Growing the Rose Princess Nectarine

Size and Appearance

The Rose Princess Nectarine is a deciduous tree that grows to 20 or 25 feet tall, and up to 15 feet wide, but which is usually kept smaller with regular pruning. The leaves are around 6 inches long, and 2 inches wide, glossy, with a smooth surface and a pointed tip. Flowers open around the beginning of April, on bare branches, and they are large, over 1-inch across, with pink petals forming a bowl. A tree in bloom is very attractive. This tree is self-fertile, so a single tree produces a full crop.

The fruits begin to develop quickly as the tree spreads its leaves, starting green and gradually becoming yellow as they grow. By mid-July they will be ripening, and the yellow flesh becomes covered with orange-red areas, and then flushed with deep pinky red. Until almost no yellow remains visible. By then the fruit will be ripe – it will yield slightly to a firm touch – and ready to harvest. The flesh is firm, moist and juicy, with exceptional sweetness and just a touch of tang. The extra sweetness of white-fleshed nectarines is sure to be appealing to even the youngest child. The flavor is delicious and complex, and guaranteed to please everyone. The creamy-white flesh just begs to be bitten into, and as this is a freestone variety you can easily cut it in half, pop out the stone, and slice it for salads or baked goods. Blend it into summer smoothies, or just enjoy eating a ‘peach’ without eating fuzz.

Using the Rose Princess Nectarine in Your Garden

With the beauty of its large blooms, and its attractive leaves, the Rose Princess Nectarine is perfect for the lawn, even in a flower garden. You don’t need a specialized area, but of course it would be perfect in a home orchard. It can also be grown as an espalier, spread out on a south-facing wall, and this is ideal in cooler zones, as it helps ripen the fruit properly.

Hardiness

The Rose Princess Nectarine will grow in warm, sheltered spots in zone 5 all the way into zone 8. It needs around 850 chilling hours, when temperatures are below 45 degrees but above freezing. This means it can be grown successfully as far south as a line drawn through the middle of Texas and the middle of Georgia. Further south there will not be enough cold in winter for the flowers to develop properly. Check your local area for your exact average chilling hours.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

Full sun and a warm location are best for the Rose Princess Nectarine. It will grow in most well-drained soils, but not in wet ground. Lighter, sand and loam soils are preferred. Established trees are moderately drought tolerant, but dry periods before harvesting can affect the crop, so soak your tree from time to time if the weather is dry.

Maintenance and Pruning

Like other peach and nectarine trees, there is the potential for pest and disease issues. In the home garden, though, these are rarely too serious, and can be controlled with gentle methods such as our Neem Oil Spray. Once your tree is established, begin to prune and train it. Aim to develop an open, bowl-like arrangement of the branches, without a central stem, and with several main stems radiating out from the top of a short trunk. Shorten back the growths of the previous year that develop on these branches, to encourage fruiting spurs to form. Keep the center of the bowl open so that the sun penetrates to ripen the fruit. As the young fruits develop, remove some so that just one is left in each cluster. This will keep the fruit large, otherwise you will have a crop of many small fruits that are mostly stone.

History and Origin of the Rose Princess Nectarine

The peach and nectarine are both Prunus persica, a tree that probably originated in northwest China. The beautiful blossoms, on bare branches, are often featured in classic Chinese art. Nectarines were being grown in England in 1616, and probably date back centuries in China. They were grown in America prior to the Revolutionary war. We know nothing about the origin of the nectarine called ‘Rose Princess’. There is also a peach called ‘Rose Princess’, discovered in 2006 and patent protected, but it has yellow flesh and fuzzy skin. Unfortunately the same name should not be given to closely-related plants, but this seems to have happened here.

Buying the Rose Princess Nectarine at the Tree Center

White-fleshed nectarines are rare, but perfect for those who love that delicious sweetness they have. The Rose Princess Nectarine is a beautiful tree, and carries a heavy crop of delicious fruit at the perfect time of year. Order your tree now – our stock is limited for this rare variety – and enjoy the thrill of harvesting home-grown fruit right outside your window. Nothing can beat it.

Growing the Hamlin Sweet Orange Tree

Size and Appearance

The Hamlin Sweet Orange Tree is an upright evergreen tree with a rounded crown and smooth bark. Young stems are marbled in shades of gray and green, with some thorns, while older stems are uniform dark gray. The smooth, glossy leaves are oval and pointed, about 5 inches long and 2 inches wide. All year round they are a wonderful dark green color and this is a very handsome and attractive tree. In spring you will see the new stems developing and shortly after clusters of flower buds. The white flowers are almost an inch across, with thick white petals and they fill the air with the wonderful, ever-popular ‘orange blossom’ fragrance. This variety is self-pollinating, and soon you will see small, pea-sized green fruits forming. These develop slowly over the summer, becoming full-sized by fall. This early variety produces ripe fruit in December, just when that glass of fresh-squeezed juice is perfect for the bounty of Vitamin C it contains. The fruit is medium-sized with a strongly-colored bright orange skin. Peel away the thin skin and colorful orange segments greet you. These are juicy and sweet with low acidity, and very few, if any, seeds. The Hamlin Sweet Orange is ideal for juicing, mixed drinks, eating fresh, salads and for baking. It stores for several weeks.

Using the Hamlin Sweet Orange Tree in Your Garden or Home

This ornamental tree is perfect out on a lawn or grown as a specimen anywhere in the garden. Plant it near a window to enjoy the fragrance in spring and to easily see those beautiful ripe oranges in winter. In cooler zones grow it in a pot which should spend most of the year outdoors, such as on a patio, terrace, or balcony.

Hardiness

This is one of the hardiest orange trees, famous for its resistance to frost, and it can be safely grown outdoors throughout zone 9. It is the perfect choice if you are right on the edge of the ‘citrus belt’. In cooler areas bring potted trees indoors when night temperatures start to fall below 40 degrees and keep them in a bright, cool place. Lower temperatures are best, even if close to freezing. Place it back outside as soon as the frost has gone. A cool porch is better than a hot living room for a citrus tree.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

Full sun is what your Hamlin Sweet Orange Tree craves, and that is where it will grow best. Stand potted trees outdoors in the sun, and indoors in the brightest place available. Most well-drained soils will grow citrus trees well. If you have poor drainage plant it on a low mound of soil. For pots, use a planter with drainage holes and a potting soil blended for citrus trees or a cactus soil with 25% houseplant soil mixed with it. Trees that bloom while still indoors may need hand-pollination to set a good crop.

Maintenance and Pruning

The Hamlin Sweet Orange Tree is generally healthy and rarely bothered by pests or diseases. If you should have pest problems we recommend our Neem Oil Spray or natural soap sprays. These products are harmless to you, children, pets and the environment. It is best not to prune your tree, and certainly not to trim it into a rounded ball, if you want to enjoy fruit. Anything more than shortening a few branches can interrupt the flowering cycle for several seasons, reducing or eliminating your crop. Removing a few branches in spring to keep the center of your tree open will help ripening.

History and Origin of the Hamlin Sweet Orange Tree

A.G. Hamlin owned an orange orchard near Glenwood, in Florida, which he planted in 1879. One day he found a seedling that had developed on its own, and kept it growing. In the winter of 1894-95 there was an enormous frost in Florida which destroyed many orchards. Mr. Hamlin saw that his tree survived, and it soon became widely grown, displacing the older ‘Parson’ variety that was not as cold resistant. Today it is widely grown in Florida, and now this valuable tree can be yours – the best early-maturing and cold-resistant sweet orange variety there is.

Buying the Hamlin Sweet Orange Tree at the Tree Center

Nothing beats the beauty of a citrus tree laden with fruit, or in bloom. For the garden or in a pot, nothing beats the Hamlin Sweet Orange for juicy sweetness, versatility and December ripening. This tree is always in huge demand from both commercial growers and homeowners, so order now. We guarantee our trees, and we can guarantee that if you wait these trees will all be gone.

Growing the Dancy Tangerine

Size and Appearance

The Dancy Tangerine is an evergreen tree growing around 15 feet tall and 8 feet wide when grown in the ground. In a pot it will be much smaller, perhaps around 6 feet tall. The stems have no more than the very occasional thorn, making it a very safe citrus tree to grow around children. It is vigorous, and develops an attractive crown of foliage. The leaves are about 5 inches long and 2 inches wide, glossy, smooth and oval. They are a rich green all year round. In spring this tree will flower, producing clusters of flower buds shortly after the new leaves develop. The flowers are white, with thick petals, and beautifully perfumed, with a very similar scent to orange blossom. Following flowering small green fruits develop, increasing in size slowly over the summer. By December the first fruit will have turned orange, and the main harvest is in December and January – perfectly timed for the traditional tangerine season over the holiday period. Once ripe it is best to pick the fruit and store it a cool place, as it does tend to drop from the tree, so it could be damaged.

The fruit is round, slightly flattened on the top and bottom, with a prominent ‘belly-button’ on the bottom. It varies in size between 2 and 2½ inches in diameter. The skin is very thin, with almost no white pith inside it, so it’s perfect for eating fresh or for slicing for baking. The segments separate easily and they are sweet, juicy and delicious, with that pronounced ‘tangerine’ flavor. There may be a few seeds in the fruits.

Using the Dancy Tangerine in Your Garden or Home

You can grow the Dancy Tangerine on the lawn as a specimen tree, or in corners of your property, or around your home. In cooler areas it can be grown in a pot and used outdoors to decorate your patio, terrace or balcony. A beautiful traditional Italian terracotta pot is perfect, or something striking, modern and Spanish perhaps. Grow it outdoors for most of the year, bringing it inside to a bright, cool place only when temperatures are below 40 degrees. A cool place that is frost-free is much better than a hot living room for your tree and to keep it’s growing cycle.

Hardiness

Tangerines are hardier than oranges, and the Dancy Tangerine is hardy in warm parts of zone 8 – and of course in zones 9, 10 and 11.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

All citrus trees should be grown in full sun, including trees brought outdoors in summer. It will grow in almost any well-drained soil – planting on a mound is good if your soil tends to be wet and boggy. When growing in a pot, first make sure it has drainage holes. Use a potting soil blended for citrus trees, or if that is not available, mix 1 part regular houseplant soil with 3 parts of soil for cactus and succulents. If your tree flowers when it is growing indoors you should use hand-pollination to be sure of a good crop.

Maintenance and Pruning

The Dancy Tangerine is vigorous and usually grows well with very little attention. If you do see pests, we suggest using a safe natural soap spray, or better, our Neem Oil Spray. Very little if any pruning is needed, and avoid heavy trimming or pruning, as this can disrupt the growth cycle and stop flowering. Removing a few branches in the center of the tree, to keep it open and let in the sun, is usually all that might be needed. This variety has a tendency to produce a heavy crop of small fruit one year, and a lighter crop of bigger fruit the next. You can reduce this by thinning out heavy crops to just 2 or 3 fruits per cluster.

History and Origin of the Dancy Tangerine

The Dancy Tangerine is part of the mandarin section of citrus fruits, Citrus reticulata. The original trees came from China (and so we have ‘mandarin’) but the Dancy Tangerine probably came originally directly from Tangiers, a city in Morocco. And called a ‘tangierine’. A certain Major Atway owned a property in Palatka, a community west of St. Augustine in Florida. It was bought by N.H. Moragne, who brought those trees from Morocco. He was on that property from 1843, but we don’t know when he brought the tangierine over. Known as the Moragne tangerine, the tree was distributed, and grown by Colonel D.L. Dancy in the nearby community of Orange Mills. In 1867 the Colonel found a seedling growing in his grove of Moragne tangerines, and when this was introduced it was named ‘Dancy’.

Buying the Dancy Tangerine at the Tree Center

Tangerine, mandarin, clementine or satsuma – all these fruits are very similar and closely related. So you only need one type of these trees, and if you make that tree the Dancy Tangerine, then you can enjoy your fruit over the holiday season. All the family will love it, but order soon, as our supply is limited and every tree will be gone very soon.

Growing the Orlando Tangelo

Size and Appearance

The Orlando Tangelo grows rapidly into a moderately-vigorous evergreen tree that can be 15 feet or more tall and 8 to 10 feet wide. It has similar cold-resistance to a tangerine – that is, more than an orange. The leaves are oval, glossy and dark-green, 3 to 5 inches long, with a cupped shape characteristic of this particular tree. It flowers in spring, with clusters of white blossoms. These have thick petals and a beautiful ‘orange blossom’ scent. This variety of citrus is not as good a self-pollinator as most other varieties, and gives the biggest crop when grown near different types of tangerines, such as the Dancy Tangerine – add one to your citrus collection if you don’t already have one, it’s a wonderful fruit.

The fruits develop slowly over summer, growing to about 3 inches across – the size of an orange – with a very strong skin color. Most tangelos have a fat neck, a little like a gourd, but this variety doesn’t, just a slight grapefruit-like mounding of the top half. The skin is thin and clings to the flesh, making juicing very easy. The flesh is fragrant, tasty, and combining sweet and zesty elements in a perfect balance. It produces a heavy flow of juice so your morning pick-up will be ready in seconds. There are usually quite a few seeds in this fruit. Your first tangelos will be ripe in November and continue ripening and holding on the tree throughout January and often up to the middle of February too. This long season means no waste and even a heavy crop will all be used by the end of the season.

Using the Orlando Tangelo in Your Garden or Home

The Orlando Tangelo is a great tree to grow on a lawn or around your home. It throws year-round shade, which is just what you want in hot parts of the country. In cooler areas it can be grown in a pot or tub, and placed on a terrace or patio for the summer months. It should be brought indoors into a bright but cool place once night temperatures dip to 40 degrees, and put out again when they are between 40 and 50. The ideal indoor environment is cool – 40 to 50 degrees is plenty – rather than a hot living room.

Hardiness

Hardier than an orange, the Orlando Tangelo will grow in warmer parts of zone 8, in areas such as southern Texas and Georgia, and all through zones 9 and 10. Outside the ‘citrus belt’ it can be grown in a container.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

Citrus trees all need plenty of sun, and the Orlando Tangelo is no exception. It will grow in almost any well-drained soil, and in wetter soils it can be planted on a low mound. For pots use a well-drained mixture. Special citrus blends are often available, or combine one part regular houseplant soil with three parts of cactus soil. Trees indoors often fail to set fruit because they are not pollinated by insects. When flowers appear cross-pollinate them with a tangerine – for details on how to do this, check out the simple methods in this blog.

Maintenance and Pruning

Like other citrus, the Orlando Tangelo can have occasional pests like scale insects or mealy bugs. These are rarely serious problems, and we recommend Neem Oil Spray as the best and safest control. Little or no pruning is needed, and avoid cutting back hard because this will disrupt the flowering cycle. Pot-grown plants should be fed regularly with a suitable citrus-tree fertilizer.

History and Origin of the Orlando Tangelo

There are several distinct species or natural hybrids of citrus, including the tangerine or mandarin, Citrus reticulata and the grapefruit, Citrus x paradisi. That fruit is itself a hybrid between the orange and the pomelo (Citrus maxima), found in Jamaica in the 18th century. Walter Tennyson Swingle was an agricultural botanist, and an early expert on citrus fruits, writing a 5-volume book on them. He worked in Florida for the US Department of Agriculture, and in 1897, while stationed in Eustice, he crossed together a Dancy tangerine and a Duncan grapefruit, considered at the time to be a type of pomelo. This gave us the first tangelo, which was originally named ‘Lake’ but later changed to ‘Orlando’.

Buying the Orlando Tangelo at the Tree Center

A garden of unusual and more exotic fruits is so much more interesting than just growing the ‘same old, same old’ that you can pick up anywhere. Start your citrus collection with the Orlando Tangelo, adding a Dancy or a Sunburst Tangerine, and perhaps a delicious Washington Navel Orange and a Rio Red Grapefruit too. You will be all set for winter fruit, but order now because our citrus collection always sells well, and our stock never lasts long.

Growing the Key Lime Tree

Size and Appearance

The Key Lime Tree is a small, shrubby tree that grows to around 15 feet in height and several feet across. There are small thorns on the branches. The leaves are 2 or 3 inches long, evergreen and very similar to the leaves of the common orange tree. The flowers are larger than many citrus flowers as they are about one inch across. They are fragrant and have some purple shading on the back of the flower. The tree may flower anytime but usually it will flower between May and September. Fruits take nine months after flowering to be ready to harvest. They are ready to pick when the fruit begins to turn from deep green to a yellowish green. Left on the tree they will eventually turn completely yellow. Your tree should begin to produce fruit in just a couple of years and will go on to have bigger and bigger harvests as it matures.

Growing the Key Lime Tree in a Pot

In cooler areas the Key Lime tree is an excellent plant to grow in a pot. Choose a pot several inches bigger than the one your tree came in and plant into a regular potting soil with about 20% coarse sand added to it. A soil for cactus is also suitable also for citrus trees. A clay pot is better than plastic as the soil will ‘breathe’ better and the extra weight will stop your tree from blowing over. Always let the soil dry a little before watering again and always water thoroughly each time you do it. Us a special liquid fertilizer for citrus trees during the growing season.

Keep your potted tree in a very sunny spot throughout the growing season and bring it indoors once the temperature reaches 40F at night. Find a cool, bright spot indoors for your tree and just water it enough to stop the soil becoming completely dry. In spring start putting your tree outdoors on warmer days but bring it in a night for the first week or two before leaving it outside permanently. Watch out for late spring frosts which can cause damage to your tree.

Hardiness

The Key Lime tree needs a warm, sunny location and since it is sensitive to cold it should be grown outdoors in zones 9 and 10. Choose a warm, protected location for your tree, especially in the cooler parts of zone 9.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

The Key Lime tree prefers a sheltered spot in full sunlight. It will tolerate some shade but shaded trees will produce less fruit. A tree growing outdoors will grow in most kinds of soil that are well-drained and even sandy, with plenty of organic material added to the soil. If your soil is a bit wet, plant your tree on a mound 4 to 6 inches above the level of the surrounding area. After planting put organic mulch over the root zone but not touching the trunk.

Maintenance and Pruning

Each spring add fresh mulch, extending it to cover the roots as the tree develops. Usually that is all the fertilizer that will be needed, but if your tree is not growing well, apply a citrus-tree fertilizer in spring. Only a little pruning is needed. Just remove any weak branches and trim back strong growths to encourage branching and good fruit production. If your tree becomes very bushy, remove some branches from the center to make it more open, and to let the sun penetrate to encourage flowering and to ripen the fruit.

History and Origin of the Key Lime Tree

The Key Lime tree is a very special variety of lime tree, Citrus x aurantiifolia. It is very different to the common Persian lime which is the kind usually seen in stores.

Buying the Key Lime Tree at the Tree Center

Our trees are produced from genuine trees by stem cuttings or by grafting on to strong root systems. Beware of cheaper seedling trees that will only be a disappointment and produce very inferior limes. Order now, and enjoy the best – but order soon, as the demand for these great trees is always huge.

Growing the Key Lime Tree

Size and Appearance

The Key Lime Bush is an evergreen shrub that will in time, if grown outdoors, become a multi-stemmed tree up to 15 feet tall and 6 feet wide. When grown in a pot it will stay around 6 feet tall and 3 feet wide, making a rounded shrub that is always attractive. The oval, dark-green leaves are 2 to 3 inches long, with a smooth, glossy surface. They look a lot like the leaves of an orange tree. There are some small thorns on the stems, but nothing to be too concerned about. Flowering can happen at any time, but mostly this bush will flower between May and September. The flowers are about one inch across, with five thick white petals curling back, and attractive purple shading on the back. They have a wonderful smell of orange blossom. If flowers come outdoors bees will usually pollinate them, but if your bush is indoors you need to ‘play bee’. It’s easy – take a soft artist’s paint brush, or small-size makeup brush, and twirl it in the center of the flowers, moving at random from one flower to another. The fruit takes about 9 months to ripen, so this bush usually has fruit on it from January to May, but sporadic flowers and fruit can happen at any time of year, especially with indoor trees. The fruit is ripe when it turns from dark green to a yellowish green.

Growing the Key Lime Tree in a Pot

Growing this tree in a pot is easy. Here’s what to do: Start with a large pot, several inches wider than the one your tree came in. Most experts say a clay pot is best, but a plastic pot will be fine, as long as it has drainage holes. Use a soil for cactus and succulent plants. If you don’t have that, add 20% coarse sand to some regular potting soil. Pot it so that the top of the soil is the same as it was in the original pot. Feed from spring to fall with liquid citrus fertilizer, or an organic citrus food.

Grow your tree outdoors as much as possible, down as low as 400F, or 500F if you are keeping it in a very warm place in winter. Grow it in full sun – the more the better. The outdoor period is when you want your tree to grow. Feed and water it regularly. Indoors it should rest, and the ideal spot is cool but bright. Reduce watering, letting the soil dry almost completely between each watering, and stop feeding. In spring you can put it outdoors during the day, but watch out for cold nights and frost – you should bring it back indoors for the night if necessary.

Growing your Key Lime Bush Outdoors

The Key Lime Bush can be grown outdoors all year round in zones 9 and 10. In zone 9 grow it in a warm, protected place. Full sun is best, because shaded trees produce less fruit. Well-drained soil is needed, and sandy soils are very suitable for citrus trees. In heavier soils, plant on a raised mound, about 6 inches above the surrounding earth. Use organic mulch over the root-zone, avoiding the trunk. You can use a citrus-tree fertilizer in spring, if you wish, especially if your tree seems to be growing slowly. Keep pruning to a minimum, removing just a few branches from inside the tree to allow the sun in – don’t trim into a dense, round ball of leaves, as this reduces flowering and prevents proper ripening.

History and Origin of the Key Lime Tree

The Key Lime tree is a very special variety of citrus called Citrus x aurantiifolia. It is different from the Persian lime, which is the kind usually sold in stores. The Key Lime is a hybrid tree that is a cross between the citron, Citrus medica, a large fruit with thick skin, and a wild citrus tree from the Philippines called Citrus micrantha, with small green fruits. The Key Lime originated centuries ago in Southeast Asia, was carried by traders to north Africa, and from there to Sicily, Italy and Spain. Spanish explorers and settlers brought it to the West Indies and the Florida Keys. Then Henry Perrine, an American who was an enthusiast for introducing tropical plants into America brought this tree to Florida in the 19th century, where it was christened the Key Lime.

Buying the Key Lime Tree at the Tree Center

Our trees are produced from genuine Key Lime plants by stem cuttings or by grafting to a strong seedling root system. Beware of cheaper seedling trees that will only be a disappointment and produce very inferior limes. Order now, and enjoy the best – but order soon, as the demand for these wonderful bushes is always huge.

Growing the Meyer Lemon Bush

Size and Appearance

The Meyer Lemon Bush is a small shrubby tree, with branches rising from the base and evergreen foliage. If grown in the ground it will grow 6 to 10 feet tall, and about 4 feet wide, but in a pot it will not be as large, and it can easily be kept about 5 or 6 feet tall. It can be grown as a bush or pruned up into a small tree. The leaves are smooth and oval, 3-4 inches long, with a glossy, rich-green surface. Flowering usually happens in spring, but it can happen at other times too. The flowers form in clusters on older stems, and they are white, 1½ inches across, with slender white petals with some purple on the back. In the center is a prominent cluster of yellow stamens. The flowers have a sweet, ‘orange-blossom’ fragrance. After pollination the flower develops into a tiny green fruit, which grows slowly over summer and begins to ripen in November, when the green fruits turn yellow. The fruit is the size of an average lemon, but rounder, and with a more golden-yellow skin color. The flesh is very juicy, and somewhat sweeter than a typical lemon. Fruit ripens over winter and stays ripe on the tree all the way to March – five months of home-grown lemons.

Using the Meyer Lemon Bush in Your Garden

If you can grow it outdoors all year, the Meyer Lemon Bush makes a beautiful lawn specimen, or planted in shrub beds. For most people it will be a potted tree, and it looks great standing on a terrace or patio. You can even grow it on a balcony without a garden. Place one outside the kitchen door. Use an attractive pot to really show your tree at its best.

Hardiness

The Meyer Lemon Bush will only survive outdoors all year in zones 9, 10 and 11. In a pot it can be grown anywhere in the country. Bring it into a bright place that is not too hot once the night temperatures reach 40 degrees F, and put it back outside when they reach 50 degrees F. You can place it outdoors in spring and fall during the day if the temperature is over 50 degrees F, bringing it back inside for the night.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

This tree should be grown in full sun. Shade will reduce flowering, so indoors it should be directly in front of a sunny window, if possible. It grows outdoors in most well-drained soils, and in a pot – which must have a drain hole – in blended potting soil. Use a well-drained mixture made for cactus, palms or citrus trees, or add 20% perlite to ordinary houseplant soil. Once established this tree is drought resistant, and don’t overwater – only water when the soil has dried a couple of inches down, but water thoroughly, until it flows through the drainage hole. Don’t leave it standing in a saucer of water.

Maintenance and Pruning

Use liquid fertilizer for citrus as directed on the brand you buy. You can remove the tip of new shoots to make your tree more bushy and compact. Remove any weaker shoots to keep it open – the sun needs to penetrate to ripen the fruit. Keep your tree outdoors as much as possible, from spring to fall. Some pests are possible but keeping your tree outdoors in summer will reduce them and you can use soap spray or neem oil for easy control.

If flowers form indoors, or if you don’t think there are any bees around, hand-pollinate, or the young fruit will fall off. Take an artist’s brush, or a clean, soft makeup brush and each day when there are open flowers, dab each flower at random, moving pollen from one to the other. This will give you the best crop of lemons.

History and Origin of the Meyer Lemon Bush

The Meyer Lemon Bush has a fascinating history. Frank Meyer was an ‘agricultural plant explorer’, for the US Department of Agriculture. He was in China from 1905 to 1918 travelling and collecting new plants to introduce into America. In all he collected over 2,000 plants. His most famous is the Meyer Lemon (Citrus x meyeri). He found it being grown by the Chinese as an ornamental pot-plant, and brought some plants back to America, where they were distributed by the USDA. Genetic testing shows that this plant is a cross between a citron, a mandarin orange, and a pomelo. The citron (Citrus medica) is a knobbly fruit that is one of the three parent species of all citrus fruits, and a parent of the lemon. The pomelo (Citrus grandis) is a parent of the grapefruit.

Buying the Meyer Lemon Bush at The Tree Center

The Meyer Lemon Bush is one of our most popular citrus fruits, because it is perfect for pot growing, and its fruit is incredibly useful in the kitchen, without needing a huge harvest. This tree is also popular as a gift to friends and family, so order now, or you will be disappointed seeing the ’out of stock’ sign pop up.

The Bumper Satsuma is a small to medium-sized citrus tree, reaching about 12 feet in height when grown in the garden, and around 6 feet when grown in a container. It has attractive evergreen foliage, with oval glossy leaves of a rich, dark-green color. It grows quickly and develops a dense canopy of branches and leaves, and outdoors it makes an attractive small tree on a lawn or in a bed. In spring a profusion of white blooms appears at the ends of the branches, around the time when new shoots are also emerging. These flowers have 5 recurving petals, and they make an attractive display, giving off a wonderful orange blossom fragrance that fills the air around. As the flowers fade and fall they become tiny green fruits, about the size of a pea. These mature over summer, and by November or December they are 2 to 3 inches across, with a slightly flattened round shape. They turn rich orange, and they hang in large bunches of fruits all over the bush.

The crop can be so heavy that the branches are pulled downwards, making your tree appear weeping. A tree laden with ripe fruit is a beautiful sight. Once the fruit begins to color it is ripe, and you will find its ‘zipper skin’ and lack of seeds makes it so easy to eat. Once peeled the segments fall apart in your hand, and they have a delicious sweet and tangy flavor and a beautiful fragrance too. You can leave the fruit on the tree until you need it. It will slowly become sweeter, and still be perfect to harvest in January or February. A few weeks later the Bumper Satsuma will be back in bloom.

The Bumper Satsuma is hardy in zone 9, but if you live in a colder region you can easily grow it in a large planter or tub. Keep it outdoors in full sun, and water regularly, whenever the soil becomes a little dry for the top inch or two. Make sure your planter has drainage holes, and don’t leave it standing in a saucer of water. Fertilize regularly, and keep it into a bright, cool place while temperatures are below 40 degrees. Fruit will continue to ripen inside. This tree is self-pollinating, so a second variety does not need to be grown nearby – perfect for a smaller courtyard or urban garden. Plants in the garden will be pollinated by bees, but in a pot it is best to do it yourself. Take a soft artist’s brush and ‘tickle’ each open flower, moving on to another one randomly. Do this every day or two during the flowering period. It’s easy and fun, and this will give you the biggest possible crop from your tree.

The Bumper Satsuma is a special form of the mandarin, Citrus reticulata. This tree is the ancestor of all other citrus fruits, and it has been cultivated for many centuries. The Satsuma is a special form of mandarin, which has existed in Japan for at least 700 years. They are the easiest of all citrus to peel, they are seedless, and tender, so they are easily damaged. They are the rarest and most expensive citrus in shops and their season is very short – so growing your own makes a lot of sense.

The variety called ‘Gremoy8’, and sold with the trademark name of Bumper, was bred by Dr. Ying Doon Moy. A Chinese immigrant, he worked at the San Antonio Botanical Garden in Texas for 20 years, breeding more than 150 new varieties of fruit trees and flowering plants. A special tree caught his attention among his many seedling citrus trees, and he noticed its huge crop – a bumper harvest – and the high quality of the fruit. This tree was released in 2012 by Garden Debut® as part of their Great New Plants range. They specialize in making the work of smaller breeders available to a wider gardening audience, and all their plants are thoroughly tested before release. If you want a citrus tree, but aren’t sure which one, take our advice and go with the Bumper Satsuma – but order now, because our limited stock will soon be gone.

but if you live in zone 8, and want to grow a citrus tree in your garden, the answer is the Arctic Frost Satsuma

The Arctic Frost Satsuma is a small evergreen fruit tree, growing 8 to 12 feet tall when planted in the ground, but reaching only a compact 6 feet in a planter. It has dark-green glossy leaves that are just a few inches long, smaller than on most other citrus, giving your tree a compact, neat look. In spring clusters of white flowers develop in the joints between the leaves and the stem, and these fill the air with the unique, spicy orange blossom fragrance – this tree would be worth growing just for these beautiful and fragrant blooms, and for its handsome foliage. The flowers develop into fruits that grow steadily over the summer. By late fall and into the last months of the year each tiny green fruit has transformed into a deep-orange oval fruit 3 to 4 inches across, and the tree carries a heavy crop. The fragrant skin is so easy to peel it almost falls off, and the segments separate into juicy bites of delight. Sweet but with a citrus tang, and almost completely seedless, you will adore them, even more so because they come from your own garden. The skin is aromatic for zesting, and perfect for simmering potpourri, and even for home-made liqueurs.

Other ‘cold hardy’ citrus may claim to grow in zone 8, but in truth they only survive in the warmest parts of that zone, perhaps only down to 15 degrees. Not the Arctic Frost Satsuma. It has been successfully field-tested all the way down to 9 degrees Fahrenheit, the lowest limit of zone 8. That means you can grow it successfully outdoors in most of Texas, all through the South, and even in eastern North Carolina. For safety it is best to give your tree some protection for the first couple of winters. A winter blanket wrapped around it for the coldest weeks is all you need and growing your tree against a south-facing wall is the best location in colder areas.

The Arctic Frost Satsuma should be grown in full sun, and it thrives in almost all garden soils, as long as they are well-drained. This tree is self-fertile, and if it is growing in the garden, bees will do the work of pollinating. Even self-fertile trees need pollen moved from one flower to another on the same bush, though, so it is best to hand-pollinate a tree in a pot if bees can’t reach it. This is easy with a camel-hair artist’s brush – just dab from one flower to another around the tree every couple of days while it is blooming, and you are sure of a bumper crop.

To grow the Arctic Frost Satsuma in a pot, use a large tub with drainage holes. Blended potting soil for citrus trees is best and use citrus-tree fertilizers as directed. Keep the tree outdoors in sunshine as much as possible, bringing it into a cool place when temperatures below freezing are forecast. Citrus can only be grown indoors permanently in cool, very bright conditions. Some pest control may be needed for plants in pots, but outdoor trees are usually free of any significant pests.

The Arctic Frost Satsuma is the work of the late Dr. Ying Doon Moy. He was a notable plant breeder with the San Antonio Botanical Garden in Texas for 20 years, where he created 150 new varieties of fruits and flowers. To create the variety called ‘Gremoy 79’ he began with a winter-hardy traditional Chinese tangerine called ‘Changsa’, edible but full of seeds. He pollinated plants of this variety with various satsumas, which have few seeds but are more cold-sensitive. All these varieties are mandarins, selected forms of Citrus reticulata. The seedlings were tested outdoors for seven years before the most cold resistant was found. This was a plant called ‘Gremoy 79’, which has now been released as a Texas Superstar plant by Texas A&M University AgriLife Research, with the name Arctic Frost.

If you want to grow citrus in your garden, but fear cold winters, the Arctic Frost Satsuma is the answer. It is also perfect anywhere in a pot. We have some beautiful trees available, they may already have blooms or fruit on them, but they are selling fast, so order now – don’t miss out.

The Ponderosa Lemon Tree is a unique plant – not truly a lemon, but with the same sharp lemony juice – that grows into a medium-sized tree, but which can also be kept in a pot and its size controlled by pruning. It produces fruit all year round, so you will always have lemon juice at hand, if you have this attractive and fascinating tree in your garden or home. The fruit is 6 inches or more in diameter, with a thick, knobby and irregular yellow skin when ripe. The handsome leaves are glossy and rich green, and the tree is evergreen. The flowers are carried all year round, which means that there are always fruit on your tree, at every season. The white, fragrant flowers are attractive, and tinged with purple. Each one becomes a small green fruit, which grows over several months, before turning yellow. Fruit hang on the tree for weeks and weeks after ripening, so the tree is a natural storage space for your supply of lemons.

The Ponderosa Lemon Tree is not quite as hardy as a regular lemon, and it will not tolerate more than a degree or two of freezing – down to no lower than 30 degrees – for a few hours only. If you live in zones 9, 10 or 11 you can grow it outdoors all year round, but otherwise it should be grown in a pot. Keep your tree outdoors as much as possible, in a sunny spot. Bring it indoors when night temperatures begin to fall to 50 degrees and grow it in a cool place indoors. Temperatures of 55 to 65 degrees are best, and it should be in a bright place. A sunny window with a fine white curtain over it is ideal, as it gives lots of light while protecting against the sun scorching the foliage. When returning a tree outdoors after winter, place it in a shady place for the first few days, and keep it indoors overnight if night temperatures are forecast to be below 50 degrees. 

Growing the Ponderosa Lemon Tree

Outdoors, grow your tree in a sunny spot, in well-drained soil. Water regularly when first planted, but after that only water during dry spells. To grow it in a container, use a large pot with a drainage hole. Plant it at the same depth it was in the original container, in a blend of soil for citrus trees. If you cannot find citrus soil, mix 2 parts regular house-plant soil with 1 part of cactus soil. Use citrus fertilizer regularly. We recommend Bio-tone® Citrus Tone natural fertilizer, but you can also use liquid fertilizer blended for citrus trees. Once your tree is established in the pot, water when the top 2 to 3 inches of soil is dry. In winter allow the soil to dry about half-way down the pot before watering. Always water thoroughly, moistening all the soil until excess water flows out of the drainage holes. If you use a saucer indoors, empty it once the pot has finished draining. Do not leave a plant standing in a saucer of water. Move it into a larger container every two years, in spring. Prune your tree in early spring, before new growth begins. Remove any crowded branches at the trunk and reduce the length of the branches by a few inches regularly, to keep your tree compact. A more open form will ensure good ripening of the fruit, so remove some branches if they become very crowded. When your tree flowers indoors, or if outdoors you have no other citrus in the neighborhood, pollinate the flowers with a soft artist’s brush. Simply brush the center of each flower gently, moving randomly from one flower to another. This will encourage every flower to produce a fruit.

History and Origins of the Ponderosa Lemon

The Ponderosa Lemon is a unique citrus plant. It was discovered as a seedling in 1887 by George Bowman of Hagerstown, Maryland. It was named ‘Ponderosa’ and first became commercially available in 1900. Since then it has become a popular ornamental and a useful tree for home gardeners, especially because the tree flowers and fruits all year round. Originally it was though to be a hybrid between a lemon and a citron (Citrus medica), which seemed reasonable, as the citron has a thick skin, like the Ponderosa Lemon. Recent DNA analysis has shown that in fact there is no lemon in the makeup of this tree, and that the more likely parent, with the citron, is the pomelo (Citrus maxima). To produce these trees, stem pieces are taken and attached to the roots of citrus seedlings. If you should see shoots coming from lower down on the trunk, or from below ground, remove them, as these are not your Ponderosa Lemon. This tree is hugely popular, and not always available, so our stock will soon be gone. Order now, and never run out of lemons again.