Re: Citrus in New Zealand (was Key limes)

K1MIZE@aol.com wrote:

> Hi, Moira.
> 
> I moved a Meyer Lemon (Meyers are almost always grown on their own roots
> here, being semi-dwarf already) to a new location in my garden about 10 years
> ago.  A year or so later, a new plant shot up in the original location from
> roots that were left in the ground (as roses like to do).  We decided to let
> it grow and see what developed.  As it turned out, the original tree got
> blown over in a wind storm several years later and couldn't be salvaged,
> while the "volunteer" tree developed into a large, vigorous, and productive
> plant.

Hi Kurt
It was most interesting "visiting" your citrus. I was astonished at the
one which came back from root "cuttings". Perhaps we should try out this
method more often for woody plants.
> 
> You mentioned Tangelos.  My largest, most beautiful, and most productive
> citrus tree is a "Minneola" tangelo.  It bears huge crops every year and we
> use them all!  They are very aromatic, like Mandarins, and are quite tart
> until they've hung on the tree for awhile, like Grapefruits.  The fruits have
> a prominent 'nipple' at the stem end and turn reddish-orange with age.  The
> juice is delicious, and they are great for making what my daughter calls
> "tangelaide," even when tart.  Although many will drop as they ripen, they
> store very well on the tree.  The oldest fruits are as sweet as honey, and
> show no tendency to dry out with age, as so many citrus do.

I think I may have met this variety once or twice over here, but our
usual kind lacks the nipple and looks more like a slightly baggy orange.
(Baggy as in baggy elephant, for instance). They do however share the
ability to remain juicy into old age.
> 
> Since purchasing my "Bearss" lime, I've been doing some web surfing and found
> that this variety was discovered as a chance seedling of a "Tahiti" lime by
> T. J. Bearss, an employee of Southern Pacific Railroad, in Porterville,
> California, in 1895.  It may be marginal in my area, as I've read elsewhere
> that the tree is damaged at temperatures below 28F.  I'm going to give it a
> go, anyway.  Isn't that part of the fun of gardening?

So it seems there may possibly be basically only the two sorts of lime,
the Key and the Tahitian. I have however heard of West Indian limes also
and wonder where they fit in. I was interested to see Bearss is a real
name. It looked so odd I wondered if it could be a misprint.

I am not surprised atyou wanting to try a lime. No gardener worth their
salt would ever stop just at the plants _recommended_ for their area.
> 
> I have recently moved 3 10-year-old citrus trees in my garden and am
> wondering how the experiment is going to turn out.  I top-pruned them all
> pretty heavily coincident with the move, to compensate for the loss of roots,
> and have kept them all well-watered for the last couple of months.  The
> "Moro" blood orange is the worst-looking of the lot, having lost nearly all
> its leaves and suffered die-back of most smaller branches.  The "Owari
> Satsuma" mandarin is the next-worse-off.  It is also nearly defoliated.  The
> "Nagami" kumquat is doing the best, and has actually bloomed since being
> transplanted.  I hope they make it.  I feel like they're my children, I've
> had them so long.

I guess this is a similar exercise to moving a Camellia, as the root
sytems are broadly similar. Certainly most of those do move
successfully, though they may take some time to recover fully. I hope
your "children" do all revive in time.

Moira

-- 
Tony & Moira Ryan <theryans@xtra.co.nz>
Wainuiomata, New Zealand. (on the "Ring of Fire" in the SW Pacific).
Lat. 41:16S Long. 174:58E. Climate: Mediterranean/Temperate
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