How to Grow Sweet Tangelos

Find the right site for your tangelo tree. Trees grow well in most soil types, but those on trifoliate orange rootstock dislike alkaline soils. Tangelos need full sun and benefit from being planted by the south side of the house for extra cold protection.

Dig a hole twice the width of your plant's root ball and just as deep. Remove rocks and weeds from the hole before planting.

Remove the mandarin hybrid from its container and spray the roots with water to remove soilless media. Set the tree in the prepares hole so it sits slightly higher than it was planted in the container and is vertically upright. You should see the graft site above the soil. Fill in the hole with soil to complete planting.

Water the tree after planting to saturate the soil.

Construct a watering ring 2 feet in diameter and several inches high, using soil from your yard. Water the tree by filling in the watering ring. For the first few weeks after planting, water every few days. Slowly increase this to seven to 10 days between wtering over the next couple months. When the watering ring fades away, your tangelo is considered established and needs 1 inch of water per week.

Fertilize the tangelo when it resumes growing. Give one-quarter cup of 21-0-0 when growth begins, then repeat this dose three more times for a total of one cup that year. Sprinkle dry fertilizer on the ground then water to disperse nutrients. In the second year, give two cups split into four applications and in the third year give three cups, split the same way. Thereafter add one cup of fertilizer for each year, so four cups at age 4 and so on.

Shelter the tangelo from frosts with a blanket or burlap tarp. Throw this over the tree to cover it, stretching the edges out and tying them to the trunk. Supplemental cold protection includes string lights hung from the tree branches or a portable space heater or heat lamp.

Prune only to remove dead, diseased or damaged branches as you notice them. Citrus trees have naturally strong branches and don't need additional pruning.

Clip fruit off the branches with shears when it ripens, since the peel may tear if plucked. Some tangelos are ripe when the rind turns from green to orange, while others may ripen while the rind is still orange. Find out when your variety is supposed to ripen and use the date as a guideline.