Growing the Hamlin Sweet Orange Tree

Size and Appearance

The Hamlin Sweet Orange Tree is an upright evergreen tree with a rounded crown and smooth bark. Young stems are marbled in shades of gray and green, with some thorns, while older stems are uniform dark gray. The smooth, glossy leaves are oval and pointed, about 5 inches long and 2 inches wide. All year round they are a wonderful dark green color and this is a very handsome and attractive tree. In spring you will see the new stems developing and shortly after clusters of flower buds. The white flowers are almost an inch across, with thick white petals and they fill the air with the wonderful, ever-popular ‘orange blossom’ fragrance. This variety is self-pollinating, and soon you will see small, pea-sized green fruits forming. These develop slowly over the summer, becoming full-sized by fall. This early variety produces ripe fruit in December, just when that glass of fresh-squeezed juice is perfect for the bounty of Vitamin C it contains. The fruit is medium-sized with a strongly-colored bright orange skin. Peel away the thin skin and colorful orange segments greet you. These are juicy and sweet with low acidity, and very few, if any, seeds. The Hamlin Sweet Orange is ideal for juicing, mixed drinks, eating fresh, salads and for baking. It stores for several weeks.

Using the Hamlin Sweet Orange Tree in Your Garden or Home

This ornamental tree is perfect out on a lawn or grown as a specimen anywhere in the garden. Plant it near a window to enjoy the fragrance in spring and to easily see those beautiful ripe oranges in winter. In cooler zones grow it in a pot which should spend most of the year outdoors, such as on a patio, terrace, or balcony.

Hardiness

This is one of the hardiest orange trees, famous for its resistance to frost, and it can be safely grown outdoors throughout zone 9. It is the perfect choice if you are right on the edge of the ‘citrus belt’. In cooler areas bring potted trees indoors when night temperatures start to fall below 40 degrees and keep them in a bright, cool place. Lower temperatures are best, even if close to freezing. Place it back outside as soon as the frost has gone. A cool porch is better than a hot living room for a citrus tree.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

Full sun is what your Hamlin Sweet Orange Tree craves, and that is where it will grow best. Stand potted trees outdoors in the sun, and indoors in the brightest place available. Most well-drained soils will grow citrus trees well. If you have poor drainage plant it on a low mound of soil. For pots, use a planter with drainage holes and a potting soil blended for citrus trees or a cactus soil with 25% houseplant soil mixed with it. Trees that bloom while still indoors may need hand-pollination to set a good crop.

Maintenance and Pruning

The Hamlin Sweet Orange Tree is generally healthy and rarely bothered by pests or diseases. If you should have pest problems we recommend our Neem Oil Spray or natural soap sprays. These products are harmless to you, children, pets and the environment. It is best not to prune your tree, and certainly not to trim it into a rounded ball, if you want to enjoy fruit. Anything more than shortening a few branches can interrupt the flowering cycle for several seasons, reducing or eliminating your crop. Removing a few branches in spring to keep the center of your tree open will help ripening.

History and Origin of the Hamlin Sweet Orange Tree

A.G. Hamlin owned an orange orchard near Glenwood, in Florida, which he planted in 1879. One day he found a seedling that had developed on its own, and kept it growing. In the winter of 1894-95 there was an enormous frost in Florida which destroyed many orchards. Mr. Hamlin saw that his tree survived, and it soon became widely grown, displacing the older ‘Parson’ variety that was not as cold resistant. Today it is widely grown in Florida, and now this valuable tree can be yours – the best early-maturing and cold-resistant sweet orange variety there is.

Buying the Hamlin Sweet Orange Tree at the Tree Center

Nothing beats the beauty of a citrus tree laden with fruit, or in bloom. For the garden or in a pot, nothing beats the Hamlin Sweet Orange for juicy sweetness, versatility and December ripening. This tree is always in huge demand from both commercial growers and homeowners, so order now. We guarantee our trees, and we can guarantee that if you wait these trees will all be gone.

Growing the Dancy Tangerine

Size and Appearance

The Dancy Tangerine is an evergreen tree growing around 15 feet tall and 8 feet wide when grown in the ground. In a pot it will be much smaller, perhaps around 6 feet tall. The stems have no more than the very occasional thorn, making it a very safe citrus tree to grow around children. It is vigorous, and develops an attractive crown of foliage. The leaves are about 5 inches long and 2 inches wide, glossy, smooth and oval. They are a rich green all year round. In spring this tree will flower, producing clusters of flower buds shortly after the new leaves develop. The flowers are white, with thick petals, and beautifully perfumed, with a very similar scent to orange blossom. Following flowering small green fruits develop, increasing in size slowly over the summer. By December the first fruit will have turned orange, and the main harvest is in December and January – perfectly timed for the traditional tangerine season over the holiday period. Once ripe it is best to pick the fruit and store it a cool place, as it does tend to drop from the tree, so it could be damaged.

The fruit is round, slightly flattened on the top and bottom, with a prominent ‘belly-button’ on the bottom. It varies in size between 2 and 2½ inches in diameter. The skin is very thin, with almost no white pith inside it, so it’s perfect for eating fresh or for slicing for baking. The segments separate easily and they are sweet, juicy and delicious, with that pronounced ‘tangerine’ flavor. There may be a few seeds in the fruits.

Using the Dancy Tangerine in Your Garden or Home

You can grow the Dancy Tangerine on the lawn as a specimen tree, or in corners of your property, or around your home. In cooler areas it can be grown in a pot and used outdoors to decorate your patio, terrace or balcony. A beautiful traditional Italian terracotta pot is perfect, or something striking, modern and Spanish perhaps. Grow it outdoors for most of the year, bringing it inside to a bright, cool place only when temperatures are below 40 degrees. A cool place that is frost-free is much better than a hot living room for your tree and to keep it’s growing cycle.

Hardiness

Tangerines are hardier than oranges, and the Dancy Tangerine is hardy in warm parts of zone 8 – and of course in zones 9, 10 and 11.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

All citrus trees should be grown in full sun, including trees brought outdoors in summer. It will grow in almost any well-drained soil – planting on a mound is good if your soil tends to be wet and boggy. When growing in a pot, first make sure it has drainage holes. Use a potting soil blended for citrus trees, or if that is not available, mix 1 part regular houseplant soil with 3 parts of soil for cactus and succulents. If your tree flowers when it is growing indoors you should use hand-pollination to be sure of a good crop.

Maintenance and Pruning

The Dancy Tangerine is vigorous and usually grows well with very little attention. If you do see pests, we suggest using a safe natural soap spray, or better, our Neem Oil Spray. Very little if any pruning is needed, and avoid heavy trimming or pruning, as this can disrupt the growth cycle and stop flowering. Removing a few branches in the center of the tree, to keep it open and let in the sun, is usually all that might be needed. This variety has a tendency to produce a heavy crop of small fruit one year, and a lighter crop of bigger fruit the next. You can reduce this by thinning out heavy crops to just 2 or 3 fruits per cluster.

History and Origin of the Dancy Tangerine

The Dancy Tangerine is part of the mandarin section of citrus fruits, Citrus reticulata. The original trees came from China (and so we have ‘mandarin’) but the Dancy Tangerine probably came originally directly from Tangiers, a city in Morocco. And called a ‘tangierine’. A certain Major Atway owned a property in Palatka, a community west of St. Augustine in Florida. It was bought by N.H. Moragne, who brought those trees from Morocco. He was on that property from 1843, but we don’t know when he brought the tangierine over. Known as the Moragne tangerine, the tree was distributed, and grown by Colonel D.L. Dancy in the nearby community of Orange Mills. In 1867 the Colonel found a seedling growing in his grove of Moragne tangerines, and when this was introduced it was named ‘Dancy’.

Buying the Dancy Tangerine at the Tree Center

Tangerine, mandarin, clementine or satsuma – all these fruits are very similar and closely related. So you only need one type of these trees, and if you make that tree the Dancy Tangerine, then you can enjoy your fruit over the holiday season. All the family will love it, but order soon, as our supply is limited and every tree will be gone very soon.

Growing the Orlando Tangelo

Size and Appearance

The Orlando Tangelo grows rapidly into a moderately-vigorous evergreen tree that can be 15 feet or more tall and 8 to 10 feet wide. It has similar cold-resistance to a tangerine – that is, more than an orange. The leaves are oval, glossy and dark-green, 3 to 5 inches long, with a cupped shape characteristic of this particular tree. It flowers in spring, with clusters of white blossoms. These have thick petals and a beautiful ‘orange blossom’ scent. This variety of citrus is not as good a self-pollinator as most other varieties, and gives the biggest crop when grown near different types of tangerines, such as the Dancy Tangerine – add one to your citrus collection if you don’t already have one, it’s a wonderful fruit.

The fruits develop slowly over summer, growing to about 3 inches across – the size of an orange – with a very strong skin color. Most tangelos have a fat neck, a little like a gourd, but this variety doesn’t, just a slight grapefruit-like mounding of the top half. The skin is thin and clings to the flesh, making juicing very easy. The flesh is fragrant, tasty, and combining sweet and zesty elements in a perfect balance. It produces a heavy flow of juice so your morning pick-up will be ready in seconds. There are usually quite a few seeds in this fruit. Your first tangelos will be ripe in November and continue ripening and holding on the tree throughout January and often up to the middle of February too. This long season means no waste and even a heavy crop will all be used by the end of the season.

Using the Orlando Tangelo in Your Garden or Home

The Orlando Tangelo is a great tree to grow on a lawn or around your home. It throws year-round shade, which is just what you want in hot parts of the country. In cooler areas it can be grown in a pot or tub, and placed on a terrace or patio for the summer months. It should be brought indoors into a bright but cool place once night temperatures dip to 40 degrees, and put out again when they are between 40 and 50. The ideal indoor environment is cool – 40 to 50 degrees is plenty – rather than a hot living room.

Hardiness

Hardier than an orange, the Orlando Tangelo will grow in warmer parts of zone 8, in areas such as southern Texas and Georgia, and all through zones 9 and 10. Outside the ‘citrus belt’ it can be grown in a container.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

Citrus trees all need plenty of sun, and the Orlando Tangelo is no exception. It will grow in almost any well-drained soil, and in wetter soils it can be planted on a low mound. For pots use a well-drained mixture. Special citrus blends are often available, or combine one part regular houseplant soil with three parts of cactus soil. Trees indoors often fail to set fruit because they are not pollinated by insects. When flowers appear cross-pollinate them with a tangerine – for details on how to do this, check out the simple methods in this blog.

Maintenance and Pruning

Like other citrus, the Orlando Tangelo can have occasional pests like scale insects or mealy bugs. These are rarely serious problems, and we recommend Neem Oil Spray as the best and safest control. Little or no pruning is needed, and avoid cutting back hard because this will disrupt the flowering cycle. Pot-grown plants should be fed regularly with a suitable citrus-tree fertilizer.

History and Origin of the Orlando Tangelo

There are several distinct species or natural hybrids of citrus, including the tangerine or mandarin, Citrus reticulata and the grapefruit, Citrus x paradisi. That fruit is itself a hybrid between the orange and the pomelo (Citrus maxima), found in Jamaica in the 18th century. Walter Tennyson Swingle was an agricultural botanist, and an early expert on citrus fruits, writing a 5-volume book on them. He worked in Florida for the US Department of Agriculture, and in 1897, while stationed in Eustice, he crossed together a Dancy tangerine and a Duncan grapefruit, considered at the time to be a type of pomelo. This gave us the first tangelo, which was originally named ‘Lake’ but later changed to ‘Orlando’.

Buying the Orlando Tangelo at the Tree Center

A garden of unusual and more exotic fruits is so much more interesting than just growing the ‘same old, same old’ that you can pick up anywhere. Start your citrus collection with the Orlando Tangelo, adding a Dancy or a Sunburst Tangerine, and perhaps a delicious Washington Navel Orange and a Rio Red Grapefruit too. You will be all set for winter fruit, but order now because our citrus collection always sells well, and our stock never lasts long.

Growing the Key Lime Tree

Size and Appearance

The Key Lime Tree is a small, shrubby tree that grows to around 15 feet in height and several feet across. There are small thorns on the branches. The leaves are 2 or 3 inches long, evergreen and very similar to the leaves of the common orange tree. The flowers are larger than many citrus flowers as they are about one inch across. They are fragrant and have some purple shading on the back of the flower. The tree may flower anytime but usually it will flower between May and September. Fruits take nine months after flowering to be ready to harvest. They are ready to pick when the fruit begins to turn from deep green to a yellowish green. Left on the tree they will eventually turn completely yellow. Your tree should begin to produce fruit in just a couple of years and will go on to have bigger and bigger harvests as it matures.

Growing the Key Lime Tree in a Pot

In cooler areas the Key Lime tree is an excellent plant to grow in a pot. Choose a pot several inches bigger than the one your tree came in and plant into a regular potting soil with about 20% coarse sand added to it. A soil for cactus is also suitable also for citrus trees. A clay pot is better than plastic as the soil will ‘breathe’ better and the extra weight will stop your tree from blowing over. Always let the soil dry a little before watering again and always water thoroughly each time you do it. Us a special liquid fertilizer for citrus trees during the growing season.

Keep your potted tree in a very sunny spot throughout the growing season and bring it indoors once the temperature reaches 40F at night. Find a cool, bright spot indoors for your tree and just water it enough to stop the soil becoming completely dry. In spring start putting your tree outdoors on warmer days but bring it in a night for the first week or two before leaving it outside permanently. Watch out for late spring frosts which can cause damage to your tree.

Hardiness

The Key Lime tree needs a warm, sunny location and since it is sensitive to cold it should be grown outdoors in zones 9 and 10. Choose a warm, protected location for your tree, especially in the cooler parts of zone 9.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

The Key Lime tree prefers a sheltered spot in full sunlight. It will tolerate some shade but shaded trees will produce less fruit. A tree growing outdoors will grow in most kinds of soil that are well-drained and even sandy, with plenty of organic material added to the soil. If your soil is a bit wet, plant your tree on a mound 4 to 6 inches above the level of the surrounding area. After planting put organic mulch over the root zone but not touching the trunk.

Maintenance and Pruning

Each spring add fresh mulch, extending it to cover the roots as the tree develops. Usually that is all the fertilizer that will be needed, but if your tree is not growing well, apply a citrus-tree fertilizer in spring. Only a little pruning is needed. Just remove any weak branches and trim back strong growths to encourage branching and good fruit production. If your tree becomes very bushy, remove some branches from the center to make it more open, and to let the sun penetrate to encourage flowering and to ripen the fruit.

History and Origin of the Key Lime Tree

The Key Lime tree is a very special variety of lime tree, Citrus x aurantiifolia. It is very different to the common Persian lime which is the kind usually seen in stores.

Buying the Key Lime Tree at the Tree Center

Our trees are produced from genuine trees by stem cuttings or by grafting on to strong root systems. Beware of cheaper seedling trees that will only be a disappointment and produce very inferior limes. Order now, and enjoy the best – but order soon, as the demand for these great trees is always huge.