Citrus trees around town

Now that the deciduous trees are bare, it’s easy to see how many people have citrus trees in their yards. While not quite as perfect as Southern California where it virtually never freezes, our climate is still fairly citrus-friendly. In the last couple of years, our winter low was around 26°F degrees, and even that for just a few hours. Most commonly grown citrus varieties can withstand a few degrees below freezing without damage. In fact, many people say oranges need a light freeze to bring out the sweetness. (One exception is the key lime; it doesn’t like frost at all. Ours lost all its leaves at just above 32°F. But it’s alive otherwise, so it should recover nicely when spring rolls around.)

For a few weeks, I’ve been taking photos of citrus trees around town. I was hoping to find some more unusual varieties, such as pummelo or citron, but I didn’t have any luck. However, I found orange and lemon trees galore, and even a grapefruit.

I saw one mandarin but wasn’t able to photograph it. Mandarins and clementines are relatively rare around here; I don’t know why that is since they should grow as well as oranges. Maybe people are used to buying bags of mandarins in the store instead of picking them off their own tree? Unfortunately, a lot of residentially grown citrus fruit is never picked; it simply falls off in its own time and then rots on the ground.

To begin our tour of local citrus, let’s take a look at a few lemon trees. The first specimen belongs to friends. The first time I saw it I thought it was a Meyer because of the small fruit, but it’s actually a “supermarket” lemon, i.e. Lisbon or Eureka. This tree is absolutely loaded this year.

 

 

                                                                                                                                           

 

I came across the following lemon trees during walks in various parts of town. As you can see, some people grow them for fruit production, like you would in an orchard, while others incorporate them into the overall landscaping.

 

 

I was very excited when I came across the next house. A lemon tree and beautiful succulents. Could it get any better? (Yes, actually, if they included a Mexican weeping bamboo!)

 

 

I assume that all of the “lemon” trees above are actually lemons. I can’t be 100% certain, because Bearss limes turn lemon yellow when left on the tree. I mentioned that fact in a recent post about our own Bearss lime tree (see next photo).

 

The next two photos show a grapefruit tree; in the second photo you’ll see it side by side with an orange tree. The fruit isn’t as large as what you typically see in the supermarket but I bet it has a more concentrated taste. Personally, I don’t like oversized fruits or vegetables because they frequently lack flavor.

 

 

In my entirely non-scientific tally, oranges are the most frequently grown citrus variety in Davis. It seems that 2 out 3 citrus trees you see are oranges, typically navel oranges. Our house came with a Washington navel, and even with the irregular attention it has received from yours truly, it has rewarded us with what I think are the best oranges out there.

The house in the next couple of photos has more than ten orange trees in the front yard—a much better use of space, in my opinion, than the ubiquitous lawn!

 

 

Some orange trees are fairly large—as tall or taller than the house they’re planted next to.

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                            
 

 

Others are mere shrubs, wider than tall. It’s sure easier to pick the fruit off a tree like that!

 

 

 

 

Some interesting citrus facts:

Virtually all citrus trees sold in nurseries are grafted onto disease-resistant rootstock. That’s why you probably won’t have any luck planting a seed you find in a citrus fruit. (Trees used for rootstock, however, are often grown from seed.)

A mature tree can produce hundreds of thousands of blossoms to attract as many pollinators as possible. However, 99% of all flowers fall off without producing fruit. Talk about overkill!

With care, citrus trees can produce for 50 years or longer.

Citrus trees prefer deep, infrequent watering. It’s best to let the soil dry out, then flood it. However, our lime tree gets watered together with the landscaping (drip irrigation) and still produces well.

While most citrus varieties originally come from Southeast Asia, some are native to Australia, like the Australian finger lime (Citrus australasica). I saw it at Lowe’s recently, and I was tempted to buy one just for novelty’s sake—and because I love all things Australian.

The kumquat is the hardiest citrus variety, able to tolerate temperatures as low as 10°F. It grows in the tea regions of China which routinely see very cold winter temperatures.