Author Topic: Xie Shan Satsuma (Read 5992 times)

Millet · « **on:** September 26, 2015, 10:30:59 PM »

The fruit on My Xie Shan tree is turning orange quickly. I should be able to start picking them next week. Xie Shan is among the very earliest Satsuma to mature. Many hold the belief that this satsuma is the best tasting of all citrus varieties. It won the taste test at the 2013 Citrus Expo which was held in Alabama. For sure it is right up there at the top of the chart. Another plus is its large size. - Millet

brian · « **Reply #1 on:** September 26, 2015, 10:44:53 PM »

My Xie Shan has a single fruit that looks about full size but is still green. I'm looking forward to trying it soon.

Millet · « **Reply #2 on:** September 27, 2015, 10:24:18 AM »

brian, the fruit of most satsumas have already reached maturity while the peel is still green. Test your fruit to see if it has a soft feeling. As you only have the one fruit, I'm sure you want to wait for it to colors up, but my bet is that taste wise it is pretty much ready. - Millet

brian · « **Reply #3 on:** September 27, 2015, 04:24:57 PM »

Thanks for the reminder. The Xie Shan fruit does seem soft enough to eat. I am going to pick it in the next few days and try it. The tree is still very small so I'm not expecting much, but it is nice that one fruit held on from last bloom.

It seems my Owari satsuma fruits are starting to turn yellow also. I remember last year I tried the Owari fruits from green to bright orange and they were best when they were nearly all yellow, but less so once they turned orange.

xie shan

Millet · « **Reply #4 on:** September 27, 2015, 06:07:00 PM »

I see you are growing your Xie Shan in a Root Maker air root pruning container. - Millet

achetadomestica · « **Reply #5 on:** September 27, 2015, 08:10:33 PM »

I can't wait to hear the taste results.
My owaris are just starting to turn orange and I am eating 3-4 a day. Last year I waited until they were orange and they ended up very juicy tasteless satsumas, I almost got rid of both of the trees. This year I am picking them green or almost green as soon as they soften. They are very tangy and enjoyable. I live in 9b in LaBelle Florida and we haven't cooled down at all. I have been eating clementines since August also mostly still green. I let 2 of them get almost orange and they were unedible. I fed them to my 200 pound aldabra. I understand the cool nights are what sweetens the citrus. Two of my kishus fell off and I ate them and they were down right sour. I wonder if these early ripening citrus will ever benefit from the cool temperatures and sweeten up? I like tangy citrus but...
I have a small Xie Shan but I didn't let it fruit this year, and next year I probably will not let it carry fruit.
I am anxious for the taste results.

buddinman · « **Reply #6 on:** September 28, 2015, 01:26:48 AM »

My Kishu are edible but will get a lot better in a few weeks.

brian · « **Reply #7 on:** October 01, 2015, 07:02:21 PM »

I ate the Xie Shan fruit today. It was excellent, despite the trees small size. I'm sure they will get better as it ages. I have a few FD seedlings ready for grafting and I plan to graft some of the Xie Shan wood onto one.

About the rootmaker... I've had all my trees in them since last year or so. I continue to be very pleased with them. After repotting many of my trees into larger containers I have run out of my first 100ft roll and had to order another.

fyliu · « **Reply #8 on:** October 01, 2015, 09:36:32 PM »

Is rootmaker better for citrus than the anti root circling compound they're using for mango? One difference is misinformation traditional pots allows better moisture retention.

brian · « **Reply #9 on:** October 02, 2015, 12:14:28 PM »

fyliu, I haven't tried the compound you're talking about so I can't say. I haven't noticed the rootmaker pots drying out faster than normal plastic pots.

Millet · « **Reply #10 on:** October 03, 2015, 09:59:47 PM »

Root maker Air root pruning containers is the only container I use. They are a great container and produce a excellent root system. I agree with brain, they don't dry out any faster than any other type of container. - Millet

fyliu · « **Reply #11 on:** October 04, 2015, 12:36:04 AM »

Thanks. I'll try it with other fruits.
I've only used them with miracle fruit and don't have anything else to compare. Since I use filtered water from the machines, I'm more aware of how much I need to water.

Pancrazio · « **Reply #12 on:** October 04, 2015, 10:43:06 AM »

I can't imagine its taste profile. It's sweet/sour? It's just sweet?
How would you compare it to some kind of widely available citrus fruit?

brian · « **Reply #13 on:** October 04, 2015, 02:19:40 PM »

My only fruit tasted somewhat like a minneola tangelo at its best, but slightly firmer. Sweet & sour. I'm sure Millet can tell you more about it...

Pancrazio · « **Reply #14 on:** October 06, 2015, 07:53:21 AM »

Thank you for your description. I haven't had any tangelo so far, even if i have been searching for the wekiwa tangelo. I have found (maybe) in europe the wakayama satsuma which should be, theorically, the same thing as xie shan, but i'm still unsure if i should get it.

Radoslav · « **Reply #15 on:** October 06, 2015, 08:22:00 AM »

Quote from: Pancrazio on October 06, 2015, 07:53:21 AM

Thank you for your description. I haven't had any tangelo so far, even if i have been searching for the wekiwa tangelo. I have found (maybe) in europe the wakayama satsuma which should be, theorically, the same thing as xie shan, but i'm still unsure if i should get it.

Wakayama is considered the best satsuma here, so another point for theory that Wakayama is Xie Shan mandarin.

Pancrazio · « **Reply #16 on:** October 07, 2015, 06:25:58 PM »

To be completly honest, the idea that xie shan and wakayama are the same plant isn't mine. I read it here:

Quote from: Citrus page link=http://citruspages.free.fr/mandarins.html#satsuma

'Xie Shan'
Xie Shan is the Chinese translation of the original Japanese name ‘Wakiyama’. It has a unique flavour and taste that differs from other Satsumas. With harvesting starting by mid-September Xie Shan together with 'Miyagawa' forms a new group of easy-peeling, completely seedless, super-early satsumas.

Since the site doesn't list sources, i can't know if that's an idea of the autor, or a well known fact. I hope the latter, but i wouldn't be surprised if it were the former.

brettay · « **Reply #17 on:** October 08, 2015, 07:34:17 PM »

It's near impossible to purchase Xie Shan trees in California. I just received some budwood through the citrus clonal protection program. It's my first time seriously trying my hand at grafting. Fingers crossed.

-Brett

fyliu · « **Reply #18 on:** October 08, 2015, 08:32:41 PM »

Brett, good luck with the graft. Citrus budding is super easy when the conditions are right.

You guys are making me want to order some budwood...

Millet · « **Reply #19 on:** October 13, 2015, 10:30:44 PM »

I started picking some fruit from My Xie Shan Satsuma today. It is always my earliest maturing variety, normally about a month before the others. Being a satsuma I begun picking when I see about 60 percent of the fruit orange and the rest greenish. Extremely easy to peel, and completely seedless, with segments that separate effortlessly. The first thing people notice about the fruit is how juicy it is, even melting. Perhaps no citrus has a better balance between the sweetness and acid content. It is not too sweet nor too acid, - a taste that is very clean & refreshing. I've gone to two citrus meetings that held citrus tasting contests. At both meeting Xie Shan was the winner. I really like the aroma this variety has. (Actually I have 3 Xie Shan trees) As with all Satsumas the older the tree, the better the fruit. I would say the mark of quality starts when the tree reaches its fifth year of production. - Millet

News:

Author Topic: Xie Shan Satsuma (Read 5992 times)