Mandarin

Bay Sunset

Bay Sunset is one of four New Zealand-bred mandarins in the HortResearch "Bay" series (the name covers the Bay of Islands, Bay of Plenty and Poverty Bay citrus regions). It resulted from a Clementine x Seminole Tangelo cross made in 1987 and was trialled in the Kerikeri research orchard, where it was selected for its unusual striped fruit and attractive foliage. The tree is one of the most ornamental mandarins available, carrying deep green foliage laden with bright, very deep orange fruit. Fruit are easy to peel with segments that separate easily and cleanly, and the tree crops very heavily. Bay Sunset ripens over winter into spring, stretching the mandarin season past the main winter glut, which places it Late on the relative NZ mandarin scale. Fruit is for fresh dessert eating; the breeder notes good eating quality across the Bay series. Grow in full sun in rich, moist, free-draining soil, feed through spring and summer, mulch clear of the trunk, and thin fruitlets in heavy years to protect branches and keep bearing regular.

Bay Zest

Bay Zest is a HortResearch-bred mandarin/tangerine hybrid in the NZ "Bay" series, bred at the Te Puke research orchard (planted 1981) and expected to perform best in the warmer regions of the country. It grows as an upright, fairly open tree and produces small to medium fruit with an excellent flavour described as rich, juicy and sweet with a rich tangy edge. Its standout feature is a very long fruiting season: fruit matures from late July through to November, well past most winter citrus, when little else apart from grapefruit is being harvested — a solid Mid on the relative NZ mandarin scale. Fruit is for fresh dessert use with easy eating quality. As a vigorous upright tree it suits open garden positions in full sun; feed from spring through harvest, keep mulch clear of the trunk, and leave fruit on the tree to build sweetness before picking.

Carvalhal

Carvalhal (C. deliciosa 'Karvalhal') is a precocious Portuguese selection of the Mediterranean mandarin group, from an unknown hybridisation and now widely grown in Portugal and exported across Europe. The tree grows straight and erect with foliage similar to the common mandarin. Fruit are fairly large — medium-large, round to slightly squat and spherical to oval — with easy-peel skin; the segments separate easily and cleanly. The juicy flesh is pleasantly sweet with a slightly tart edge. As a precocious (early-maturing) Mediterranean type it sits at Early on the relative NZ mandarin scale, though NZ-specific harvest months are not documented. Fruit holds on the tree at length without losing quality, but keeping after picking is poor, so pick for prompt fresh dessert eating rather than storage. The fruit carries many polyembryonic seeds. Grow in a warm sunny position in free-draining soil; standard citrus feeding from spring and good air circulation suit it.

Clementine

Clementine is the classic small, bright, easy-peel mandarin, sold in NZ by Flying Dragon Nursery (Mandarin Clementine, $44.99) and The Plant Company. Flying Dragon describes medium-sized bright round mandarins with excellent rich sweet flavour, heavy crops that hold on the tree well, seedless if not cross-pollinated, ripening from July. The catalog holds a Clementine-type (Corsica #2) but no true Clementine; this is the benchmark reference cultivar NZ garden centres sell.

Corsica #2

Corsica No. 2 is an improved Clementine-type mandarin and a proven performer for New Zealand: HortResearch trials of 22 Clementine varieties identified Corsica No. 2 as the best for NZ conditions. Fruit are good medium-sized, juicy and easy to peel, with segments that separate and eat easily, and it offers more flavour and depth than Satsuma types. It begins ripening as the Satsuma season ends — winter fruiting around June-July — so it holds its Very Early NX mandarin-scale position at the front of the Clementine wave. The smooth, shiny rind colours to deep orange. Clementines carry few seeds but become seedy near pollinators, so plant away from grapefruit, tangelos, Encore and Richards Special, or buffer rows with Satsuma or Navel trees; manage carefully for verrucosis (citrus scab) and consistent fruiting. Best for fresh dessert eating. The tree has an upright habit and suits full-sun, frost-sheltered spots; leave fruit to colour and sweeten fully before picking.

Ellendale

Ellendale is an old-fashioned tangor — a natural mandarin x orange hybrid seedling found at Burrum, Queensland around 1878 — sold as a mandarin in New Zealand. Clonal selections include Koster, Herps and Robinson. Fruit are large with relatively smooth, deep orange skin that peels about as easily as an Ugli, and the segments separate readily. Flavour is rich and juicy with high sugar balanced by high acid, so harvest date and storage strongly affect eating quality (acids mellow in storage and fruit can arrive more palatable than at picking). It is a mid-season tangor (Mid on the NZ mandarin scale, ahead of Murcott and Hansen), though the season is reasonably long and fruit left on the tree too long goes puffy. Seed numbers vary widely and rise with cross-pollination. Trees are productive but can be strongly alternate-bearing with weak crotches prone to limb splitting. Keeping is excellent — fruit stores upwards of three months at 3-4C — so it suits fresh dessert use with surplus stored. Give it a warm site, careful late-season irrigation to avoid sharp acidity, and thin heavy crops.

Encore - Summer ripening

Encore is a late-ripening mandarin bred by H. B. Frost at the University of California (King tangor x Willowleaf mandarin), selected and introduced in 1965. It is one of the highest-quality dessert mandarins for the home garden: super sweet, easy-peel fruit with a very rich, beautiful flavour, medium in size with a thin yellow-orange rind and firm, tender, juicy deep-orange flesh. Its defining feature is season — it fruits from late spring into summer (October to February in NZ), when almost no other citrus is fruiting, making it Very Late on the NZ mandarin scale and the classic partner to early Satsumas for a near year-round supply. Fruit holds on the tree especially well without loss of quality or much rind puffing. The tree is moderately vigorous and upright-growing, virtually thornless, productive but alternate-bearing; fruit carries numerous seeds. Pair with an early Satsuma (Silverhill, Miyagawa) and a mid-season type to span the year; give full sun, regular feeding and thinning in heavy years.

Hansen Late

Hansen Late is a mid- to late-season mandarin of Australian origin, probably a tangor arising as an open-pollinated chance seedling; in New Zealand it matures around August-September, following on from Ellendale, which confirms its Late position on the NZ mandarin scale. It produces medium-sized oblate fruit with a relatively thin, yellowish-orange rind and deep orange flesh with good juice content and good flavour — good sugars offset by fairly high acidity. Fruit is quite seedy (up to about 12 seeds). The tree grows quite vigorously under NZ conditions. Note: the record's stale skinColour field mixed rind and flesh notes together; its meaning has been migrated into peelColour (thin yellowish-orange rind) and fleshColour (deep orange) and the stale key dropped. Best for fresh dessert use in spring when winter varieties are finished. Plant in full sun with shelter from harsh frost when young, feed spring to harvest, and allow fruit to mature fully so acidity settles.

Honey Murcott

Honey Murcott — also sold as Murcott or Honey Tangerine — is a mandarin-orange hybrid (tangor) of American (Florida) origin; 'Honey' is a retail name for its exceptionally sweet, honey-like character, and it is rated the sweetest mainstream mandarin in Australian shops. Fruit are medium-sized with a deep orange colour and a thin but slightly tight rind, and the flesh is juicy and aromatic. Flavour is rich, sweet and low-acid at peak ripeness. It is a late-season variety (August to October in NZ), sitting Late on the NZ mandarin scale. The main drawback is seed: expect moderate to high seed counts with several seeds per segment, worse with cross-pollination. The tree grows upright and produces heavily — thin developing fruit in big years to protect branches and lift fruit size. Use is multi-purpose: top fresh dessert eating and arguably the best mainstream juicer, also good for cakes, curd and marmalade. A tight skin that loosens signals over-maturity; refrigerate and use within one to two weeks.

Ishikawa Satsuma

Ishikawa is a Satsuma-type mandarin that produces easy-peel, seedless, juicy fruit in winter. It follows the earliest Satsumas, extending the Satsuma season through into winter, which places it Early on the relative NZ mandarin scale. Like all Satsumas it has the characteristic puffy, very easy-peel rind and fruit whose segments children can pull apart without mess. The tree is a very heavy cropper and should be thinned in the first few years after planting so it puts energy into establishing roots and framework rather than fruit. Do not judge ripeness by colour alone — Satsumas colour up while still tangy, and fruit left longer on the tree sweetens markedly. Best for fresh dessert use. Plant in a warm sunny position, protect from harsh frost when young, feed spring to harvest and mulch clear of the trunk; trees on dwarfing stock suit large pots.

Kara

Kara is a very late-ripening mandarin bred by H. B. Frost at the University of California — a cross of King tangor and Owari Satsuma made in 1915 and introduced in 1935. Fruit are medium to large, moderately oblate with a slightly necked base, and colour to deep orange in both rind and flesh when fully ripe. The rind is medium-thick and soft but peels fairly well, Satsuma-style; segments (10-12) separate without difficulty. Flavour is rich, sprightly and distinctive, though tart until very mature — leave fruit to ripen fully. In NZ it harvests around August-September, Late on the relative mandarin scale. The tree is moderately vigorous, spreading and round-topped, thornless, hardy to cold and productive with a slight alternate-bearing tendency; fruit is numerous-seeded (polyembryonic). Fruit retains quality on the tree but puffs somewhat, so pick at peak for fresh dessert use. Give it a sunny, frost-sheltered position and thin in heavy years.

Kiyomi

Kyomi (listed by NZ nurseries as Tangor Kiyomi) is a mandarin x sweet-orange hybrid citrus — a tangor type — valued for a rich, spicy flavour reminiscent of Satsuma mandarin with an appealing orange aroma. NZ nursery listings describe it as a reliable cropper producing easy-peel, spicy-sweet fruit in autumn, which places it Early on the relative NZ mandarin scale, opening the season alongside the early Satsumas. Page title validated against the Greenleaf Nurseries listing (Mandarin Kyomi), confirming the cultivar identity in NZ trade. Best for fresh dessert eating. As an autumn-fruiting tangor it suits the same warm, sunny, frost-sheltered positions as other mandarins, in rich, moist, free-draining soil with feeding from spring through harvest; leave fruit to colour and sweeten fully before picking.

Kuno Wase Satsuma

Kuno Wase (Kuno Wase Satsuma) is a very early-ripening Wase Satsuma — often the very first mandarin to start ripening each season and among the first citrus harvested at all — which makes it firmly Very Early on the relative NZ mandarin scale. Fruit are very large for a Satsuma with smooth, easy-peeling skin in the classic flat Satsuma shape. With NZ connections running deep — the US collection's budwood came from New Zealand via A. Harty — it is well proven in local conditions, and related Kawano Wase selections have shown they can hold on the tree into August here. Satsuma fruit are mostly seedless with the signature puffy rind that lifts cleanly off the flesh, and flavour is sweet and juicy once fully matured on the tree; as with all Satsumas, fruit that has just coloured is still tangy, so leave it to sweeten. Best for fresh dessert eating at the opening of the season. Thin young trees to establish them, plant in full sun, and protect from harsh frost while young.

Miho Wase

Miho Wase is an early-ripening Satsuma mandarin listed by Waimea Nurseries (MANDARIN Miho (Satsuma)) alongside Kawano, Okitsu and Silverhill Satsumas. Satsuma types are seedless, very easy-peel mandarins and among the hardiest citrus for NZ conditions; Miho is one of the earliest, sweetest Wase strains, cropping before winter. Distinct from the catalog's existing Kuno Wase Satsuma. Waimea's pollination note flags Miho as the example seedless variety that can form seeds if cross-pollinated by another citrus flowering at the same time.

Miyagawa

Miyagawa is a Wase Satsuma that originated as a limb sport in Fukuoka and was named and introduced by Tanaka in 1923; it was long grown in New Zealand and formed the basis of the country's Satsuma industry, and it parented the Miho and Okitsu selections. Fruit are large for a Satsuma — large, oblate and flattened — with a thin rind, abundant juice and well-blended sugars and acid, and are seedless (occasional seeds possible, as with all Satsumas near pollinators). It is an early-season type harvested from June into July (May-August window), Early on the NZ mandarin scale. The tree is more vigorous than most old Wase clones and productive. Keeping is good for a Wase Satsuma. Best for fresh dessert use with classic easy-peel Satsuma handling. Leave fruit on the tree to sweeten — Satsumas picked at colour-break are still tangy. Plant in a warm sunny position, protect from harsh frost when young, and feed and mulch through the season.

Silverhill

Silverhill is an early Satsuma mandarin — a nucellar seedling selection of Owari raised by W. T. Swingle around 1908 and introduced about 1931 after field testing at Silverhill, Alabama, where it survived freezes that badly damaged standard Satsumas. It is markedly cold-resistant (virtually identical to Frost Owari in US collections) and recommended as an early-shipping variety. Fruit are medium-sized and slightly oblate with an easy-peel rind — described as thick-skinned in NZ — and sweet, juicy flesh in segments that separate easily; sugars run high with low acid for a very sweet, mild flavour. It ripens very early (ready for picking from the end of May into July), Very Early on the NZ mandarin scale, and keeps on the tree and in storage better than Owari. The tree is very vigorous for a Satsuma with a more upright habit, productive once established, though rank growth can invite scab and delay full bearing. Best for fresh dessert use. Needs full sun in rich, organic, moist free-draining soil to sweeten; protect from harsh frost when young.

Sweetie

Sweetie is the HortResearch-bred mandarin/tangerine 'Bay Sweetie', one of the four NZ Bay-series mandarins for the home garden (the Bay name covers the Bay of Islands, Bay of Plenty and Poverty Bay citrus regions). Crossed in 1987 at Kerikeri, it is disease-free stock licensed for NZ gardens. It grows as a spreading tree needing moderate crop thinning and produces medium-sized fruit with easy-peel skin and very sweet, juicy, delicious winter flesh. Seed count is low, and it may be effectively seedless when planted in large blocks. Harvest runs mid-June to mid-August (July-August in harvest tables), Mid on the relative NZ mandarin scale — prime winter lunchbox fruit. Best for fresh dessert eating. Plant in a sunny, frost-sheltered spot in rich, moist, free-draining soil; feed from spring through harvest, mulch clear of the trunk, and thin fruitlets in heavy years to keep bearing regular and size up the fruit.