Sunquat

Hi,

I have a new sunquat which I'm growing indoors that is now about 2 feet tall. Just one stem. It is COVERED with pending blossoms (about 40) and I am wondering if I should let them remain or clip them? I'm not savvy with citrus but thought I'd give one a try. Any ideas??

Thanks....

I'll start by saying that I've never grown (nor heard of!) a sunquat. But that being said, I'd leave the blossoms alone...once they turn into fruit then if you have too many you can think about thinning, but more blooms maximizes your chance of getting a decent number of fruit, so I'd leave them alone.

Thanks,

It's a cross between a kumquat and orange.

Interesting...have you tasted them? It sounds yummy!

You may want to try hand pollinating your flowers too--I just noticed that you're growing it indoors so you won't have the bees, etc to help you out.

Oops. I lied. It's a cross between kumquat and lemon. No I haven't tasted one yet....

Here's a description of it from Logee's, where I purchased it:

Citrus 'Sunquat'
Mix the sweet taste of a Meiwa kumquat with a little bit of sour from a lemon and you get our newest fruiting variety called 'Sunquat'. This citrus is one of the most prolific and free-fruiting citruses we’ve grown. It blooms year-round with highly fragrant flowers much like a kumquat. Unlike other citruses there is no uniformity to the size of the fruit which is determined more by the size of the plant and the amount of fruit on the tree. This fruit is intended to be eaten like a giant kumquat: the whole thing rind and all. Grow in full sun and to keep the root system healthy grow in a clay pot.

Still sounds interesting...but I have to say I was more interested in tasting one when you said it was a cross between kumquat and orange! I prefer my citrus on the sweeter side and the lemon might make it too sour for me. Still would be fun to try, I'll have to keep my eye out and see if they sell those here. Can't buy it from Logees unfortunatey, California won't allow any out of state citrus across the border.

I have a 5 foot one in a 75 gallon pot. They have the taste of a mild lemon but the thin skin of a kumquat. They produce a lot of fruit several times a year and are very juicy. We use it like a lemon.

I also have a limequat which I like very much. It also produces a lot of fruit several times a year. They both grow very well in pots and can be keep to a reasonable size.