Dancy Tangerine

Whether you live Zones 9 or 10 and can grow this beautiful, fruit bearing tree in the ground—or you need to use it as an indoor-outdoor container plant, the Dancy Mandarin Tangerine (Citrus reticulata ‘Dancy’) can provide many years of enjoyment. It’s beloved and well-known as a heavy producer of zippy, sweet, easily peeled Mandarins.

This variety plays an important role in the Chinese New Year each year. Brilliant orange fruit stays on the tree for months. You’ll love the beautiful display of orange, spherical fruit hanging against the dark green, rough textured foliage.

Host a Christmas breakfast near it or bring your container indoors for the Chinese New Year!

Add a bit of the tangy juice to your Mimosa for a special signature Brunch Cocktail. This fruit is commercially sold as a component of fresh and frozen juice. You’ll love growing your own supply.

One of the best researched varieties for container growing, Dancy Tangerine Mandarin is beloved by Northern gardeners. Self-pollinating, the tiny, fragrant, waxy white flowers will perfume your whole house or landscape.

Dancy is the “original Tangerine”, a nickname for this variety that came to the United States via Tangiers, Morocco. This is a historical variety with a strong link to Asian varieties.

As you might have guessed, the name “Tangerine” was a marketing gambit to help sell the luscious fruit. For a while in the United States, all Mandarins were mistakenly called Tangerines.

Nothing quite says America like the beloved Dancy Tangerine. This breed of Tangerine was first cultivated in Florida in 1867, just after the Civil War came to an end. Its delicious, juicy flavor was prized then and remains prized to this day.

Dancy Tangerines have juicy red-orange flesh that fully ripens in December, giving it the nickname of the Christmas Tangerine. You won't be able to buy these holiday delicacies from your supermarket though.

With thin, loose rind, the Dancy Tangerine is a breeze to peel. However, the citrus industry isn’t using Dancy as much as they once did, as the fruit is easy to bruise by modern produce equipment.

That means that if you've got a craving for this historical American fruit, you'll have to grow it yourself.

Dancy Tangerine trees remain one of the top varieties planted in home gardens, all these years after its original inception. Dancy’s fine flavor, dependable heavy set and climate adaptability makes it a top pick for Mandarin (or Tangerine!) lovers throughout the U.S.

A tremendously productive variety, the Dancy Mandarin dependably produces copious amounts of fruit. Even young plants are heavily laden with fruit.

Dancy has a wonderful, rich, sweet Mandarin flavor. Easy to harvest and very easy to peel, the convenience of the medium size fruits just adds to its popularity. Even the deep orange color and super fresh scent of a Dancy Tangerine adds to the appeal.

It is one of the oldest citrus varieties grown in the United States. Dancy Tangerine was one of the first Mandarins to become popular. Order your piece of history from LetsPlantify.com today!

How to Use Dancy Tangerine Tree in the Landscape

The evergreen trees are nearly thornless with thick, round, glossy, dark green foliage that offers the perfect contrast to display the dark orange fruit. It’s also a perfect foil for the tiny, tropical white fragrant flowers.

The Dancy Mandarin is a very ornamental variety with its bushy upright habit and fruit that colors early and hangs throughout the winter. Considered a very important variety for the celebration of Chinese New Year, the Dancy has a beautiful orange fruit display that symbolizes both Luck and Gold.

Dancy Mandarins are perfect in container and are often brought inside during the winter months. They'll make a superb patio container specimen. This is particularly the case during the Chinese New Year celebration. The early coloring of Dancy fruit makes it perfect for this celebration.

The trees have extensive branching and an abundance of dark green, glossy foliage. They are perfect to use as a privacy hedge to block unwanted views. Imagine looking out at your lovely, edible landscape with jewel-toned orange fruit.

Mandarins make the perfect hedge plant. Consider planting an early season variety like the Owari Satsuma, the early mid-season Dancy Mandarin and the late seasons Gold Nugget or Pixie for an 8 months harvest of delicious Mandarins. Plant them 5 to 7 feet on center and let them grow together.

For an interesting, and very effective look, try them as an espalier against a long fence. The fruit is easy to harvest, and you won’t take up much room in the yard.

Wherever you use this shrubby, small tree, you’ll enjoy smelling the fragrant flowers and the look and taste of the pretty winter fruit.

Evergreen Dancy Tangerine is fun to have all year round, but really shines for the Holidays. The Dancy Mandarin, with its abundant fruit set,is also a great focal point in the landscape with the fruit coloring right after Thanksgiving. The tree almost looks like it was strung with orange bulbs at Christmas.

#ProPlantTips for Care

You can grow Darcy trees either outdoors. Or, indoor/outdoor growers can use them as the ideal container plant for patio display. If you live in a warmer climate, go ahead and plant your tree in a nice, sunny spot in your yard or garden.

Darcy Tangerine trees a widely adaptable when it comes to soil type, so as long as your tree is in a spot where it receives full sun exposure, it should do fine.

This variety does really well in heat and humidity. The tree requires good drainage and should not be overwatered.

Know your locations drainage. If poor draining soils are suspected, plant in a raised bed at least 12 to 18 inches above the soil line.

In drier climates, mulch 4 inches deep, and spread it out to 3 feet beyond the canopy of the tree. This helps keep the root system cool and the surface moisture from evaporating into the air.

For a hedge that will grow together, plant 5 to 7 feet apart. You’ll measure from the center of one tree to the center of the next. If you want an individual tree that stands by itself as a fruiting specimen, give it 10 feet, measuring from the trunk to the next plant.

Keep Dancy hedges pruned to whatever height you like. They make the perfect screen tree with their dense canopy.

Dancy is one of the most popular Mandarins for indoor/outdoor growing because of Chinese New Year. Each year, thousands of Dancy Mandarins are brought indoors as a part of this worldwide celebration.

Dancy has a long track record for successful indoor display. This is a good container plant for those who live in a colder climate. Bring indoors when temperature begin to get in the mid to low 30’s. Provide a window with as much sunlight as possible.

Keep your plant away from any dry heat source, such as heater vents and fireplaces. In some cases, a grow light may be needed to ensure that the fruit continues to ripen and does not drop off the tree.

Plant in an acid planting mix typically used for Rhododendrons, Camelias and Azaleas. Add 25% ¼ inch or pathway bark to the mix for porosity.

Citrus requires far less water when indoors. Be careful not to overwater your plant while it is indoors. Keep it on the dry side of moist.

Fertilize your Dancy with an acid fertilizer, such as Dr. Earth Acid Lovers Organic Fertilizer. Feed containers every other month.

We take pride in delivering you the highest quality citrus trees with healthy roots and full, well-established stems and foliage.

Order now before they sell out. Enjoy the benefits of growing your own delicious Dancy Tangerines.