ronniebilt

Hi

Does anyone know were a person could buy a tango mandarin tree.

I live in Sacramento, California.

Thanks in advance

Ronniebilt

conejov

Welcome! This place is great! Everyone is very knowledgable and very open to explaining things.

Is there anything you guys cant do>?

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JoeReal

Many hundred thousand acres have been planted to Tango, so that the next few years you buy a box of Cuties, it might well be a Tango. Tango would become so common from the stores, that it is really cheaper to just buy them than grow them, that is of course my opinion. Rather, grow some things that would not be at the same harvest season as tango. There are many other mandarins way better than Tango.

For example, at this very moment, I am enjoying my Page Mandarins which tastes light years better than Tango. I'm also keeping track of my Yosemite Gold, which have ripened in late November, and they do keep very well on the tree, and it should keep well past July, even to August. Long after all the mandarins are gone from the stores, I'm still enjoying them.

Of course, I have a Tango, bought for me by Harvey. I also let Harvey sample my Yosemite Gold last week. The other thing that should taste good is Gold Nugget. But you'll have to wait for it further starting early summer to really taste good. It is also a good keeper that can stay well into early September here in Northern California.

Yosemite Gold and Gold Nugget are seedless just like the Tango with only occassional seeds, still within the limits of definition of seedless citrus fruits.

Yosemite Gold, Gold Nugget and Tango are all patented citruses by UCR. The patents are only strictly enforced if you are commercial grower or commercial propagator. Some professors of UCR freely give budsticks when you visit and if you kindly ask, at least there is implied permission from patent holders which is UC. I got mine from UC speakers who brought along samples of budsticks during their talk. But nonetheless, I give the pound of flesh by buying the patented cultivars from various nurseries.

Tango always runs out of stock and TreeSource cannot keep up with the demand for it, so I could only imagine that the fruits would be so commonly available. I now collect the rarer types of citruses.

harveyc

Joe, where have you tasted Tango? Mine will have fruit this year and I'm hoping for good things from it. My Gold Nugget probably won't fruit until next year, though. Toots at UCR has said that is her favorite. A nurserywoman up in the foothills where there are several mandarin growers told me the other day that her husband's favorite is Tahoe Gold. I liked the Yosemite Gold fruit you gave me the other day and shared it with my wife and she commented that it tasted less like a Mandarin and more like our navels and I think she has a point.

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Chironex

???

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Scot

JoeReal

When we had a "special" small crowd tour at Gene Lester's, one of the person bought a Tango, it is marked on the peel. And yes, I agree that the Yosemite Gold tends towards the navel in flavor, but the way they peel off are more like satsuma mandarins. And the size, they're really bigger than the satsumas. The week before you came, I can't resist but eat the last of my Gold Nugget. If you told me that you're coming before then, I would have saved it.

JoeReal

Harvey has one of the sweetest Navel Oranges in Rio Vista. So that's how the Yosemite Gold got compared to, and yet, very late in the season.

harveyc

Scot, speak up! What's your question?

Joe, I meant to also say that I wondered how the Yosemite tasted a few months ago compared to now. Although they hold on the tree well, they may have been beyond their peak flavor???

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harveyc

Thanks, Joe. If I had thought of it, I would have bought some of my navel oranges to you though they are becoming a bit insipid at this point. I can never keep up with all of this fruit but this year made it into a fun project with my son and from my one large tree my son Michael and I harvested 850 pounds and sold them to a lady with a fruit stand one mile away for $.10/pound. We probably harvested another 150 pounds for family and friends and maybe another 200 pounds fell to the ground in winds, accidents, etc. All with no fertilizer or pesticides, just watered the tree about five times last year. The adjacent tree is smaller since it had died back from the 1990 freeze (before we bought this farm in 1994) and I cut it back to 2 feet high. That tree produces larger fruits that peel easier. We probably picked 200-300 pounds from that tree. Way more than I need! I like these oranges but prefer mandarins for sure.

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harveyc

Okay, thanks for the details on your Tango sample. It's hard to tell from sampling one fruit without knowing when it had reached peak flavor, how long ago it was picked, etc. I think we need to taste our own delicious fruit before judging them!

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harveyc

Just an update on an item related to the Gold Nugget variety also discussed in this thread. In Benny's post he quotes information from UCR that indicates Gold Nugget is not patent (this is included in UCR's patent filing information on Tango). Joe later says Gold Nugget is patented. I've been communicating via e-mail with some of the folks at CCPP and UCR regarding this issue as it was unclear why budwood could not be ordered. After they checked with others, they finally got back to me to inform me that Gold Nugget is indeed not patented but that it is property of UCR and only distributed under a license agreement which forbids propagation without holding a license agreement and paying the required royalties. I've let them know that the Gold Nugget I purchased at a retail location there was no tag on the Gold Nugget trees to indicate this restriction. License agreements can live on indefinitely whereas patents expire after 20 years. I'm sometimes surprised we don't see more of these in use.

I still haven't seen any retail sources for Tango (originally mistakenly typed Gold Nugget until Brett pointed out the confusion) trees in NorCal. FourWinds still does not show it available but a friend who operates a retail nursery and who has been looking forward to offering it was told it would be available next year. My tree purchased a year ago has some small fruits on it but I don't know if it will hold onto them or not.

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brettay

I'm confused, I just looked at the Four Winds website and they have 2-3 year old Gold Nugget trees listed as available for sale. I have two Gold Nugget trees that I bought from them last year.

-Brett

harveyc

Sorry, Brett, it was a long day. I corrected my second paragraph.

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brettay

Yes I have been eagerly awaiting the Tango mandarin release from a retail source as well. Four winds says they should have trees available this summer. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

-Brett

brettay

For those of you who are obsessive/compulsive like me, you should have noticed a very recent change in the availability of the aforementioned tango mandarin.

-Brett

harveyc

Thanks, Brett. Here's the link for others: Complete List of Four Winds Dwarf Citrus Varieties

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hammer

I have two satsuma mandarin that are 2 years old are in 30 gallen pots Im about ready to give up on them june 17 still not blooming.

CValentine

My Miho Satsuma has a few oranges...
No flowers eh?

Hope it comes to flower & fruit for you Hammer.

~Cheryl

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When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace. - Jimi Hendrix

Johnnybegood

I just purchased a Tango Mandarin on Saturday 11-7-09 from Clausen Nursery in Vista Calif near Oceanside. The owner Gordon was very helpfull. It was a very nice looking 15 gallon tree on C35 Citrange rootstock and is about 5 feet tall.

Really looking foward to tasting this seedless W. Murcott in a few years.

Also Gordon told me he is growing some 5 gallon trees also on C35 rootstock. This place is my favorate for buying citrus as they have alot of unique varaties.

Has anybody heard of the new seedless Kinnow Mandarin? Was wonding if it has been released yet and I want to get this one also. I love the richly flavored Kinnow and If they develope a seedless Kinnow it will surely be a real winner.

Johnny

Eric

Wow! Missed one! Dont know anything about citrus trees but Welcome aboard!