Citrus Info for the Holidays-Calamondins

     As I prepare to make a permanent move to North Carolina, I would like to assure folks that I will still be The Citrus Guy and available for questions and some lectures. This move will give me a chance to prove how well my book, "How to Grow Citrus Practically Anywhere" really does work. Which is available online via the link.

      I will, however, basically be starting over with my own collection, due to the fact that I currently live in Charleston County, South Carolina and with the Quarantines in place, I sold all of my trees. Not to fear though, the Southeastern Cold Hardy Citrus Expo (follow them on Facebook) is the weekend prior to Thanksgiving and I plan on getting a bunch of seeds there.

     I also have a few friends online that I like to order from. One of which is my good friends at Lemon Citrus Tree the other is Stan McKenzie, also a good friend of mine and he can be found at McKenzie Farms

     One of the trees/seeds that I will be in search of is a Calamondin. It was my very first citrus tree that I got back when I first started this whole Citrus obsession. It is also known as Calamansi.

     What is a Calamondin you ask?

     Most likely of Chinese origin. Botanically it is × Citrofortunella microcarpa making it a Kumquat hybrid. The Calamondin is thought to basically be an Orangequat resulting from a cross between a sour, loose skinned Mandarin and the Kumquat. The peel is thin and smooth, yellow to yellow-orange and easily separable. It was introduced in Florida in 1899.

They look like this:

                                             Image courtesy of Brite Leaf Citrus Nursery


     Calamondins make excellent container-grown specimens and the fruit can be used for many things. Marmalades, Chutneys, or they can be halved or quartered and served with iced tea, seafood and meats, Some people boil the sliced fruits with cranberries to make a tart sauce. They were commonly used in Florida before limes became plentiful.

     My favorite use is to substitute it for lime or lemon juice and make gelatin salads, desserts, custard pies or chiffon pie. A Calamondin Meringue Pie is my ultimate favorite. You eat the entire fruit, peel and all.

     Calamondins are usually fairly easy to obtain. If you can't find one, check with your Citrus growing friends or look online. Calamondin trees may be easily grown from seeds or as rooted cuttings. You can easily get fruit within 4-5 years from seed and as early as 2 years from cuttings.

     The flowers are self-fertile and require no cross-pollination. They are as cold-hardy as the Satsuma orange. The tree seems able to tolerate a wide range of soils. There is also the possibility of having ripe fruit and flowers at the same time. When it comes to growing them, treat these tasty little fruits just as you would any other Citrus tree.

There is even a Variegated Version:

                                     Image Courtesy of Four Winds Growers citrus nursery.

     The fruit is variegated when it is young, but will turn orange when ripe. I have discovered that the seeds from the variegated variety almost always seem to come up albino, so they don't seem to work well. Best to buy these plants or vegetatively propagate them.

     I have had both of these trees and really enjoyed the fruit they produced. Hopefully, this will entice you to find them and grow one for yourself! I have listed a few of my favorite places to obtain citrus trees from throughout this article,  please contact any of them for your citrus needs and tell them "The Citrus Guy" sent you.

     The holidays are coming and my book and a citrus tree or two might just make the perfect gift!

     If you have any questions about this or any of my other writings, please do not hesitate to e-mail me at TheCitrusGuy@netzero.com
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Happy Growing!
Darren

Maybe They Should Be Contained

     Well, at least it is a sunny, reasonably warm day today. A FAR cry from what many in the country have experienced already this year. I bring this up, not to brag, but to preference that, here in Charleston, we have had a very nasty cold winter so far. Personally, I have had 7 inches of snow and days upon days of sub-freezing temperatures. This is South Carolina, NOT South Dakota, so that kind of weather is rare, not unheard of, but very rare.
     Needless to say, many plants have been hurt badly by this kind of weather, especially tropical and sub-tropical like Citrus. This is, unfortunately, an all too common picture here around the Lowcountry.

These are Calamondins, a kumquat hybrid. Yes, they are in containers, and yes, they stayed outside in the snow. They looked like this with the white stuff on them.

Yes, same tree. It is still alive, there is green under the bark.
There are many, many trees that look like this either in the ground or in containers that were left outside.
     The purpose of this article is not to depress you more or cry over the tree's appearance. I am still an advocate for growing citrus in the ground in Charleston! Mamma said there would be days like this! Or years!
     No, the purpose of this article is to give you an option of how to grow your citrus. In Containers!
Everybody that has been following me or knows me, knows that I grow my plants in containers for among other reasons, emergencies like this.
     Of course, the logical thing to do would be to put them in a greenhouse or garage when this kind of weather is approaching. That is fine and dandy if you have one or two trees. I have dozens. Some of my "special" trees got to go into the greenhouse. Just for the record, even with an electric heater in there, it dropped to 27 degrees a couple of times. The damage?
NONE!
This is what I saw when I opened the door.

     Now, I did have them pretty packed in there and when I did water everything, there were a few missed and those ones look sad, but only because they did not get enough water. They will be fine.
     I know what you are saying, "I don't have a greenhouse or even a garage to use, so what then?"
Glad you asked!
     I posted this picture before the storm hit, wished them luck, and hoped for the best. It looked like hell, but, hey, I was almost in desperation mode because nothing else would fit in the greenhouse.

     What is in that trash pile of, a frost cloth, a tarp, and a crocheted blanket? A dozen citrus trees, ranging in size from 7 gallons to 30 gallons, all laid down on the ground. I watered them really well, laid them down, and stacked a few on top of each other. No other protection. This was on January 2nd that I created this disaster. The snow, ice, and wicked cold temperatures came and went. I was afraid to even peek under there.
     Well, today is January 21st, just 2 days shy of three weeks, I decided I needed to clean this up and face the destruction. I took all of the coverings off and stood everything back up.What I found is absolutely amazing!
LOOK FOR YOURSELF!

     If you look closely at the second picture, on the right-hand side is a bunch of dead looking leaves. That is a Lemon tree that was under there. I have always said that lemons and limes are more cold sensitive.

     This is a Key Lime that was also under there, probably THE most cold sensitive of all of the citrus trees. It is still alive, I saw green under the bark, it is just not happy right now.

     But, as you can see, aside from those two, the trees pretty much came out unscathed. What else was under there? A kumquat, a few tangerines, a lemonquat, a flame grapefruit, and a few other assorted hybrids. I gave each one an attaboy and a good drink of water while they were enjoying the sun again.
     I am not trying to brag here! To be honest, I tell people to use blankets and such on top of the trees that are laid down on the ground all the time, but after the severity of all of the bitterly cold temps and snow/ice, even I had my doubts about how these would look.
     I said above, I will always be an advocate for planting citrus in the ground if you can. This kind of weather is not an every year event. But maybe, just maybe, you might want to consider growing them in big pots and laying them down for a nap when the wicked winter weather does come for a visit!
     If you have any questions about this or any of my other articles, please feel free to send them to TheCitrusGuy@netzero.com.
     There is still time to get signed up for my monthly newsletter of Citrus Growing Tips, slated to come out February 1st, 2018. You can sign up for it HERE
Happy Growing!
Darren