Following, as I ordered one from them just this past weekend. On idtools, the pic of the sanbokan immature fruit is slightly necked and definitely pitted. http://idtools.org/id/citrus/citrusid/factsheet.php?name=Sanbokan

You could inquire with Record Bucks Farms through Facebook.

Thank you for the link, lucky. I looked at the picture of the inmature Sanboken fruit. It does show a slight neck and is pitted . The fruit shape is similar to my tree, but no neck is forming. Maybe the fruit will develop the neck as they mature more. Denise, Thank you for the suggestion. I am not on fb at this time.

Lucky, the Sanboken tree I received from Hirts was beautiful. It also was packaged well and arrived in great shape. Hopefully it is the correct tree.

I would definitely write to Hirt's customer service, even if they weren't the grower. Maybe they can connect you with RBF.

To me it looks more like a Meyer lemon or a Persian lemon.

I would write to them sooner rather than wait to see what happens..

You are right, John. The fruit do look like a Meyer lemon . When I received the tree it had the typical "Lemon" tag identification and a piece of masking tape on the container that someone wrote "Sweet Sambo " on in marker.

Lucky, I sent Matt @ Hirts an email along with 3 pictures. Hopefully he will respond back soon. If I get no response I will call the customer service department.

Let us know what you hear back. I am interested to see how mine is labelled when it comes later this week.

I received an email this morning from Matt Hurt. He said, "It is the correct plant. Sorry for the confusion. "

That is good news. I will just have to be patient and see if the fruit will develop the neck etc. as it matures more. I am going to save the email exchange just in case there is a chance the tree was still mislabled.

Lucky, Hirts ships out pretty fast. Please share pictures when you receive your tree. I am curious to see how they label it and to see if it has little fruitlets..Thanks.

THAT's his entire response? Disappointing, as it sounds like he has no idea and is hoping you'll just shrug and say OK. I just checked and my plant is supposed to be delivered TODAY so we'll see.

That sucks that it had no tag or identification whatsoever. I find that odd. The tree looks nice and healthy though with nice dark green leaves. I am going to RB's website to send them a message along with a few pictures. Hopefully someone can clarify if I have a SS.. or not.

The idtools page says "Leaflets spicy or peppery when crushed". Mine smell lemony.

I hope you get an answer from RBF. The state of their website isn't promising. Their FB page is 'unofficial'. I guess I'm not sure what I should do. I wouldn't really be surprised if they labelled a bunch of Meyers as something else. It makes me pretty suspicious about mine being the right thing. If I wait until it eventually sets fruit, they will probably tell me it's been too long to do anything about it, but I don't have much evidence that it's wrong (or right). I ordered it from Hirt's through Amazon so do have some recourse for a little while, but without much evidence it's hard to claim it's not right.

On the FB page for Record Bucks Farms, there is a phone number (352) 324-3447. I would call it and speak to them rather than Hirts. Hirts is the middle man and probably wouldn't know anything.

I find it interesting that Hirts is the only retailer that I could find online who sells this particular variety of lemon.

My wife came home with a Record Buck tree with a tag that said "navel orange". I emailed them to ask which navel orange it was. They just said that it was a navel orange. I sent a reply asking them which variety it was. That was many months ago and I have not heard back from them.

I no longer buy anything from them because of that and because the Record Buck trees I have bought had an unusually high rate of dying compared to trees I got from other vendors.

Vladimir, were your trees rooted cuttings?

Denise, I have 5 from Record Buck and they are all on their own roots, i.e., they are rooted cuttings..

Well, I called Record Buck Farms and talked to a sweet lady named Ann. She said the Sweet Sambo (Sanboken ) fruit should be 3 1/2" long, oval shaped with a bit of a neck and have rough skin. The ripened fruit should be orange in color and a bit sweet. I gave her all the details on my Sweet Sambo and she gave me her email to send the pictures of my supposed "Sweet Sambo" to her. I sent 5 pictures. Here is her response, "I had one of the owners look at your tree and he said it looks like a Meyer. "

So tomorrow I will call Hirts and hopefully talk to someone who can help me out. I already have a Meyer and certainly do not need two trees. I will keep you posted with further updates. Denise, Thank you for the phone#. Lucky, I hope your tree turns out to be the real deal. Keep a record of your tree, pictures, and your order# just in case for future reference.

Vladimir, sorry about your Record Buck Farms trees. I have four RBF trees, cuttings, and so far they are doing well. They were purchased late, last summer from Hirts and I guess only time will tell. (Not happy about the mislabled tree though.. )

Wow. I wonder what Hirt's will say. I hope they don't both point the finger at each other and leave you with the bill. I am debating actually trying to "return" mine since I ordered it from Hirt's through Amazon (don't think they take returns on plants, but I may get a refund). I don't trust it not having a tag or anything whatsoever.

jinny, offer to forward the email from Ann to Hirts when you complain about receiving the wrong tree. At least you have the growing nursery on your side so Hirts cannot deny you another tree because they sent the wrong one out.

Jinny, did you receive an answer from Hirt's?

If I want to return mine (I suspect it's also a Meyer, the leaves don't smell spicy or peppery, they smell lemony, and the no tag thing is pretty suspicious) I have to pay return shipping. I have lodged a claim with Amazon and we'll see. Otherwise I can keep a mystery tree that's probably wrong for $40 or pay $15 to have it out of my hair. Never ever touching Hirt's again with a ten foot pole, that's for sure.

I’m sorry you guys. That is incredibly annoying. I’ve called RB in the past to identify both a “blood orange “ and a limequat. They were helpful but could not give me a definitive type. Based on when I bought it and where, they gave me which type was most likely to be. I still don’t know which exact blood orange I have from them - likely Moro, but they also have sanguinelli. I’ll wait for fruit to attempt to identify. It is a lovely tree though...

Hi, Lucky .

I have been incredibly busy this past week and over the weekend (We have a new baby granddaughter :) ) , but I did try to call Hirts a few times today x3 and no receptionist picked up the phone. I tried again just before four o'clock, closing time, and the answering machine picked up. Will try again tomorrow. I do know that if you order anything directly from Hirts that they have a full refund policy, including shipping if "they" were in error and sent out the wrong item or a badly damaged product.

Glad you like your blood orange tree, Laura. Hopefully it produces delicious fruit for you someday. :)

The company made an error, you should not have to pay return shipping. That is bad customer service. I would call amazon again and complain forcefully.

Amazon gave me a refund, mostly because Hirt's didn't respond within 2 days, and so then Amazon's guarantee kicks in. I guess I'll hold on to the tree, despite not really having room for it, and if by some miracle it turns out to be a sanbokan in a year or two, I'll buy something else from them as atonement. ;)

Well, I just picked the first ripe fruit off of the supposed "Sweet Sambo" tree, the fruit actually fell off of the tree into my hands when I gently twisted the stem to see if it was ripe. The fruit is round with a smooth, thin peel which was easy to peel and it has the citrus scent of combined, lemon and mandarin. Looks and tastes like a Meyer too! Hopefully the pictures I attached will appear soon. Lol.

Jinnylea, so much time and energy spent on just trying to figure out the variety? The growers and sellers job is to keep the info/ tags on trees accurate and intact until it reaches the customer. What a messy business!

I don't see pictures.

jinnylea, I don't see pictures either. What you described is why I don't like to do mail order with retail nurseries. Tags come off and the staff is not experienced. I suggest your sending the photo to Ruth at Harris and see if they can identify it as they sell the variety according to some paperwork I received last year. I just noticed they also sell a variety called "nine pounder." Why would anybody want one that big? lol. Different strokes for different folks for sure.

Sunshine, agree. The only identifying marking it had was a piece of masking tape someone wrote "Sweet Sambo" on and stuck it on the container. I will contact Hirts tomorrow and send more pictures. Hopefully they will replace it or refund my money. Denise, I believe the nine pounder is for folks who have the room to grow something unique, more variety .

It looks like a Meyer. I have the Sweet Sambo. I can post pics if you want.

Halyna, I would appreciate that. Thank you.

Wow! Look at the top-knot on that fruit! The fruit is huge! Have you had the chance to taste a ripe one yet? If so, how does it taste? I read mixed reviews on other forums. I believe it could be related to age and location of the tree. Thank you, Halyna.

.

Yes. I absolutely loved it. This is how the fruit looked inside and it was sweet. Kind of reminded me the Meiwa kumquat the texture of the flesh. Anyway, I ate it all and wanted more. )) I also heard that it tasted bad for somebody. I guess, there are some better trees and fruits of the same variety.

Update: the supposed “sweet sambo” I got from Hirt’s/RBF is holding onto a few fruits. Wouldn’t you know, they look pretty Meyer-ish. Guess I’m glad I got a refund but too bad that it’s probably not a sanbokan.

Yes, the young fruits on your tree look like the ones on my tree when they were that size. Last week I picked the last two ripe fruits (still producing baby fruit.) off the tree and they look and taste like a Meyer Lemon. Acidic from the lemon genes mixed with a balanced sweetness from the orange genes. I sent a couple new pictures to Hirts and hope to get a response back in a reasonable time frame. I asked for "the real" Sweet Sambo replacement tree or a full refund. We shall see.

Jinny, you must feel very disappointed, so much hustle and lost time.

Disappointed, yes! I really wanted the Sweet Sambo as I already have one dwarf Meyer Lemon tree and do not need two. I was planning on giving my daughter the tree but she now wants my only Variegated Eureka Lemon after seeing how beautiful the tree looks. Lol.