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Really cold hardy Orange trees for your cold climate!

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  • Really cold hardy Orange trees for your cold climate!

    Hi folks!!!


    Talking about cold hardy Orange trees for cold gardens! As Starloc told me: lemon, orange, grapefruit trees are all grafted onto a rootstock called Poncirus Trifoliata - which is a very cold hardy citrus species whose roots can withstand the freezing temperatures. This species is commonly called Japanese Bitter Orange tree.

    But, those grafted citrus trees still need to be kept indoors in Winter - this is why some folks find citrus trees are difficult to look after. This makes me think: Why don't we just grow Japanese Bitter Orange trees instead?

    They can be planted in your garden and grow like an Apple tree. They can stand the cold like apple trees. They have sweetly scented white flowers and lots of fruits just like Orange trees. Their fruits are as big as a lime, in bright orange colour. They can grow to 10 foot high. They have many long sharp thorns - some people grow them as a hedge. Their fruits hang on the trees well into winter. Just imagine you have a Japanese Bitter Orange tree in your front garden laden with little oranges!

    Not many nurseries sell Japanese Bitter Orange trees. You need to Google:
    Japanese bitter orange trees for sale - or: Poncirus trifoliata trees for sale.

    I know some nurseries in the UK sell them. I wish HomeBase sold interesting trees like hybrid Persimmon trees, American wild Persimmon trees, Loquat trees, Japanese bitter orange trees etc. instead of those Canary Date palms.

    Well, if you want to know more about Japanese Bitter Orange trees, folks, please Google:

    Citrushomegrowers (this un-commercial website is by an English citrus fan, it's his hobby)

    you'll see an index of varieties/ headlines. Under "Poncirus Trifoliata - UK specimens" headline are photos of big old Japanese Bitter Orange trees growing outdoors in various locations across the UK.
    Attached Files
    Last edited by Growanything; 13-04-2012, 10:41 PM. Reason: adding photos of Bitter Orange trees outside St Paul's catheral in London.

  • #2
    Home citrus growers site helped me a lot when i started growing citrus, the owner is on some citrus forums i use, he uses the name citrange ( type of citrus used as rootstock ) , very helpfull reading his posts when you first start growing citrus

    On his site there are also pictures and details of some UK growing grapefruits that fruit and have no protection from the cold added in the winter

    P.Trifoliata may be given the name `jap. bitter orange trees` , but there not even actualy a real citrus variety and its the most nasty fruit ever, it can not be eaten

    The difference between oranges and p.trifoliata......even sour orange (seville orange) can be eaten ( even though its bitter ) , but nobody in there right mind would eat trifoliata fruit! , ive tried tasting the juice ( there isnt much juice at least ) , it stinks and tastes worse than anyone could ever imagine!

    I have a few small p.trifoliata outdoors in Liverpool , one of them fruits the rest are still too young as seed grown, i just leave them in the garden with no protection even though they are in pots, they freeze solid every year , the one that fruits was bought from a nursery about 5 years ago,ive no idea how old it was i presume about 4 years old.
    Theres a picture of the stick when i bought it near the bottom of this old site of mine i made some time ago ( i must update it sometime! i have loads more now and they are much bigger)

    You can keep real citrus trees outdoors in the UK.... with protection, the temperatures in this country are not too bad its the frost on the plant you need to stop

    i have a few large citrus ( as a guess ) about 40 to 50 years old , they are fine outdoors with frost cloth and christmas lights , if the lights fail or the cloth comes open they get severe die back

    People try to keep small citrus plants outdoors..... they need to remember that if i get dieback from the frost and loose a couple of foot of tree ( they are all around 12 to 16 foot high 10 foot wide) i take hedge trimmers to them and mine will grow back as there is lots more protected wood nearer the center , a small tree only has one or two stems so it dies if frost gets on it
    Last edited by starloc; 13-04-2012, 06:11 PM.
    Living off grid and growing my own food in Bulgaria.....

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    • #3
      ....interesting....
      You have proven it can be done, starloc.
      My Very Bleak Garden Blog

      Reece & The Chicks

      In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
      Revelation 22:2

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      • #4
        Wow!!! Impressive citrus collection you've got there, Starloc!!! Thanks for showing us. Those big old lemon trees outdoors there - they can withstand the cold because they're old and have thick trunks? I think so.

        Yeah, that guy sounds very genuine and helpful. I like him. Some folks said Japanese Bitter Orange trees are slow growers. But clips I've seen on Youtube, nurseries grow them in pots as rootstocks, they seem to be fast growers - you know, just one thick, fat single stems, shooting upwards. Yeah, I know you can't really eat bitter oranges, but the tree looks nice with oranges on, like Spain!
        Last edited by Growanything; 15-04-2012, 10:49 AM.

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        • #5
          Folks, everytime I logged in, someone would repeatedly try to break into my a/c. Was alerteded by the site by emails. I give it a rest. Have tidied up all my posts/ comments. Take care!
          Last edited by Growanything; 15-04-2012, 10:48 AM.

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