Author Topic: Digging up my unknown Orange tree..Any sugggestions for a good top tier citrus?  (Read 9833 times)

ClayMango

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I have several spots open....Making room on my south wall for my Mango trees which freed up some of their original intended spaces....Can anyone give me a really strong Top 3? I've already decided on buying a  blood orange....just need to fill these last 2 with something good....maybe a mandarin and some other top tier orange?
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kingoceanos

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I have heard good things about the Gold Nugget mandarin. It is supposed to have a great flavor and a late season with a long hang time. From what I've read it will extend your citrus season.
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ClayMango

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Thanks King....I think the Gold Nugget is a real hit out here in CA, That and the Honey Mandarin.
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Millet

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I would suggest two varieties. 1) Cara Cara Navel.  The fruit has pink flesh, and is named after a large South American bird of prey  called the Cara Cara, because of a pink/red patch on the birds head. . It is a favorite of a wide range of consumers...  2) Xie Shan (pronounced She Shan).  MANY MANY citrus growers think this is one of the very best tasting satsuma mandarins.  It won the taste contest at this years Citrus Expo in Alabama. .  It matures early (October in California). I also dido what has been said of the Gold Nugget mandarin.  - Millet

ClayMango

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I would suggest two varieties. 1) Cara Cara Navel.  The fruit has pink flesh, and is named after a large South American bird of prey  called the Cara Cara, because of a pink/red patch on the birds head. . It is a favorite of a wide range of consumers...  2) Xie Shan (pronounced She Shan).  MANY MANY citrus growers think this is one of the very best tasting satsuma mandarins.  It won the taste contest at this years Citrus Expo in Alabama. .  It matures early (October in California). I also dido what has been said of the Gold Nugget mandarin.  - Millet

Thanks a bunch Millet!! I'll be looking for these trees!! what a about the Washjngton Navel? Is that any good?
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GT

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Washington is great and is definitely worth growing! I second Millet's suggestions on Cara-cara and Xie Shan; we also recently came across Pixie mandarin that we like very much and that might be available in CA, so you may check.

shaneatwell

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I've been asking the same question to growers here in san diego. According to the foreman at Durling: Gold Nugget, Kishu and Page (for juicing). The 1st two have been coming up over and over as favorites.
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shaneatwell

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special order a multigraft if you can.
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fyliu

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Pixie is sometimes sold mixed-in with Gold Nugget. But they seem to taste better than the market Gold Nuggets so I read the label and pick out the Pixies. I'm not sure if nurseries sell this but you can buy from CCPP.

Millet

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Clay Mango, you ask about Washington Navel.  Washington Navels are a very good tasting sweet fruit.  Interestingly, the Cara Cara pink Navel comes from a Washington Navel tree  One day in 1976, a poor citrus farmer in Venezuela was harvesting his fruit, and noticed to his surprise that a single branch on one of his Washington Navel trees was producing pink "Washington Navel" fruits.  It was a bud sport growing upon the branch of that Washington Navel tree. All Cara Cara citrus trees the world over come from that one tree.  So in  reality  the Cara Cara is a pink Washington Navel, however the taste is different. Today that poor Venezuela citrus farmer is a rich Venezuela citrus farmer. - Millet

ClayMango

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Wow!!!! Incredible history on the cara cara and Washington Navel.

So let's see....the cara cara and Washington navel hold the throne for oranges??? And Pixie and hold nugget for mandarin?
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sugar land dave

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I have a Miho Satsuma in my yard that I will pit against any other citrus.  I'm surprised that it turned out so well since I just bought it because it was the only citrus at the nursery that year that was not a Seto satsuma or Meyer lemon.The Cara cara are a nice fruit.  Some nurseries here have called it Red Naval orange.  Kishu are good, and Meiwa kumquats are very cold hardy and are delicious eaten directly from the tree peel included.

Two others I will mention are Ujukitsu lemon which is sweet like lemonade and orangequat which can be used as a lemon substitute in drinks, but with a definite orange flavor.

Darkman

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My vote goes to the Cara Cara and the Xie Shan. I grow both although I may have lost Cara Cara this Winter. Cara Cara is great juiced or fresh eating. The Xie Shan has a excellent flavor. My Xie Shan were not phased by this past brutal Winter are heavily laden with fruit this year.

ClayMango

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My vote goes to the Cara Cara and the Xie Shan. I grow both although I may have lost Cara Cara this Winter. Cara Cara is great juiced or fresh eating. The Xie Shan has a excellent flavor. My Xie Shan were not phased by this past brutal Winter are heavily laden with fruit this year.

How  cold did you guys get last winter?
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Darkman

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19F with a ice storm and at or below freezing for 40 hours!

Tom

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Xie Shan is very early and delicious. Brown Select is mighty good too. Cara Cara sounds great but I have no experience. Some people go nuts over the Meyer Lemon that has orange and lemon in its heritage but beware of vicious thorns. My Meyer has done the best of all my citrus, maybe because it's the oldest. The Meyer is not my favorite flavor. I think anything you grow that is adapted to your area will taste much better than what you buy in the store but citrus is supposed to taste better the older the age of tree. Tom

ClayMango

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guys so far I have tried Cara Cara, Honey Mandarin, Golden Nugget, Satsuma, Minnelo Tangelo....sorry for name butcher, Cuties(I think these are marketed clementine or Murcotts), and Satsuma......

I must admit.....Golden Nugget and the Honey Mandarin left the others buried in the dust mountain...These will definitely be going n the yard...I wonder if their are any other Mandarins that can rival these....Man!!! That Golden Nugget and Honey will knock your socks off!!

Side note...I think oranges/Navel Oranges are in a lower league than mandarins from what I've noticed after trying these mandarins out.
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Tom

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I agree with you about oranges vs mandarins. The honey mandarin could be a Murcott. Murcotts are late and full of seeds. People have loved Murcott for along time. A Honey Mandarin could be a variety on its own but a lot of Murcotts are called Honey Mandarins. Very confusing to me. I think some Golden Nuggets get sold as Cuties. Some Cuties are fantastic. Some not as good. I think they will be better in a few years and if you grow them yourself. Tom

Joe Brancato

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I really like Tango mandarins. They are a seedless W.Murcott and one of the varieties used for the brand Cuties. They have a great tart/sweet Clementine-like taste.

Joe

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Got some seedless mandarins sold as cuties.  They are good.  Upon researching, they appear to be either clementine or murcott.  I was under the impression that the murcott/honey mandarin was the honey sweet, round, seedy fruits I inhale 3 at a time all winter.  Are the cuties in the market today murcotts?

Thanks
~Jeff

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ClayMango

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Got some seedless mandarins sold as cuties.  They are good.  Upon researching, they appear to be either clementine or murcott.  I was under the impression that the murcott/honey mandarin was the honey sweet, round, seedy fruits I inhale 3 at a time all winter.  Are the cuties in the market today murcotts?

Thanks

I have the California Honey, Gold Nugget, Tango (seedless murcott Honey), and Kishu ( sweeter and smller than cuties)....

That tree will be replaced by a mango, lychee, paw paw, or Fig.
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Yorgos

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I would suggest two varieties. 1) Cara Cara Navel.  The fruit has pink flesh, and is named after a large South American bird of prey  called the Cara Cara, because of a pink/red patch on the birds head. . It is a favorite of a wide range of consumers...  2) Xie Shan (pronounced She Shan).  MANY MANY citrus growers think this is one of the very best tasting satsuma mandarins.  It won the taste contest at this years Citrus Expo in Alabama. .  It matures early (October in California). I also dido what has been said of the Gold Nugget mandarin.  - Millet

Thanks a bunch Millet!! I'll be looking for these trees!! what a about the Washjngton Navel? Is that any good?

I top worked a couple of my trees with cara cara and the xie shan.  Hope they fruit this year. Interesting about where the cara cara name comes from.  Isn't it a mexican eagle and on their natiuonal emblem?
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bsbullie

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Got some seedless mandarins sold as cuties.  They are good.  Upon researching, they appear to be either clementine or murcott.  I was under the impression that the murcott/honey mandarin was the honey sweet, round, seedy fruits I inhale 3 at a time all winter.  Are the cuties in the market today murcotts?

Thanks
I have the California Honey, Gold Nugget, Tango (seedless murcott Honey), and Kishu ( sweeter and smller than cuties)....

That tree will be replaced by a mango, lychee, paw paw, or Fig.

How does this answer Jeff's question?

I have seen satsumas and murcotts sold under Cuties.  I have a feeling the use the best available product to be sold under the label at that time.  With that said, not sure if Honey Sweet is the same as Murcott/Honey Murcott.   I have a really good publication that should be able to answer this but its at work.
- Rob

Viking Guy

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Well, I'm very much sold on my Cara cara.  It is way better than the washington naval, and they both got the exact same care.  It is definitely more cold sensitive than the average citrus.

Typically tangelos have always been a favorite for me, but they just don't seem to compare to that lovely pink flesh of Cara cara.

I fully agree with Millet's comments.

I have heard a few good things about the King Mandarin, but I've never tried it.  Getting ready to plant one tomorrow though.





ClayMango

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Got some seedless mandarins sold as cuties.  They are good.  Upon researching, they appear to be either clementine or murcott.  I was under the impression that the murcott/honey mandarin was the honey sweet, round, seedy fruits I inhale 3 at a time all winter.  Are the cuties in the market today murcotts?

Thanks
I have the California Honey, Gold Nugget, Tango (seedless murcott Honey), and Kishu ( sweeter and smller than cuties)....

That tree will be replaced by a mango, lychee, paw paw, or Fig.

How does this answer Jeff's question?

I have seen satsumas and murcotts sold under Cuties.  I have a feeling the use the best available product to be sold under the label at that time.  With that said, not sure if Honey Sweet is the same as Murcott/Honey Murcott.   I have a really good publication that should be able to answer this but its at work.


Generally in California, cuties are composed of mainly the "Clementine", then the Tango and murcott depending on the season.
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