Calamondin

This would make an attractive potted plant.

A weird little citrus fruit and yet it's a pretty one.  I honestly didn't know what this plant was all about, but that doesn't mean we can't try new things out, right?  It's a very attractive bush with beautiful little fruit similiar to a kumquat.  The difference is that they taste nasty!!  Well let me be clear about this.  You should cook with these little fruits and not eat them straight off the tree.  My mistake is that I assume if it's an orange color, you can eat it.  That is so not the case with this fruit.  It is strange.  The peel was sweet with a bitter fruit inside. You would use this little fruit as a way to flavor food.  Over the past year, you've heard me talk about this strange plant and many of you have given me some wonderful responses.

It grows very well here and has a beautiful variegated leaf.  Even if I don't eat or use the fruit, it still makes an attractive landscape plant.  It needs a little bit more watering than other citrus plants.  During our severe freeze, it survived with very little protection. In many ways, this plant reminds me of those decorative orange trees I see around town.  They look pretty and that's about it. Why put in a decorative orange? Why not a real edible orange tree?  Again, when I first moved here, I thought anything orange was okay to eat and boy what a sour shock that was to my mouth!  While studying in Mexico, I tried several trees in Guadalajara and discovered that there are a lot of citrus out there that are not good to eat at all....or even use in your cooking!! The calamondin fruit is a very tangy and sour fruit. This is the perfect fruit to squeeze into your cooking.  

I have one more citrus to report and then a report about spitting out citrus seeds.  I also have a personal story of a love affair that happened with an orange seed in Wisconsin and how it has grown with me over my lifetime. Until my next post, have fun searching and planning your spring gardens wherever you may be!!! 

Valencia Orange

Here in Arizona, we are lucky to plant all kinds of citrus trees. I think what shocks me the most is why people don't plant more of the citrus they want to eat.  The standard citrus trees you see around town are the grapefruit and decorative oranges that people planted back in the 50's.  There are certainly many more varieties that grow here and do just as well as the standard Tucson grapefruit tree.  It's really strange how people are protective of some of their trees.  For example, I am going to write on the Blood(moro) Orange later today.  This is one of those trees that people consider sacred.  They'll say things like, "You can pick any of those oranges, but not the Blood Orange." Why not plant more of the blood orange tree then? This story comes from my Great Uncle who lives up in Sun Valley near Phoenix.  However, I've heard this same conversation between other people around town.  It makes me laugh.  The moral of the story here is plant fruit that you'll eat and not plant citrus for the novelty of having a grapefruit tree, etc:) However, I love grapefruit:)

Today's focus is on the orange trees that I have growing currently on the property.  The first one is the Valencia Orange.  This standard juice orange is the most widely planted orange in the world.  Medium size fruit is orange in color and nearly seedless. The fruit is sweet and very juicy.  It's often called the "Summer Orange" because it matures from April to October. The fruit stores well on the tree and improves in quality.  It is a large, vigorous, and columnar shaped tree. This plant has also done well in the gardens and grew several inches.  It is a dwarf variety that will grow anwhere from 10-20 feet tall and equally wide.  This particular plant is more upright than the others. It's also frost hardy up to 32 degrees. I didn't get any fruit off this tree this year but I am hoping that this year will bring the first crop:) Stay tuned for the sacred "blood or moro orange":)  

The Dancy Tangerine

The Dancy Tangerine rind is deep reddish-orange, thin and easily removed. The juice is rich and sweet. Dancy's have a moderate amount of seeds. Dancy Tangerines are available from mid December through January although mine doesn't have any fruit on it this year.  I purchased this plant back in August and put it in a pot.  It looks like every other citrus plant....evergreen and upright.

It's one of the few citrus that look good in pots as it is a smaller tree/bush.  So just like the kumquat, I put it in a pot....for now.  This is a great fruit that can be picked off the tree during this time of year....easily peeled and if you pick it in the morning here in Tucson, it makes a nice cold breakfast treat.  I've always loved this fruit because it's so easy to peel.  My friend has one in her neighbor's yard:) The problem is that there is a wall to get to it!  We carpool together and the first thing I do this time of year is head over to her wall and try and pick the fruit from the other side.  You may be thinking that this act is theft....well depends at how you look at it. The neighbors are always different renters who never pick the fruit off the tree even though they say they will. After a year of this and watching that beautiful fruit go to waste, we made a pact to make sure every delicious tangerine would be appreciated.  The renters haven't noticed at all, but there is a sad part to this story....because renters have come and gone, the tree is in decline and is not looking so well. My friend is currently watering the plant from her side so that it won't die.  The fruit is THAT good! So I finally purchased this fruit tree for El Presidio gardens.  It will eventually go into the ground and I highly recommend this plant. As for the freeze in the garden the past several nights....well the good news is that the citrus plants have survived!  That includes the Meyer's Lemon and Bearr's Lime!  I was worried about the both of them,  but everyone is doing well.  The cactus took a hit around the place, but that is easily fixed and not as costly as the citrus.

Currently on the property, we have a blood orange, tangelo, lemon, lime, kumquat, grapefruit, and calamondin.  A what? Calamondin?  Yeah I don't know either...it's just a pretty variegated variety that has interesting fruit.  I tried one and spit it out....nasty. I'm not sure what they're good for but I'll find out.  In Spring, because the courtyard is closed off, the citrus blooms are trapped inside and make this place smell incredible! Talk about making your neighbor's smile(unless they have allergies:)Then the fruit begins to grow:) Citrus are fairly easy to grow in Tucson....you just need to watch the hard freezes while the plants are young. They are great plants because they are green all year and add a lot of different elements in the garden.  Pros. Green plant.  Smell.  Fruit.  Catepillar food for the swallowtail butterfly increasing butterfly populations. Shade. And low on the water budget depending on your location.  Cons.  If you don't pick the fruit off the tree, it will drop and make a mess.  Also some citrus have thorns on their branches so be careful.  Until next time, happy gardening!