Citrus

Calamondin

Standard calamondin (x Citrofortunella microcarpa, tangerine x kumquat hybrid, also sold as calamansi) is stocked by Wairere Nursery (Kumquat Calamondin) as the non-variegated form of the existing Calamondin Variegata entry. Wairere describes a small ornamental, almost thornless tree with glossy foliage, scented blossom and bright orange round juicy fruit, a kumquat hybrid alias calamansi. Filed under the generic citrus species alongside Variegata, it completes the pair NZ nurseries sell and corrects the one-sided catalog coverage.

Calamondin Variegata

Calamondin Variegata is a stunning variegated form of calamondin, a small-fruited citrus hybrid, treasured as much for its looks as its fruit. The evergreen foliage is marbled cream and green, and fragrant white flowers are followed by quantities of small, juicy, sour oranges that ripen to full colour and hold well on the plant, extending both the harvest and the display. The ripe fruit is too sour for fresh dessert eating but is excellent for culinary use: in cooking, preserves and marmalade, and Southeast Asian dishes. The plant is compact and shrubby, hardy for a citrus, and very well suited to containers, courtyards and prominent garden placing where its variegation shows to advantage. Fruiting is spread across much of the year, so no single harvest timing applies. Ripe fruit holds well on the tree, giving good effective keeping. Grow in full sun in free-draining soil or mix, water regularly in containers, and feed in the growing season. Self-fertile.

Etrog

Etrog is the yellow citron used by Jewish communities during the week-long festival of Sukkot as one of the four species, and it is grown as a majestic small evergreen tree with white flowers and green foliage, reaching about 1.5 metres tall. The fruit looks like a knobby lemon, sometimes ribbed, with a yellow, intensely aromatic rind that is very thick around tiny segments containing many seeds. Its uses are ceremonial, fragrant and culinary rather than as a fresh-eating fruit: the ritual specimens for Sukkot, the aromatic rind for perfuming rooms, and the thick rind for preserves and confectionery in the citron tradition. No reliable New Zealand harvest months are documented for this entry, so no harvest timing is assigned. Grow in a warm, sunny, frost-free position in fertile free-draining soil, water steadily and feed in the growing season; like most citrons the tree can carry thorns, so site and handle it accordingly. Self-fertile.

Limequat

Limequat is a Mexican lime x kumquat hybrid sold in NZ by Copperfield Nurseries as an ornamental edible. The small tree bears light-yellow smooth-rinded fruit when fully mature with juicy acid flesh used as a lime substitute; the sweet rind can be eaten whole without bitterness. Hardy and compact, suited to pots and small NZ gardens.

Orangequat

Orangequat, properly a mandarinquat, is a cross between a Satsuma mandarin and the Meiwa kumquat, combining mandarin juiciness with the kumquat habit of eating the whole fruit rind and all. The fruit is vivid orange and teardrop-shaped, ripening from late summer. Both skin and flesh are edible: the rind is sweet and the flesh tart, so the whole fruit is eaten fresh by those who enjoy tangy flavours, while it also serves for culinary use and preserves. The plant is compact and shrubby, frost tolerant for a citrus, and ideal for containers and small gardens, where it is both productive and ornamental. Because the record's Late Summer timing is not an allowed scale value and the cross fruits outside the single-species scales, no harvest timing is assigned; the late-summer season is noted here instead. Also available dwarfed on Flying Dragon rootstock for pots. Grow in full sun in free-draining mix or soil, water container plants regularly, and feed in spring and summer. Self-fertile.