-paying for 3 fruit easier, now that' it's also a treasure hunt.

Can anyone compare the flavor of kishu with gold nugget for me? And maybe vs dekopon? I want to grow indoors in a large pot. Thanks so much! nxtrice@gmail