Pomelo

Chandler

Chandler is the benchmark pink-fleshed pomelo, bred at the University of California Riverside and released in 1961 from a Siamese Sweet x Siamese Pink cross. It produces truly oversized fruit - commonly over two pounds each - with yellow skin carrying a slight pink blush and light-to-deep-pink flesh divided into 12-20 thin-walled segments. The flavour is sweet and pleasant with the mild, refreshing character of a good pomelo and none of grapefruit's bitterness. The tree is large, vigorous, and highly ornamental with big fragrant flowers, and it crops heavily, so fruit thinning is recommended for best size and quality. In New Zealand it is strictly a tree for the warmest frost-free gardens, needing a long hot season to sweeten; fruit matures in the main winter-spring pomelo window. Eaten fresh as a dessert fruit, with segments that separate cleanly, and the thick rind gives it good keeping quality. Self-fertile.

Hawaiian

Hawaiian is listed as a pomelo bearing large yellow fruit with pale-yellow, very juicy, aromatic flesh, from a resilient tree - but beyond the existing record almost nothing verifiable could be found about a pomelo cultivar of this name. No NZ nursery listing, pomological reference, or variety collection entry for a 'Hawaiian' pomelo turned up in research, so its origin, parentage, and true season are undocumented. The fruit as described fits the generic sweet, mild dessert-pomelo type: large, thick-rinded, juicy, aromatic, eaten fresh. In NZ it should be grown exactly like any pomelo - warmest frost-free pocket (Far North/Northland), full sun, long hot season, standard citrus feeding - and fruit would be expected in the main winter-spring pomelo window, though without a documented season no harvest slot is assigned. Thick rind gives good keeping. Kept as-is pending proper identification; anyone sourcing this cultivar should verify it against named varieties.

Kao Phuang

Kao Phuang is a Thai pomelo variety, one of the classic white-fleshed pummelos of Southeast Asia where the pomelo is a staple salad and fresh fruit. The fruit is large and broadly pear-shaped with a distinctive neck and smooth apex, glossy lemon-yellow rind that peels easily, and many segments of large, firm, exceptionally juicy vesicles with a balanced sweet-tart flavour on the more acidic side for a pomelo. Thai white-flesh types carry tiny black seeds in small numbers. The tree is vigorous and, as noted in the existing record, hardy enough to be grown in most NZ citrus districts given a sunny, sheltered position - relatively forgiving for a pomelo, though it still wants warmth and a frost-free run to ripen fully. Fruit matures in the main winter-spring pomelo window and is eaten fresh as a dessert fruit or tossed through Southeast Asian-style salads. Thick rind keeps well. Self-fertile.

Pink flesh

Pink Flesh is a pink-fleshed pomelo selection grown in NZ for large, oval to pear-shaped, nearly seedless fruit. A telling NZ detail in the existing record: the skin turns light yellow when ripe here, whereas in tropical countries it stays green - a useful ripeness guide for NZ growers. Inside are many segments whose membranes split open at the centre when fully ripe, making the fruit easy to peel and eat, with sweet, mild, juicy pink flesh. Like all pomelos it needs the warmest frost-free position with a long hot season to ripen well, and it crops in the main winter-spring pomelo window. Eaten fresh as a dessert fruit; thick rind stores well. The tree is a typical vigorous pomelo. Self-fertile. Note the possible overlap with the Red Flesh selection also in this catalogue - the two may or may not be distinct clones (see flags).

Red Flesh

Red Flesh is a red-fleshed pomelo selection in the NZ trade producing large, sweet fruit with deep pink-red flesh and a mild, refreshing flavour. The existing record describes exceptionally juicy fruit of excellent taste from a vigorous tree with lush green foliage and fragrant white flowers that thrives in warm, sunny positions. As a coloured-flesh dessert pomelo it is eaten fresh, with the usual pomelo virtues of cleanly separating segments and a thick rind that keeps well. In NZ it wants the warmest frost-free site and a long hot season, ripening in the main winter-spring pomelo window. Self-fertile. Seed content is undocumented - coloured pomelo seedlings vary from nearly seedless to seedy depending on pollination, so no claim is made here. Note the possible overlap with the Pink Flesh selection in this catalogue (see flags); the depth of flesh colour (deep pink-red) is currently the main distinguishing detail.

Siamese Sweet

Siamese Sweet is an acidless white-fleshed pomelo from Thailand, prized as the sweet, non-sharp pomelo for people who find ordinary citrus too tart. The fruit is oblate to broadly oval with a thick, easy-to-peel rind protecting large segments of crisp, non-juicy white sacs that separate easily - the classic low-acid type where sweetness comes with almost no sourness, giving a mild, honeyed flavour. Known for sweetness and low acidity in the existing record, with large, juicy, crisp white segments. In NZ it needs the warmest frost-free garden and a long hot season like all pomelos, ripening in the main winter-spring window; because acidless fruit does not develop the usual sugar-acid signal, tasting is the best ripeness test. Eaten fresh as a dessert fruit. Thick rind keeps well. Self-fertile. Notably, Siamese Sweet is one of the parents of the Californian Chandler pomelo, linking the two selections in this catalogue.