Growing a mandarin orange tree comes with some amazing hacks to make the process smoother, easier and quicker. What hack will help you the most?

Growing your own fresh fruit can be so rewarding. You get to have delicious fruit that comes as a result of your own hard work!

In some instances, however, growing a new plant or tree may not always be easy.

How can you grow a mandarin orange tree more smoothly? What are some tips and tricks to help things become more simple?

Keep reading to find out 5 ways to make the process of planning, growing, and maintaining a mandarin orange tree easier!

Hacks to Grow the Best Mandarin Orange Tree

The good news is that mandarin orange trees are generally low maintenance. This doesn't mean that you don't have to do some extra work though. What can you do to make your tree more efficient and make sure your fruit grows?

1. Harvest the Fruit Right Away

A lot of people think that they can leave the fruit on the vine once it starts to ripen because you can do that with other citrus fruits.

Mandarin oranges, however, have to be picked right away when they are ripe.

If they are left on the vine, the flavor will start to decline and it won't be as tasty. Once the fruit is orange with no green left on it, you want to pick it! This is good for the fruit and for the tree itself.

2. For Potted Trees...

Your pot needs to be at least 3 times bigger than the tree's root ball. Water the plant regularly as it grows and if you live in a dry climate, you may need to water it more often.

Although it may not be the most pleasant thing to handle, compost and manure can do wonders for your tree. If you mix these elements into your well-draining soil in the pot, the tree will get more nutrients.

3. Don't Prune Just Yet

You don't have to prune a mandarin orange tree until it is at least three years old. The only thing you do have to do is remove dead or diseased branches on the tree.

Even though mandarin orange trees are the most tolerant to cold of the citrus trees, you will have to cut branches damaged by frost.

This may only happen in climates that have extremely cold temperatures, but it is worth looking out for to save yourself (and the tree) trouble in the future.

4. Light and Temperature

A mandarin orange tree needs at least 6 hours of sunlight each day. If you are growing it inside, you might need to invest in some grow lights to keep the tree healthy.

Remember that these are fruits that originated in warm parts of the world, so you need to keep the temperature at a good range as well. 65 degrees tends to be a good spot to aim for.

Our Grow Light Recommendation

We love SANSI 24W LED grow lights. They have a clean white light because they are full spectrum. They have all the right mix of light spectrum for growth, leaf flush, flower blossoming, and fruit set. 24 watts is a good amount of power for indoor lighting. We recommend placing the grow light anywhere from 6 to 18 inches away from your tree.

Your tree needs 12-16 hours of light a day. You can be very flexible with your light. You can keep it on for many days straight. However, all citrus trees need some dark time.

You can easily use one grow light for 1-3 trees. An easy way is to use one light on a tree for 24 hours at a time.

All grow lights get hot. We prefer SANSI because they use ceramic sinks to dissipate the heat. We have found the majority of grow lights on Amazon to have disturbing safety profiles. Use standard safety precautions, don't let babies and pets stare directly into the light or touch the heat from the grow light!

Our socket/clamp Recommendation:

We recommend the following clamp for your tree. It has a UL certified socket, electrical cord included as well. And it fits the Sansi bulb!

5. Don't Move the Plant Too Suddenly

By this, we mean don't move the plant to a new location without giving it some time to adjust to it. You can gradually let the tree get used to its new home by exposing it to a new location for a little while and then moving it back.

Increase the time a little bit every day until you feel it is ready to stay indoors or outside.

Grow Mandarins

As you can see, growing a mandarin orange tree doesn't have to be rocket science!

In fact, it can become a fun hobby and help you learn a little more about citrus gardening when you do it correctly. At the same time, you'll be able to produce fresh fruit to try out some healthy, tasty, and delicious mandarin orange recipes!

Growing Trees is fun, and every tree we send comes with a 20-page care guide.