10 degree tangerine

Hi

Fueling my obsession to grow cold hardy citrus in zone 5/6, I planted several varieties that I purchased from Stan this spring. One of these was a 10 degree tangerine. Luckily the tree came with 4 fruit and they all survived the shock of transplanting... Ok in any event I tried the fruit and it was pretty good, with some seeds. Aside from that it looks really cool in my backyard...

Frank

Good luck Frank!!!

Be sure to keep us up on how it is doing!

Pics would be awsome too!!

Gina *BabyBlue*

Hi Gina

I think I will take some pics in the spring after I baby the trees though the winter, 6 in all

Frank

I am not 100 percent sure but I believe the "10 Degree Mandarin" is the same tree as the 10 Degree Kumquat, which was developed by Dr. John Brown of Texas. I've heard McKenzie Farms calls it a tangerine. You say that the tree arrived with fruit on the tree. Tell me, if you would, is the fruit seedless and small kumquat size about 1 inch long and oblong, a spicy tasting fruit with little juice? The leaves, are they the typical kumquat shape, small and pointed?

Hi
The fruit had seeds (many) and wasnt really the shape of the kumquat. Somewhat juicy. roundish and a little larger than a golfball.

Any info would be great

thanks Frank

Hi Frank,

how will You protect Your Tangerine?
Regards
Robert

Robert/Vienna:
I'm not speaking for Frank and I hope that he'll respond too. What I've used and seen other folks use to protect (or help protect) tender trees can range from stacking bales of straw around the tree, steel posts~driven into the soil (surrounding the tree) then covered with burlap, stringing Christmas lights or heat cables on the branches and trunk, surrounding or covering the plant with a insulated styrofoam box, small~clear~'mini-greenhouses', planting in a 'micro-climate'~out of the wind~next to a brick or stone face~facing the winter sun, laying or leaning the tree over and berming or banking soil over it (this only works with small, flexible plants). I often use a barrel, bucket or tub with the bottom cut out...place it over the plant and fill it with dry leaves. Each of the methods that I mentioned could provide varying degrees of protection from cold. Other viewers....your ideas?

Hi Joe,

I plan to build a tent using bubble-foil and heat it with bulbs. I have bought a termostat (UT 100) that works down to -40°C. So I can switch on and off below zero: say on at -10°C and off at -5°C. Thus the heating will never break the dormancy of my plants. In Vienna we have some times bare frost in January. There is only few snow throughout the whole winter, which is no problem in November or December, because then temperatures do not go down very far. But in January we sometimes get this "Russian cold". Sun is shining all the day but is not powerful enough to push temperatures above zero and in the night they go down to sometimes -17° to -19°C. That is our problem.

Greetings from Vienna
Robert

Years ago a friend of mine, George Chandler, Baytown Texas installed heat lamps in the top of large plastic barrells to protect his citrus. When they were all turned on his thought were that his electric meter would burn up from spining so fast.

That for I have the termostat. It won't take too much energy to push temperatures from -10 to -6. I would say in an average winter the lights will go on one or two times. It is just because I do not want to loose my plants in one or two cold nights. But of cause I do not know how many bulbs Mr Chandler had on for what time.