Gardening : Uncommon Citrus in Small Back-Yard Garden : Fruit: Alhambra woman collects common and unusual types of semi-dwarf citrus trees, but orange trees are not among them.
“Every time I go to the grocery store, I love my back yard more,” says Marianne Friedman of Alhambra. Small wonder. She grows about 35 semi-dwarf citrus trees that supply her with unusual and fresh fruits at a fraction of their cost at the market.
Nestled between two garages, Friedman’s small back-yard orchard reflects seven years of testing and selection. She traveled throughout Southern and Central California collecting prime citrus cultivars, some conventional and some unusual. Like many collectors, she accumulated more plants than she had space for.
Eventually she discarded all but the very best, and these select citrus now provide her with a steady supply of choice fruits.
The smallest of her citrus are the kumquats, which look like tiny oranges. Most people grow the oval Nagumi kumquat, but Friedman found it too tart and dug it out.
Instead, she prefers either the Meiwa variety or a kumquat hybrid called an Orangequat. Once you’ve tasted these two, you’ll wonder why anyone grows the Nagumi. The Orangequat is especially sweet and mild in flavor. By the way, kumquats are the only citrus that are eaten whole. Unlike oranges, the skin of kumquats is sweet; the flesh is tart.
Kumquats are beautiful little trees. In China, fruit-laden bonsai decorate dinner tables, and guests pluck the fruit between courses. In this country, kumquats make ornamental and productive patio plants, bearing their harvest from December through the summer. The fruit is generally sweeter and larger in warm climates like the San Gabriel Valley where Friedman lives.
Another unusual ornamental citrus in the Friedman orchard is a Tavares limequat. This smallish, oblong, yellow fruit is the result of crossing a kumquat with a Mexican lime. Produced on a 3- to 4-foot shrub, the fruit is juicy and tastes like a lime. But it looks like a baby lemon.
Numerous tangerines--or, more properly, mandarins--were tested by Friedman before she settled on two favorites. She likes the Page mandarin because it grows well in this climate and has a sweet, rich taste. She drove to Visalia to locate her Page plant, but it’s now available from Pacific Tree Farms in Chula Vista.
The Kara mandarin, Friedman’s second choice, has a distinctive flavor. Although it looks like an ill-fitting overcoat, its puffy skin makes this tangerine especially easy to peel. The Kara ripens well in hot climates, but it’s also recommended for growers in coastal climates.
One of the prettiest trees in this back-yard orchard is a Minneola, a tangelo. The burnt-orange, long-necked fruit hangs like ornaments from an urn-shaped 10-foot tree. Tangelos are crosses between grapefruits and tangerines, so the flavor is somewhat acid. Of all the tangelos, the Minneola is considered the best for home orchards. It does require a cross-pollinator, such as a tangerine or some other citrus.
Minneola tangelos commonly appear in local markets from February through April. Much of this fruit, however, comes from Florida. Friedman insists that there is nothing like the taste of home-grown fruit. And that’s the whole reason for her orchard.
Nearly all the citrus fruits in the Friedman back yard have one important characteristic: they’re easy to eat. No peeling required. You may have noticed that her extensive citrus collection excludes oranges, the most popular of all citruses. Friedman explains that she’s basically a lazy gardener; oranges don’t interest her because so many other citrus fruits canbe grown that are easier to consume.
To nourish her citrus plants, Friedman applies a diluted solution of Miracle-Gro plant food (15-30-15) three times a year. Whenever she transplants, she uses Vitamin B1. Snails are fond of citrus foliage, so Friedman places a copper barrier called Snail Barr (Custom Copper, P.O. Box 4939 Ventura 93004) around the trunk at the base of each plant. For insect control, such as aphids, she sprays with Malathion as needed.
Friedman credits two organizations with helping to educate her regarding fruit. They are the California Rare Fruit Growers Inc., Fullerton Arboretum, Fullerton, Calif. 92634 and the indoor Citrus and Rare Fruit Society, 176 Coronado Ave., Los Altos, Calif. 94022.
Local nurseries carry some of the citrus varieties mentioned here. More unusual cultivars are available from Pacific Tree Farms, 4301 Lynwood Drive, Chula Vista, Calif. 92010 (catalogue, $2). If you’d like to taste unusual citrus (and other fruits), Bill Nelson at Pacific Tree Farms says that he has 30 to 40 kinds of citrus ready for sample munching.
