The Tropical Fruit Forum
Citrus => Citrus General Discussion => Topic started by: AndrewAZ on August 20, 2022, 12:44:33 AM
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I think I made a mistake with my mother's citrus tree. I got a tangerine tree on clearance at Lowe's a few years back.
I cannot remember the variety, but, I think after having the tree for a few years that the flavor will always be sweet tart.
My mom is a boomer that was spoiled rotten bt her greatest generation mother. Never forced her to try anything unusual. She is extremely meat and potatoes.
So, even though the tree is very healthy, I think u am going to take it down because my mother always complains that the fruit are too tart.
So, what would be a good suggestion on a mandarin or orange that has a flavor that would appeal to someone that grew up in the 50's/60's, is very sweet and not tart.
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Might be a candidate tree for re grafting to another tangerine variety, or even multi variety.
What types does your Mom like from the store ? That might narrow it down too.
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The sweetest orange is the valencia. That is the classic one used to make sweet orange juice that has been around forever. Personally I like honeybells. They aren't super sweet, just regular sweet with good flavor. Now they have the sugar bell which is a honey bell/tangerine cross that is resistant to citrus greening and grows really fast which is all the rage in citrus growing now days if you can find it. It's supposed to be sweeter than honeybell though slightly smaller fruit, considered one of the best and sweetest tangerines.
The thing I always hated about tangerines is most of the sweet ones are full of seeds, which the honeybell has very few seeds. I haven't gotten a chance to try sugar bell I guess it doesn't have many either.
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You can try leaving the fruits on the tree for a month longer. Cold weather help eliminate acid in citrus fruits. Pick the tangerines for yourself and buy some sweet oranges at the fresh market for her. Zone 9 equals 20f cold periodically. Fruit is destroyed below 29F. Early ripening is best. Do the research before buying.
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Valencia ripens in summer but 20 degrees will kill it unless really big. Honey bell is very cold hardy and would do well
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The majority of people in this nation, prefer citrus with a sweet/tart flavor.
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Murcott comes to mind. They are very sweet with a rich flavor, with not much acid, and late in the season. They are a bit seedy, but the flavor is excellent. However, I'm in Florida. Arizona is a totally different climate. Actually, she may like an old fashined Clementine the most. Clementine does poorly in Florida (even before greening) but it has passed on genetics to a lot of trees that were popular here. Such as the Paige "orange" and the Sugarbelle.