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California Gardening

Tangerines for Central CA Coast???

15 years ago

I have a Improved Meyer and Eureka lemon which do very well. Also a Washington Navel orange and a new Key Lime which do OK. The Dancy tangerine grows like a weed and produces tons of fruit. I just put out 3 big boxes of tangerines at the curb for people to take.

That is the problem, no one in my family likes the Dancy tangerine. Too tart and not sweet enough. What other tangerines would grow here? What ones do others in this area grow? Do we not get enough heat for the really sweet ones they grow in Florida (Honey tangerine)? And can we grow grapefruit? Which ones?

Thanks.

Clare

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Comments (10)

gardenguru1950
15 years ago
Tangerine/Mandarins --

Clementine
Pixie
(Owari) Satsuma

Grapefruit (hybrids) --

Melogold
Oroblanco

And, for fun, consider --

Citrangequat ÂMaccioroliÂ
Lime, Sweet (Citrus limettoides)
Limequat ÂEustisÂ, ÂTavaresÂ
Orangelo ÂChironjaÂ
Orangequat ÂNipponÂ
Tangelolo ÂSampsonÂ, ÂWikewaÂ

Joe
caflowerluver
Original Author
15 years ago
Joe - Thanks for all the suggestions. I will have to look some of those up. Can you get them locally or do they have to be ordered?
Clare
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gardenguru1950
15 years ago
The first two groups are available commonly. The big citrus wholesalers grow them and sell them to retailers throughout the state.

The fun stuff may take some searching but they seem to pop up in the wierdest places. A couple of students of mine recently bought Kaffir lime and Tangelolo at OSH.

Joe
calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
15 years ago
The Owari satsuma is the most cold tolerant. It is seedless and dependable here. It tastes OK to me but I can't say if it is the sweetest. I am ordering a Brix Refractometer soon and will be able to test for sugar content. I would expect someone has already done that would have the information, at least as far as the species was concerned. Al
sautesmom Sacramento
15 years ago
I LOVE Dancy tangerines, and mine are just getting really sweet right now and I have more heat than you do on the coast. Are you leaving them on the tree long enough? I tried one in January, and it WAS pretty tart. Of course, the reason I don't really like oranges is they are too sugary with no tart balance, so maybe your family are just not tangerine fans, just like I'm not really an orange fan.

Carla in Sac
caflowerluver
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks everyone for the suggestions and information. I don't think we get enough heat for the Dancy tangerine to get sweet enough. I have left them on the tree for months and they don't improve with time. It is a nice looking tree and good producer, just can't eat the fruit. Too bad because this year we had 4 bushels! OK for using with Meyer lemons to make marmalade, but how much of that do you need!
Clare

{{gwi:522425}}
iris_gal
15 years ago
Had to email my friend for the name of her great tangerine ~~ ENCORE.

Sweetness in our oranges seems to depend on either weather, fertilization or watering. Maybe all three? Some years better than others.
caflowerluver
Original Author
15 years ago
iris_gal - Thanks for the name. I will look for it around here. I must do OK on fertilization or watering, because I always get a bumper crop.
Clare
rachelsgardener
15 years ago
Four Winds recommends Gold Nugget for our area - I've asked them. They say it does fine with low heat.

I've also seen comment that Page (not really a tangerine?) does well here, especially given a little extra time.
jim123
15 years ago
You may very well not get enough heat for some citrus to obtain optimum flavor. You will need to just plant a few for trial to see. Satsuma is know for needing less than some others. You will do better with Bears Lime than Key Lime. Bears is more tolerant of frost. Ordinary grapefruit will most certainly not get enough heat to be tolerable and you MIGHT find you have enough heat for Oro Blonco and Melogold. These are hybrids with Pomellos and have a much higher sugar content. Mine are only good if picked very late in the season.

Have you considered other fruit than citrus? You are in prime area for Gravenstein apples and I would think the new low chill cherries (Royal Lee and Mini Royal) would do wonderfully there. There are quite a few peaches that would work there as well.

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