BACKGROUND: ‘Shiranuhi’ mandarin is a major cultivar among all late ripening type of citrus, and is widely cultivated in Korea. However, many farmers have reported scion root problems in their orchard resulting in reduced flowering and fruiting. It is necessary that the physiology of scion-rooted ‘Shiranuhi’ mandarin trees is further understood. METHODS AND RESULTS: This experiment was conducted to understand the growth response and physiology of scion-rooted ‘Shiranuhi’ mandarin hybrids. In our study, ‘Shiranuhi’ mandarin trees were divided into two groups: trees without scion roots (control) and trees with scion roots. The experiment was conducted in Seogwipo of Jeju, with ten replicates for each group. Growth of trees with scion roots was more vigorous and the trees were taller than the controls. Tree height and trunk diameter of scion-rooted trees were significantly higher than those of control trees. Exposed length of rootstocks of scion-rooted trees was significantly lower (by about 2 cm) than that of control trees (8.6 cm). In terms of root nutrition, carbon contents of scion-rooted trees was significantly lower than that of control trees, but nitrogen and potassium concentrations in scion roots were significantly higher than those in control roots. CONCLUSION: Based on the results, we infer that growth of scion-rooted trees was very vigorous and the content of nitrogen in these roots was higher than that in the control tree roots. Thus, the carbon/nitrogen ratio of scion roots was significantly lower than that of the control roots.