The Tropical Fruit Forum
Citrus => Citrus General Discussion => Topic started by: Johnny Redland on August 28, 2017, 09:18:43 PM
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I have a tree/bush and I've tried these things at all different times of year and man the only way to describe them is HORRIBLE. What an awful taste they have; hardly any sweetness, hardly any juice, and they have kind of an off-putting chemical taste to them. Just a bitter mess. I hate yanking trees but this one has to go. Am I missing something here??
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The largest lemon, however the fuit's quality is poor.
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In my opinion they are not the best lemon on earth but they are not so awful.
Yes the rind is thick but there they are huge and there's still lot of juice.
Why are you looing for SWEETNESS in a LEMON??
Honestly i love the taste and especially the scent of its juice, when mixed with cold water or squeezed on fish it's just great.
Moreover this variety is sturdy and in my opinion more resistant to citrus greening than other varieties.
(https://s26.postimg.cc/pvvl8hyhh/lemon-ponderosa.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/pvvl8hyhh/)
(https://s26.postimg.cc/5ps39m2tx/lemon-fruit2.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/5ps39m2tx/)
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It seems to be commonly repeated that Ponderosa lemon is a cross between lemon and citron, but I got to think it must be a cross between lemon and a grapefruit or pomelo.
(It was discovered in Maryland so maybe the lemon tree was being grown inside a greenhouse)
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Ponderosa has nothing to do with lemons. Genetically it is 40% pomelo, 60% citron with maternal input from pomelo.
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I ate a ponderosa fruit like a grapefruit once. It tasted like a regular lemon to me, maybe less sweet. Its interesting looking but otherwise I wouldn't bother.
In fact, after trying a ton of lemon and lime hybrids, I'm planning to scale back to just a plain old grocery store varieties like Bearss/Persian seedless lime and Eureka/Lisbon lemon and focus on fresh-eating citrus.
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I ate a ponderosa fruit like a grapefruit once. It tasted like a regular lemon to me, maybe less sweet. Its interesting looking but otherwise I wouldn't bother.
In fact, after trying a ton of lemon and lime hybrids, I'm planning to scale back to just a plain old grocery store varieties like Bearss/Persian seedless lime and Eureka/Lisbon lemon and focus on fresh-eating citrus.
I don't blame you. I'm actually considering the same thing. I have a Meyer lemon that I'll keep that kicks butt as far as production goes, but man that thing wants to stay low and bushy...I wish I could get some height out of it so I could start training it into a tree....right now I wouldn't even know where to start. My key limes are rockstars as well, but I'm thinking of adding a Persian Lime and a Eureka Lemon to the mix. Sometimes the most common varieties available actually are the best tasting as well....that doesn't hold up for fruits like mango or jackfruit...but I find it true of most citrus, not just lemons and limes.
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I'm not a fan of Meyer lemons. They are not a crisp lemon, nor are the a good orange. I dug my Meyer lemon out two or three years ago. However, it did make a good addition to the compost pile. I had an Eureka Lemon, which I think is a great lemon variety. Eventually I replaced it with a Saint Teresa Feminello lemon which is very much like the Eureka or Lisbon in taste. It was named after Saint Teresa so it won out.
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I have Meyer and Feminello. Love the Meyer for ice tea in summer but the Feminello in my opinion is the best tasting lemon not only for the acidity but for the aroma.
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Femminello Zagara Bianca is the best lemon i've ever tasted .
Just google it.
It's an exquisite variety of south Italy (especially Siracusa and Napoli provinces).
Buds and flowers are completey white.
It's flowering 4 times a year and the quality of fruit is aabsolutely excellent.
I don't know if it's adaptable to tropical climate.
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Lori would you know if this lemon is available in the USA?
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Honestly I've no idea!
Maybe some italian immigrant las century has brought some cuttings or budwood as a remembrance from theiir homeland ;)
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CCPP has Femminello Siracusano 2KR Lemon, not sure if that's the same.
Lori would you know if this lemon is available in the USA?
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Yes, you can read a bit more here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siracusa_Lemon
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Lory does not seem to be the same. Zagara Bianca is producing at least 4 crops per year .
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Hehe, they call it FOUR SEASONS lemon since it's crowded all year round with flowers and fruits but the actually main flowerings are THREE.
A lot depends on your cultivation/growing conditions.
In Italy we're used to inducelemon blossoming with a "water stress" period followed by drenching and fertilizing
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Here is what I found. Of course I'm not an expert just trying to figure things out
Femminello Zagara Bianca (or Fior d’arancio)
Probably deriving from Femminello comune (through vegetative mutation), this fine cultivar, which tolerates well the Phoma tracheiphila, has a continuous blossoming and a high productivity: it can produce on average the 18% of bianchetti, the 36% of verdelli and the 46% of lemons; the last two, with a good commercial quantification.
Femminello siracusano (or Femminello masculuni)
Probably deriving from Femminello comune (through bud-mutation), this type of lemon is a very vigorous plant, with a rapid growth and a fructification ahead of time compared to that of the other Mediterranean lemon trees. It has a certain spontaneous reflorescence and can produce on average the 85% of lemons (because the Primofiore is earlier), the 4% of bianchetti and the 11% of verdelli. This cultivar is of a fine quality, and so it is very appreciated on the market also for its high productivity and for the early growth of the fruit; anyway, it shows some defects: for example, it can’t tolerate well the Phoma tracheiphila.
http://www.limmi.it/en/national-cultivars/ (http://www.limmi.it/en/national-cultivars/)
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In Michigan you don't have to worry about Phoma tracheiphila, (which is called Mal Secco in this country). In my opinion all lemon varieties derived from the Femminello Comune are good lemons.
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Oh mal secco is a real plague for lemons in Italy
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I had no Idea what mal secco is and had to read up on it. Looks like it has similar action like fireblight in apple/pear trees.
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Thanks for that link Suzanne42.
Cory