I am thinking about purchasing a Satsuma Mandarin 'Kimbrough' variety for the Orlando, Florida area. Many web sites I have visited have a Satsuma Mandarin as only growing to 10' to 12' high. This is the size I need. However, the tree certification tag for the 'Kimbrough' variety indicates this tree to 25' high and 20' wide. This is definitely not what I need. The Nurseryman doesn't know the true height for this variety or if it can be pruned to 12' high without affecting fruit production. I can not find any information on the internet indicating the expected mature height for the 'Kimbrough' but every other bit of information available on the tree. There is a lot of information on regular Mandarin Satuma's though; even their being able to be grown in large containers.
Thanks for your help.
Expected height for a Satsuma Mandarin 'Kimbrough'
Many citrus trees can be purchased grafted to a dwarf rootstock, most likely the ones you've seen that grow 10-12 feet are on the dwarf rootstock and the one that says it's 20 feet is probably on its own roots or a non-dwarf rootstock. I don't know if the 'Kimbrough' cultivar specifically is available on dwarf rootstock--is there a particular reason why you want that one and not another type of Satsuma? I know there are some that are available dwarf but that one may not be.
Thanks Ecrane3. The 'Kimbrough' cultivar is available locally at one nursery only and looks to offer a very good fruit; largest of the Mandarins I believe. I haven't seen any other Satsuma cultivars at any other local nursery, but I have been known to drive 200 plus miles to get a tree I really want!!! It also grows very well in Fla and has very few seeds (0-4 per fruit). If there are some other Mandarin Satsuma varieties available that were available on a smaller root stock, I would jump all over it. My biggest concern at this time is space. Thanks for the input and I will take any suggestions that you may have to offer. Oh, thanks for the information regarding the root stock. I never knew that the root stock was a determining factor for citrus tree size. Good info to know.
I would talk to the people at the nursery and see if they can help you--with the amt of citrus that's available in Florida I think you shouldn't have too much trouble finding pretty much any kind of citrus you want! Out here you can find tons of different types of citrus on dwarf rootstock because people love to grow citrus trees in pots, so I'm sure you can get them by you too.