Tangerines: Start Your Own Fruit Stand

If you live in a part of the country that doesn’t have a hard frost in the winter, and you have a backyard, and about four years worth of patience, and you always wanted your own tangerine tree, here’s how to do it.

For best results don’t try to grow one from a tangerine seed you spat out. Break down and get one that is already halfway established from a reputable nursery. If you just have to start with a seed, just read these directions and think smaller.

When you get the tree from the nursery you’re going to want to dig a hole in a sunny spot that is about a third deeper and wider than is necessary for most other trees. Mix in some composted cow manure and a little bit of time released fertilizer that contains trace minerals. Add some of the soil back in so that when the tree is placed in the hole the trunk will be even with the ground and the roots will be completely covered. Mix the soil and manure thoroughly.

Place the tree in the hole and add soil watering and tamping the soil as you go to eliminate air pockets. Once you’ve reached the top of the hole tamp it down and add just a bit more water.

Keep the soil moist but not muddy. A once a week watering will normally do unless you get a really hot summer when additional watering may be required.

Now here’s where the patience part comes in.

Wait four years.

An easy way to figure when the tree is going to bear fruit is to plant it the same year your kid starts high school. When he or she graduates, your tangerine tree should start to bloom. Now you can open a fresh fruit stand to help pay for college tuition.

After the tree has matured, maintaining it becomes even easier. Occasionally you’ll need to do some paring but other than that, just keep the fruit picked. Many professional tangerine growers will claim that the trees need insecticide but literally thousands of trees that decorate residential yards are never sprayed and rarely have a problem.

Depending on the variety that you have planted, you could actually wind up with three different tasting types of tangerines. It all depends on when you pick them. Most tangerines bloom in late October and early November and those tangerines are going to be more reminiscent of grapefruit than oranges. However as they mature, they will get juicier and oh so much sweeter.

There’s just something very satisfying about eating fruit from your own tree. Plant one when you’re 62 and celebrate your first Social Security check with your own home grown tangerine.

Taste the Sunshine with Hale Groves

At Hale Groves, we believe the best gifts come from the land, not a factory. For generations, our fruit has been grown slowly under the Florida sun, picked at its peak, and delivered fresh to your door. From sweet Navel Oranges to rare Honeybells, every gift shares the simple joy of real flavor—perfect for holidays, milestones, or everyday moments worth celebrating.

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