Page has excellent taste in FL--sometimes some seeds. Satsumas can sometimes have seeds too--perhaps because of growing conditons, I don't know. I go for taste, not seedless characteristics. Roble juice orange, for example is very seeded but oh,soooooo good tasting !

Sugarcane52

Attaboy: Did you do the search on the honey mandarine line. There are so many names, among them Honey Murcott is a good one. Don't you think, our teachers and friends? Kim

Dltsch has provided a good list of some of the best alternatives. Although I would say that "Gold Nugget" is far superior to "Pixie", if you want a seedless mandarin. "Page" has a wonderful flavor, in California or Florida, but, as others have pointed out, it is not always completely seedless.

Satsuma-type mandarins can be very nice as well -- however, they tend to ripen very early, and don't hold well on the tree. (They also tend to be more mildly-flavored than intensely sweet/acid fruits like "Page" or "Gold Nugget.)

Most satsumas would ripen around November/December, while a fruit like "Gold Nugget" will be at its best much later, through late spring possibly even into early summer.

So you can see that many of these cultivars are not in direct competition with each other -- they ripen during different windows.

Kquat,

There is the California "Honey" mandarin, which is quite a seedy fruit. There is also the "Murcott", sometimes called "Honey" in Florida. "W. Murcott Afourer" is a seedling or bud-sport of "Murcott" (I can't remember which), that I think is better adapted to California. "Tango", as Dltsch mentions, is a U.C.-developed seedless version of "W. Murcott Afourer".

In my opinion noone can beat clemenule from Spain as far as sweetness and juiciness is concern. But you may have a problem getting them. Followed by Kishu mandarin.

Sedless Kishu is excelloent. All satsumas should have 6 or less seed and a great sugar to acid ratio. There are many varieties of satsuma that ripen at different times. Check with your local cooperative extension service for varieties suitalbe for your area.

Individual tastes vary, but did a citrus tasting last week. I have to agree that Kishu is excellent. So is Tango. Really liked Yosemite Gold (went out and bought one), Shasta Gold and Tahoe Gold. Tried Ortanique, Encore, W. Murcott, Clementine, etc.

It will probably be a few years before we see Tango here in Orange County, Ca. Budwood was rationed to growers and was first released 6/2006. And it was mentioned that if Tango was isolated/no cross pollination it would be seedless. If not, there would be just a couple of seeds.

Kishu was harder to locate in this area but I did find a nursery that has them.

Here is a good website w/data on individual varieties.

www.citrusvariety.ucr.edu/citrus/index.html

There seems to be a problem in growing two varieties of blood orange in most of Orange County because of insufficient heat for these varieties(Tarocco and Sanguinelli)but I don't think the Mandarins and hybrids would have the same problem.

If you have the option of planting several, it is worthwhile to plant trees that have sequential ripening. My own strategy is Kishu (November), Owari Satsuma (December), Page (January), Navel and blood oranges (February/March), Pixie and Yosemite Gold (March/April).
That way, you can take your time deciding on which is best!

For sanpedropamela, I had a Tarocco blood orange in Malibu, close to the ocean where hot summer days were rarely above 85 deg, and not that many of them. It had the very best fruit, tasting like orange LifeSavers (at least like my childhood memories of them!). Next to it an Algerian (Clementine) tangerine, also very good tasting. A Satsuma tangerine was ok, but nothing special.

jc

Hi,

Does anybody know where I can purchase them?

The kids eat the Kishu like its candy. Easy to peel, highly flavorful and sweet, and oh so easy to peel.

'Tango' is my recommendation. It is a truly seedless variety derived from the long-established Murcott mandarin, a delicious variety that is naturally seedy if pollinated.