I have 3 Oro Blancos at my lemon farm... ONLY because I was told they are Pomelos... Fact is they are a cross between grapefruit and pomelo... maybe the best grapefruit the world has to offer; but in general I HATE grapefruit. My belief is that the Oro Blanco has fallen out of favor in the commercial world; so many "commercial" nurseries have abandoned them.

Thanks for your input John. I always appreciate it, but why would the commercial world want to abandon such an awesome variety? Now you said that you HATE grapefruit, but as you pointed out, it is a grapefruit/ pummelo blend. Does this mean you like it?

I also am curious to here if your trees bloom intermittenly through out the year like mine does?

Andrew

Andrew. I'm sure its simply based on demand. if no one wants to buy the fruit in retail then there is no reason to grow them commercially. I would like to have one simply because I Dont and you guys say how great they are. I like grapefruit but don't eat enough to say I need to grow my own but who knows I may get one next spring. If you or Mike can root a cutting I'd be happy to pay for it and shipping if interested.

Mike

Hello everyone!

Andrew, you have got to be kidding me?
I will chat with them this week and find out the real reason why..

I have a feeling it is not all about demand but more so about the ease of growing them or the way in which they grow..?

I LOVE mine, but out of all the citrus I have, these are the slowest of all I can think of. Once they flower and fruit, wow, but it seems to take forever to get blooms and rapid growth as compared to all my others..

In other words, It has not flowered since last winter, and hardly has grown any bigger than when I got it over a year ago...Hummm

Have a great day to you all!

Mike

Wow, that is shocking to me out here in California!! EVERYONE here has an Oroblanco in their yard if they want to grow a grapefruit! Truly. It is the #1 most popular grapefruit (hybrid) cultivar here for in-ground growing. And, if you can find it, it's genetic sister (which I prefer just a wee bit more), the Melogold. So, if they decide to stop growing Oroblanco, not to worry, simply order a Melogold. Thinner skin, slightly sweeter and more juicy. The only reason you don't see Melogold in the stores, instead of Oroblanco is due to its thinner skin, and not packing and shipping as well.

Patty S.

To Andrew and all the fans of citrus out there,
this is Merry Lemon (aka Mary Helen) from Four Winds Growers.
There was a misunderstanding on the call. Four Winds is continuing to grow Oro Blanco Grapefruit. I believe Jane was referring to a more limited variety list in Standard size trees. We are expanding our Dwarf list to include even more interesting varieties. If you have questions for us, contact us on our Facebook Page - fourwindsgrowers as we try to monitor that regularly, or on the contact us on our home page. Have a great week. Mary Helen

Here is a link that might be useful: Facebook - Four Winds Growers

You too Mary!

Can't wait to see what you all have up your sleeve! Hoping you and the crew are well...It's been a while..I owe you a call.

I'll be getting my next tree from you! A kumquat to be specific!!

MikeL:-)

Thanks for clearing that up Mary. That is top notch service.

Mike

Thanks, Mary, I found that impossible to believe, being in California and knowing how much we love that Oroblanco, lol! Good to know, and we hope that you post the "more interesting varieties" on your Facebook page as well as on your site!

Patty S.

Yes thank you Mary. I really appreciate the info. I apologize for creating a problem here. That was no my intention. I only wanted everyone to be aware so if you did stop selling them, people would have time to order before you stopped selling them for good.

I am with Mike also! I too plan on ordering another tree all though I doubt it will be before the end of the year. Instead of adding another tree, I will be focusing on trying to keep all my other citrus trees happy. I have added quite a few more this year to my collection. A Meyer lemon tree, a Tango mandarin, and a Bearss seedless lime. I was very lucky to be able to take advantage of some great local sales on all these trees, otherwise, I would have ordered from Four Winds all ready!

Hi Mike! I have no problem with sending you a rooted cutting from my OroBlanco grapefruit tree. The only thing is, I am going to have to wait for it to go through another growth cycle. I have heard that your cghances of getting a citrus cutting to root are higher on new wood. I will say that I have had a lot of success with rooting Ponderosa and also the Variegated Pink lemon. In fact, I just checked on a new cutting that I took about a month or so ago. I cut it and rooted it in a mix that was made with 40% potting mix and 60% perlite. A couple days ago, I was slightly concerned. Even though the cutting had not dropped a leaf(and no, I didn't cut the leaves in half like your supposed to, and I left all the leaves on with the exception of the lower leaves.) it formed a flower bud. I thought for sure that meant that the cutting wax not rooting but IT DID!!! I gave the cutting a firm pull, and it didn't move:)

Mike I will let you know if I have any success with rooting an Or Blanco for you, and all you would owe me for is the shipping. This would be a great time for me to try to get one going because with winter right around the corner, it would have months to get a nice root ball before it could be shipped.

Andrew

That would be great Andrew. Dont feel obligated but if you do I would love to grow one. Ive never tried to root any of my citrus cuttings. Plumeria I can do. I dont know if I have any plumeria you would want but maybe we can do a trade next spring.

Mike, we need to get more hooked on plumeria also. LOL

Mike