Tangelo

Description
The tangelo is a member of the citrus family oranges, lemons, grapefruit  etc... It was originally developed from a cross between a mandarine and a grapefruit.  Like all citrus trees it is an evergreen with thick bright green waxy leaves.  While the trunk of the tree has a greyish hue to it the outer branches are the same colour green as the leaves.

Fruit
The fruit of a Tangelo looks similar to a mandarine .  It combines the tartness of a grapefruit with the flavor, smell and ease of peeling of a mandarine .  The fruit start to ripen from late Autumn through to late Winter and will hold on the tree for between one and two months.

Climate
All Citrus trees require hot summers and mild Winters to thrive.  They can stand temperatures down to 5 Deg C  with only minor damage to outer shoots.  While lemons do well in the Ballarat Climate Tangelos appear to need slightly more sun and heat then a lemon to do well and are therefore somewhat marginal for the Ballarat district.  However  the Tangelo in the Author's  garden has consistently  produced good crops.

Cultivation
Tangelos do best in a sheltered position that gets plenty of sunlight.  And like all citrus trees they prefer well drained soil.  See PLANTING CITRUS TREES on the Garden management Webpage for planting information.

While Tangelos do not need fertiliser to produce a healthy crop they are quite nitrogen hungry.  So if you want to maximize your crop yield a liberal spreading of a nitrogen rich  fertiliser such as chicken manure in the Spring and Autumn would be useful.

Tangelos generally do not need  to be pruned. However apparently they can be espaliered, though the author has never seen one that has been espaliered.

Irrigation does enhance the yield and produce juicier fruit.


SOURCE REFERENCE MATERIAL

Growing Fruit in Australia  by Paul Baxter and Glen Tankard  ISBN 0 17 006915 X