Citrus ichangensis x sinensis (194)

[Florian]

Since it was mentioned in the Sudachi topic, I thought I'd share a pic of mine.


In short: Fruit can ripen here but, at least as a small plant, it is not coldhary enough for my place.

I planted it in 2015 and it survived its first winter with a low around -8C without a problem.
In the winter 16/17 it lost 3/4 of its leaves and half of its twigs to around -11C. I had protected it with three layers of fleece. We had some long-lasting freezes with many consecutive days below 0C which is what I believe did the damage. It grew back well and even flowered again but dropped the fruit.

I protected it with styrofoam in the winter of 17/18 and it has grown very well this year. Unfortunately no flowers.

[Zitrusgaertner]

The fruit is said to show nice quality? I bought mine from Adavo and it is marked as Shangjuan. Don'tknow if it is the same you are talking about.

[Florian]

The fruit is said to show nice quality? I bought mine from Adavo and it is marked as Shangjuan. Don'tknow if it is the same you are talking about.

Yes and no. Yes, the fruit is of good quality approaching those of true oranges. Sweet with no bitterness.
But no, this one is not Shangjuan. Shangjuan is Ichang lemon / C. wilsonii.


Also check out this link from a French forum. Aunt Google will certainly help you to understand but there are also more pictures, including one of Eisenhut's mother plant: http://www.forum-agrumes.com/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=443

[Florian]

From February 10 to February 14/15 we had a cold spell with daytime highs at around -3 C and nighttime temperatures between -5 and -9 C. The top layer of the ground was frozen solid. It has become once more apparent that this plant is not extremely coldhardy, at least not the leaves. The wood looks ok so far, I can see no cracks or fissures, but we won't know for sure until well into April/May.

I left the fruit on the tree right up to the cold spell to ascertain the impact on the fruit quality. Well, the fruit are quite dry and bitter at this time. The bitterness is unlike that of a grapefruit and not as pronounced. They taste sweet at first but then there is a cleary noticeable bitter aftertaste. I believe the best time to pick them where I live is around Christmas.