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Experienced gardeners are well aware of this reality and have even come to enjoy the ephemeral nature of their outdoor spaces.
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Do you know the difference between mandarin oranges and clementines? At first glance these two palm-sized citrus fruits may look alike and even taste alike, but there IS one key difference that may surprise you. Learn more about mandarins, clementines, and other small orange fruits that resemble them. Mandarins and clementines are two fruits that look very similar to oranges, but are smaller in size. There are lots of small, round, and orange citrus fruits available, and it can be tough to tell the difference between them if you don’t know what you’re looking for. What’s a mandarin? What’s a clementine? And are either of these the same thing as those bags of Cuties or Halos you see in the grocery store? (Yes, actually—those adorable little oranges sold under the Cuties and Halos brand names are clementines.) But while mandarins and clementines have many similarities, you might be surprised by what makes them different. Read on! Types of orange citrus fruits The way we typically use the term “orange” refers to the large, round, sweet fruit we know and love, but botanically speaking, an orange is the fruit of various citrus species in the family Rutaceae. There are many different types of orange citrus fruits, so let’s take a look at the main ones below. Orange: Also known as a common orange or sweet orange (these are the navel, Valencia, and blood oranges you see in stores), this fruit has a thick rind, bitter pith, and sweet-tart flesh. It’s believed to be a hybrid of a pomelo and a mandarin orange. Mandarin: This is an original species of orange from where the common orange descended. (Yes, it’s the grandmother!) Mandarins are typically smaller and sweeter than oranges, with a slightly flattened shape. They also have thinner and looser skins that make them easier to peel. Tangerine: Tangerines refer to a group of several distinct mandarin-pomelo hybrids. Sometimes, you’ll find tangerine-grapefruit hybrids labeled and sold as tangerines as well. They have slightly tougher skins, and their flavor is a little less sweet. Tangelo: This distinctive fruit is on the larger side of all the small oranges, and is believed to be a hybrid of a Citrus reticulata variety (such as tangerine or mandarin) and a Citrus maxima variety (such as pomelo or grapefruit). So, you can see where its name comes from. It’s generally more tangy than a mandarin, and has a characteristic “nipple” at the stem. Clementine: This is the smallest type of mandarin orange and a couple of them can fit in the palm of your hand. It is super sweet and seedless and has a very thin rind and pith. The loose, leathery skin makes it much easier to peel than most other mandarin hybrids. Satsuma: This mandarin-pomelo hybrid has a higher proportion of pomelo in its genome than other types of mandarins. It’s a semi-seedless variety that originated in the Satsuma province of Japan and is considered to be one of the sweetest citrus fruits. It’s also the most tender and easily damaged type of mandarin. Mandarins vs. clementines Did you notice anything interesting about the list above? Mandarins are the ancestor of the group, while clementines, tangerines, satsumas, and even your everyday oranges are all part of the mandarin family. Mandarins are thought to have originated in China, and wild mandarins can still be found today in the Nanling Mountains of Southern China. The botanical name for the mandarin is Citrus reticulata. In Latin, reticulata means “netted” and the name stems from the net-like interlaced pattern made by the pith (the spongy white portion between the flesh and the rind). The clementine (Citrus × clementina) is a smaller and seedless variety of mandarin that was cultivated by Clément Rodier, a French missionary in Algeria (for whom the fruit was named). It’s actually a hybrid of a Mediterranean willowleaf mandarin orange (C. × deliciosa) and a sweet orange (C. × sinensis). Now, if you remember that a sweet orange is actually a mandarin-pomelo hybrid, that means the clementine is a hybrid of a hybrid! (A tad confusing, I know.) Appearance Mandarins and clementines both have smooth, glossy skins with a deep orange color. They have a round, slightly flattened shape and are smaller than oranges, though clementines tend to be a little smaller of the two. Both fruits have thin, loose skins that are easy to peel in one piece, making them very popular with kids and as on-the-go snacks. They also tend to separate into segments more easily than an orange. Texture and taste Mandarins come in both seeded and seedless varieties, but clementines are always seedless (or practically seedless). Nutrition Small but powerful, mandarins and clementines have very similar nutritional profiles that pack an impressive health punch. Both fruits are rich in vitamin C, though clementines contain slightly higher amounts. A single clementine provides up to 60 percent of the daily recommended intake of vitamin C, while a mandarin provides about a third. The fruits are also good sources of folate, potassium, fiber, and antioxidants, and are known to strengthen the immune system and promote gut health. Even their flowers have benefits: orange blossoms can be steeped in hot water to make a healing orange blossom tea that aids in digestion, sleep, and anxiety. While it’s hard to quantify whether mandarins—or clementines—have more vitamins and minerals than the other, it’s safe to say both of these fruits are beneficial to your diet.
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Do you want to grow the largest tree in the world? If your landscape has 30-60 square feet of open space and lots of summer moisture, you can plant your own Giant Sequoia to reach up to 150 feet in your lifetime! In this guide, garden expert Logan Hailey explains how to grow this gigantic living fossil. If you want to grow the largest tree in the world, you can plant your own Giant Sequoia in USDA zones 6 through 8. These breathtaking giants are native to California, and their species has lived on Earth for millions of years. Only about 75 wild groves remain scattered along the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in central California, where they once dominated the landscape until logging and more severe wildfires killed huge stands. Still, these are some of the most fire-resistant and climate-resilient trees on the planet. Amazingly, these living fossils can grow up to 150 feet in just 50 years! They are cold and heat-tolerant, growing around the U.S. and the world as ornamentals and timber resources. You don’t need to live in California to grow a redwood, but you do need to ensure the proper spacing and conditions for this rapid-growing conifer to thrive. Let’s dig into everything you need to know about growing your own gigantic redwood! When dinosaurs roamed the Earth about 70 to 180 million years ago, gigantic conifers ruled North America and Europe. Often called the redwoods, most Sequoia relatives have gone extinct, but two primary species remain: Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum). Another smaller relative, the Dawn Redwood, is widely cultivated and grows wild inChina. While Coast Redwoods are the tallest trees in the world, Giant Sequoias are the largest by volume. The largest known specimen is nicknamed “The General Sherman Tree,” and grows in Sequoia National Park near Mount Whitney in Central California. This tree is over 270 feet tall and 30 feet in diameter. Scientists estimate that it is about 3,800 years old! Though you may not see its tremendous heights in your lifetime, planting a Giant Sequoia tree sapling in your landscape could yield 30-60 or more feet of growth in a few decades and up to 150 feet in 50 years. The Giant Sequoia tree—also known as giant redwood, Sierra redwood, or Sequoiadendron giganteum—is one of three remaining redwood species in the world. This coniferous tree grows 200-300 feet tall and about 10 to 20 feet in diameter, withstanding centuries of wildfires and climate changes. Native to the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Central California, Giant Sequoias are the largest trees by volume and are now cultivated in many parts of the world as ornamental and timber species. The last remaining native wild groves are the western slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. This species is specifically adapted to mild climates with humid winters and dry mild summers at elevations between 4,000 and 8,500 feet. However, there is evidence that ancestors of the Giant Sequoias were once widespread across the Northern Hemisphere. They are now cultivated around the world, including parts of the Pacific Northwest, Southern United States, South America, Europe, and Japan. Nursery-grown saplings are the quickest and easiest way to establish a Giant Sequoia, but you can also grow this tree from seeds or cuttings. The seeds can be collected from mature redwoods (70+ years old) in the fall, but they have very low germination rates. Cuttings are best taken from younger trees under 10 years old, so your decision between seed or cutting may depend on whether or not properly-aged trees grow in your area. These nuances also explain why purchasing from a reputable nursery is ideal. The Jonsteen Company’s SequoiaTrees.com offers live tree seedlings for shipment. If you wish to grow an ornamental cultivar like ‘French Beauty’ or ‘Albospica,’ you may need to find a specialized landscaping nursery.
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Removing fruit tree suckers is an important part of pruning your fruit trees. They’re sometimes called watershoots, but in fact, watershoots are something entirely different. Pruning is one of the 5 key fruit tree jobs. Whether you’re pruning in summer or winter (or any other time for that matter), removing suckers is an important part of the job. What’s a sucker? Good question! Suckers are shoots growing from below the graft union on your tree. Sometimes they’re growing directly from the roots and coming up through the soil near the trunk of the tree. Most fruit trees have been grafted. This means that shoots from below the graft union are growing from the rootstock, rather than from the variety. Watershoots are something different. Just like suckers they are strong, vertical shoots, but watershoots grow from above the graft and need dealing with differently. Why should you always remove fruit tree suckers? There are three very good reasons why you should always remove these shoots from your fruit trees. It’s often better to illustrate these things rather than talk about them. Suckers are pretty common, so we have lots of photos from our orchards to demonstrate what we’re talking about! Can suckers get as big as the tree? This is a little plum tree with two suckers coming up from the roots. Notice how they’re pretty much the same diameter as the original tree? In just one year, both suckers have grown taller than the tree. Just imagine, for a minute, what this scenario would look like in another year or two if the suckers were left intact. Within a very short space of time, the original grafted tree would become increasingly difficult to distinguish. In fact, the suckers would likely out-compete the original tree, increasing its chances of dying. If you have a multi-trunked fruit tree in your garden, this is one of the common explanations for how it got there.
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I’m sure you must be looking at this picture, thinking, “Obviously, this is an orange tree.” And you would be correct. But last year, I didn’t have an orange tree. I had a tree filled with bright green orbs all over, and I plucked them all at this stage, thinking they were limes. Don’t laugh. When I moved into my house last summer, most of the fruit trees were not in good shape. The previous owners had said the mulberry was barely fruiting, and the avocado tree — despite being at least a couple decades old — gave them less than a dozen avocados. So when I bit into my “lime” and found it dry and bitter, I blamed it on poor fertilization. Or poor watering. Or maybe it was still a little unripe — never considering that maybe it was still a lot unripe! After I harvested all those awful limes, after I squeezed them over fish tacos and dunked them into beer, I found out that the tree was, in fact, a Valencia orange tree. And the few fruits I had left on the tree because I couldn’t reach them eventually ripened to a brilliant orange color, with the sweetest, juiciest flesh inside. This year, I finally have an orange tree! Perfectly round, tender fruits dangle like Christmas ornaments from tree branches. Winter citrus always perks me up after feeling a little sad that the bounty of summer has passed. Now that I’ll have a real harvest of oranges soon, I need to start conditioning my arms for all the juicing I’ll be doing!
Read MoreFind and share everyday cooking inspiration on Allrecipes. Discover recipes, cooks, and how-tos based on the food you love and the friends you follow.
We’re hot and spicy… literally!
Use up all those veggies in the easiest stir-fry of all! Quick, simple and completely customizable to what you have on hand!
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Clam chowder is easier (and much better) to make right at home! So unbelievably creamy, flavorful and chockfull of clams!
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Crisp, crunchy, parmesan-loaded tortellini bites – so good, you won’t be able to stop eating these!
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