Description
The Page Mandarin is a tangelo hybrid resulting from a cross between a Clementine and a Minneola Tangelo. The result is a very juicy, sweet, easy-to-peel citrus that is the smaller size of a tangerine, with the rich flavor that equals or exceeds many larger oranges
The Page Mandarin is a tangelo hybrid resulting from a cross between a Clementine and a Minneola Tangelo. The result is a very juicy, sweet, easy-to-peel citrus that is the smaller size of a tangerine, with the rich flavor that equals or exceeds many larger oranges. The trees have beautiful, dark green leaves, very few thorns, and are considered easy to grow.
Page Mandarins thrive in warmer weather, so they can be grown in the ground in USDA Zones 8 – 11, or in a container on a deck, or indoors if you are in USDA Zones 4 – 11. The Page Mandarin Tree will reach a mature size of between 8 and 10 feet tall, and 6 to 8 feet wide. Trees grown in pots tend to be somewhat smaller.
Citrus Tree Care
If you are planting your Page Mandarin Tree in the ground, be sure to allow room for the tree to increase in size as it matures. Select a location that is at least 8 to 10 feet away from any other tree, building, or structure. Plant in a location that gets at least 5 hours of sun per day if possible. The more sunlight your tree gets, the more blooms and fruit it will produce.
The Page Mandarin Tree does not need to be pruned. However, you can prune your tree to keep it at a desired size. Prune in late fall before blooms appear, and after any chance of frost or freezing temperatures. Throughout the year, water once per week or less, depending upon soil conditions and drainage. Page Mandarins must have well-drained soil, never stand in water, and will do better in drier conditions. In fact, their drought tolerance is one of the advantages to growing this tree.
Fruit & Harvesting
The Page Mandarin tree blooms in spring, and the fruit can be mature and ready to eat as soon as October. Fruit can last on the Page Mandarin Tree for up to 4 months, so you could have fresh, sweet citrus from this tree until February.
The fruit is ready when it is deep orange and sweet tasting. Do a taste test to know for sure. Page Mandarins have a thin, very easy-to-peel skin, so unless you are picking a single fruit to eat right at that moment, you must be cautious to not tear the rind as you pick each fruit. When harvesting Page Mandarins, use hand clippers and carefully clip each fruit from its branch.
Advice
The Page Mandarin tree is self-fertile, and will produce fruit as a single specimen. But, you can dramatically increase the amount of fruit by pairing it with a second Page Mandarin Tree for cross-pollination. If you are growing your tree exclusively indoors, or indoors for the colder months, you can pollinate the blooms by hand with a sterile cotton swab or a small paint brush, by lightly touching multiple flowers, to simulate the activity of bees and other insects.
It is said that more tangerines and tangelo hybrids die from over-watering, than under-watering. Before watering check the soil, and only water your tree if the soil is dry down to at least 2 inches. Properly draining soil for a container-grown Page Mandarin is essential. Amend potting soil with perlite and sand to help the potted tree drain, and only water when the top few inches have fully dried out.
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