I am looking to add my 4th and final mandarin to my collection. I currently have a Clementine, Tango and a Gold Nugget. We are crazy for our Gold Nugget so I thought of adding a second tree but am now considering a Pixie mandarin. I haven’t been able to find consistent info on when these would be ripe? I am in zone 9B in Phoenix so our climate is perfect for growing citrus. I am limited on variety because of the rootstock that I prefer (Seville Sour) but I have located Pixie on Seville. So I guess my question is… Is this a good quality mandarin making it a good choice? Would it give me a nice, long harvest? From what I can find it either ripens in December or March which is a huge difference! Once my trees get larger I plan on grafting some other varieties on to them by ordering budwood from CCPP but that will be a while. Thanks for any help!
[From Four Winds Growers]
Pixie Mandarin
A late-maturing variety with upright, open growth habit. It is best suited to coastal and inter-coastal regions. Easy to peel and moderately juicy with pleasant, mild flavor.
Hi Sarah, we are Gold Nugget fans too! Juicy, tender, perfect balance… how to resist? Here in Southern California my seedless lineup is Kishu x2 (Dec), Satsuma x1 (Jan), Gold Nugget x2 (Feb - May). All three are wonderful and the timing works out great! For 6 months all friends and relatives get bags after bags of them. Gold Nugget can hang past June, but when left on the tree too long next year’s harvest might get affected. We also have Kinnow and Page.
CCPP is great! We received and grafted Ponkan, Yuzu, and Sumo this spring. From the new branches grew one lonely Sumo, but it is getting really big!
Sounds awesome, Penny! You actually have three of the varieties on my future graft list. The Kishu, Page and Sumo. I can’t find those anywhere on Seville Sour and citrus can’t get shipped to AZ so I am so limited to what I can find locally! Will have to look over the other varieties that you mention since clearly we have similar tastes
Just like GreenGuava I recommend Owari Satsuma. Here in 9b it ripens in mid November, and is as good as Gold Nugget as long as long as your low temps are just above freezing. The cold nights bring out the intense, sweet flavors The seedless Kishu is also very good, just not as good as OS. In a more mild cliamete like SoCal ,the Seedless Kisu is preferred. I would get both!!
