I'd heard before that dobashi bene satsuma has darker orange fruit than other satsumas. This is the first year I've seen a big difference in dobashi ben satsuma and the tree next to it frost owari.

dobashi bene satsuma fruit:


frost owari satsuma fruit:

Cool!

Any taste difference or pretty much the same?

Phil, there are 2-3 exceptional tasting satsumas, but all in all the vast majority of them pretty much taste more or less the same. Because of this, I have pretty much stopped buying any more satsuma varieties. I have never had the opportunity to taste dobashi bene, is it anything special? - Millet (376 ABO-)

The only difference in taste between satsumas I have noted is for xie shan.

I only got to taste a half a fruit since the rest disappeared way early in the season before I could get there. The xie shan was at a friends business. He had a mature sour orange tree I topworked for him.

Of all the satsuma varieties I have, seto, miho, dobashi bene, frost owari and branches of miyagawa and xie shan, I really have gotten very little good quality fruit even though the oldest trees are 11 years old.

The biggest factor in quality I know of is the age of the tree. Fruit from trees planted in 1989 after our last killing freeze have fabulous fruit.

Phil, I agree with you. Xie Shan is far and away the very best tasting satsuma of them all. It is my favorite citrus fruit. - Millet (376 ABO-)

Ryan, I purchased my Xie Shan tree from Mr. Texas some years ago, before Texas was put under a quarantine. You should be able to purchase Xie Shan budwood from the UCR's CCPP bud wood program. BTW, every tree that I have purchased from Mr. Texas was a quality tree. Unfortunately he cannot ship out of state until the quarantine is lifted, if it is ever lifted. - Millet (376 ABO-)