Citrus Countdown- #3 Of Best Citrus Choices
Welcome back to the great citrus countdown. One of my goals in backyard orchard planning is to spread harvest throughout the whole year. Ideally, and by the way, this ideal is entirely doable, one should be able to pick some type of fresh fruit from your own orchard every month of the year. With 5 citrus trees, you can make this happen.
I normally recommend a grapefruit type, a tangerine or mandarin, a lemon (especially Meyer), a valencia orange, and a navel orange. If you have the luxury of extra growing space, you can stretch your harvest season a couple of extra months on the front and back end, by planting different varieties of navels and valencias. Being able to grow citrus is one of the greatest attributes of our amazing weather.
It is time to make a selection from the mandarin or tangerine family to make our perfect 5 citrus trees.
#3- Kishu mandarin
In the past few years, there has been an influx of new and interesting citrus varieties to the market. I am always keen on trying new varieties to test their suitability for clients, and also whether they have potential for my own grove.
I used to lend a hand as a horticulturist for my friend Mia McCarville at Cedros Gardens when Mia needed extra help. It was always a joy to work with Mia, and I really enjoy teaching folks about gardening. One of the side benefits of being at Cedros was having first choice of so many interesting and unusual plants Mia would bring in. Kishu mandarin was one such plant.
Kishu is a variety that has been known in southern Japan for a long time. I am told its name comes from the island Kyushu an island in the Japanese archipelago. It was not even brought to the United States until 1988 through the UC Riverside citrus program. I am so glad this new immigrant arrived.
Seven years ago I bought my first Kishu...actually I was so drawn to this cute little tree I bought three. What a great gamble that turned out to be. The plant was almost a miniature citrus, small in stature, with very small leaves. I purchased it in flower; the flowers were very small, but wonderfully fragrant. My hunch was that small flower=small fruit. My hunch was proven correct, when in the very first season, I had about a dozen miniature mandarins. Normally, on a young tree I will remove fruit to push all the energy into developing tree growth, but I couldn't resist.
The fruits were the size of a large marble. The skin nearly removed itself, it doesn't adhere to the flesh of the fruit at all, in fact there is an air gap between the peel and the entirety of the fruit when fully ripe. The fruit was truly exquisite, like nothing I had tasted before. There were tiny, thumbellina-esque segments which separated from each other very easily. Each tiny segment fairly explodes in your mouth with juicy intense sweetness. Its sweetness is more powerful than any other citrus I have had, but not cloying or overpowering. It is fresh tasting, florid, and has an orange-mandarin flavor that is about as pure a citrus flavor you will ever taste.
I love tangerines and mandarins, but let me level with you about a couple of my biggest gripes about them, especially with the proliferation and marketing hype of the new "cutie" craze. MY FIRST BIG GRIPE: those that are purchased commercially...and even those from most farmer's markets just aren't that good. They tend toward dryness, lack of flavor, and pithy blandness. I guess by giving the new fruits the name "cutie" it will cover a multitude of citrus sins. Sorry, not for me.
My second misgiving about some tangerines and mandarins is their slowness of growth, and tendency to be finicky. I love a good satsuma; I have planted them in my own garden and in commercial groves. But darn...they grow slowly; I have seen glaciers grow and move faster than a satsuma mandarin. The other issue I have with certain varieties is their finicky and fickle fruiting. Some tangerines and mandarins don't really do well unless they have a pollinator. I had a Page mandarin at my old house that never gave me a single piece of fruit in eight years. It was on my list for removal had I kept the old place, and darn it, I am a professional horticulturist and citrus farmer. How can I recommend a tree to a client that I can't make do anything?
After, growing a Kishu for a few seasons, I fell in love with it. It is a really great looking tree. It is naturally well balanced in its structure and symmetry. This tree is so attractive, I planted one in my front yard as an ornamental. Once the neighbor kids discovered how good the fruit was, I never again got fruit for myself off that tree. I am glad I had two others out back.
The trees once established, bear hundreds of tiny fruit. You'll be very lucky if you ever get them larger than a golf ball. Kishu has the shortest season of any citrus I have grown, about six to eight weeks. Harvest begins in early December; what a perfect Christmas present! The fruit has a flavor unlike any other citrus I have ever tasted. My grandchildren called them orange candies.
Kishu's do not keep off the tree whatsoever, they will mold in a matter of days once picked; probably one of the reasons you have not seen them at the store, nor likely will you ever. I can not give Kishu enough praise. Taste one, and I am sure you will agree. 10 stars out of 10.
I normally recommend a grapefruit type, a tangerine or mandarin, a lemon (especially Meyer), a valencia orange, and a navel orange. If you have the luxury of extra growing space, you can stretch your harvest season a couple of extra months on the front and back end, by planting different varieties of navels and valencias. Being able to grow citrus is one of the greatest attributes of our amazing weather.
It is time to make a selection from the mandarin or tangerine family to make our perfect 5 citrus trees.
#3- Kishu mandarin
I used to lend a hand as a horticulturist for my friend Mia McCarville at Cedros Gardens when Mia needed extra help. It was always a joy to work with Mia, and I really enjoy teaching folks about gardening. One of the side benefits of being at Cedros was having first choice of so many interesting and unusual plants Mia would bring in. Kishu mandarin was one such plant.
Kishu is a variety that has been known in southern Japan for a long time. I am told its name comes from the island Kyushu an island in the Japanese archipelago. It was not even brought to the United States until 1988 through the UC Riverside citrus program. I am so glad this new immigrant arrived.
Seven years ago I bought my first Kishu...actually I was so drawn to this cute little tree I bought three. What a great gamble that turned out to be. The plant was almost a miniature citrus, small in stature, with very small leaves. I purchased it in flower; the flowers were very small, but wonderfully fragrant. My hunch was that small flower=small fruit. My hunch was proven correct, when in the very first season, I had about a dozen miniature mandarins. Normally, on a young tree I will remove fruit to push all the energy into developing tree growth, but I couldn't resist.
The fruits were the size of a large marble. The skin nearly removed itself, it doesn't adhere to the flesh of the fruit at all, in fact there is an air gap between the peel and the entirety of the fruit when fully ripe. The fruit was truly exquisite, like nothing I had tasted before. There were tiny, thumbellina-esque segments which separated from each other very easily. Each tiny segment fairly explodes in your mouth with juicy intense sweetness. Its sweetness is more powerful than any other citrus I have had, but not cloying or overpowering. It is fresh tasting, florid, and has an orange-mandarin flavor that is about as pure a citrus flavor you will ever taste.
I love tangerines and mandarins, but let me level with you about a couple of my biggest gripes about them, especially with the proliferation and marketing hype of the new "cutie" craze. MY FIRST BIG GRIPE: those that are purchased commercially...and even those from most farmer's markets just aren't that good. They tend toward dryness, lack of flavor, and pithy blandness. I guess by giving the new fruits the name "cutie" it will cover a multitude of citrus sins. Sorry, not for me.
My second misgiving about some tangerines and mandarins is their slowness of growth, and tendency to be finicky. I love a good satsuma; I have planted them in my own garden and in commercial groves. But darn...they grow slowly; I have seen glaciers grow and move faster than a satsuma mandarin. The other issue I have with certain varieties is their finicky and fickle fruiting. Some tangerines and mandarins don't really do well unless they have a pollinator. I had a Page mandarin at my old house that never gave me a single piece of fruit in eight years. It was on my list for removal had I kept the old place, and darn it, I am a professional horticulturist and citrus farmer. How can I recommend a tree to a client that I can't make do anything?
The trees once established, bear hundreds of tiny fruit. You'll be very lucky if you ever get them larger than a golf ball. Kishu has the shortest season of any citrus I have grown, about six to eight weeks. Harvest begins in early December; what a perfect Christmas present! The fruit has a flavor unlike any other citrus I have ever tasted. My grandchildren called them orange candies.
Kishu's do not keep off the tree whatsoever, they will mold in a matter of days once picked; probably one of the reasons you have not seen them at the store, nor likely will you ever. I can not give Kishu enough praise. Taste one, and I am sure you will agree. 10 stars out of 10.
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