Tony, make sure you can do this in your area of Texas. There are some county restrictions within the state of Texas with regard to the movement of citrus between certain counties. I realize you might know this, but perhaps other forum members in Texas might not :-) Another option if you have this in your state is the Rare Fruit Growers. There may be a chapter in your area. Also, the North American Fruit Explorers:

http://www.nafex.org/about.php

Patty S.

Here is a link that might be useful: CRFG: Texas Chapter

Oh, and I forgot to mention, there is no such thing as "California Clementines" or "Cuties. What those are, are a combination of a few different mandarin varieties to extend market time. The early "Cuties" are a variety of different Clementine cultivars (depending on ripening time and contracted growers), and the later "Cutie" are W. Murcott mandarins. So, you should be able to find these are retail trees in Texas. No need for budwood unless you feel the desire to learn to graft citrus. One of the best mandarins out there, that meets the "Cutie" criteria - small, easy to peel, seedless (or nearly so) and sweet is the Seedless Kishu. I know it's available in Texas, and the Seedless Kishu is a better tasting cultivar that the Clementines or W. Murcott in my humble opinion. It's only detraction is its size. It's very small. But then, that's the attraction of the "Cuties" marketing ploy - small for kids. I'd just opt to buy a Seedless Kishu mandarin and you've got exactly what you want, that is also better tasting.

Patty S.

You are right Honey Mandarin or also called Murcott. Thank you for your information about Cuties as it also called Kishu Mandarin.

Tony, citrus are in just about all nurseries right now. I've recently gotten 2 clementines. I can recommend the Algerian Clementine - it has a harvest that can extend until June. They're all pretty sweet and flavorful.

I don't know that there are any restrictions on moving citrus between counties around here. I went to a grafting workshop a couple of years ago, and the teacher brought loads of cuttings from his facility in a county south of here for us to practice on. And the commercial growers are in other counties.

I found some Kishu Mandarins at Central Market, and didn't think they were as sweet or flavorful as the "cuties" or other mandarins or clementines that I've had. I got about 6 and all were the same, sort of sour, but okay.

Clemenules is what most early cuties are. Good size, seedless, sweet & easy to peel. sometimes have an issue with granulation though. I think they are drastically better then the older Algerian type, which are smaller, juicy and normally very seedy.

Thanks guys for all inputs. I just bought Kishu Mandarin at Caldwellhort nursery about $40+tax. Now, I have a lot scions for my cocktail tree. I grafted about 10 scions last year to my Pummelo and only 3 success, one is lemon already had fruit. I believe the other two are Orange and Kumquat but not very sure as no fruit yet. Will up load the picture when I have a chance.