Homegrown AZ Citrus

[Eric Alan]

We have three mature citrus trees in our backyard and this time of year, well, there's no where else in the entire world I'd rather be. As good as they look, the smell right now between the fruit itself and the very beginning of the new blossoms in the trees is intoxicating. The taste is just as sweet. Mmmmm...

From back to front: grapefruit, tangelos, and lemons. That's the entire haul of grapefruit (we've already been picking it for a month now), but there's easily twice that amount of the others left in the trees.

Enjoy (even more so if you were here, of course)!

[djansen]

Gotta love that citrus! We probably don't live that far from you (Mesa/Gilbert border) and get offered free oranges and grapefruit quite often. I honestly did not like grapefruit or oranges that much until I moved to AZ, never knew it could be so sweet.

[Caspian]

So envious. I'm struggling to just get plants to grow, here in Nevada. Lousy soil, lousy weather, blistering summers and bitter winters... no way I can have citrus outside. I have 29 little sprouts from Cutie Mandarins that I found this year - those things are prolific. If they do have seeds, they usually have a lot, and out of 29 seeds I've got 28 healthy sprouts and 1 albino. Beautiful to see.. but it won't survive. I raise them as house plants, and give them away, but with the weather here I don't expect they'll ever bear fruit - and if they did, it would be mystery fruit. Three apple trees, two apricots, a combo plum, honeyberries, strawberries, raspberries, a peach tree... all of those are planted outside, but nothing's bearing fruit. I only bought this place five years ago as bare dirt - so... someday....

I love the smell of citrus in bloom, let alone the smell of the fruit.

[PitOnTheProwl]

You can trash the grapefruit but I will take the rest.

[blue roses]

Oh i am so envious. I live in NY, so i am limited to apples, pears, and cherries. I have planted pawpaws and hope for my first crop this year. We just put in a glass ceiling sun room and was thinking about trying some meyerlemons and manderin oranges. the sun room is heated by wood stove and has never gotten colder then 45 in the coldest winter night. Any of you citrus growers think it might work.

[distaff]

Love all citrus, even some of the odd ones like Budda's hand (just for the looks), blood oranges, qumquats (spell), and those fancy Meyer (?) lemons. Tried to grow most of these in IA, in a heated green house, but scale was a never ending battle, which the dwarf trees and I eventually lost.

We enjoy apricots, figs, and persimmons here. I also grow apples, peaches, pears and plums. Lots of mullberry also, but I use them as forage (bunnies and goats munch on them) for silk worms.

[Reinz]

Looks like a nice haul there Eric!

Enjoy

[Eric Alan]

Gotta love that citrus! We probably don't live that far from you (Mesa/Gilbert border) and get offered free oranges and grapefruit quite often. I honestly did not like grapefruit or oranges that much until I moved to AZ, never knew it could be so sweet.

How do you feel about lemons?

So envious. I'm struggling to just get plants to grow, here in Nevada. Lousy soil, lousy weather, blistering summers and bitter winters... no way I can have citrus outside. I have 29 little sprouts from Cutie Mandarins that I found this year - those things are prolific. If they do have seeds, they usually have a lot, and out of 29 seeds I've got 28 healthy sprouts and 1 albino. Beautiful to see.. but it won't survive. I raise them as house plants, and give them away, but with the weather here I don't expect they'll ever bear fruit - and if they did, it would be mystery fruit. Three apple trees, two apricots, a combo plum, honeyberries, strawberries, raspberries, a peach tree... all of those are planted outside, but nothing's bearing fruit. I only bought this place five years ago as bare dirt - so... someday....

I love the smell of citrus in bloom, let alone the smell of the fruit.

We were lucky enough to move in a few years ago with these trees already in place. We've been reaping the rewards ever since!

You can trash the grapefruit but I will take the rest.

Deal! If by trash you mean eat...

Oh i am so envious. I live in NY, so i am limited to apples, pears, and cherries. I have planted pawpaws and hope for my first crop this year. We just put in a glass ceiling sun room and was thinking about trying some meyerlemons and manderin oranges. the sun room is heated by wood stove and has never gotten colder then 45 in the coldest winter night. Any of you citrus growers think it might work.

It certainly could. Ours are doing great here with our 110+ degree summers and near-freezing overnight temps a few days a year with very little effort on our part beyond making sure they're watered appropriately and are fertilized quarterly.

Love all citrus, even some of the odd ones like Budda's hand (just for the looks), blood oranges, qumquats (spell), and those fancy Meyer (?) lemons. Tried to grow most of these in IA, in a heated green house, but scale was a never ending battle, which the dwarf trees and I eventually lost.

We enjoy apricots, figs, and persimmons here. I also grow apples, peaches, pears and plums. Lots of mullberry also, but I use them as forage (bunnies and goats munch on them) for silk worms.

I'm right there with ya - we're definitely not succumbing to scurvy in this household!

Looks like a nice haul there Eric!

Enjoy

It certainly is - thanks!

[djansen]

How do you feel about lemons?

you mean some homemade lemonade?
I'm not huge on them but my GF loves adding a bit to smoothies.

you have any issues with rats with all that fruit?

[Eric Alan]

you have any issues with rats with all that fruit?

Not at all - not even so much as evidence of them. Word may have gotten out about who lives in the spare bedroom here though.