Dye absorbed by citrus roots? limon rosso.....

[Citrus-addict]

Can a dye be absorbed by citrus plants to adjust color of the fruit?

I have always believed that coloring a plant could only be done with a cut stem, roots filter out most if not all the dye if a plant is watered with it?

Searching the internet I have found that some red dyes will go through some roots of some plants, no exact details of dyes though

I was bought a red lemon tree for my birthday... one lemon on it , still yellow label on plant says citrus limon rosso

Unusually for the UK the plant was quite dry so I watered it, just water no feed, no sign of any slow release fertiliser in the pot, placed the plant in a bucket of water , water turned deep red.....very very red! , red enough to stain a piece of paper.....

I have had other plants from this supplier , same labels on them and standard lemons from them have no red color when watering....

So the question is..........

Does anyone else think this very red water was because the lemons never turn red in a lot of conditions .....so an attempt to make it red? ( or am I bad minded? ) ,

and does anyone know if a dye can be used ? what dye / chemical could be used for this?

[Millet]

I have been in the dye business for 30 years.  We sell dyes for hundreds of uses, including coloring plants.  Dyes will not pass through the root system.  All plants (such as carnations) are adsorption dyed through the stem.  Sounds like your citrus supplier has added a red dye to the the medium in the container.  I would beware of that supplier. - Millet

[Citrus-addict]

Thanks, I was sure dyes couldnt be absorbed by roots, the tree is fine apart from that , its from one of the specialists in mail order plants as presents , but they are not a citrus specialist although they grow no plants they buy them in from a citrus plant company producing ornamental citrus

[bangkok]

Maybe it was ironchelate which is dark purple?

[Pancrazio]

Usually sequestrene (an iron chelate sold here in Italy - I’m assuming same trademark must be somewhat spread in Europe; its just Fe+EDTA) makes the water blood red. This is usually added to citrus because, as you know, they suffer ed
If you are speaking of such kind of lemon
http://www.freshplaza.it/images/2012/0328/Limone_rosso460.JPG
they can become red but i bet that to be as red as the one depicted in pictures they used some kind of growing trick (like the low temperatures required to make taroccos red). I'm unsure if they can become as red everywhere else.

[citrange]

There are different forms of sequestrene.
I found a similar question on website http://brightagrotech.com/iron-in-aquaponics/
A manufacturer replied —-Thank you for your inquiry about Becker Underwood’s Sprint 138 EDDHA micronutrient iron.
In reply to your question, the iron ingredient of the product is inherently red and there are no dye colorant additives.
So, what you see in the water solution is the natural color of the iron content.

By the way, was your citrus tree supplier Scarletts? They import from La Palmara nursery in Sicily which I visited earlier this year. They are a reputable grower and wouldn't add dye to try and make fruit red. And as Millet says, it wouldn't work!

[Galka]

Is there any way to find Limon Rosso tree for sale in States, Fla?

[gunnar429]

Is Limon Rosso a distinct cultivar of citrus, or is it just a way to say red lime/lemon in Italian?

We do have what is called "Red Lime" here in FL.  I believe Excalibur and Just Fruits & Exotics sell them, among others.

[Galka]

gunnar429, I checked these websites. no pictures of the Red lime but I believe the Red lime and Limon Rosso are not the same citruses.

[gunnar429]

gunnar429, I checked these websites. no pictures of the Red lime but I believe the Red lime and Limon Rosso are not the same citrus.

Bsbullie is familiar with Red Lime (again, no idea regarding whether it's the same or not). 

[Galka]

I am planning to visit Excalibur soon. We'll see. 

[bsbullie]

The Red Lime is a cross between a lime and kumquat.   Exactly which varieties are not 100% known for sure.  It is a dwarf citrus achieving a height of about 7 feet give or take and extremely productive  all year round.

Galka - i will send you the email next week.  I am away from my computer with the list on it.

[Millet]

According to the Clitrus Conal Protection Program (CCPP) and the Excalibur Rare Fruit Tree Nursery in Lake Worth, Florida,   the Red Lime is a cross between the Rangpur and a kumquat. - Millet

[Galka]

The Red Lime is a cross between a lime and kumquat.   Exactly which varieties are not 100% known for sure.  It is a dwarf citrus achieving a height of about 7 feet give or take and extremely productive  all year round.

Galka - i will send you the email next week.  I am away from my computer with the list on it.

Thanks bsbullie. Than's what I thought about Red lime that they're small friuts. Limon Rosso is a regular size lemon ( like a Mayer they say) but red outside and pink inside.

[Citrus-addict]

There seem to be 2 types of red lemon usually available here in Europe sold as the citrus limone rosso , I think one is supposed to be a citron crossed with blood orange and another i think is lemon crossed with sweet orange

Also they have Rangpur that is often sold as red lime, I am told there is a red real lime as well?

I think I have the citron crossed one as its fruit is quite bumpy rough skin, it does smell of lemon when the skin is scratched

[bsbullie]

According to the California Protection Program (CCPP) and the Excalibur Rare Fruit Tree Nursery in Lake Worth, Florida,   the Red Lime is a cross between the Rangpur and a kumquat. - Millet

You cant always believe what you read.   Richard Wilson, the owner of Excalibur,  never made any such statement  (he has seen that publishing ).  Some people write and post what they want, not the facts.

[bsbullie]

The Red Lime is a cross between a lime and kumquat.   Exactly which varieties are not 100% known for sure.  It is a dwarf citrus achieving a height of about 7 feet give or take and extremely productive  all year round.

Galka - i will send you the email next week.  I am away from my computer with the list on it.

Thanks bsbullie. Than's what I thought about Red lime that they're small friuts. Limon Rosso is a regular size lemon ( like a Mayer they say) but red outside and pink inside.

The Red lime, when fully ripe, is orange on both the inside and outside.  It does not have any true pith like most citrus  but instead like that of the centennial kumquat.   The skin is also edible and sweet like that of a centennial kumquat.  I will try and post some pictures later.

[Galka]

The Red Lime is a cross between a lime and kumquat.   Exactly which varieties are not 100% known for sure.  It is a dwarf citrus achieving a height of about 7 feet give or take and extremely productive  all year round.

Galka - i will send you the email next week.  I am away from my computer with the list on it.

Thanks bsbullie. Than's what I thought about Red lime that they're small friuts. Limon Rosso is a regular size lemon ( like a Mayer they say) but red outside and pink inside.

The Red lime, when fully ripe, is orange on both the inside and outside.  It does not have any true pith like most citrus  but instead like that of the centennial kumquat.   The skin is also edible and sweet like that of a centennial kumquat.  I will try and post some pictures later.

Oh, good to know. Now I want the Red lime too.  I have two centennials and like them very much.

[brian]

Red Lime sounds neat.  I'd love to grow one of these.

[Millet]

Since there seems to be some question about what the CCPP and Excalibur have said concerning the Red Lime, I copied the entire context about the Red Lime from the CCPP's official web site - see below:

"Source: Received as budwood from seed from David Karp, 2005.
Parentage/origins:   According to the donor, "It's an acid, lime-like fruit called 'red lime'...according to Richard Wilson of Excalibur Nursery, it is a cross between kumquat and Rangpur."'
Rootstocks of accession: Yuma Ponderosa lemon
Season of ripeness at Riverside: January to March

 Notes and observations:

THESE ARE DEFINITELY NOT FULL RANGPURS. Tastes more like a rangpur lime and kumquat cross. According to the donor, "It's an acid, lime-like fruit called "red lime…according to Richard Wilson of Excalibur Nursery, it is a cross between kumquat and Rangpur."

 

According to the donor, "I came across this fruit at Excalibur Rare Fruit Tree Nursery in Lake Worth, Fla (owners Richard and Lynda Wilson). It’s an acid, lime-like fruit called “red lime.” Excalibur sells it as a dooryard fruit, and it is very much appreciated by local chefs. They skin is thin and edible. One site says on the Web that there is kumquat in its heritage. I have included some leaves. Please take a look and tell me what you think. At one point, according to Richard Wilson, there was an official budwood tree of red lime in Florida, but no longer. I think it might be of interest in the California specialty citrus trade."

According to Richard Wildon of Excalibur Rare Fruit Tree Nursery, "I believe that this red lime is a cross between kumquat and Rangpur. Someone in Fort Pierce is doing genetic analyses. I propagated 500-600 trees, kept most of them, of red lime, most are used at the Sundy House in Delrey Beach. They make a special sorbet, and red lime martini; restaurants call and want to be included; I send some to Taos, N.M. We have 80 acres of rare fruits I grow near West Palm Beach [2/05: no more, alas--they’ve been sold]. We have a nursery in Delrey, and what they can’t use we bring up to my house and sell it. I’ve sold a few trees of red lime to friends. We do no mail order of trees and fruits. The red lime was an accidental cross. Color of flesh is dark, peel gets as dark red as a Honeybell tangelo. It’s a productive tree, everbearing.

Availability: Not commercially available in California"

People are free to believe whatever they wish.

Millet

[bsbullie]

Millet - I am very close friends with the Wilsons and I work for Excalibur. You can believe that California publication however I am telling you that it is not correct. Feel free to call and speak to Richard about it.  Excalibur does not propagate it, as they are not a certified citrus grower, and has / had nothing to do with the creation of it and has never propagated it.  They also do not have any such nursery in Delray Beach.  They never had 80 acres in West Palm os otherwise.  The peel is not dark red, nor isca honeybell and i guarantee  Richard would ever say it does.

Excalibur is the only nursery,  i am talking nursery not citrus grower, that i know of that sells it and there is only one gtower that i know of that propagates it.

[bsbullie]

The Red Lime (sorry it was cut lengthwise to cut a wedge out and not cross section but you get the idea).