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Check with your local extension service ask for master Gardner’s they can lead you in the right direction in terms of what citrus trees grows best in your growing zone.
Check with your local extension service ask for master Gardner’s they can lead you in the right direction in terms of what citrus trees grows best in your growing zone.
This tree is for zones 9-11; suitable for my place (10a and 10b).
There are multiple reasons the fruit is so expensive! Your growing zone won't matter OP. Propagation is strictly controlled in the US. Unless the quarantine has been relaxed, you can't import sumo citrus trees to CA. You'd need to find someone to sell you an illegal tree or get a graft from a hobbyist grower in your area who's lucky enough to already have one. Because propagation has selected for the seedless trait, the chances of finding a viable seed in fruit you buy is very low. Then everything would need to go right for years before the tree would bear fruit. Seems like a lot of hoops to jump through just to indulge your kids.
Last edited by Parnassia; 02-09-2022 at 12:32 PM..
Robert, Parnassia is right on in her post. Only licensed crop growers can grow Sumos in USA and they are a super huge hassle to grow in addition to all the legal restrictions on them. Just for example, something I learned is that as the fruit is growing it has to have a specially prepared clay based sun screen hand-rubbed onto the skin of each fruit every day from the day the baby fruits start forming on the tree until the day they are harvested. That's just one of the several examples of the many special cares the Sumo trees and fruits require. Sumos are considered a luxury fruit around the world. It is no wonder the fruits are so expensive and if you are getting them for $5.99 a pound you are getting one heck of a good bargain for them. A single Sumo citrus fruit in Japan (where Sumos were developed) and elsewhere in Asia costs the equivalent of $8.99 for each individual fruit.
A relatively good alternative substitute for Sumo mandarins is Murcott mandarins and they don't require so much extra special care to grow. You could look into Murcotts and see what kind of red tape - if any - you'd have to cut through to acquire the seedling trees for your location. A quick look online shows there are growers in California that are selling little (1 - 2 feet tall) Murcott mandarin sapling trees to private individuals at around $100 per tree (which is much less expensive than Sumo saplings) so I think there must not be the same restrictions as there are for Sumos.
Frankly I wouldn't go to so much trouble and huge expense to indulge the whims of children who don't understand yet what's involved with the production of the foods they eat. If your kids have special favourites perhaps you could be teaching them to grow their own foods so they'll learn what's involved with food production.
Robert, Parnassia is right on in her post. Only licensed crop growers can grow Sumos in USA and they are a super huge hassle to grow in addition to all the legal restrictions on them. Just for example, something I learned is that as the fruit is growing it has to have a specially prepared clay based sun screen hand-rubbed onto the skin of each fruit every day from the day the baby fruits start forming on the tree until the day they are harvested. That's just one of the several examples of the many special cares the Sumo trees and fruits require. Sumos are considered a luxury fruit around the world. It is no wonder the fruits are so expensive and if you are getting them for $5.99 a pound you are getting one heck of a good bargain for them. A single Sumo citrus fruit in Japan (where Sumos were developed) and elsewhere in Asia costs the equivalent of $8.99 for each individual fruit.
A relatively good alternative substitute for Sumo mandarins is Murcott mandarins and they don't require so much extra special care to grow. You could look into Murcotts and see what kind of red tape - if any - you'd have to cut through to acquire the seedling trees for your location. A quick look online shows there are growers in California that are selling little (1 - 2 feet tall) Murcott mandarin sapling trees to private individuals at around $100 per tree (which is much less expensive than Sumo saplings) so I think there must not be the same restrictions as there are for Sumos.
Frankly I wouldn't go to so much trouble and huge expense to indulge the whims of children who don't understand yet what's involved with the production of the foods they eat. If your kids have special favourites perhaps you could be teaching them to grow their own foods so they'll learn what's involved with food production.
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I thought the tree would be readily available. What's so risky about this Sumo tree that it cannot be sold in CA?
I think I know Murcott orange... this is the type that skin easily comes off, right? This is also very sweet from what I remember. An alternative indeed. My kids likes 2 qualities about the Sumo: 1) sweet 2) easy to peel.
I thought the tree would be readily available. What's so risky about this Sumo tree that it cannot be sold in CA?
Two words: disease spread. The quarantine isn't limited to sumo. Information about USDA citrus quarantines is readily available OP. About your kids' preferences: If you stop bringing them sumos their taste will adjust to something else.
Last edited by Parnassia; 02-10-2022 at 02:30 PM..
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