Bred by my relative, Howard Frost!
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he did a good job they are the best orange in the world
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I’d have to say Washington Navel for pure eating out of hand imho.
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Anyone tried the Navelina orange? They are just superb!
Mick
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Actually they are not an orange – they are a Mandarin (aka Tangerine) cultivar.
For Oranges, yes indeed.[quote=“Slicko, post:64, topic:10933”]
Anyone tried the Navelina orange?
[/quote]
I’ve had them at the Citrus Heritage Park in Riverside, CA. Here’s some more info: http://www.citrusvariety.ucr.edu/citrus/navelina.html
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I like Gold Nugget mandarin better than any citrus I grow followed by Owari Satsuma and Tarrocco blood orange. I live in Orangevale California, a very good citrus and stonefruit area in northern Ca due to a cold winter, usually above 28 degrees, and really hot summers. I grow about 15 varieties of citrus including seedless Kisu , Washington navel,and Cara Cara orange, which are very good to me, just not in the same league as the above to me.
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This was also due to Howard Frost – the original name was Frost-Owari Satsuma. 
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Yes, have seen that name on the mandarins, congrats!! Both are fantastic!! My favorite two mandarins! Tarrocco blood orange is awesome too!!
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Good info there. The Navelina is certainly earlier, sweeter and less vigorous than the Washington Navel and I find more susceptible to gall
wasp attack.
Mick
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Very cool Richard. Owari Satsuma is actually one of the citrus most highly recommended for our area by the citrus experts at our local nursery called Phoenix Perennials. Someone there has a LG Owari planted in ground at his house. My 2 older Owari were unfortunately lost last winter but my youngest one from Phoenix survived.
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So speaking of Owari Satsuma, my very first citrus, is ripening. So how do you know when is the best time to pick it?
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Not by color, per se. It should be orange, but also less than rock hard, and under most conditions the skin should be “baggy” at least at the stem end. It will take some trial and error.
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We bought some owari satsuma oranges from the grocery store at Christmas. I have never, in my life, tasted such a wonderful orange. It was the first time these have been available up here. I went back for more but they were gone, I was not surprised. My owari has just set it’s first fruit, how long does it take to mature?
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7 months in my environment. 
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6 to 7.5 months depending on factors such as how cold it is, are you bringing your tree indoors or have them in a protected place like sunroom or greenhouse or sitting outside. If you’re up north I’d expect it takes longer than around 49th parallel like I am.
Anthony
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I am 2 miles north of the 53rd parallel. I do bring them in for the winter and they spend that time in my grow room in the basement. I am a cut flower grower so there is a decent set up that has good lighting and humidity/heat control etc.
I do have a greenhouse but I find they are happier in the summer out in the sun, wind and rain, protected of course from violent weather.
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something I recently learned about citrus here in Florida, grapefruits can be left on the tree to continue to ripen all the way through to June. Doing so will supposedly cut down on production the following year, but grapefruits are typically high yield so that’s not really a big deal. I still have two hanging on my flame red tree. Wasn’t sure how the snap of cold weather would effect them. They seem to be ok.
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I can’t grow citrus outdoors here (except trifoliate) and don’t have the right conditions or wherewithal to fool with a greenhouse or pot culture. It is just too much trouble for me to bother with because… high quality citrus is what I BUY at Wegmans to make winter bearable. I grow other fruits more easily suited to my climate here.
I do love to eat and drink citrus, though. It is awesome it comes in during our winter here.
My favorites are Persian lime, Minneola tangelo, Owari satsuma, Dancy tangerine, Sunburst hybrid, Murcott tangor (honey tangerine), and those dark-red grapefruit from Texas.
By the way, I have had some knock-your-socks-off mandarins (tiny but richly flavored) grown in Chile.
Tonight, I am drinking fresh-squeezed Minneola tangelo with Meyer lemon cut with ice-water. The High Life:
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No Rum?
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