Homegrown: Grow citrus to suit your needs

Early last spring along with family and friends, I was lucky enough to attend an extraordinary citrus tasting at a nursery in the Sierra foothills where mandarin orchards dot the countryside just as vineyards do along the North Coast.

Despite the temptation to succumb to a dozen or more samples, we zeroed in on only three varieties: a Murcott tangor, hybrid of a sweet orange and a mandarin, but usually called a mandarin or tangerine; a Honey Murcott; and a variegated mandarinquat, my No. 1 choice - all grown by Four Winds Nursery, which presented the tastings. Their citrus can be purchased later at Friedman’s and Loew’s in Sonoma County.

The mandarinquat was recommended by the expert from Four Winds as more cold hardy than the small citrus I lost in last year’s winter cold spell, a young, variegated pink lemon I forgot to protect from freezing temperatures. My new little variegated mandarinquat is currently safe on cold nights and promises to thrive.

A nearby kumquat sits in a slightly warmer microclimate and has never suffered any cold damage. Now covered with tiny white buds, it should once again deliver delicious summer fruits, which appeared last year for the first time after several years in the ground.

A Bearss lime, growing in the same protected area but in a large container, has experienced only minor dieback after a couple of very cold nights last year. It now is laden with ripe fruits.

Year-round fruit

Thanks to our several citrus trees, my family enjoys fruit from our garden year-round. A Washington navel orange, one of our most cherished trees, has led both my husband and me to plant as many kinds of citrus as we have a taste for and can manage.

The Meyer lemon manages to deliver 12 months of the year while the navel oranges lag in very late fall until now, when they are slowly ripening.

Avocados are still spare on an only 7-year-old tree while we wait for others on 2 younger trees. Their location in a hillside microclimate, where cold air slips away, offers enough protection on coldest nights.

Strawberry harvest varies depending on the age of the bed - my new plants will likely be delayed until very late spring. Raspberries begin an early crop in May, boysenberries are bountiful in June, then more raspberries again in summer until October. Meantime there are plums, pluots, peaches, pears, and apples. The latest of these, our Granny Smith crop, ripens in November.

We bemoan the last of the Fuyu persimmons in December, but by then it’s nearly time for oranges. And there are always lemons!

Because my husband tends many of the fruits, he yearns for blueberries. But he can’t find any encouragement from me as I must remind him that blueberries grow best near the coast and in Maine and Michigan. Not in our garden.

Adaptable citrus

Nearly every gardener could grow at least one type of citrus. Unlike most other fruits, it is easily grown, wants little maintenance, and remains productive in containers.

A sunny spot is the critical requirement, especially indoors. For example, a calamondin (x Citrofortunella microcarpa), called a sour mandarin, will grow for years in an 8- to 10-inch pot in a south-facing window. Curiously, it has more sweetness in the rind than the fruit but is used in drinks and makes a delicious marmalade.

Lemons and limes, mandarins and grapefruits, and other types also do well in containers indoors or out, as long as they receive regular sunlight and are root-pruned every few years.

When you shop for a citrus variety, make note of the mature tree size. A few become quite large but most are available as dwarfs. Some naturally have thorns.

Take special note of the slanted line on the lower trunk where the graft has been made. If at any time in the life of the tree you find growth sprouting below the graft, remove it immediately. Rootstocks provide disease resistance, vigor, and dwarfing but their shoots can take over if not removed.

Uncommon fruits

Kumquats intrigue me as fascinating little fruits, looking like miniature oranges just slightly over an inch around. They can hang on the tree for long periods to sweeten as they age and are eaten in one bite, rind and all.

Two common dwarf types reach 4 to 5 feet tall. Fruit on Nagami is slightly elongated - Nordmann Nagami is seedless - while Meiwa fruits are round and slightly sweeter. Both types flower and produce best in hot microclimates. Indio mandarinquat produces larger oval fruits.

Rosemary McCreary, a Sonoma County gardener, gardening teacher, and author of Tabletop Gardens, writes the monthly Homegrown column for The Press Democrat. Write to her at P.O. Box 910, Santa Rosa, 95402.