Author Topic: Dancy or Sunburst Tangerine? (Read 14567 times)

puglvr1 · « **on:** January 15, 2014, 10:26:42 AM »

Dancy or Sunburst tangerine...Which one is sweeter and a more reliable producer for my area (slightly south Central Fl)...how cold can these citrus take without any protection? I love tangerines

and would love to plant one this spring...

Any help and suggestions are appreciated, Thanks!!

j-grow · « **Reply #1 on:** January 15, 2014, 11:18:19 AM »

There are several other varieties that I have heard are more cold hardy. Satsuma, Robinson, ponkan, clementine. Hope that helps ..... Just fruits and exotics website has some info as does rockledge gardens.

sunworshiper · « **Reply #2 on:** January 15, 2014, 12:13:39 PM »

I'm pretty sure I've had both Dancy and Sunburst, but not recently enough to remember the differences. Showcase of citrus has lots of tangerine trees. They don't seem to need any special cold protection in central FL. Have fun choosing!

I have a Ponkan, should be harvesting my first crop of fruit in a week or two - can't wait to see how it is. The tree I'm eyeing is the new "Sugar Bell". Honeybells are my absolute favorite citrus, but they are hard to grow and require a pollinator. The Sugar Bell is supposed to be even better tasting, and self fertile. Anyone have one? Is it a good tree?

phantomcrab · « **Reply #3 on:** January 15, 2014, 12:23:00 PM »

Why not try something new in citrus?
http://nvdmc.org/

zands · « **Reply #4 on:** January 15, 2014, 12:46:03 PM »

Aside from your cold weather you need to check out which one doesn't need an outside pollinator. Dancy does not while Sunburst seems to

http://www.ehow.com/info_8009962_do-tangerine-trees-need-crosspollination.html

Dancy is an old variety. It gave me great fruits (small and sweet) one year 2010 but my limestone laden soil makes all citrus difficult which most likely is not your case

puglvr1 · « **Reply #5 on:** January 15, 2014, 01:41:27 PM »

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions...I have a small 2 year old Satsuma that isn't growing very well. It has been fighting Citrus Leaf Miner pretty much since I planted it...I think its shrinking lol...I picked Satsuma because its suppose to be able to handle temps below 20 degrees. I'm not so sure I'm in the right location to grow them, I think they prefer much cooler weather...more North?

I wanted to plant another tangerine since I really like them...now I just have to decide. I prefer "zipper" skin that's why I picked Dancy or Sunburst. But I'm willing to keep my options open if there's other varieties out there with zipper skin, sweet, a good producer and can handle some cold.

sunworshiper · « **Reply #6 on:** January 15, 2014, 02:16:39 PM »

I had been wondering if your Satsuma was producing well. I love zipper skin fruits too. But I did wonder if Satsumas need a bit cooler climate. Sorry to hear that it isn't doing well for you. Spinosaid has been very helpful for helping my trees battle leaf miners. Seems to help them get established, and then the damage is mostly cosmetic.

If you haven't tasted a honeybell, they are a nice combination of sweet/tart. But if you are looking for just sweet, you might want a different variety. They are easy to peel, but not zipper skin. My Ponkan is supposed to be a zipper skin - I'll find out shortly and let you know. I'm excited to have my Ponkans ripen during honeybell season this year, that way I can do a side by side flavor comparison.

Have people received good quality trees from Fruits and Exotics? They are one of the few offering the Sugar Belle to the public and I'm contemplating ordering from them. I've had excellent results ordering from Briteleaf Citrus, but haven't ordered from Fruits and Exotics before. And it is a kind of spendy tree...

phantomcrab · « **Reply #7 on:** January 15, 2014, 02:40:45 PM »

Sugar Belle - http://nvdmc.org/nvdmcmanaged.html

puglvr1 · « **Reply #8 on:** January 15, 2014, 02:52:55 PM »

Thanks Sun!! I have a neighbor that has a large Honey bell and he gives me some every year

...I find them to very messy to eat,lol...not easy to peel. But, it does make excellent orange juice

Here' picture of his Honey Bell tree taken in April, small green fruits (you can't really seen them) taken a few years ago. I think its over 12+ Ft tall? Way too large for me...

I'm also considering Honey tangerine, those are pretty sweet and juicy but the skin is not like the Dancy.

Good luck finding your Sugar belle!

sunworshiper · « **Reply #9 on:** January 15, 2014, 04:09:55 PM »

Ooh, that's a nice looking tree! Lucky you that your neighbor shares with you!

The comment about size reminds me - in part, the reason I chose a Ponkan, and Briteleaf is that they are one of the few vendors still producing trees on a dwarfing rootstock (http://www.briteleaf.com/citrus_trees.asp#DwarfCitrusTrees) and I wanted my tree to stay small. There was a collapse of the flying dragon rootstock supply a few years ago, so it is hard to get dwarf trees. Briteleaf is really knowledgeable about rootstocks and gave me an excellent description of the numbered new dwarfing rootstock they use that is newer than flying dragon (can't remember its number right now, but have it written down at home). Anyhow, my Ponkan is a dwarf, and so far it is about 6' tall and looks like it will be pretty easy to maintain at 6' to 8' tall. But not many varieties offered on the dwarfing rootstock, and no tangerines - just satsumas.

I like honey tangerines, but I do recall them being kind of hard to peel. Good flavor though, and sweet.

fruitlovers · « **Reply #10 on:** January 15, 2014, 04:15:53 PM »

Don't have Sunburst, but do have Dancy. That tree is loaded this year with thousands (not kidding) of fruits. We've been eating them for months and hardly put a dent on it. The fruits are very good, sweet and juicy, and extremely easy to peel. There have been some previous years when they were on the dry side, but that may just be due to lack of proper ferts.

ericalynne · « **Reply #11 on:** January 15, 2014, 06:37:58 PM »

I am just south of you in Venus. I researched the varieties that ECHO suggests for cold hardy citrus. I got a Dancy from them and this year was its first year fruiting. Actually, I thought I had removed all the set fruit because it is still pretty young, but I missed some apparently!

The fruit was EZ zipper skin, juicy and sweet.

I also have trouble with leaf miners on my small citrus. Increasing the amount of fertilizer seems to help the tree push through those attacks.

Erica

puglvr1 · « **Reply #12 on:** January 16, 2014, 10:51:26 AM »

Thanks so much Sun, Oscar and Erica! I'm leaning more towards Dancy...I've been doing a little research and Dancy seems to do well in this area and the nurseries here carry them. I hear they are very prolific like Oscar mentioned.

Sun, the Honey Murcott tangerines are very sweet and juicy but you are right...they are not "zipper" skin and that's one of the reasons I'm not going to get one, but they sure are good though!

Erica, how old is your tree?

simon_grow · « **Reply #13 on:** January 16, 2014, 01:30:42 PM »

I'm not sure if it will grow well in you area but Gold Nugget Tangerine is absolutely spectacular, seedless, even when planted next to other citrus, excellent sugar acid balance, excellent taste and fruit holds well on the tree. To me, it often tastes better than the Dekkopon or Sumo tangerines. I highly recommend this variety!
Simon

puglvr1 · « **Reply #14 on:** January 16, 2014, 01:54:32 PM »

Thanks Simon, called around but they do not sell that variety here...closest nursery that sells it is way North of me which makes me think it might not do well in my area...appreciate it though

simon_grow · « **Reply #15 on:** January 16, 2014, 02:30:01 PM »

You're welcome Puglvr, I believe they can be ordered through four winds nursery. Not sure if they ship to Florida though. If they do grow in Florida, you should definitely pick one up. I've also heard great things about a very small tangerine called Kishu.
Simon

sunworshiper · « **Reply #16 on:** January 26, 2014, 06:41:08 PM »

Hey puglvr, harvested my first ponkan! It is very easy peel. Not so juicy it makes a mess when peeling. The flavor is nice, very mild, sweet, and almost no tangyness. Nice, but I'd prefer a bit more flavor and tang. But, fits the spot I have and was great on a day when I had no other ripe things in my yard=)

puglvr1 · « **Reply #17 on:** January 26, 2014, 06:57:49 PM »

Congrats on your first ponkan tangerine. I'm sure the flavor will only improve as your tree matures.
I purchased my Dancy tangerine tree a few days ago. I'll be planting it in March after the threat of freeze is over. It's a small little tree 7 gallon I think? I'm gonna try to do a better job with CLM TILL THE TREE is a little bigger.

simon_grow · « **Reply #18 on:** January 26, 2014, 06:58:43 PM »

I recently tried seedless Kishu and they are extremely good, on par with Gold Nugget tangerines. I believe I read a thread that someone in Florida was growing it and it successfully fruited and was able to withstand some cold temps. Kishu is seedless, extremely sweet and very tasty. Only downside is the small size of the fruit.
Simon

sunworshiper · « **Reply #19 on:** January 27, 2014, 09:53:31 PM »

Congrats on your new tree! Hope it does well for you!

puglvr1 · « **Reply #20 on:** January 28, 2014, 05:13:30 PM »

Thanks Sun!! I hope so too...

Here it is...

sunworshiper · « **Reply #21 on:** January 28, 2014, 05:21:44 PM »

Great looking tree - very healthy!

MangoFang · « **Reply #22 on:** January 28, 2014, 05:24:05 PM »

Nice looking tree, Dancy Puggles!

Gart

puglvr1 · « **Reply #23 on:** January 29, 2014, 11:19:16 AM »

Thank you Sun and Gary

Hope it does well for me...

nch · « **Reply #24 on:** January 29, 2014, 12:41:47 PM »

Congrats on your Dancy, Puglvr. Nice size and nice looking tree. I have a Dancy, but I don't have Sunburst, so I didn't know what to recommend to you. Between Dancy, Murcott and Algerian (three mandarins I have), Dancy has the best fruit color, intense orange color. I can't comment on the taste because the other two only have non edible fruits so far. Dancys taste good when ripe.
I have always meant to thank you for all your posts on Mangoes, and Lychees here and at GW. A huge thank you for the use of clamshells against squirrels. We are able to taste fully ripe guavas for the first time this year.

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Author Topic: Dancy or Sunburst Tangerine? (Read 14567 times)