This is a nice plant, the fruit is eatable, however, we plant it as bonsai (about 2-3 ft) and for New Year celebrating, as it was believe the fruit bring good luck. The fruit can last for 3 to 4 months, from Dec till March. As this is the time which the fruit drop, I have some fresh seeds collected to trade.
I planted in pot.
I've read that this plant is easy to grow from seed, so I am interested in giving it a try. Is the fruit sweet or sour? Please check out my trade list and Dmail me! F4F
Chia, Hi I would love to try a few of the seeds.
Robin
Hi Robin,
No problem, I d-mail u.
I believe that is a Calamondin. If it's really sour i'm 99&9/10th.% sure it is.
Ya, it is the family of Calamondin. It has different shape of fruit, some is round, some is small. My variety is oval shape, and is about the size of chicken egg. The plant is fragrant. It is widely planted in Vietnam, China, Taiwan and Malaysia, as the Chinese believe it is lucky plant.
It is also used in a lot of dishes in Asian cuisine? If that is true, we have a friend who would be really excited to have this variety. But, we want to grow it either way! Thank you Chia.
Chia,
I'd also like a few seeds, the fruit sounds wonderful!
HomersMom
Barbara
Hi Fauna4flora,
Ya, in Asian we use this fruit to made juice and dry fruit. The juice is always add with honey, it was good for refreshing & healthy thirst quencher.
OK Barbara, I have d-mail u a message.
My wife was sure happy to see that i had Calamondin trees with fruit on them when she arrived here 5 yrs ago from the Philippines. She puts the juice on practically every kind of meat, and now i'm hooked on them. I juice them and freeze them in ice cube trays and freeze and empty into zip-lock bags. It makes wonderful lemonade, in ice tea, marinade for the meats and we give them to all of our Asian friends/relatives. I almost forgot, the juice is good on vegetable salads.
Great ideas, RR, thanks! I think I am most interested in using it as a meat marinade. What kind of margaritas do you think it would make ;-)
I think the fruit would make a good margarita. They are intensely tart, just rub and salt and enjoy! You might pucker up on the first one though. I have seeds if you would like some. I have your address somewhere here. If i can't find it i will send them D mail. I take seeds from the ones on the ground, fully ripened. Or the near tangerine sized ones on the trees. They peel like a tangerine. I press the fruit sections in a lime press, wash them 3 times in a converted flour sifter and put them between dry paper towels. By next morning the seeds are ready to plant, some can't wait and split open over night with green leaves visible still folded. Our 35 year old tree wasn't affected by one night of 17 degrees.
Thanks, RR, but I have some on the way coming to me. But I would put them in your trade list if I were you.
Ok F4F, i have several items to put in there but i don't always know the Latin names. I will get the hang of this Trading Forum one day.
Well, you can use plant files search with a common name to pull up the species name. Then highlight, and use "copy and paste" to stick it in your list. Or, open a second tab in explorer and google and then cut and paste and click back over to your page. One thing with google searches is that I always add the words plant and species.........example, I ID'd a plant for a member today= finger tip bromeliad. If all I had typed in google was finger tip, well, I would have never gotten the plant, or at least not for the first 2000 pages......... Another thing is I type in the key words "plant" and "species" at the same time. I paste it into the genus section of the add list, cut the species and then repaste into the species window pane. And, you can always Dmail me if that was all Greek to you.
BTW, a few years back, I converted my husband from using slides for his lectures to powerpoint. I also had to teach him what cut and paste meant. This is a man that graduated from Duke university and plays more instruments than I can count and speaks more languages than will fit in my head. And, I never will earn a living on my typing skills- not if my life depended on it!!!
Thank you for the advice F4F, i might just take you up on that.
Rainbowrider does your fruit taste like a lime by any chance? I was thinking about getting a lime tree but they aren't cold hardy. This might work. What I read said it blooms on off all year. Does your have ripe fruit off and on all year?
Sorry a few questions.
No, they don't have any taste like a Lime. It's more like an intense lemon flavor. I have 3 Lime trees that will not hold fruit. I've seen the Key Limes in Fla. growing wild with lots of fruits. Mine are grafted trees and bloom well. Ask as many questions as you like, no problem.
Sorry CoreHHI, i forgot your question momentarily about blooming. They will bloom off and on but they have the most blooms in cool weather.
Navel Oranges still holding a few
This message was edited Mar 22, 2008 5:01 PM
Another view
This message was edited Mar 22, 2008 5:03 PM
Chia
Would they be cold hardy in zone 6? It sounds like a wonderful fruit.
They can take some frost, already have. Once the tree has reached some size it is very hardy. It's probably 12ft high. We've had a hard freeze a few times with some damage but it has always managed to rebuild itself. If you have a young tree in freezing weather keep the graft covered. If you have live wood above the graft after winter you should get some new sprouts.
How long can the tree stay in a container like chia's? Can it be planted next to a building that would give it a bit of protection?
Sorry everyone, i posted the same photo twice..............It's the same view
Cajun, the method i use is when buying a young tree, I keep it in a pot and pot up as it outgrows its pot until it is about 5ft tall. I use the cheap black blow molded pots that a nursery will give you one free or small change. If a cold front moves in i just drag my tree inside when it's tender. Also, if you keep the fruit picked off while in a container the tree will reach maturity much quicker.
Thanks for the info. Have you tried any of those "dwarf" fruit trees?
Hey RR. I was trying to help out on the point of lime trees not holding fruit. It could be drought stress or soluble salts. Are those plants in pots by chance? You can always send me pictures or post pictures, too, if there are any other symptoms. Basically, though, the two causes I mentioned are the most common. It takes a lot of water to make a fruit.
Dwarf fruit trees aren't so dwarf if planted in the ground. All my citrus are on dwarf root stock but they'll get 12-15 ft high if not pruned.
F4F, my largest lime has been in the ground for 2 years. I have 2 in pots rather small but they always bloom. The Honey bees & Bumble bees make their rounds. They get fertilized, the citrus type with silica as a base. I've been considering stopping that and trying Peters/Miracle Grow for tree growth for a year or so.
Cajun, i only have two dwarf trees. Both are Japanese Persimons, different names/fruit shapes, had a heavy crop last year and very sweet. I have a feeling one of my Limes is a dwarf.
I have wonderful childhood memories of Japanese persimmons. They make delicious bread.
Cajun, that's the first time i ever heard about making bread with the Japanese persimmons. That is very interesting to hear.
I grew up in Vietnam and we had trees taller than 6ft. They are everywhere during Tet (Lunar New Year). I especially love the smell of the flower. Rainbowrider - I am sending DMail. Sorry Chia, didn't mean to take over your thead.
It is Ok, LiliMerci, in Vietnam, the plants is always full of fruits, how do they made that?
probably because of the hot and humid climate. It's extremely humid over there. I've seen orchid grown grafted to trees.
My Mom made it all the time. I'll try to get her recipe. But that may be like craking a vault at Fort Knox. LOL
RR- I do not recommend using Peter's/Miracle Grow.
