Clementine Tree - Citrus clementina

The Clementine Citrus Tree is a small, highly ornamental tree. It produces round, slightly flattened clementines with sweet, juicy flesh and almost no seeds. Their thin skin peels easily. They acquire their beautiful orange hue thanks to the first frost. They are harvested from October to March, when they are ripe.

The Clementine Tree is a hybrid between the Mandarin Tree and the Orange Tree. It was discovered by Father Clement, a French missionary, in the early 20th century in Algeria. He worked towards the development of this fruit.

Cultivated for its ornamental qualities and its clementines, the Clementine Tree can reach a height of 3 to 4 metres (10 to 13 feet) when planted in the ground. With its rounded spreading habit, it showcases its beautiful dense and evergreen foliage. Its leaves are elongated, pointed, glossy on the upper side, ranging from bright green to deep green, and highly fragrant.
It produces small, highly fragrant white flowers, which then give way to round, slightly flattened clementines with sweet, juicy flesh and almost no seeds. Their thin skin peels easily. They acquire their beautiful orange hue thanks to the first frost. They are harvested from October to March, when they are ripe.
Like all Citrus trees, the Clementine Tree contains essential oil pockets in its leaves, flowers, and fruits, often visible to the naked eye, from which essential oil is extracted through distillation (flowers and leaves) or pressing (zest).
Most citrus trees thrive when planted in the ground in Mediterranean coastal regions, where they can enjoy the necessary warmth all year round. In other regions, they will be grown in pots and brought indoors at the first signs of cold weather. Not very hardy, the Clementine Tree suffers greatly from temperatures below -5°C (23°F).

The Clementine Tree blooms in November and December and bears fruit from October to March. It is a self-fertile bush, which means that a single individual is sufficient for complete pollination and fruiting. However, if your citrus tree remains indoors permanently, you may need to occasionally allow pollinators to do their work or, if you feel delicate enough, perform hand pollination with a brush.