How to Grow Clementine Oranges
A type of mandarin orange, the clementine is small, fragrant citrus fruit that ripens in the late fall to early winter. The clementine variety came to the United States from Algeria in 1909, notes Texas A & M. This tree grows in subtropical areas, like southern Texas and Florida. While mandarins--including the clementine--are more cold-hardy than oranges, they will become damaged by frost so cannot be grown outside of the citrus belt. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Dig a hole to plant your clementine tree in a sunny location that has well-draining soil. Texas A & M advises planting on the south side of the house since this offers natural cold protection. Make your hole twice the size of the young tree's root ball.
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Grasp your clementine by the trunk and pull it out of its plastic container. Alternately, untie the burlap from a balled-and-burlapped tree then rinse the tree's roots to wash them. Place the tree in the hole so it is vertically straight and sits slightly above depth as it was planted (you'll see a dark soil line on the neck).
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Fill in the hole with soil to plant your tree. Water the newly planted tree until the ground becomes saturated.
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Wait until the tree begins to grow to fertilize then apply 1/3 cup of ammonium sulfate three times a year during the first season. Scatter this around the tree trunk then water the ground to work it into the soil.
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Water your clementine whenever the soil becomes dry and dusty, adding enough water to saturate the soil. Mature trees can withstand bi-monthly watering, but young trees require more careful monitoring.
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Erect a soil bank to protect the young clementine from winter frost. Pile soil up until the trunk of the tree is covered with soil and the soil forms a pyramid. Leave this in place until frost danger passes then uncover the tree.
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Water the tree deeply every two weeks after the first year. If you have sandy soil, water more frequently, as suggested by Texas A & M.
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Offer the tree 1 cup of ammonium nitrate per year of age three times a year, in February, May and September. For example, a three year old tree would get 1 cup of fertilizer during each month, for 3 cups altogether.
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Prune your clementine rarely. Remove branches that appear dead or deformed. Cut the tree to shape it if needed; for example, prune it away from a fence to prevent it from growing out into the street. Pruning reduces the fruit yield and is not necessary--all citrus trees are more or less self-training.
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Harvest clementines when they are ripe by cutting them down from scissors. Texas A & M notes that fruit plucked from the trees tends to rip its peel. When your fruit is ready to harvest the peel turns bright orange.
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Tips & Warnings
Clementine trees require cross-pollination, so you'll need to plant another type of mandarin or orange in your yard to ensure adequate pollination.
References
- Photo Credit clementines image by Pefkos from Fotolia.com
