The Tropical Fruit Forum
Citrus => Citrus General Discussion => Topic started by: sugar land dave on April 16, 2014, 11:17:44 PM
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If lemon no longer excites you, consider the orangequat. Stays on the tree for months. Great in drinks. This year I harvested the last 3 from my tree the final week of march.
Dr. Arlie Powell Orangequat (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpvinNxnne8#ws)
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I have been looking for Nippon for a while now. It looks like a good one to have. The only place that sells it that I have found in California is Clifton's Nursery but it is about $100 with shipping. :o I tried to grow it from seeds but I always loose them.
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Sorry to hear that they are hard to find in California. You might ask a local nursery to check around for you. Sometimes they can find trees from their suppliers. My orangequat is only 3 to 4 feet, but it has been prolific. and I would miss it if it were gone. One thing about the fruit, you either love it or hate it; there is no middle ground.
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Awesome, I want one of these. I prefer the very tart varieties and eat nagami kumquats and calomondins fresh so this sounds great. If anybody finds a source please post here... I will do the same.
from http://citruphilia.com/?page_id=48: (http://citruphilia.com/?page_id=48:)
"characteristic, tasty edible skin but an incredibly tart and juicy interior, like an oversized Nagami kumquat on steroids"
I had looked into mandarinquats and similar but from what I read they don't taste good.
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The 2 1/2" fruit is very tart early on, but becomes progressively sweeter the more months it stay on the tree. By that time it will have turned from orange to a deep red orange color and will taste like the old sweeTART candy. Great at replacing lemon in drinks, it has a strong orange flavor.
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It is probably my favorite quat.
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This years Citrus Expo, spent the day with Dr. Powell (The man in the video) at Petals From The Past nursery. Dr. Powell had many plates of various citrus set up on a long table for taste testing. After testing all the varieties, you voted for the best of the best. Xie Shan won the contest. - Millet
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This years Citrus Expo, spent the day with Dr. Powell (The man in the video) at Petals From The Past nursery. Dr. Powell had many plates of various citrus set up on a long table for taste testing. After testing all the varieties, you voted for the best of the best. Xie Shan won the contest. - Millet
Any idea where Xie Shan can be obtained via mail order? Harris Citrus no longer seems to have them.
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brain. Call Harris and ask for Ruth, she is the owners daughter,. Ruth will probably answer the telephone, then ask her about Xie Shan (pronounced she-shan). Some times not all of their trees are listed. The chance of you getting a Xie Shan might be pretty good. If not she can tell you when they will be in stock again. - Millet
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Exactly what Millet said!
When I was looking for Xie Shan I could not find it anywhere. I looked for six months before I called Harris who did not list it and they said they had grafted a large order for a commercial Citrus grower and they may have a few left. They did and I bought four trees that should have their first full harvest this year. This Winter barely effected them. 19F was the low and it was at or below freezing for forty hours with a ice storm on top of that.
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Darkman, a Xie Shan Satsuma is about the top of the top when it comes to taste. However, most all varieties of Satsumas and mandarins do not produce their best tasting fruit until the trees are about 5+ years old. I tell you this because I don't want you to be disappointed when you taste your trees first crop. However, I bet you will still rate the first crop as positive. Be sure to let me know what you think when you taste the first fruit that your trees produce. - Millet
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This is a quote from a Florida respected plant vendor, " Plus if you want a more upright tree, the Xie Shan doesn't weep like most Japanese satsuma varieties".
My trees (4) is the most prostrate citrus I have and is nowhere near upright. How does your Xie shan grow.
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My Xie Shan are upright so far but still young. I can't wait. They have won every taste test I ever did.
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My tree is like Toms - very upright. - Millet
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Awesome, I want one of these. I prefer the very tart varieties and eat nagami kumquats and calomondins fresh so this sounds great. If anybody finds a source please post here... I will do the same.
from http://citruphilia.com/?page_id=48: (http://citruphilia.com/?page_id=48:)
"characteristic, tasty edible skin but an incredibly tart and juicy interior, like an oversized Nagami kumquat on steroids"
I had looked into mandarinquats and similar but from what I read they don't taste good.
Since you are not in one of the forbidden states, you might have good luck here:http://lemoncitrustree.com/store/orange-trees/orangequat-trees.html (http://lemoncitrustree.com/store/orange-trees/orangequat-trees.html)
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This site seems to have a sketchy reputation but if they are the only source I might order one from them. I'm going to try to reach out to the only other potential seller I found (http://mckenzie-farms.com (http://mckenzie-farms.com)) but who knows how often the site is updated they might not actually have any.
I'm gonna sleep on it.
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Brian,
The woman you should speak with at Harris Citrus is Ruth Nowland. Their phone number is 813-684 1654.
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This site seems to have a sketchy reputation but if they are the only source I might order one from them. I'm going to try to reach out to the only other potential seller I found (http://mckenzie-farms.com (http://mckenzie-farms.com)) but who knows how often the site is updated they might not actually have any.
I'm gonna sleep on it.
Yep, I'd call anyone before ordering if I had not ordered from them before. Desire can often lead to bad decisions, so I absolutely agree with you.
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This years Citrus Expo, spent the day with Dr. Powell (The man in the video) at Petals From The Past nursery. Dr. Powell had many plates of various citrus set up on a long table for taste testing. After testing all the varieties, you voted for the best of the best. Xie Shan won the contest. - Millet
Absolutely neat that you know this man. He is a wonderful teacher on his videos.
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I ended up ordering the Orangequat from the site you mentioned, I will let you know how it turns out. Thanks for digging that up!
I also called Harris back today. Same guy but I asked about Xie Shan and he said somebody would call me back tomorrow about it.
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Every time I have ever called Harris Citrus, Ruth answered the telephone. Harris Citrus is a family business, and Ruth is the daughter of the owner, and the sales manager. She must be on vacation. The Harris's are an Eskimo family that moved to Florida some years ago, and started this business. The fact that they have to call you back tomorrow, must show that the man that answered the phone is a temporary. - Millet
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To order from Mckenzie you have to call or email him anyway. He will email you back and let you know if he has something. I've ordered from him and he sends good trees in pots.
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To order from Mckenzie you have to call or email him anyway. He will email you back and let you know if he has something. I've ordered from him and he sends good trees in pots.
Yeah, he replied quickly but said he didn't have any at the moment.
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I ended up ordering the Orangequat from the site you mentioned, I will let you know how it turns out. Thanks for digging that up!
I also called Harris back today. Same guy but I asked about Xie Shan and he said somebody would call me back tomorrow about it.
I hope that is a nice tree for you. I was lucky to find my orangequat and am glad that I took a chance on something that at the time was totally unfamiliar to me. It is a favorite of mine now. Keep me posted on how it turns out.
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I finally got a hold of Ruth at Harris Citrus on a number that an employee gave me. She said they have Xie Shan grafted but they won't be ready for sale until July-August.
Also, my Nippon Orangequat should be arriving from Lemoncitrustree.com some time today. According to the shipment tracking it came from New Orleans, LA. I'll post a picture when I get it.
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Here it is. It looks very nice. No damage and good roots. Total cost was about $70 shipped ($40 tree, $30 shipping).
(https://i.imgur.com/vdfdEzJ.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/DEBTCrD.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/EnPVeXr.jpg)
Thanks very much Dave for finding this!
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Brian,
That's a nice looking tree and I see you have put it in one of the rootmakers that Millet recommends. These trees are usually very productive and mine produced when smaller than yours. It wouldn't surprise me if you got fruit this year from it.
Glad everything worked out for you.
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The orangequat is blooming now so there's a good chance I will get to see what the fruit tastes like this winter.
(http://i.imgur.com/UqcwBrC.jpg?1?4941)
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I have never tasted an Orangequat. I am partial to both sour tasting fruit, as well as sweet tasting fruit. Let us know what you think of Orangequat's taste when your fruit matures. I'll be interested. I'll bet Mr. Texas has tasted Orangequat before. - Millet
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Yes, I will definitely report back. I have quite a few varieties I have never actually tasted that are fruiting now. I am looking forward to it.
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First white rootmaker I remember seeing. Can you buy them or is that painted ? Thanks. Tom
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They are all painted white on one side to keep the afternoon heat out. I think Millet mentioned this a ways back and it definitely helps.
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I have never tasted an Orangequat. I am partial to both sour tasting fruit, as well as sweet tasting fruit. Let us know what you think of Orangequat's taste when your fruit matures. I'll be interested. I'll bet Mr. Texas has tasted Orangequat before. - Millet
I have a dozen on the tree now, plus some new blossoming. Around December to May is the season here. I love the tart orange flavor in drinks you would normally use a lemon. You just don't need as much juice. With orangequat you will either love it or hate it. There is no in between on this fruit.
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I agree with Dave, either you love it or hate it. To me the peel has some bitterness to it. Ive found they are the best to cook with. candied, they cannot be matched. the peel takes on a somewhat sweet melting texture and the juice remains a little tart. Another thing about nippon is the tree is very ornamental.
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Cooking with them is a great idea. Thanks for bringing that up!
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After last year's bloom, only a single fruit remained. That fruit is *still* on the tree and *still* not fully orange yet. The tree seemed to have gone into stasis until it had flush this month and some new fruit set. The one fruit doesn't appear to be wrinkled or anything that would indicate decline, so I'm just going to let it sit until it gets orange or looks unhealthy. I doubt it will be a very representative sample for the cultivar as a whole.