 02-27-07I noticed a few days ago my homemade intergeneric hybrid ('Ponderosa' Lemon X Poncirus trifoliata) is blooming and I'll refer to it as my "Citrderosa".  First Citrderosa
Flower BudI was happy to see this hybrid maturing into fruiting wood so young. It's only 2 years old which is the fastest I have ever had a citrus/poncirus hybrid mature. This hybrid is the closest in my collection of being a true mimic of citrus. Hopefully the fruit will also be a good mimic of true citrus and since it's blooming we will find out soon. I would expect by mid to late summer a fruit might have ripened. I'll write another post about the history of this hybrid soon. 03-05-07Today my first 'Citrderosa' flower bud pictured in post 02-27-07 has opened.  First Citrderosa
Flower OpensI am sorry to see it is a male flower so no fruit from this one. However there are many more flower buds due to open soon and perhaps there will be a female in the bunch. I believe the 'Citrderosa' flower is the largest citrus/poncirus flower I have ever seen. I hope the Citrderosa's citrus fragrance will be big as the flower itself. 03-16-07I had been worried a complete flower would not happen with the Citrderosa's first year of blooming. I am happy to say one complete flower has opened.  First Complete
Citrderosa FlowerI will be very lucky if this single flower sets a fruit so I am helping it with hand pollination. It's critical I get a fruit for taste testing to see if this plant is worth budding on some poncirus rootstock. I need something worthy to sell. 03-18-07Over the years having grown 1000s of Poncirus trifoliata seedling and I have noticed a steady number of chlorophyll mutants. These variegated Poncirus seedlings often are not stable either dying or reverting back to normal. I found one 2 years ago that seems stable with a slight variegation.  Slightly Variegated
PoncirusIf it will keep-up the cool variegation another 2 years I think it's a success and will be propagated via budding. It's a perfect variegation, having just enough to look interesting without starving the plant for chlorophyll. Only time will tell if this is the one! While I was taking pics of the successful??? variegation I snapped a few shots of typically what is seen with a quanity of Poncirus seedlings. First is a pic of a doomed albino mutant that seem to happen at a rate of around 1 in 1000. These always die but I should try budding one on a healthy Poncirus branch to see if it would grow as a parasite.That would be interesting.  Doomed Albino Mutant
Poncirus SeedlingOften I will find what look's to be the typical variegated mutant with nice streaks of white chlorophyll absent regions. It can vary in the ratio of white to green but typical is around 50/50. These seedlings seem to happen at a rate of around 4 or 5 in a 1000. These variegated seedlings are not stable and either die or revert back to normal with age. They always seem to grow slow and stay small even if all the chlorophyll returns with age.  Typical Variegated
Poncirus SeedlingBelow is a picture of a unstable variegated mutant seedlings with age. It's around 5 years old, is slower growing than normal, smaller than normal and will infrequently shoot a variegated branch. Why not bud the sport? It won't work because the variegation is still not stable and will revert to green with another flush of growth. Still it's a interesting plant and sometimes very cool looking.  Unstable Variegated
PoncirusWhile I had the camera I thought a palm pic would be interesting. This palm one of my Sabal minor 'Louisiana' specimens. It's around 20 years old, 10 feet to the top and the trunk is around 15 inches in diameter. Yes I do like hardy palms and will be posting pics of them on my citrus webpage. With around 200 palms in my landscape it could take some time to post every one. LOL  Sabal louisiana Next
to Machine Shop West WallSpring has sprung and the peach trees are blooming.  Peach Tree & Sabal
minor PalmsI do like landscape plants other than hardy palms and citrus. This Opuntia is so cool, cold hardy and friendly. It's the best spineless Opuntia I have ever grown. Plus it does not lay down even in a colder winter and has grown to a large size.  Cold Hardy Spineless
Opuntia 03-20-07The single Citrderosa flower is now in the critical stage of setting a fruit. I dread seeing any yellowing of the imature fruit since it's the only chance I have of a quick taste test. My next inspection I hope to see a size increase and not yellow. We will see!  Citrderosa Flower
Setting FruitI can't wait for some tasty homegrown 'Temple' mandarins from this blooming container specimen. I am sorry to say I will not be able to hand pollinate any flowers from this 'Temple' blooming flush. Temple is a great fruit parent for poncirus hybrids so I have missed a good chance for more f1specimens. Oh well, the tasty fruit will help ease the pain of a missed opportunity.  Temple Mandarin is
Blooming 03-25-07Today I want to share another fine Citrus X Poncirus of my making. This hybrid is the cross of 'Temple' mandarin (fruit mother) and 'Flying Dragon' Poncirus (Pollen donor) making what is commonly known as a 'CiTemple'. It all started from the hand pollination of a Temple's blooming flush 3 years ago with pollen collected from a nearby 'Flying Dragon' Poncirus. I felt very successful when 15 fruits were produce providing around 200 seeds. To my surprise every seed produced a hybrid so I guess my pollen isolation method worked very well. The f1 seedlings were then container grown in community pots during 1 growing season (size around 12 inches tall) and then field planted for a winters cold hardiness verification test. That winter the temperature fell to a lowest low of approximately 7*f of which around half the f1 population survived in fair to excellent condition. These f1 survivors were then removed, transplanted into 1 gallon containers and placed into the greenhouse for rapid growth. Now let me show you the coolest of my f1CiTemple finds. In that batch of f1CiTemple two seedlings were highly monofoliate looking almost like true citrus, yet they were very much a hybrid because of the occasional side leaf and a very different leaf margin. I separated these two seedlings from the pack for exemplary care such as a five gallon container and better nutritional program. These two monofoliate seedlings grew that summer into nice five gallon size plants and then were field planted for a cold Oklahoma winter's testing. I am happy to say one of the two monofoliate f1CiTemples survived the single digits lows in fair shape. This outstanding CiTemple was then removed from the field, transplanted into a 15 gallon container and placed inside the greenhouse for rapid growth. Today this fine specimen is absolutely the coolest looking hybrid any cold hardy citrus enthusiast could dream about producing. Below is a pic of the plant which speaks for itself. You know the ole saying, "A picture is worth a 1000 words."  Monofoliate f1 CiTempleNo way in the world was I going to put this already cold proven monofoliate CiTemple back into the field for another winters cold hardiness test because it needs to continue growing all winter inside the greenhouse for mature fruiting wood ASAP! I did however bud it's wood upon a poncirus rootstock as another winter's test specimen and it passed the winters coldest night of 8*f in B+ condition. Here is that budded winter test specimen showing the winters slight damage and new growth on undamaged wood.  Budded
Monofoliate f1 CiTemple Winter Test SpecimenWhile my favorite f1 CiTemple is the monofoliate specimen discussed above I do have great hope in finding that one edible specimen from my batch of 100 cold hardy f1 CiTemple survivors. Below is a picture of all those cold hardy proven f1CiTemples happily growing inside the greenhouse. This spring I plan to either field plant or 5 gallon containerize those plants. I am leaning toward further container growth of the batch. I personally think (Citrus X Poncirus) hybrids mature faster into fruiting wood when containerized and I need fruiting wood FAST! Below is a pic of the other f1CiTemples and you can see most are trifoliate.  All f1
CiTemplesThe Citrderosa ('Ponderosa' lemon X Poncirus) fruit is hanging in there with no yellowing. I hope this single fruit will develop so I can get that badily needed taste test. Perhaps the plant will have another blooming flush soon since it's half lemon. Below is a update picture showing the little pea size fruit is growing.  Pea-size Citrderosa
FruitAs always "while I had the camera" I had to take a interesting non citrus related horticulture picture. Here is a cool cactus planter made from a old babbitt pot. My grandfather had kept the babbitt pot for years and passed it along to myself. One day I had a flash of insight that said "Cactus Planter" and it made a fine one! I think the cactus is some variety of Echinocereus triglochidiatus. The Cactus has been totally cold hardy withstanding many near zero lows over the past 20 years. I'll take another picture of it flowering in a few weeks.  Babbitt Pot
Echinocereus triglochidiatusThat's all for now and I hope you enjoy my citrus webpage. I'll try to post fresh new citrus happenings once a week but in the world of citrus breeding nothing happens fast. I'll be sure to post many interesting cold hardy palm pictures too. I really need to post some updated pictures of my Sabal 'Birmingham' specimens. 04-11-07Great news today! The lone 'Citrderosa' fruit from post 03-20-07 seems to have survived and has tripled in size. I hope by late summer we will get a taste test from this new cold hardy hybrid citrus. Soon I will move this tree outside and will begin worrying about protecting the lone fruit from wind and hail. Perhaps it would be wise to place this tree near a sheltered area for quick protection from severe storms. Below is a picture of the 'Citrderosa' fruit showing how it has grown. I'll post another update in a few weeks.  Citrderosa Fruit
DevelopingI just can't get enough of my seemingly stable variegated Poncirus trifoliata. It's perfect having a noticable color change without much chlorophyll loss. I will be budding it upon some vigorous Citrumelo rootstock soon to increase the available budwood from this variegated poncirus. It will also help to prove the variegation's stability and suitability for commercial production. Yes indeed, I will offer this fine plant for sale if all goes well. Below is a updated picture of the variegated Poncirus trifoliata.  Seemingly Stable
Variegated Poncirus trifoliataNow for another plant introduction from my cold hardy citrus lab. Two years ago I found a off-type seedling among a batch of Poncirus trifoliata 'Flying Dragon' seedlings that looks to be a Poncirus X Citrus hybrid. I segregated this seedling keeping a close watch on it's progression and once large enough I gave it a crushed leaf smell test. To my surprise it's definitely a hybrid having that sweet & spicy mandarin smell from crushed new growth. A potted 'Temple' mandarin was next to the parent 'Flying Dragon' that year so I would guess that 'Temple' is likely the pollen donor. Now the long wait for mature fruiting wood to develop and a fruit to set and ripen. Often both 'Flying Dragon' and Mandarin are quick to mature so perhaps the wait won't be too long. Below is a picture of the 'Flying Dragon' hybrid and you can see the thorns are curving.  Flying Dragon
CitrandarinI thought you might find my second monofoliate CiTemple interesting. This plant is a sibling of the monofoliate CiTemple from post 03-25-07 . This one is inferior lacking the vigor and cold hardiness of it's sibling. Still it is far hardier than any pure citrus and if the fruit is edible it could indeed be worthy of propagation. It does have one superior characteristic being a lack of thorns. It is also very monofoliate almost never producing a trifoliate leaf. The leaves when crushed smell of sweet lemonish-mandarin without the typical spicy mandarin smell. I think this f1 is worthy of continuation into mature fruiting wood. Below is a picture of the hybrid.  Second Monofoliate
CiTemple 05-04-07Todays project was to plant the 'Citrderosa' in it's permanent outdoor home. I have planted it in a good microclimate located on the south side of my fathers shop building. This hybrid seems fairly hardy having survived single digits low temperatures (in open field) with slight damage so perhaps within a protected microclimate it might survive single digit lows undamaged. Also since fruit is a goal with this hybrid the microclimate will give a longer growing season for the fruit to ripen. Below is a picture of the 'Citrderosa' planted in it's new home sandwiched between two large Sabal louisiana palm trees.  Citrderosa Planted
Along Shop's South WallThe 'Citrderosa' had been grown in a 15 gallon container and the top was large so I expected a large root system. However upon removing the soil ball from the pot I was shocked to have the soil ball fall apart exposing a diminutive root system. I thought an inarch graft of poncirus was badly needed to insure the success of this plant so I attempted my first ever inarch graft. I hope it will succeed and will post a updated picture if it does take. Below is a pic of the poncirus inarch.  Citrderosa's First
Inarch GraftI have budded several outdoor Citrumelo specimens with 'Citrderosa' wood to build stock for supplying future budwood needs. I might be putting the cart before the horse with this hybrid since the fruit has not been taste tested but since spring budding happens only once a year it's a risk I'll have to take.  Citrderosa Budded Upon
Outdoor Citrumelo Citrderosa Budded Upon
Outdoor Citrumelo CloseSpeaking of the 'Citrderosa' fruit it's growing and growing. The fruit has a lemon look and should be very large considering how large it has already grown. I sure hope it matures and proves to be edible during the taste test. Below is a updated picture of the 'Citrderosa' fruit.  Citrderosa Fruit Has
Gained SizeI have field planted the f1CiTemples from post 03-25-07. I hope a few will survive the upcomming OKC winters to provide interesting future taste tests.  f1
CiTemples Planted Outdoors for Winter TestingThe babbitt pot Echinocereus triglochidiatus from post 03-25-07 is blooming.  Echinocereus
triglochidiatus BloomingA nice picture of two Canadian Geese loitering on the compost pile.  Loitering Geese 06-08-07Great News cold hardy citrus fans! Matthew Nichols from Dallas recently visited citrus legend Dr. John Brown in Houston Texas. Matthew wished to preserve Dr. Brown's work and successfully contacted Dr. Brown arranging a visit last Saturday. On Sunday Matthew drove to Oklahoma City with various budwood of which I budded upon Poncirus rootstock. My favorite from the collection is a (Changsha X Citrumelo) hybrid that Dr. Brown said survived the 1980's bitter cold in good condition. I'll be writing more about these hybrids latter. Matthew wrote a short article (with pictures) about his visit with Dr. Brown for the Citrus webpage and Thanks Matthew for your work. Don, Please post this with the pics on your webpage: A visit with Dr. John Brown By Matthew Nichols Last Saturday (06-02-07) I had the pleasure of visiting Dr. John Brown at his home in Houston, TX. Dr. Brown is a pioneer in the field of cold-hardy citrus breeding and hybridization. He has been creating hybrids for the last +50 years. I spoke with Dr. Brown for two hours and then he gave me a tour of his citrus. He bought this house in 1967 and most of the larger trees were planted in the late sixties to early seventies. Dr. Brown also had many varieties growing at his other home in Franklin, TX. He stated that the large specimen of citrumelo x changsha was totally hardy during the severe winters of the 1980's. He created a cross of ichang x clementine that was a beautiful tree with very large leaves and large fruit. I tasted the over-ripe fruit and it had quite a skunkiness of the ichang parent, but was extremely juicy. The photos here do not do justice to the appearance of his trees. Most were so tall and crowded that it was difficult to obtain quality pictures. The seedless kumquat was a cross of meiwa and nagami. It was very large, tasty and full of fruit. He said that a great deal of work went into obtaining a seedless tree. Dr. Brown stated that (poncirus x yuzu) x clementine was sweet and very edible. Of his Sancitchang specimens, he recommends #3. He was very interesting to talk to and still actively germinating seeds and grafting bud wood to his existing trees. He has created amazing hybrids of changsha, yuzu, clementine, inchang, citranges and citrumelo. He had a very attractive tree that was an unknown hybrid with ruby stippled fruit such as would be found in a blood orange. Here is a list of what is growing in his yard that I collected bud wood of: citrumelo x changsha, changsha x clem, (citrumelo x changsha) x clem #2, changsha x yuzu (broadleaf), sancitchang #3 cupleaf, (poncirus x yuzu) x clem, yuzu, clem-yuzu 2-2, unknown hybrid w/ ruby fruit, (citrumelo x changsha) x clem, seedless kumquat (meiwa x nagami) -very good, changsha x yuzu (willowleaf), clementine x yuzu 2-2, ciclem, ichang x clementine- very lg juicy fruit, clementine x morton citrange, (ichang x clementine) x clementine. Hopefully Dr. Brown's work will live on and prove to be great, tasty selections for zones 7-9. Matthew Nichols Legendary citriculturist Dr. John Brown  Legendary
Citriculturist Dr. John Brown(Ichang X Clementine)  (Ichang X
Clementine)CiClem (Poncirus X Clementine)  CiClem (Poncirus X
Clementine)(Clementine X Yuzu)  (Clementine X Yuzu)SanCitChang ('Sanford' citrange X 'Changsha' mandarin)  SanCitChang
('Sanford' citrange X 'Changsha' mandarin)(Ichang X Clementine)  (Ichang X
Clementine)(Ichang X Clementine) Fruit  (Ichang X
Clementine) Fruit 06-10-07I was happy to see my first inarch graft (ref:05-04-07) has taken on the 'Citrderosa'. I'll likely graft another Poncirus inarch opposite the first within the next few days.With this success I almost feel like a professional citriculturist . lol  First Citrderosa
Inarch Has TakenSame Day Update: It's Sunday and I do not feel like doing any major lawn work so I decided to graft the next inarch. I do not know if my method would be considered desirable but it gets the job done. First I carefully dig a hole next to the trunk and place a flexible Poncirus inside to judge the proper alignments.  Dig Hole for Rootstock
InarchSlice to the slip zone and open for the poncirus inarch.  Open Bark for InarchSlice a flat on the Poncirus just past the slip zone going slightly into the sapwood.  Slice Flat on
Inarching RootstockCarefully work the Poncirus inarch into the trunk's slipped bark.  Work Inarch into TrunkTape the union tightly being certain the poncirus flat is aligned with the trunk's sapwood.  Tape Inarch-Trunk UnionBackfill the inarch hole.  Backfill Inarch
Rootstock HoleIt's done and now the 3 week wait to see if the union is a success.  Wait for Success 06-17-07I enjoy seeing cold hardy palms (other than my own) in the Oklahoma landscape. Today I had a fun visit with John Lodes of Tulsa who likely has Oklahoma's champion palm tree. John bought one of the original Sabal 'Birmingham' seedlings from Woodlanders around 20 years ago. This palm has never had any winter protection except for being planted next to a south wall. It has survived several brief temperatures below zero only suffering leaf tip burn. Most Tulsa winters will have a low into the single digits but this does not seem to bother John's Sabal 'Birmingham'. My first viewing of John's 'Birmingham' was around 7 years ago and wow it has sure grown. I have many offspring of the Tulsa Sabal 'Birmingham' growing in my landscape and some are starting to gain size. I hope in another 10 years they will be large as the Tulsa specimen. Below are two pictures of John's Sabal 'Birmingham'. A overall view of the Sabal 'Birmingham' and it's owner John Lodes (next to trunk) visiting with Bryan Swinney.  Overall View of
Tulsa Sabal BirminghamA close-up of the Sabal 'Birmingham' trunk using John Lodes for scale.  Tulsa
Sabal Birmingham Trunk 07-10-07Some things just take time and this summer the time has come for my Citrandarin ('Changsha' mandarin X Poncirus 'English Large') to bloom and fruit. Tom McClendon gave me this hybrid around 5 years ago as a seedling via mail. The plant was a fast grower and proved very cold hardy surviving near zero lows unharmed. In my opinion this is the hardiest of the Citrus X Poncirus and it might be able to survive many years growing in a zone 6b climate. Matthew Nichols has a specimen of this hybrid that has survived -10*f in Kansas City, MO. My thanks to Tom McClendon for sharing such fine plant material. Below is a picture of the Citrandarin tree.  Outdoor Changsha
CitrandarinBelow are the Citrandarin fruits and I'll report my findings of it's taste test this fall. Tom said the Citrandarin fruits he tasted were very sour without much poncirus bitters.  Changsha Citrandarin
FruitsI don't want to sound like I am bragging but my ('Flying Dragon' X Citrus?) hybrid has proved itself to be a very fine plant. I found this hybrid in a batch of 'FD' seedlings several years ago noticing it's obvious hybrid looking leaves having a sweet-spicy mandarin smell when crushed. Below are several update pictures of the 'FD' hybrid. Look at the 'FD' thick dark green leaves on robust stems.  Flying Dragon
Citrandarin Looking GoodA close-up of the contorted stems and spines.  Contorted
Stems and Spines of Flying Dragon CitrandarinMy first budding of the 'FD' hybrid upon a poncirus rootstock. The bud took quickly and has grown very fast, keeping it's contortion. This specimen will be planted outdoors for a winter's cold hardiness test. If this 'FD' hybrid proves to be zone 7 cold hardy I plan to bud more for sale.  Budded
Flying Dragon Citrandarin for Winter TestingNow for a change of topic to cold hardy palm trees. Of all my palm trial the Sabal uresana 'Sonora Palmetto' has got to be the biggest shocker for extraordinary cold hardiness. Considering it's native range is in Mexico from zone 9 and warmer I thought a real Oklahoma winter would kill it quickly. However after a decade of tough Okie winters the Uresana has proven itself not just a survivor but a thriver! The only problem I have noticed with Uresana is slow growth but lately it's growth has sped-up. When this palm produces seeds I will sprout them and then offer the seedlings for sale. Below is a picture of my Sabal uresana.  Outdoor Oklahoma Sabal
uresana 08-20-07It has been a while since my last post and for good reason because nothing happens quickly with cold hardy citrus research. I am happy to report the other 'Citrderosa' inarch (ref:06-10-07 ) was a success and now both Poncirus inarches have doubled in diameter since their grafting. Below is a updated pic of the inarches.  Citrderosa Inarch
SuccessThe lone Citrderosa fruit has hung-in-there so hopefully I'll have a taste test to report around late fall. Below is a updated pic of the Citrderosa fruit.  Citrderosa Fruit Has
Hung-In-ThereYou will notice I have replaced the 'Citrus in the News' column with 'Citrus for Sale' so I better bud some of my stock to have 'Citrus for Sale' next year. My procrastination to budding ended several days ago when what amounted to a rare inland 'Tropical Storm' passed over OKC breaking a 'Citrderosa' branch providing bud stock. I have 100 poncirus rootstocks that will bud into nice Citrderosa plants. Below is a pic of my budding area.  Budding Citrus TodayGood news for those interested in Dr. John Brown's citrus. (ref:06-08-07) I am sorry to report most of Dr. Brown's bud stock collected by Matthew Nichols did not take to the rootstock but the (Changsha X Citrumelo) did and looks great. Dr. Brown reported this hybrid as the only citrus species that survived those terrible 1980's winters without freezing to the ground. I have 5 (Changsha X Citrumelo) specimens of which 4 go inside the greenhouse and 1 will be planted outside for a zone 7 winter hardiness test. If the outdoor test specimen withstands single digit winter low temperatures I will bud many specimens next year to offer for sale the year after. I have high hopes for this hybrid and if proven hardy the next test will be for fruit edibility. Since the budwood was from a mature tree, fruiting should happen within the next 2 years. Below is a pic of the (Citrumelo X Changsha).  (Citrumelo X Changsha)Not about citrus but Guinea Fowl. I have had Guineas around the place for years and my secret to success is providing Guinea hens a safe nest for hatching their eggs. Guiena hens always make their nest out in the open where predators often kill the hen and eat her eggs. When I find a Guinea nesting I'll place a cage over the area providing needed protection from dogs, raccoons, skunks, etc. Below is a pic of the protected Guinea nest.  Guinea Fowl Nest 09-18-07Hi Cold Hardy Citrus Fans, It has been awhile since my last post and wanted to let everyone know I am still around. There is not much to report about my citrus except for various fruits are now show signs of ripening. I was surprised to see the 'Changsha' Citrandarin has around 30 fruits and I'll be sprouting it's seeds into seedlings for next year's sales. I'll also taste test a ripe 'Changsha' Citrandarin fruit for reporting it's edibility. I doubt if it will be edible but since 'Changsha' Citrandarin is the hardiest of all Poncirus hybrids it's value goes beyond edibility. Several days ago I removed all the Honeysuckle that had taken over the top of my Sabal 'Louisiana' (ref:03-18-07) exposing how large it has grown. Being approximately 9 feet tall this Palm Bush might now be considered a Palmtree.  Machine Shop Sabal
louisiana Palmtree 11-08-07Todays project was preparations for winter hardiness testing. The main interest this year will be Dr. Brown's (Changsha X Citrumelo) which was said to survived those 1980's citrus killing winters without damage. The test specimen is budded upon a Poncirus rootstock and been planted pot in ground. Below is a close-up picture of the (Changsha X Citrumelo) hybrid awaiting it's first zone 7 winter test.  (Citrumelo X Changsha)
Test SpecimenThere are 4 specimens to be winter tested.  Winter 2007-2008
Hardiness Test Specimens#1. My f1 'CiTemple' ('Temple' Mandarin X Poncirus) which is very citrus like having monofoliate leaves and almost thornless stems. Budded upon Poncirus rootstock. #2. Dr. Brown's (Changsha X Citrumelo) budded upon Poncirus. #3. My f1 hybrid of Citsumaquat™ - Kumquat crossed with ('Satsuma' Mandarin X Poncirus) . #4. My f1 hybrid of 'Flying Dragon' Poncirus with a unknown true Citrus. RESULTS: The winter of 2007-2008 was not much of a test with the lowest low temperature falling to only 14*f. #1 The mono CiTemple was untouched. #2 Dr. Brown's (Changsha X Citrumelo) died after a low of only 20*f. #3 This f1 hybrid did great and I have high hopes for it being both edible and cold hardy. I'll refer to it as my Citsumaquat™. #4 A cool FD hybrid and it seems very cold hardy being untouched at 14*f. 11-12-07The long awaited day has arrived with Citrderosa's lone fruit having ripened for a taste test. Let's start with a overall view of the ripe Citrderosa fruit.  Overall View of Ripe
Citrderosa FruitThe Citrderosa fruit cut in half.  Ripe Citrderosa Fruit
Cut in HalfJuice squeezed from one half of the Citrderosa fruit.  Citrderosa Half JuicedSeeds removed from Citrderosa fruit.  Seeds Removed from
Citrderosa FruitThe ripe fruit looked like a lemon but smelled more of an orange. Cutting the fruit revealed it's unfortunate seediness with a count of 20 large seeds packed into the 2 inch fruit. I touched my tongue to the Citrderosa fruit and sensed a lemony flavor but that soon ended with those dreaded bitter Poncirus off-flavors. Thankfully the off-flavors were not skunkish like so many inedible Poncirus hybrids but merely sourly bitter as most other slightly edible Poncirus hybrids. However this was the tree's first fruit and first fruits are notorious for being of subpar quality so perhaps future fruits might prove more edible. Even though the Citrderosa fruit was seedy those seeds will be put to good use. I will sprout it's seeds and if they prove to be monoembryonic (producing zygotes) the search for a edible f2 Citderosa has begun. 12-28-08It's been over a year since my last post but as I say. "Nothing happens fast breeding hardy citrus!" The Citrderosa ('Ponderosa' Lemon X Poncirus) made a very nice fruit last spring which successfully formed over the summer and ripened during fall. I harvested it's ripened fruit around November the 15th for another long awaited Citrderosa taste test. The taste test was conducted over a period of 2 weeks by removing a section of fruit every day for tasting. To my surprise it's appearance was very much like a 'Ponderosa' Lemon in build both inside and out. This second fruit was still seedy like the first from post 11-12-07 but being bigger helped spread those 20 seeds out, providing some real meat in this fruit! The fruit's taste was not all that bad for being 50% poncirus and in my opinion it was edible having an off Lemony flavor followed by a slight Poncirus after-taste. However, by time of testing those latter section I had become use to the after-taste and did not mind it's bite so much. Overall, I think Citrderosa is a winner and plan to put it into limited production. Below are some pics of this year's Citrderosa fruit and as you can see it's far better than last year's first fruit.  Citrderosa Fruit 2008
Taste Test Sliced 2008 Citrderosa
FruitSo far this winter of 2008-2009 in my climate region has not had any bitter record setting cold but it has been cold enough for some hardiness testing. As with last winter's test, Dr. Brown's (Changsha X Citrumelo) seems to have died. This winter's specimen was much larger than last year's, so I have given-up on any further testing and declare it as unhardy. On the bright side, my f1 Citsumaquat™ hybrid has passed the 10*f low test with flying colors and that color was green! I could not believe Citsumaquat™ (Fortunella X ('Satsuma' Mandarin X Poncirus)) still has lush green leaves after a low of 10*f. followed by a daytime high of only 27*f. and another nighttime low of 12*f. Being only 1/4 Poncirus this hybrid has a good chance of edible fruits so I am very excited with it's good cold hardiness result. The greenhouse Citsumaquat™ specimen is blooming so perhaps we'll find out it's edibility by next summer. I'll make a detailed report describing the Citsumaquat™ and it's history in another post. Below is a picture of the still lushly green Citsumaquat™ more than a week after surviving semi-bitter cold temperatures.  Citsumaquat™
After 10*f.Looking at the damaged leaves on this large Citrumelo after 10*f. shows how surprisingly hardy the Citsumaquat™ leaves have proven themselves to be.  Damaged Citrumelo
Leaves After 10*f. 01-08-09My Outdoor Changsha Citrandarin produced a few fruit last growing season and I picked the best fruit for a taste test before this winter season's cold hit. The ripened fruit was very pleasing to the eye being a bright yet deep orange color. The fruit was rather hard (for being ripe) with a orangy scent and when cut in two releases a very strong orange smell which was rather pleasant! It's taste hit my tongue rather hard with a burning-sour flavor sensation, fading quickly into a weak Poncirus after-taste. In my opinion, the Changsha Citrandarin was not bad for being an extremely cold hardy citrus hybrid capable of surviving the typical zone 6b winter. Below is an overall view of the Changsha Citrandarin fruit.  Changsha
Citrandarin Fruit Overall ViewThe Changsha Citrandarin fruit cut in two.  Changsha Citrandarin
Fruit Cut in Two 02-04-09Some good news for the Citrderosa! Last week I found a Citrderosa fruit that had earlier been harvested for seeds only because it was small and had an off color to one side. While removing it's seeds I tasted it and the fruit was edible! It smelled of lemon and tasted of lemon mixed with a little orange without Poncirus bitters. I have a newfound respect for my Citrderosa and will bud some fruiting wood this next growing season. Below is a pic of the sorry looking but good tasting* Citrderosa fruit. *Disclaimer: Good tasting for being a 50/50 hybrid.  Edible Citrderosa Fruit 02-21-09Spring has arrived inside my greenhouse so things are happening again. Today I noticed one containerized Citrderosa has opened the biggest citrus flower I've ever seen. It's almost wide as my hand! Just look at the picture below.  Giant Citrderosa Flower 03-06-09Yes indeed, an edible cold hardy citrus does exist and it's Dr. John Brown's SanCitChang #3. Matthew Nichols sent myself a SanCitChang fruit harvested during his visit with Dr. Brown and I'm done testing it. The fruit was tasty, having a very strong Grapefruit overtone, with a secondary complex mix of other citrus flavors that is rather hard to describe. It's sweet but tartly sour and very juicy. The fruit is very refreshing to the palate much like a glass of lemonade but with that unique kick of Grapefruit bitterness. The fruit was even tastier when chilled in the refrigerator. It's very edible, end of story! In regard to cold hardiness, I truthfully can't say this exact SanCitChang is single digit cold hardy because I have never had a specimen to test. However, I did obtain an offspring of this SanCitChang several years back and have winter tested it. I am happy to say the offspring was totally hardy near 10*f. and survived a very harsh freeze of 6*f. damaged but alive. In my opinion the SanCitChang should be totally zone 8 cold hardy making it a good choice for North Texas and similar climates. In my zone 7 climate it's going to need a microclimate and perhaps some protection. That's about it for for the SanCitChang news until I've done more winter testing. Oh yea, my offspring specimen is blooming and if it sets some fruit I'll keep you updated on it's progression. Below is a pic of the SanCitChang fruit whole and sliced.  SanCitChang #3 Overall SanCitChang #3 SlicedThanks for visiting my webpage, Don ©2007-2009
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