Pomelos

[Heinrich]

Last week, before the first severe frost, my citrus trees were moved to the winter habitat. On this occasion, I harvested two pomelo fruits. A red pomelo and a white pomelo. Less than 2 meters or 6 feet high, each tree produced a single fruit. Now, the red pomelo served as desert at Sunday dinner. An excellent fruit. Juicy, slightly sweet and pleasantly acidic. Besides, surprisingly crisp. A feature, I didn´t expect in a citrus fruit. Taste wise, the closest similar fruit, known to me, is maybe Oroblanco (Sweetie).

Red pomelo on the left.

[brian]

I love pomelos.  A friend of mine tried one for the first time, said he was surprised, better than grapefruit.  This was a Chandler, from a containerized tree I have.

I strongly dislike Sweetie/Oroblanco, though.  I don't know exactly what it is about it, but to me it is worse than a true pummelo or any grapefruit.

[EricSC]

I love pomelos.  A friend of mine tried one for the first time, said he was surprised, better than grapefruit.  This was a Chandler, from a containerized tree I have.

I strongly dislike Sweetie/Oroblanco, though.  I don't know exactly what it is about it, but to me it is worse than a true pummelo or any grapefruit.

Brian，
It would be interesting to know why you don't like Oro Blanco.   People go for Oro Blanco because Pumelo is hard to grow/ripe in CA.

[brian]

I forget exactly why now, sorry.  It has been a while. 

[lebmung]

I like sweetie. Good taste low sugar, no bitterness,  easy to eat. More expensive though one kilo costs € 2.5 compared to mandarins and oranges which cost €1/kg  all imported. You just need to take the white part off. Actually it doesn't make any sense to grow what you can find in supermarkets.

[tedburn]

Last week, before the first severe frost, my citrus trees were moved to the winter habitat. On this occasion, I harvested two pomelo fruits. A red pomelo and a white pomelo. Less than 2 meters or 6 feet high, each tree produced a single fruit. Now, the red pomelo served as desert at Sunday dinner. An excellent fruit. Juicy, slightly sweet and pleasantly acidic. Besides, surprisingly crisp. A feature, I didn´t expect in a citrus fruit. Taste wise, the closest similar fruit, known to me, is maybe Oroblanco (Sweetie).

Heinrich, very interesting.
What kind/sort of Pomelos do you have ?
How long did it take from flowering to harvest ?
Which minimum terature do your pomelos get in the greenhouse ?
My Chandler has 3 fruits, but I guess they aren' t ripe yet. I try overwintering in the Greenhouse with 0/1 Grad Celsius minmum temperature.
Not sure if the relativ deep temperature (for Pomelos) influences fruit quality ?
best regards Frank

[Yorgos]

I have a Chandler pomelo and I am removing it this winter. I find the fruit fairly tasteless and dry.  Plus (which really is a minus), it has seeds out the wazoo. Like 20 or more seeds per segment.  Seeds take up to a third to half of each segment.  There is a Bloomsweet GF growing next to it that tastes pretty good so it appears not to be a culture or location thing.  I've harvested it early and late to find the optimal harvest time and, while early (that is September here in Houston, Texas) is its best it is still subpar. The tree is about 11 years in the ground. 

[EricSC]

I have a Chandler pomelo and I am removing it this winter. I find the fruit fairly tasteless and dry.  Plus (which really is a minus), it has seeds out the wazoo. Like 20 or more seeds per segment.  Seeds take up to a third to half of each segment.  There is a Bloomsweet GF growing next to it that tastes pretty good so it appears not to be a culture or location thing.  I've harvested it early and late to find the optimal harvest time and, while early (that is September here in Houston, Texas) is its best it is still subpar. The tree is about 11 years in the ground. 

I remembered an article mentioned that Pumelo native to southeast Asia takes the kind of hot summer with both hot day and night to ripe.  I would guess Huston probably is the only place in US with the similar weather.   

[Jaboticaba45]

I love pomelos.  A friend of mine tried one for the first time, said he was surprised, better than grapefruit.  This was a Chandler, from a containerized tree I have.

I strongly dislike Sweetie/Oroblanco, though.  I don't know exactly what it is about it, but to me it is worse than a true pummelo or any grapefruit.

Brian，
It would be interesting to know why you don't like Oro Blanco.   People go for Oro Blanco because Pumelo is hard to grow/ripe in CA.

Wow...have some family out in Socal that have sent me some of their oro blanco...the best stuff ever. Although I have not tried a good pomelo that was not store bought.

[Heinrich]

Brian, store bought Sweeties/Oroblanco vary a lot in fruit quality. A good fruit is a pleasure. I like the kind of sweetness, which is very different from the sweetness of sugar. My red pomelo doesn´t have this kind of sweetness. Never the less, it is an excellent fruit. Separate from the sweetness, the aromatic taste steps forward.
Many years, I was hesitating to grow pomelos, being the opinion, it wouldn't be worthwhile. Now, I am very happy to have this tree.

[tedburn]

@ Yorgos thanks for your information. So I' m glad to also have a bloomsweet too though its still small.
Today I tested one of my 3 Chandler fruits, the biggest one on the picture. I know that its very early for harvesting but curiosity forced me (bloomed in March/April and I harvested now a few days ago). I feared the fruit to be dry and unripe but it was juicy and a good taste, only slightly bitter, but I enjoyed it. In regards to living in zone7 I was positive surprised, the other two fruits I will test between March and April, to see if there is an further positive influence of longer ripening. I had no seeds in the fruit, but I had not much other flowering citrus nearby.

[Heinrich]

Frank, I grow three pomelos. The third pomelo flowered the first time this November. All are unnamed. I reckon, the fruits took about 12 months to ripen. In winter, the plants are kept just above freezing.

Eric, I don’t have hot nights. In 2020, all nights went lower than 18°C (64 °F). In summer, my citrus plants enjoy an unheated hoop house, open on both ends. On sunny summer days, it becomes quite hot inside.

[brian]

The few fruits that my chandler pummelo has made so far were had few seeds.  It likely varies based on conditions, pollination

[Oolie]

I have a Chandler pomelo and I am removing it this winter. I find the fruit fairly tasteless and dry.  Plus (which really is a minus), it has seeds out the wazoo. Like 20 or more seeds per segment.  Seeds take up to a third to half of each segment.  There is a Bloomsweet GF growing next to it that tastes pretty good so it appears not to be a culture or location thing.  I've harvested it early and late to find the optimal harvest time and, while early (that is September here in Houston, Texas) is its best it is still subpar. The tree is about 11 years in the ground. 

I remembered an article mentioned that Pumelo native to southeast Asia takes the kind of hot summer with both hot day and night to ripe.  I would guess Huston probably is the only place in US with the similar weather.

Inland foothills of Southern California which are still under marine influence would be ideal. We get Santa Ana desert winds bringing the heat during the day, and plenty of marine layer moisture at night to prevent the heat from escaping. Hot days, warm nights. Some years you get excellent coloring on the Anthocyanin blood oranges by this time of year, other years you won't get much color until January or February. Houston and Vegas would be excellent choices as well.

[sc4001992]

EricSC, just to give you some feedback on pummelos. They grow fine in Orange County, CA, I grow the following:
- Chandler (average taste, removed/top worked)
- Reinking (very good, sweet, large fruits)
- Thong Dee (excellent taste, huge fruits)
- Mato Buntan (good taste)
- Tahitian (didn't like the taste, got rid of it)
- Cocktail pummelo (very good taste, easy peel, heavy producer)
- Chironja (good taste)
- Melogold (excellent taste, heavy producer, better than Oroblanco)
- Oroblanco (average taste, thick rind, will top work)
- Valentine pummelo (excellent taste, heavy producer)
- Seedling Chinese Pummelo ( excellent taste, large fruit)

All of my CCPP budwood grafts (pummelos/grapefruits) take easy and grow vigorously.

[pinkturtle]

EricSC, just to give you some feedback on pummelos. They grow fine in Orange County, CA, I grow the following:
- Chandler (average taste, removed/top worked)
- Reinking (very good, sweet, large fruits)
- Thong Dee (excellent taste, huge fruits)
- Mato Buntan (good taste)
- Tahitian (didn't like the taste, got rid of it)
- Cocktail pummelo (very good taste, easy peel, heavy producer)
- Chironja (good taste)
- Melogold (excellent taste, heavy producer, better than Oroblanco)
- Oroblanco (average taste, thick rind, will top work)
- Valentine pummelo (excellent taste, heavy producer)
- Seedling Chinese Pummelo ( excellent taste, large fruit)

All of my CCPP budwood grafts (pummelos/grapefruits) take easy and grow vigorously.

Hi sc4001992,

Is CCPP sell the "Seedling Chinese Pummelo"?  I am looking for
Citrus maxima ‘Shatian’ (沙田柚) for long time.  Does anyone know where I can buy budwood for it?


Thanks,
Al

[sc4001992]

Pinkturtle, no CCPP does not sell any seedling trees. I grew the seedling pummelo from a fruit (grafted Chinese tree that fruited). The Chinese pummelo that I grafted had large fruits but I did not like the taste of the fruits so before I got rid of my grafts, I got the seeds from it. The scion was not from CCPP, but from a friend over 15yrs ago.

Never heard of Shatian fruit, do you have any pictures of it? 
I did look up the name and it looks very similar to my seedling fruits.

[pinkturtle]

Sorry I don't have a picture of it.  Shatian pummelo is very popular in China Canton province.  My pummelo tree is grow from Shatian pummelo seed, but I am afraid it will not come true.  Someone gave several seeds to me 6 or 7 years ago.  It bear one fruit last year but I accidentally damaged the rind when I were pruning it and the fruit didn't made it.  Hope I will get some flowers this year. 

This is from the wikipedia:

清乾隆四十二年（1777年），沙田村人夏紀綱將家鄉名果羊額子獻給皇帝品嚐，皇上大感喜歡，向該官員問及金柚的出處，得知金柚產於容縣沙田村，便賜名為「沙田柚」，從此列為貢品，並公告天下沙田柚為容縣的特產，而容縣亦因沙田柚而聲名大噪。

沙田柚體積較其他種類的柚子大，果皮相當厚，果肉甜美，有「天然水果罐頭」之美譽。1953年參展萊比錫國際博覽會，博得國際人士高度評價，視為中國珍果。歷次參加各界柚類質量評比，均名列前茅。1990年容縣第十屆人民代表大會通過決議，把沙田柚定為容縣「縣果」。1995年，容縣被首批百家中國特產之鄉命名暨宣傳活動組委會命名為「中國沙田柚之鄉」。[2]

Google translate:

In the forty-two year of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1777), Xia Jigang, a native of Shatian village, offered the emperor the famous fruit of his hometown to taste the emperor. The emperor liked it, and asked the official about the source of the golden pomelo and learned that the golden pomelo was produced in Rong County  Shatian Village was given the name "Shatian Pomelo", which has since been listed as a tribute, and the world's Shatian Pomelo has been announced as a special product of Rong County, and Rong County has also become famous for its Shatian Pomelo.

 Shatian pomelo is larger than other types of pomelo, with thick skin and sweet flesh. It has the reputation of "canned natural fruit".  Participated in the Leipzig International Fair in 1953, which won high praise from international people and regarded it as a Chinese treasure.  It has participated in the quality evaluation of pomelo from all walks of life and ranked among the best.  In 1990, the Tenth People's Congress of Rongxian County passed a resolution to designate Shatian Pomelo as the "county fruit" of Rongxian County.  In 1995, Rongxian was named the "Hometown of Shatian Pomelo in China" by the first batch of 100 Chinese specialty township naming and publicity activities committee.  [2]

[pinkturtle]

Sorry Heinrich, didn't mean to hijack your post.

This is a picture I found online.
 A lot of people in Canton area said Shatian pomelo is king of pomelo.



The following link is the pic of my first and only fruit.

http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=39248.msg387904#msg387904

[EricSC]

sc4001992,
Thanks for the very valuable info about pummelos. 

[sc4001992]

EricSC, no problem, pummelos and grapefruit hybrids are one of my favorite citrus fruits. Sumo is not bad either.

[lebmung]

This is my Oroblaco.
One fruit on a very small tree about 30cm high in 3 L container.

[luak]

Having 6 tree’s now, Valentine and Thong Dee are all I need. They are both keepers Thong Dee has the edge in taste for me. Valentines has a decent amount of seeds at my place.

[Yorgos]

Sorry Heinrich, didn't mean to hijack your post.

This is a picture I found online.
 A lot of people in Canton area said Shatian pomelo is king of pomelo.



The following link is the pic of my first and only fruit.

http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=39248.msg387904#msg387904

Look at all those seeds!  Do all pomelos exhibit such seediness? Because my tasteless Chandler has beaux coups seeds.

[Ilya11]

I think Taitian is the best pomelo variety available in Europe.
It is quite sweet and juicy in 9 months after flower. In isolation it is completely seedless.