HARDY PLANTS

The first mandarins

Satsuma mandarin trees (Citrus unshui) of the Owari variety planted last year in March (2022) are already bearing fruit and taking on color.

It’s the cold that gives citrus fruits their color in general, by destroying the green chlorophyll in the fruit’s skin. But here in Ticino, at Christmas, we’re still waiting for the first frost, and the Satsuma aren’t all orange.
Around one in two trees bears fruit.
Some have just a few mandarins, others are fully loaded.
In fact, in the first year, it is not advisable to leave the fruit. But I didn’t have the heart to take them off.
Young trees have trouble ripening fruit. Some mandarins are still a little green.
But it’s above all by touch that you can judge the ripeness of a citrus fruit: it should yield slightly to the pressure of your fingers.
The fruit is always at the end of the branches.
To preserve the fruit for up to several weeks, cut off the end of the branch with secateurs.
Harvesting mandarins will always be done by hand.
A few minutes for the daily vitamin basket
This first year, the mandarins weigh between 100 and 180 grams.
They peel very easily.
And they are also suitable for juicing.
Harvesting can continue until the first severe frost, at -4 or -5 degrees.
But for the time being, there’s no need to hurry.
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