The Tropical Fruit Forum

My first Tlor Tsiran Black apricot crop. All my other apricot trees dropped all their fruit this year except this one and my mume.

After doing a lot of searching online, I am not finding a good reliable answer to how cold hardy bergamot is. I’ve seen on Dave’s Garden that it’s hardy to 35 degrees F, and somewhere else 30 degrees F, and that they are one of the least cold hardy citrus and only grow well in the Mediterranean. I’ve also seen a lot of discrepancies about whether or not it is genetically citrus aurantium of variety bergamia, or part lemon of lime. I thought aurantium sour orange is supposed to be cold hardy. Ilya says his is in a pot, so I’m assuming bergamot can’t handle freezing temps well. I was planning on planting mine ( on flying dragon rootstock) outside one day and protecting it with a cold frame with space heater like I do my satsumas, but if it cannot survive 25 degrees F,  I’ll have to bring it in the house in winter. I look forward to the expert opinions and answers to follow. Thanks in advance!

Are we allowed to mail citrus seeds from state to state in USA, or send/receive citrus seeds from Europe? I can’t find a definitive answer online, and someone is wanting seeds sent to Moldova. Please advise.

I found three fruit on my y’all from-seed Changsha last November. Last week after removing the winter plastic from its frame, I noticed some flower buds. It’s been so warm this winter and spring with some highs in upper 70’s, I had to take down my plastic. We had a low of 35 Saturday, was supposed to get to 29 degrees F, but thank goodness I dodged that bullet. Supposed to get to 35 again this Wednesday. All my other citrus are budding out too.

I’m wondering if these two citranges got mixed up or switched names: the Benton looks bright orange and has seeds, but the citradia is yellow and seedless. The citradia that the grower showed me last year was bright orange, and I’m used to thinking citrus aurantium as being orange and the seeds in it being used for pectin. Does Benton citrange tend to be seedless and yellow, or are citradia fruit usually seedless?

I think I learned on this forum a while back that they have determined that greening disease is not found or transmitted by fruit or seeds. Am I right?

I have a bunch of PT seedlings. I remember someone on this forum wanted a bunch of fruit to treat cancer. I’ve tried to research treatment of cancer with PT but can’t find anything telling me how to process it or who I could be a supplier of fruit for. Anyone know of a profitable industry for poncirus other than root stock?

The space heaters inside helped melt heavy snow off tops of covers. My boxier frame with flatter roof held snow but I think the thermo cube for that heater malfunctioned so I went to Tractor Supply today after the roads were cleared and got another one; supposed to get down to 24 degrees tonight.

I should know the answer by now, but I know several of you can elaborate ad nauseum and enlighten me: When trying to create a citrus hybrid, does it matter which of the parent trees serves as the mother or father plant? For example, I’ve learned Ichang papeda doesn’t come true from seed, so if I want a hybrid of ichangensis with Seville sour orange, I would want the ichangensis to be the mother plant, no?  If the sour orange was the mother pollinated by ichangensis, there would be less chance of getting a hybrid offspring since the orange is polyembryonic, right? So when the citranges were created via hybridization, which was the mother plant, the trifoliata or the orange? Did it matter since oranges and trifoliata both tend to come true from seed with low chance of producing a hybrid? Could I pollinate both parents with each other’s pollen and then watch the seedlings of both sets of fruit to look for hybrids?

Someone posted recently about putting poncirus juice overnight in a glass ( I presume in refrigerator) to let the resin or poncyrus nastiness to separate from the juice, and then you’re left with good juice. How do you separate the nasty layer from the good? Is the nastiness floating on top? Do you scoop it out with a spoon? I can’t find the post about it.

These poncirus came from a neighbor down in the valley. He said the tree has been growing beside their trailer for 30 years.

My big Rio Red grapefruit is blooming like mad even on wood that lost leaves after hard freeze in greenhouse this winter. The small space heater in it's greenhouse didn't prevent the water barrel inside from freezing the week of January it didn't get above freezing. The tree partially defoliated. Branches that lost leaves but not wood are covered in small flower buds. Parts of tree that didn't defoliate have older more developed flowers.