I have to add a little five gallon semi-dwarf variegated Calamondin. Great looking tree that I had to grab since I've never seen this variety at local sources. Also saw some little Meiwa kumquats but resisted, holding out for a bigger tree.

oh nice, do you have a picture? Does it has fruits?

Grabbed some shots, it has small fruits and blossoms, other photos are my Tango & Rio Red, my current grafting project, and finally my Shiranuis grafted in the spring.

WOW badfish really really nice looking tree's. Love the Variegated Calamondin and happy that you finally have your Shiranui! !!

Brian

Your tree looks so very beautiful. What name is the nursery that produced this tree?

And your grafting is just awesome. Thank you for sharing :)

They look awesome, badfish! Thanks for sharing.

La Verne Nursery, Piru CA. I got it at Home Depot. Definitely some more unusual stuff, they also had Meiwa, Pixie, a salad with four varieties, and a Satsuma (variety not stated). I guess I should be checking the big box stores more often, seems like they might be branching out from the typical varieties.

Lucky you. I have yet to see that in out HD or lowes. Probably a regional thing

My Home Depot and lowes in (ny) never have citrus and my local nursery only carries Meyers and Key likes. I check regularly. West coast and South West regions seems to get all the great citrus

Sometimes Walmart carries citrus. I found that out this year while shopping in their garden department. It was interesting because there are 3 in my area. The most southern one in my county was the only one who carried it. I will be sure to check them out next year.

Badfish

Very nice looking trees and setup. How big are those pots. They look huge and tall. Any trees that I grow in containers will go into a half barrels.

My friend's succulent lost one leaf in my citrus tree 3 years ago. it sprang roots and I gave it a cup-O-dirt.

They are all in what I call 5 gallon grower pots, though I think they are more like 3.5 gallon. Except the Tango and Rio Red which are 15 gallon.

So I just checked my grafts yesterday after three weeks. Pixie and USDA 88-2 (Lee x Nova) both had 12/12 grafts take. Unfortunately the Satsumas were terrible, 0/12 on Xie Shan, 4/12 on Miho Wase. Obviously something going on with the budwood as they were all grafted under the same conditions. Bummer but I will regraft when UCR sends me replacement budwood.

Sorry for the thread drift. You guys all have awesome collections, I admire you container growers as there are obviously significant challenges.

So far...

3 Meyer lemons,2 bush and 1 tree form.

2 Key Limes bushes

2 Variegated Pink Lemons

2 Meiwas

2 New Zealand Lemonades

1 Okitsu Satsuma Mandarin

1 Ponderosa Lemon

1 Indio-mandarinquat

1 Rays Ruby

1 Smith Red

I started "collecting" citrus because it was a way to bring a little bit of sunshine to the dull and dreary winters that are New Jersey. I swear ,winters last nearly 6 months here...at least that's the way they seem to me,lol! Florida is in my near future, so until then, I have my sunshine in a pot! Hoping to get my Greenhouse out of the box (bought it 3 years ago,lol) in the next few weeks... "Hoping" is the key word! Definitely looking to get a Mineola, some type of Navel Orange and a Blood Orange.

When Susanne originally started this thread, she posed several questions to us:

...what you grow, why you grow it and which in your collection is your favorite and why? Do you see different requirements? Or treat all the same?

I think we've all been focusing on the What part of the question. As a relative newby, I'm really curious to know more from you guys. What are your favorites? What is the easiest to grow? Most difficult? What do you recommend (specifically for us container growers)? Why do you do this? Biggest tips to help new growers?

My Meyers continue to be my biggest challenge. After a near death experience (do to my lack of knowledge and my mother in law trying to be helpful by watering it every day), my first Meyer is recovering with lots of new leaf growth. But it continues to grow sooo slow, drop about as much new growth as ends up living, and be pale and yellowy. It's healthier than before, but not thriving like my others. I'm still partial to it because a) it was my first b) it needs so much more live and attention

My limes (Key and Persian) seem a breeze to keep happy.

It's a little early, but my Tango and Satsuma also seem pretty easy to take care of.

I have tons of other house plants and a small fall garden. All of which are less than two years old. I never realized how much joy I get from nurturing something. (No kids here) I don't feel burdened by the time and energy I devote to my plants and I'm noticeably happier when my plants are happy and healthier. I love all of my plants, but there is something special to me about an edible. It's a constant learning experience, but I definitely feel like I'm improving. Now instead of daydreaming about owning a home, I daydream about owning a home with a sunroom! and greenhouse! and having enough money to stay home and grow all my own food and take care of my plants.

Alanna. I an going to guess you are fairly young. You will find out that growing your own food is quite difficult if even possible. At 60 years old I have found that I could work ma minimum wage job and have enough money to buy all organic food and still have more time to my self than if I grew my own food. Good luck, I wish you well on your plans.

Steve

Thank you for bringing the questions up again Alanna. They got lost in all the euphoria about different varieties. What I discovered last week is that the variegated Pink Lemon does not like hot afternoon sun especially after a cold spell. I only noticed the burns on the tender new leafs when they fell off. My Rubino seems to be a magnet for spider mites despite growing so well. Have her separated from all the others and treating her more aggressively. Not sure if they are in the soil ? Just in case, I will repot and see if that makes a difference.

Steve I always find my veggies more tasteful then the store bought organic. I also like the idea that not other peoples hands touched my food. Strange right? And it get worse the older I get. It gives me satisfaction to go to my basement and get a jar that I canned. When I was younger, I always dreamed about having my own food. Now we have out own meat, eggs and milk. Most the time I bake bread. It might not be perfect but I'm happy.

I chose the Meiwa kumquat because I can not buy these fruits anywhere in Cincinnati. The fukushu and the NZL were gifted to me from Pip and Cory. I had never heard of either the Fukush or the NZL and they sounded very interesting.

Requirements are the same for all the trees. However the meiwa grows at 1/4 the rate that the others grow so If you have and insect problem that damages the tree it will take 4 times longer to bounce back. The meiwa must get much more attention to prevent mishaps

Steve

Alanna, I think that I did a pretty good job on the what, why and favorite parts I'll expand on the rest. I treat them all mostly the same, all but 2 are in 5-1-1 and plastic pots and the others are in a 50/50 and 60/40 soil/perlite mix in root pouches. The root pouches work wonders on my herbs and veggies but the soil mix has done nothing for the citrus. The Oro Blanco hasn't grown a single leaf since I planted it in that mix in spring and The Minneola is just now putting out a few new leaves on one branch. I know some people are successful in growing in soil mediums but I have had no luck with it. I wouldn't recommend it to any newbies as it seems to require a fair amount of knowledge, skill and proper climate to do it successfully.5-1-1 has made citrus "easy" for me. I fertilize them all the same with 1.5 tbsp. Jacks 25-5-15 in a 2 Gal watering can about once a week or every other watering. I hate having to hand water but I haven't come up with a better way that accurately dispense the fert. I am planting my two latest additions(Valentine Pummelo ((Replacement)) and Vari. Pink Lemon) in 5-1-1 tonight after work and if I have any mix left I will re pot the Oro since its not thriving in its current mix. My Meyer is the biggest PIA, so finicky always dropping leaves and trying to kill itself over blooming, fruiting, and growing its canopy larger than it can support. It died back some then I trimmed it way back and it FINALLY looks like its doing well(after 2 years of struggle). I don't even like meyer lemons but this tree is so sentimental I am determined to make it grow. I would NOT recommend a Meyer to a newbie to grow, any other variety I have would be easier than a Meyer. Particularly easy are the limes, all of them are pretty robust and bounce back quickly from mistreatment which is important when your first learning and making mistakes. My biggest tips for new growers are use a fast draining mix like 5-1-1 or gritty. I think so many people get stuck trying to use what they have or are familiar with and their trees suffer until they figure out that its hurting them (for most people since I know there are people in warmer areas that use soil mixes with good results), make sure you don't over water and that your pot drains well. Get a decent fertilizer and feed on a schedule, they really cannot thrive without food and a lot of it. Think of citrus trees more like pets than plants, then need a more consistent schedule and attention. Other than that there is lots of info for specific issues like pests and wintering but really one you get the basics of feeding and watering down its pretty easy and fun.

Couple more new ones, seems to be a theme lately. Went searching for a Kishu but ended up with a Yosemite Gold which has gotten scarce around my area, nurseries seem to have stopped growing it, hard to pass up a difficult to find variety in 15 gallon for $49...

Also a wild little 5 gallon Meiwa for $18...

I think I will just graft some Kishus in the spring. So now my buy list is down to a Smith Red Valencia and an Australian Finger Lime. I am sure I will find some others that are too hard to pass up, always seems to happen.

This thread is great! For a long time I didn't take a look at this thread because I figured I only have 1 citrus tree and it's the common and infamous Meyer. I also don't need any more temptations to buy another tree! But I'm glad I took a look. Everyone's collections sound great even the ones with <10 trees. With the help of everyone's collections, it's finally time for me to make a proper handwritten wish list!

Alanna I feel ya on the whole citrus unavailability. I also live in NY and I go to Home Depot once in awhile to check on their stock but I've never seen them carry a citrus tree. I wish they would stock them! I'd definitely bring them home if I found them on sale for $20

Going back to the original thread topic.. I got a Meyer because that was the only lemon I kept seeing when I passed by the plant shops that I like to visit. I knew nothing about citrus and many sites praised the Meyer as a great "easy to grow" lemon making great lemonade. At first my goal for buying the tree was to have a collection of long lasting flowering plants. I want to own a beehive in the future and what better source of food can I give them than fruit trees? A win for both me and the bees! I concluded that if the lemon tree never makes fruit, it would still make a cheery and fragrant tree. If it does make fruit, I'll make lots of fresh lemonade in the summer and hot lemon tea in the winter!

After joining this this forum, I want to buy so many more citrus now! I used to eat loads of mandarins and tangerines when I was young but I stopped because the flavor/quality was never consistently great. My mouth waters just thinking about eating freshly picked ripe mandarins and oranges.

I think a lot of people start with a Meyer lemon and then quickly become addicted. I also have an emotional attachment to mine, even though it’s ugly and always sickly.

Sammers - Thanks for all the info. Im afraid to admit this because I seem to be in the minority around here, but all of my trees are in terra-cotta with a peat/perlite mix. Everyone is healthy and happy, so I don’t really see a need to change them now. It took awhile, but I’ve learned not to over water. I thought I’d see how the new ones do over the winter before I decide to change my potting medium. My 4 newest will need to be reported in the spring to larger pots, but even then, if they’re thriving, I think I might keep going with their current mix.

Susanne - I know you’re in Michigan. Have you successful had mandarins fruit. You said you took a break for a while and recently started again. I wasn’t sure what varieties you’ve had fruit in your climate.

Any one else in a cold climate have successful with varieties other than lemon/lime? Without a greenhouse or intense light setup? All of the winter lighting I’ve seen is super creative.

Steve - I have no delusions that growing food is not hard work. As it is, my tiny garden and house plants take a lot of time, but it’s enjoyable for me. Sometimes I wonder if I had unlimited sums on money, would I still want to farm or just pay people to do it for me? But there is something so amazing about nurturing plants and producing ones on food.

One more comment: I’ve noticed a lot of people on this forum who are obsessed with kumquats. Am I missing something? I’ve never been terribly interested. Anyone want to try to convince me to add one to my collection???

Alanna I have not had other fruits then lemons, limes, kumquats and one minneola but this sure will change hopefully next year. In michigan I can not grow citrus without bringing them in under extra lights. I heard so much about kumquats before I got one and first thought nah. But since I tasted my own, don't want to be without them. I have Meiwa, very sweet, fukushu, not tried yet but suppoused to be very good if not the best tasting, and centennial. I think Kumquat trees are the most beautiful trees with the small and dense foliage. Mine will take some time until they are truly beautiful trees.

There are some REALLY amazing citrus collections here! No wonder the citrus forum is such a great place to share experiences and ask for guidance.

Hats off to all of you.

Dev, that is an amazing collection!

Alanna, I'm a huge kumquat fan! I think they taste amazing. I like to eat orange rind (lemon, too), and this is a great way to do it. Feel like eating an orange? Well here's one ready to go without any prep.

I suppose it might be an acquired taste, and eating a nagami is sure different from meiwa. (those are the only varieties I have tasted)

Plus they are so pretty. I also like that they are unusual. Special :)

Dev - it looks like you have a lot of kumquats and mandarins. Which are your favorites? which are easiest to grow? Do you grow in ground or in containers?

Dev, I think you have me beat ;-). Outstanding collection!

I am inTorrey Utall about 1700 miles from my trees

Dev that is impressive. Some are not easy to be found. Is your red finger lime a true finger lime or a australian blood lemon? You must have a big greenhouse ;)

Where did you find the gondhoraj Lime??? What are you using it for? I doubt it is Rangpur Lime. Pictures I found lime is oblong and not round like the rangpur.

here is what I found

Gondhoraj Lemon called the kaffir lime, makrut or Mauritius papeda is a
citrus fruit native to tropical Asia, including India, Nepal,
Bangladesh, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Its
fruit and leaves are used in Southeast Asian cuisine and its essential
oil is used in perfumery. Its rind and crushed leaves emit an intense
citrus fragrance.

Make me really want to have one too :)

Alanna - All my mandarins are small, i got 3 darcy this year . In Kumquats I get good harvest from my Nagami . All my plants are in containers . I wish I could plant inground .

Laura - I very much doubt that , how many new ones did you add this year ;) .

Susanne - There are many classifications on the internet I think its neither Rangpur nor Kaffir/Makrut. We use it with lentil soup , steamed fish , pannacotta . it has a distinct fragrance . I started from seed , we get it in the local Bangladeshi stores , its around 5 feet but no flowers/fruit yet .

Dev

Great list Dev. I believe the Gondhoraj Lebu is a "kin" to the Kaffir Lime. Here is a wonderful article and blog that I came across. Thought you would enjoy it.

https://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cultural-chromosomes/a-lime-like-no-other/

Jinny that's a great article, it a shame they had no pictures though. Dev if your willing I'd love to see a picture of the tree. I want to know how different it looks from a rangpur or a kafiir/makrut.

Dev, Laura, Sammers, Susanne. ...Another wonderful article /blog

"Originally called Rangpur Lime" But see the fruit in the picture are not round like common rangpur. .

http://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report-gondhoraj-lebu-a-sublime-lime-2235215

Gondhoraj discussion going here too !! You folks are such addicts - lol. Anyway, as I said in the other thread Gondhoraj is not like normal Rangpur lime and it is quite far from Kaffir lime. Kaffir has double lobed leaves. Mine is from seed and has not produced any fruit in 5 or so years. But I am happy since all I wanted are the leaves. It is such an easy plant to grow.

Dev: sounds like you are from bengal/bangladesh too. I also tried Gondhoraj from seed and the one that survived eventually produced one fruit after 5 yrs or so. This its 7th year and no fruits. Hope your are doing better than that. I have another one from cutting and this year I am letting it produce a few fruits. There is a pic in this thread: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/when-do-i-know-if-my-rangpur-limes-are-ripe-dsvw-vd~4909591

Dev: any insight into the Indian sweet lime? I am just curious to find out whether I want one.

All of you have many many varieties. Mine is rather very limited:

Gondhoraj: at least this one you all know by now.

Kagzi: another indian lime popular in Bengal. Grown from seed and should be true to parent. Hoping some signs of fruit next year.

One unknown lime or lemon: I should post in this forum and find out what it is.

Chinotto: mainly for bonsai

Kaffir: Grown from seed. We ate the fruit in a Hawaii trip and saved the seeds.

Flying dragon: It is such a crazy looking plant

Key lime: Started from cutting last year and doing quite well - I chopped off the flowers and fruits this year.

Nagami Kumquat: Started from cutting last year- slow to grow and not very vigorous yet. The base still wobbles.

The following are still in rooted cutting stage and fragile:

- Persian Lime: I do not remember why I even started this one.

- Xie Shan: I wanted to try my hands at grafting with this but ended up rooting the scion instead.

tropic - yeah I am originally from Bengal ( Calcutta ) , my Gondhoraj from seed is in its 2nd year , hoping it will fruit in a few years .

I will try growing a Kagzi lemon from seed this year , how many year old is it ? Atleast this one doesnt have ambiguity in identification - Assam Lemon . http://citruspages.free.fr/lemons.html#longilimon 

Indian Sweet Lime is supposed to be Mosambi , I have some mid size fruits but all still green .

Sammers/Jinny - herez another pic , its oblong , rough thick peel , not a lot of juice but has a distinct floral fragrance . Thats why I never could understand how its a rangpur which is hybrid of mandarin and lemon . To me going by the fruit its more like a citron lime hybrid .

I will take a pic of the leaves and post it later when am home , it certainly doesnt look anywhere close to Makrut lime either .

devsense: I am from Calcutta too. I think my Gondhoraj from seed took 6 yrs to produce one fruit the first time. Subsequent yrs it did not even flower. I do not know what is up with it. May be you will have better luck. Mine does not show any sign of being a robust plant. The cutting grown one is far more vigorous. Also my gondhoraj from cutting of a fruiting tree does not show that bumpy skin. It is small and still quite smooth skinned. May be it will show it when more mature. Although, my recollection is that the fruit can be be quite smooth all the way to being bumpy surface. My kagzi is 2 yrs old. But it has not grown very vigorously. Our growing season is also short so hopefully next year it may have some flowers/fruits. Interesting that I suspected that sweet lime is Mosambi. Thanks for that info.

I posted this pic of my Gondhoraj in another thread. The leaves are sort of rounded and often have a split sort of at the tip.

Thank you to you both, Dev and Tropic! The Gondhoraj fruit is so lovely and unique in every way. Now I must find one to add to my growing list of citrus. I did a bit of research on this variety last week and a few individuals that grow this variety said it had poor production in its early years and should increase production as the tree ages..

herez my Gondhoraj plant , its been growing well even during winter under the LED lights

devsense: Looking much better than my seed grown one. And I spy a curry leaf plant too.

Kinnow mandarin, Okitsu Wase Satsuma, some random clementine, Santa Teresa lemon, rotuma island orange, ponkan, shasta gold mandarin, boukhozba blood orange, honey mandarin, kishu mandarin, sudachi, avani tardivo mandarin, nz lemonade, usda 11-?? tangelo, valentine pummelo, tahitian pummelo, cocktail 'grapefruit', moro blood orange, chironja, meiwa kumquat, buddha's hand citron, shiranui mandarin, meyer lemon, genoa lemon, bearss lime, key lime, golden nugget mandarin, yuzu, bream tarocco blood orange, nordmann kumquat, kaffir lime, variagated eureka lemon, page mandarin, variagated calamondin, chinotto sour orange...i think that's it?

Serge -That is quite the collection. What are your favorites to eat? Easiest to grow? Most productive? Ones you recommend? Do you grow in ground or in containers?

My favorites to eat have been the valentine pummelo, golden nugget mandarin, shasta gold mandarin, and rotuma island orange, I cook with the Yuzu - it's great for winter Japanese dishes. The easiest to grow have been the bearss lime and the meyer lemon. The most productive are the bearss lime, the yuzu, and the meyer. I grow both in ground and in containers. If it works for your climate and soil, I'd recommend the Golden Nugget and Shasta Gold. I'm still waiting on fruit from about half of these varieties but they should come around soon and then get good (if that is their path) in 3 more years.

The Golden Nugget is on my list and I was going to get the Yosemite gold, but I’ve been reading that people like the Shasta gold more. FW does not carry the Shasta. Can the rotunda Island Orange and pomelo be grown in containers?

I got a Gold Nugget but its still small + in a container , how I envy the ppl who can plant in ground .

Tropic- yeah those are baby curry leaf plants , I have a big one which gives a few offshoots every now n then which i seperate out .

Dev, Beautiful Gondhoraj, I love the purple new leaf growth! Thank you for sharing.

Great list of citrus, Serge! Nice collection!

Alanna, I have one Rotuma in a container (1/2 wine barrel) and it is doing OK - fruiting! I have another as a graft on a very old in-ground trifolate rootstock - it is growing nicely but now flowers yet. A third I planted at a friend's house and he says it's growing well with good flush. The Valentine Pummelo is also in a 1/2 wine barrel. It looked like it was going to lose it, but with a lot of TLC it came back and is going strong with 7 or 8 good fruit this year. I think that one is going into the ground as it's my daughter's and she loves it.

Serge

Could you post a picture of your Valentine pummelo.