My Xie Shan have fruit for the first time this year. They seem to me to be quite large 3 - 4". Is this normal for them?

Young satsuma trees sometimes produce the oversized fruit.

The other day I stopped by the mature sour orange tree I topworked to Xie Shan 3 years ago. It is loaded with average sized fruit for a satsuma.

Yep, satsumas will produce quite a few large puffy fruit as young tree. After a few years they will become much better with few few puffy fruit. Of all the mandarins I have, only the satsumas do this.

Thanks Laaz and Mr. Texas,

This may sound a bit stupid but how can i tell if they are Puffy. When I saw these that is what came to mind but when I gave them a squeeze they were firm so I did not thnk they were Puffy.

Is any abnormally large fruit considered to be puffy or will they be soft too?

They will be firm, but you will see that they are larger & not smooth like the other fruit. When they ripen they will be mostly pith & nasty.

Your fruit don't certainly necessarily have to be puffy just because they are large. When you actually have a puffy fruit you will know it immediately without anyone's help. With puffy fruit the peel pulls away from the pulp, resulting in an air space between the peel and the pulp. Satsumas left on the tree too long frequently become puffy. One other point. If your Xie Shan's are not as exquisite as you expected, just remember that young trees don't even begin to produce really good fruit until after their fifth year of growth. There after, the fruit becomes better year after year. - The very best to you and your grove. Your hard work will benefit you and your family 100 fold. - Millet (Clint Eastwood - American)