Reproduces true from seed. Grown mainly as an ornamental and for breeding. Clementine' crossed with pollen of the 'Orlando' tangelo produced the hybrid selections, 'Robinson', 'Osceola', and 'Lee', released in 1959. In season in late fall and winter. This is the leading tangerine in the United States, mainly grown in Florida, secondarily in California, and, to a small extent, in Arizona.
Tree is vigorous, cold-tolerant, bears abundantly.
Thinning enhances fruit size and market value. It is essentially a tangerine, has 10 to 20 seeds. Sunburst' was propagated on several rootstocks in 1970 and released in Florida in 1979. The Satsuma orange is believed to have originated in Japan about 350 years ago as a seedling of a cultivar, perhaps the variable 'Zairi'. It is budded onto Poncirus trifoliata in Florida, sweet orange in California.