Citrus unshiu

Important notice! Most citrus plants on the market are produced for planting in orchards in the Mediterranean countries. They have a large overall height, have high graft and are difficult to shape and support at home. Rootstocks on which they are grafted are very fast growing, which is fine for the open ground in the subtropics, but is not desirable when growing in pot in the temperate climate.

All our small citrus plants are produced specifically for the Bulgarian market and are ideally suited for home cultivation. The rootstocks cause compact growth, grafts are low and this allows making an excellent shape of the crown, to be suitable for growing in pots. The used rootstocks are trifoliate orange (Poncirus trifoliata 'Flying Dragon') and Volkamer lemon, Citrus volkameriana. Trifoliate orange is frost-hardy to -25°C, and significantly increases the cold resistance of plants grafted on it.

Citrus unshiu Myagawa, Unshiu Mandarin

Satsuma Myagawa from Botanical Garden - Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Unshiu Mandarin (Satsuma, Tangerine) is the earliest mandarin on the market. These are the mandarins which you probably buy each year in October and November. They are generally seedless, peel very easily, and the taste is sweet, but also slightly sour.

Characteristic of the fruits of the Unshiu (Satsuma) mandarin are:

•      - strong flavor
•      - juicy and with high sugar content
•      - moderate acidity
•      - very thin peel
•      - 8 to 12 segments
•      - very early, ripen in October-November
•      - seedless

Besides its valuable qualities, Tangerine Unshiu (Satsuma) is among the most cold resistant edible citruse after Kalamondin and Kumquat. When grafted on trifoliate orange, Trifoliata (Poncirus trifoliata), it will withstand short cold snap to -9°C,  and with some damage on the leaves and young branches trees will withstand -12°C.

It is an absolute internet speculation, that there are other edible citrus varieties that withstand more cold, like the boasted orange hybrid US119 or Sanford F2 Curafora, which are less cold hardy than Kalamondin and Kumquat, or at the very best - equally cold hardy. Growing them outdoors without protection is not possible anywhere in Bulgaria. This was proved by our experiments since 1999 till now in the region of Assenovgrad.

As with all other Citrus plants, the orange is susceptible to scales and spider mites and needs to be sprayed twice a year.

In winter it will need a cool place with temperatures 0-10 degrees Celsius. If the temperature is higher, the leaves usually fall off. In summer it needs to be outside and abundantly watered.

Much more information about all citrus species is available on our forum:

http://forum.palmi.bg/viewforum.php?f=4