Damon Mcknight
Mandarins are a delicious and healthy snack, and they're also easy to grow in your backyard in Australia. Mandarin trees can grow up to 4-5 metres tall, but you can buy dwarf varieties that are perfect for small gardens or
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Height | 2-5m, dwarf forms 1-2m, semi-dwarf 8-10ft |
| Plant type | Evergreen tree |
| Climate | Prefers warm, frost-free zones, but is tolerant of cold conditions once established |
| Soil | Moist, well-drained |
| Position | Full sun, at least 5-6 hours of sunlight per day |
| Foliage | Glossy, dark green leaves, fragrant when crushed |
| Flowering | Creamy, white waxy flowers |
| Fruiting | Smaller than an orange (40-80mm) and oblate with bright orange, red-orange or yellow-orange skin. The flesh is orange and sweet when ripe. Fruits from autumn to spring, depending on the variety |
| Feeding | Granular or pelletised citrus fertiliser in spring, summer and autumn, but be careful not to overfeed when flowering as this could cause flowers to drop. Feed weekly with citrus-specific fertiliser once flowers form |
| Pests and diseases | Citrus leaf miner, bronze orange bug, mealy bug, scale, aphids, sooty mould, blackspot |
| Prevention | Treat with a natural insecticide spray, ensure the base of the tree is mulched well, fertilise with well-rotted cow manure or blood and bones |
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What You'll Learn
Mandarin tree varieties
Mandarin trees can grow up to 4-5 metres, but dwarf varieties are available for small gardens and pots. These dwarf varieties grow to about 1-2 metres.
When selecting a mandarin tree, it's important to consider your local climate. Most mandarins thrive in subtropical and warm, frost-free zones. However, some varieties, like satsumas, are more cold-tolerant. If you live in an area with heavy frosts, you will need to provide protection for your tree.
There are several popular mandarin varieties to choose from, each with its own unique characteristics:
- Satsumas: These are the earliest mandarins to hit the markets and are known for their cold hardiness. They form compact, slow-growing trees and can even be eaten when the skin is still green. They are seedless and have good flavour, low acid, and high sugar levels.
- Daisy: This variety has loose skin, large fruit, and an excellent flavour similar to the classic Emperor mandarin. It produces thorns that can be pruned as the tree grows. It is a late-bearing variety, with fruit available until November.
- Emperor: This is a popular mid-season variety with a classic mandarin flavour. The fruit is seedless when unpollinated but can be seedy when cross-pollinated.
- Honey Murcott: This variety provides fruit from late autumn to early spring. It has a superb flavour, with medium-sized, easily peeled fruit.
- Imperial: This variety is known for its excellent colour and flavour, with smooth, glossy, thin, and easily peeled skin.
- Tangor: This is a recently imported variety with a rich, sweet, and juicy flavour. The tree is moderate in size, with thin, smooth, orange rind that is easy to peel. The fruit is low-seeded in the absence of cross-pollination but can become seedy when cross-pollinated.
- Ellendale and Afourer: These are late-season varieties, but information on their characteristics is limited.
- Clementine: This variety is known for its excellent colour and flavour, and it is seedless when grown by itself.
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Preparing the soil
Before planting, choose a sunny spot with well-drained, moist soil. If the soil is clay-based, add gypsum and fork it in well. You can also add composted organic matter, such as Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser, to enrich the soil.
Dig a hole that is at least twice as large as the pot your mandarin tree comes in to prevent damaging the roots. The hole should be about the same depth as the root ball. Before placing the tree in the hole, gently tease the roots and cut away any circled or tangled roots.
It's important to ensure that the soil drains quickly, as mandarin trees need to be watered regularly, especially during fruiting. To test the drainage, dig a hole and fill it with water to see if it drains within 30 minutes. To improve the soil's drainage, you can add natural fertilisers such as blood and bone, rotted manure, or potash. You can also mix in bark fines, sand, or perlite to loosen the soil.
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Watering and fertilising
Mandarin trees require moist, well-drained soil. Before planting, it's important to prepare the soil by adding natural fertilisers such as compost, blood and bone, rotted manure, and potash. Dig a hole and fill it with water to check if the soil drains in less than 30 minutes. You can also raise the level of the bed and add gypsum and composted organic matter if you have heavy clay soil.
When it comes to watering, mandarin trees should be watered deeply twice a week during their establishment phase. Once the trees are established, you can reduce the frequency of watering and only water during dry periods and when fruits are developing. It is also important to ensure that the base of the tree is well-mulched to help retain soil moisture.
To fertilise your mandarin tree, you can use granular or pelletised citrus fertiliser in spring, summer, and autumn. However, be careful not to overfeed when the tree is flowering, as this can cause the flowers to drop. You can also use controlled-release fertilisers in addition to organics to ensure a range of nutrients is available to your tree when it needs them. Fertilise with well-rotted cow manure or blood and bones every three to four months. From October to January, feed your tree with nitrogen-rich fertilisers to promote fruiting.
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Pests and diseases
Firstly, mandarin trees are often the target of pests such as the bronze orange bug, spined citrus bug, and the citrus leafminer. The bronze orange bug and spined citrus bug reduce fruit production by sucking sap from young shoots, leaves, flowers, and fruit stalks, causing them to fall. To prevent this, monitor for these pests in coastal districts, the central west, and northwestern districts. The citrus leafminer causes distortion in new growth. To minimise the likelihood of an infestation, spritz the tree with an oil spray containing white oil and pest oil between late spring and autumn.
Secondly, mandarin trees are susceptible to sap-sucking insects such as aphids and scale, which exude a sugary substance on which sooty mould feeds and grows. To control and prevent sooty mould, treat the presence of these sap-sucking insects. If you have a large tree, apply Yates PestOil, which can be mixed and applied with a sprayer.
Thirdly, mandarin trees can also be affected by blackspot, a fungal pathogen that lives on dead twigs and branches and spreads through wind and rain. This disease commonly occurs in cool, damp weather and where foliage dries slowly. Prevent the spread of this disease by taking action in spring when buds are bursting and 50-75% of petals have fallen.
Lastly, mandarin trees may face issues with snails and slugs attacking seedlings. Protect young plants with iron-based snail and slug pellets. Check the leaves for other pests, including aphids and caterpillars, and remove them.
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$321.1
Harvesting fruit
Mandarin trees can take two to three years to bear fruit, and some may even take up to ten years. The trees produce fruit from early autumn through to early spring. The Satsuma hybrids (Miho Wase and Okitsu Wase) are the first mandarins of the season, closely followed by the Imperial and Clementine varieties. The Emperor and Daisy varieties mature mid-season, while Ellendale, Afourer and Honey Murcott are late-season varieties.
To ensure a healthy harvest, it is important to feed the tree with fertiliser. Once the tree starts to produce fruit, it should be fed weekly with a citrus-specific fertiliser. It is also important to ensure the tree gets enough water during the fruiting process. Dry, pithy fruit is generally caused by a lack of water. The base of the tree should be mulched well to help retain soil moisture.
To reduce the risk of dry fruit, you can thin out heavy crops by removing 20 to 30% of small developing fruits. Sometimes, mandarin trees will produce fruit only every second year, which is called biennial or alternate bearing. To minimise this, remove some of the fruit when it is still small and green, reducing the drain on the tree's energy reserves.
Mandarins are not deciduous, but their growth slows or comes to a halt during the winter. They are native to Southeast Asia, particularly southern China and northeastern India. They thrive in warm, subtropical to tropical climates.
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Frequently asked questions
Collect a seed, wash it, and let it air dry on a paper towel. Fill a small pot with seed-raising mix, push the seed into the mix, and cover. Water well and position in a warm, bright spot out of direct sunlight. Water regularly and consider using a mini greenhouse to retain warmth and humidity. Repot when the seedling is 7-10cm tall.
Mandarin trees typically take 2-3 years to bear fruit. However, if grown from seed, this process can take up to 10 years.
Common pests include aphids, scale, leaf miners, bronze orange bugs, and mealy bugs. Sooty mould can occur when sap-sucking insects like aphids and scale are present. Blackspot is a fungal disease that is common in cool, damp weather.
Mandarin trees require a sunny spot with well-drained soil. Water deeply twice a week during establishment, then reduce the frequency once the tree is established. Feed with a citrus-specific fertiliser and mulch well to retain soil moisture. Prune to around 2-3 metres wide and tall.
