The Tropical Fruit Forum
Citrus => Cold Hardy Citrus => Topic started by: Balance on November 28, 2022, 05:52:06 PM
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(https://i.postimg.cc/SYyCJ7GM/PXL-20221123-235044804.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/SYyCJ7GM)
(https://i.postimg.cc/nMkqNgHY/PXL-20221123-235051904.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/nMkqNgHY)
(https://i.postimg.cc/rKw5Tjs6/PXL-20221123-235054807.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/rKw5Tjs6)
I recently visited the arboretum in Seattle and ended up finding out they have both standard Trifoliate Orange, and the Flying Dragon variety(not pictured). I took a fruit from one of the trees, and cut it open, hoping for seeds, but found none. I instead took a couple of cuttings and hope to root them at home. Mainly just making this post to record a citrus tree out in public, similar to the post regarding the citrus down in Portland at the Hoyt arboretum. Any rooting tips for the cuttings is welcome, currently just have them sitting in a cup of water.
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Is poncirus rare or difficult to grow there?
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As a percentage of citrus the amount of poncirus is high but that's usually because the graft dies, the rootstock takes over and people don't realize or would rather have something rather than nothing. But citrus in general is very rare here and there is none in the wild
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Is poncirus rare or difficult to grow there?
Poncirus is not necessarily difficult to grow, but it's quite far from commonplace/easy to find around here, with the next nearest tree belonging to fellow hobbyists, or the aforementioned trees further south in the Portland area.
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If you have other Citrus you could graft/bud the Poncirus onto that, or grow some Poncirus seedlings as rootstocks.
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I put cuttings in a pot and covered with a plastic bag. In the summer with sufficient heat some have rooted. Now at this time of year soil heat may be helpful....
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Is poncirus rare or difficult to grow there?
Poncirus is not necessarily difficult to grow, but it's quite far from commonplace/easy to find around here, with the next nearest tree belonging to fellow hobbyists, or the aforementioned trees further south in the Portland area.
If the rooting doesn't work out for you, I got one from a local Seattle-area nursery (pick-up only, down in Buckley, near Enumclaw):
https://johannsgarden.square.site/product/citrus-poncirus-trifoliata-trifoliate-orange-/216
Mine has already totally defoliated at 25°F a couple weeks ago.
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Is poncirus rare or difficult to grow there?
Poncirus is not necessarily difficult to grow, but it's quite far from commonplace/easy to find around here, with the next nearest tree belonging to fellow hobbyists, or the aforementioned trees further south in the Portland area.
If the rooting doesn't work out for you, I got one from a local Seattle-area nursery (pick-up only, down in Buckley, near Enumclaw):
https://johannsgarden.square.site/product/citrus-poncirus-trifoliata-trifoliate-orange-/216
Mine has already totally defoliated at 25°F a couple weeks ago.
Thanks for this bit of info, I'm a bit North but may have to make the trek come spring. Though, looking at the picture of the fruit he has on his website, the skin looks rather rough for Poncirus, perhaps a hybrid of some sort
@Pagnr, unfortunately the only other citrus I have currently is a meiwa kumquat I have planted outdoors, I currently have it under a cover due to the snow we're expecting in the coming weeks and don't think a graft would take well in these conditions.
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Hi @Balance,
I've been a long time lurker on this site, but finally bit the bullet and made an account so I could respond to you. I agree that the skin on the trifoliate fruit in my pictures looks a bit rough and thick compared to what's typical, but ironically it actually came from the exact tree that is the subject of this post. I saw this tree at the arboretum one day and was with a friend who had sampled it before. He told me this tree produces seedless fruit (just like you experienced), but I went ahead and collected a couple anyway. As luck would have it the fruit actually DID have seeds (that time at least) and so I was able to start a bunch of trees from it. I did not detect the off flavors people generally associate with this species, and I looked at the accession card for it to see its history. This tree was one of three trifoliate seedlings donated to the arboretum by Lester Brandt of Puyallup WA (originally from Tennessee) in 1947. I suspect that it is not a hybrid, but rather a different genetic lineage than what is more commonly available for this species.
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Hi @Balance,
I've been a long time lurker on this site, but finally bit the bullet and made an account so I could respond to you. I agree that the skin on the trifoliate fruit in my pictures looks a bit rough and thick compared to what's typical, but ironically it actually came from the exact tree that is the subject of this post. I saw this tree at the arboretum one day and was with a friend who had sampled it before. He told me this tree produces seedless fruit (just like you experienced), but I went ahead and collected a couple anyway. As luck would have it the fruit actually DID have seeds (that time at least) and so I was able to start a bunch of trees from it. I did not detect the off flavors people generally associate with this species, and I looked at the accession card for it to see its history. This tree was one of three trifoliate seedlings donated to the arboretum by Lester Brandt of Puyallup WA (originally from Tennessee) in 1947. I suspect that it is not a hybrid, but rather a different genetic lineage than what is more commonly available for this species.
That's awesome! Talk about small world haha. I was able to get one of the cuttings I took to (begrudgingly) root, though it has been incredibly slow to put on any new growth. I also looked at the other trees available in the arboretum, but did not find any fruit at the time of my visit on any but the one closest to the Japanese garden (The non-flying dragon variety), and only took cuttings as I'd heard flying dragon was even more challenging/slow to root. Do you happen to remember if this more palatable fruit happened to come off of the tree I mentioned or was it one of the flying dragon trees? I regret to say I did not taste the fruit that I brought home for fear of the 'horror stories' we hear online. It'd be quite the revelation if this happens to be a unique variety and will pay it a bit more care and attention if that happens to be the case! Any additional info in regards to taste, growing, additional pictures, etc. would be awesome.
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The fruit I collected was not from the contorted 'Flying Dragon' specimens. It was from the single specimen which had normal growth habit. It was from the exact tree you posted pictures of at the start of this thread.
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The fruit I collected was not from the contorted 'Flying Dragon' specimens. It was from the single specimen which had normal growth habit. It was from the exact tree you posted pictures of at the start of this thread.
That's wonderful, thank you for sharing!