Clementine Trees for Sale - Buying & Growing Guide

Planting instructions

by Mary Van Keuren | Gardener (30+ Years Experience) – last update on December 2, 2021

Choose a site in full sun and dig a hole that’s three times as wide and just as deep as the tree’s root ball. Tease out the roots so they’re not encircling the root ball — this could choke your tree. Place the clementine in the hole. Fill the hole halfway with soil, then fill it with water. When th water drains away, fill the rest of the hole with water. Tamp down and water again. Add several inches of organic mulch around the root line.

Watering and nutrients

Clementines like soil that is moist but not soggy. For the first year after you plant it, water your sapling every few days. After that, you can scale back on waterings, but check the tree regularly. If the soil is dry two inches below the surface, water well. If growing in a container, water every few days.

Look for a fertilizer that is formulated specifically for citrus trees, and use it every other month throughout the year (clementines don’t go dormant in the winter). Do a soil test when planting — your tree will do best in slightly acidic soil. If that’s not what you have, amend the soil as needed.

Pollination

Clementines are self-fruitful, meaning they do not need to be pollinated by another tree. That means you will be able to have a harvest from your tree even if you only have one.

Pruning

Clementines don’t need extensive pruning unless you want your tree to stay a certain size, in which case judicious pruning in the spring will be needed to control growth. Otherwise, check your tree regularly for broken or diseased branches and remove them. In the spring, survey it for crossed or leggy branches, as well as suckers that grow off the base of the trunk — all should be removed.

Pests and diseases

Fruit flies may lay their eggs on your clementine’s fruit. Avoid this by harvesting when the fruit is ripe, and cleaning up fallen fruit or other debris around the tree. Soft scale is another pest that may bother your clementine, but it is easily treated with horticultural oil or neem oil.

Although clementines are sturdy trees with few diseases, you may experience citrus canker, which shows as raised lesions on the leaves, branches, and fruit of your tree. Eventually the lesions turn brown and may cause damage to the wood of the tree. Use a copper fungicide to control it.

Harvesting

Clementines are ripe from roughly November through February. The fruit doesn’t ripen after picking, so you’ll need to learn to recognize when it’s ripe on the tree. Look for fruit that is fully orange, with no green, and slightly heavy. It should have a little “give” to it when you squeeze gently. The fruit can sit on the counter for up to a week; longer than that and it should be kept in the refrigerator.

Achieving maximum results

Your clementine is happiest in well-drained soil that is on the sandy side. Adding a few shovels of well-rotted organic compost to the mix when you plant it will give it an extra boost. Keep the soil mulched under the tree’s drip line to conserve moisture. Rake that mulch away once a year and apply a one to two inch layer of compost, then replace the mulch.

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Customer Reviews

Anonymous

Verified Buyer April 3, 2021 at 4:56pm

Happy with the plants

I've bought several plants, all in good shape. The clementines are thriving and flowering and may even get some fruit soon. I will buy from them again. One note, please consider packing differently so they aren't as easily damaged when you take them out.

Anonymous

Verified Buyer December 24, 2020 at 12:24pm

Perfect gift

Excellent, would do again

Anonymous

Verified Buyer June 22, 2020 at 2:48am

Getting a good start

So far, so good it is outside in a container, bushy and green.

Anonymous

Verified Buyer June 3, 2020 at 1:43am

Perfect Mother's Day gift

The tree was a Mother's Day gift. My mother was so happy when she opened the box. Is beautiful

Anonymous

Verified Buyer May 20, 2020 at 3:43pm

Clementine

It looks beautiful and healthy.

Anonymous

Verified Buyer May 16, 2020 at 4:55pm

Tree

It is a very nice tree, it is doing really well