i bought a satsuma few months ago with about 10 oranges on it - i decided on this one because it is supposed to be sweet and compact. it is starting to ripen now. it only has main stalk and one branch. the main stalk is about 2 feet long so it is literally covered in fruit. it is raining so I counted the number of fruit from the window. it is outside right now. i have not tasted the fruit yet and this type is not sold in the stores here. i don't know how old it is but it is a very small plant. I don't know about the others at all. good luck.

sue

Satsumas are sweeter and more cold hardy. Miho and Owari are my favorite of the bunch. Don't think you have to settle for a tree from a local nursery. You do have a choice on where to buy - there are several great reputable nurseries that ship citrus trees across the us. Call Dwarf Citrus Farms at 888-442-2676 they ship everywhere except California and Florida. If you live in California go to Four winds growers. I'm not sure who to call in Florida.

Thanks for the info. I went to the local nursery yesterday. I didn't buy anything. There were so many mealy bugs on the trees that I just couldn't spend the money. I bought a clementine tree from this nursery this spring and it was so infested with mealy bugs that it wound up dying. I have decided to go with satsuma. I will look up the nurserys and see what their prices are. There is an ebay seller with a 3 foot one, but they don't list the variety. Maybe if I am lucky, I can be picking my own fruit at Christmas.

good luck in your search. for me the fun is in the shopping.

sue

This is like telling you who to marry, but my 2C. I like the combination of Daisy and Kinnow. The Daisy is earlier, good to eat shortly after thanksgiving in most areas. The Kinnow is later, for after Christmas, and holds well, late into spring. Both are very full flavor, being high acid and high sugar. MMMMM a combination that I love.
If you like a milder taste, then Fairchild might be a better choice.
Of the varieties you have tried from the store, do you remember which ones you liked/ didn't like and why?

The ones in my grocery stores are generic, just labeled tangerines. I bought some clementines last autumn and really liked them. I went back to the nursery and they offered me the mealy bug infested minneola for $15 and I couldn't resist. So I am now keeping it in my potting shed in quarantine until I can kill the mealies. I thought I had decided on a Satsuma for a second tree. But on several citrus forums, there are posts saying that the satsumas must be about 5 years old before their fruit gets sweet enought to eat. I don't want to baby a non producer in my gh for 5 years. So I am considering the Pixie variety. Does anyone have that one? I did find that my minneola will produce a full crop of seedless fruit by using gibberic acid.

Pixie is small but has good flavor. It is also seedless which is a plus. I have tried growing it 2 times here in Indio, where it is ExtReamLy hot in summer and lost it both times. You will have better luck just about anywhere else in CA.
There are several varieties of Satsuma, however the nurseries usually only have one and so sell it under the name satsuma. They are the earliest of all and the season is usually very short. Generally small, easy to peal, and good medium flavor. Satsuma generally do better close to, but not on, the coast, where summers are not to hot.
Minneola is part grapefruit in it's parentage, and needs lots of heat. They do well here in Indio. Don't pick them when they first color up. They need at least a couple more months to get a little sweeter. Try them around March or later.

Well, if clementines grow in Spain and Algeria, they must be good for hot weather. (we're assuming california desert). And they do have a wonderful flavor--definitely my favorite.
I'd think you'd want to get yours on a dwarf rootstock, perhaps a flying dragon.