The fruit is decent, but when first peeling the Arctic Frost it gives off an odd sour odor. Mine this year are quite sweet from a bigger container grown tree. It has 20+ fruits. Not more cold tolerant than a regular Satsuma in my experience and easily stressed when transplanting. Not vigorous.

Can anyone comment on the flavor of Arctic Frost and Orange Frost Satsuma, and perhaps compare them to Miho Satsuma?

I live in west central Louisiana on the 8b/9a line, and am currently growing 6 varieties of Satsuma's (3 mature 20+ year old 12-15 ft tall trees in 2 varieties, and 3 early varieties (St Ann, Louisiana Early, and Armstrong Early)that have been in the ground for about 3 years, ) along with a meyer's lemon, and a CaraCara orange, that are also 2-3 years old.  Being  quarantine state I have limited selection of citrus available, generally being limited to the offerings from 2 citrus nurseries, one of which just introduced Arctic Frost and Orange frost to the state, the other is working on Miho's but they will not be ready for another year at least.  I would like to plant some more citrus, but as you might imagine I am running out of sheltered locations, as well as places close enough to the house to run electricity for christmas lights, etc.

Which leads to the current question, how is the taste of the above mentioned varieties, and are they worth growing as a backup in case of a once in 50 year super freeze?  I have ample space for more trees, just not in sheltered locations.

thanks Ike

Great, thanks for that!

What is published on the internet is not necessarily accurate and somewhat based on urban legends. My Arctic Frosts Satsumas which are supposed to tolerate 10oF are no more cold tolerant than my other Satsumas.

In my experience there is a loose relationship between vigorous growing citrus under moderate conditions and cold hardiness. For example, my Trifoliata seedlings are outgrowing the other citrus varieties with Rio Red Grapefruit also very vigorous. They have a better ability to bounce back and recover.  A thicker, stouter tree will likely have more cold tolerance during freezing events. Of course this does not hold true for some types.

There needs to be a formal field comparison of cold hardiness to know for sure.

If anyone has or knows of a source for the plants or seeds, it would be greatly appreciated. The fruit is a pod with cotton candy like flesh inside.

This is the first year where my Gold Nuggets (picked in March-April) were excellent in quality and my favorite citrus. Apparently, the tree needs some maturity for the fruit to be top notch. Previous years the fruit was mediocre in comparison.

Enclosed is a photo of my 6-year-old Gold Nugget on C-35 rootstock taken in April of 2017. This tree was worth the wait.

Beautiful tree and healthy. Nicely done!

Thank you, I am familiar with the general anticancer benefits of grapefruit and lemons. According to a Korean study, Poncirus trifoliata has potent anticancer properties but is also known to cause stomach illness like a chemotherapy. It was historically used in Asia not only to treat inflammation but for abortion. The mechanism is different than flavonoids, it initiates cellular apoptosis by activating death receptors such as tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR). I figured it is worth a try, but I know it is out of season right now.

Grow what does best in Scottsdale. Satsumas are not fond of desert conditions and the leaves can get sunburned and scortched. Grapefruits, oranges, limes, lemons can thrive there and some tangerines and mandarins.

Usually when a citrus defoliates from transplant shock, sunburn or dehydrating conditions it will return by flushing very well and flowering.  If not done, also add 2-3" of pine bark much but keep it off the trunk. Good luck!

Austin is hill country and has better soil composition and drainage properties for citrus than North Texas. A mature Satsuma, especially Seto and possibly Arctic Frost, should survive fine with covering during rare extreme cold events. Key word - mature!

There are some members here growing citrus near to Austin. I am in Dallas, and my first year here this past year my in the ground Satsumas were badly damaged from 2 nights of 16oF and high winds when is it was 72oF the same day.

Larry

Anyone try painting your citrus tree trunks and stalks? Is there a benefit?

I bought some organic tree paint to give it a try as I noticed some cracking of bark on a Satsuma from last summers heat. I figured it can't hurt.

Quote from: DFWCitrus on April 12, 2017, 12:22:52 AM

My in the ground Miho while covered succumbed to 16oF this winter whereas my same sized Setos survived. I like Miho but they are not more cold hardy than any other Satsuma variety, this is a myth.

Thats not very cold tolerant, i had an owari survive 17 with no damage at all and a meyer lemon that only lost its leaves during ice storms.

I was shocked as the Miho was a good sized 20 gal tree with 1.33 in diameter trunk. The sour orange rootstock survived but the Miho above the graft died. It was 16oF the first night for 8 hrs with high winds, then 18oF the second night with wind. It was covered and had a 35 watt halogen uplight on it and small christmas lights on foliage. Next year I will create a clear plastic barrier covering until these trees are more mature. The winds here in DFW get nasty.

The lower and San Joaquin Valley in California and other valley areas actually have greatly expanded into citrus, mostly mandarins, hence where Cuties and Halos come from. A lot of the market went south into Mexico where they have developed new citrus groves, especially grapefruit and oranges.

Kishu is a great patio plant, seedless and tasty. For in the ground: Tango, Pixie, Clementine, Gold Nugget, and Jaffa-Suntina are super sweet. Honey is hit or miss and can be very seedy depending on the cultivar. Things like Shasta Gold, Yosemite Gold are similar to Gold Nugget.