Lower South
February, 2008
Regional Report
Favorite or New Plant
Satsuma Oranges
Satsuma oranges are fairly cold hardy for citrus and can take a freeze down into the mid-twenties before suffering much damage. The trees are quite small and can be kept to about 8 feet tall, although it will take a long time for them to reach that size. Thus they are able to be covered on a cold night. These trees can also be grown in large containers that spend the summer in a sunny spot out on the patio and are moved into a protected spot when freezing temperatures threaten. Casters or a dolly make moving them easier. The blooms are fragrant and the fruit is very loose skinned, being a type of mandarin orange.
Clever Gardening Technique
Help for Lonely Fruit Trees
If you have only one variety of a fruit tree that requires a pollinator, here is a temporary fix until you can plant another tree and get it to blooming age. Find a friend with another variety that blooms at the same time. Wait until your tree is about 50 percent in bloom. Cut a few limbs from their tree one morning, place each branch in a small can with some water and hang them around in the tree. Replenish the branches twice more about 3 or 4 days apart. The bees will do the rest.
