Hopefully, clearer pictures of my unidentified fruit tree

[frdnicholas]

We finally got a digital camera, so I hope th

ese are clearer pictures of a citrus tree we inherited when we bought the house. Can anyone identify it?

 

[frdnicholas]

Here's another picture of it

 

[Chuck]

Here's another picture of itView attachment 84090

Citrus, on average, is not a very cold hardy plant. I don't know what your low winter temps are but if your temps get below about 22F it is either a variety of tangerine or kumquat. Below about 15F it will be a kumquat. All citrus leaves look basically the same and most have thorns. If your low temps do not get below about 25F it could be a sweet orange or a grapefruit. It is not a lime and probably not a lemon if temps fall below about 28F for an extended period of time.

 

[frdnicholas]

I'm in zone 8b Southeast Coastal Georgia where are typical winters don't get many days below freezing. Having said that and knowing that the weather patterns are changing every year, I'll just have to see if it bears any fruit and what they might be. I just saw a piece of fruit way up at the top of the tree. It's dark green, round, a little smaller than a tennis ball and the skin looks bumpy. Does that help identify it?

 

[Chuck]

I'm in zone 8b Southeast Coastal Georgia where are typical winters don't get many days below freezing. Having said that and knowing that the weather patterns are changing every year, I'll just have to see if it bears any fruit and what they might be. I just saw a piece of fruit way up at the top of the tree. It's dark green, round, a little smaller than a tennis ball and the skin looks bumpy. Does that help identify it?

Most citrus has thorns but check and see if the thorns on this tree are BIG, dangerous sized thorns about 2 inches long, maybe bigger.

 

[frdnicholas]

Most citrus has thorns but check and see if the thorns on this tree are BIG, dangerous sized thorns about 2 inches long, maybe bigger.

The thorns are definitely dangerous, and I believe they are at least 2 inches long. Does that help identify which citrus tree this might be?

 

[Chuck]

The thorns are definitely dangerous, and I believe they are at least 2 inches long. Does that help identify which citrus tree this might be?

Yes, it makes clear what you have growing there. You are the proud owner of a Trifoliate Orange tree/ Bitter Orange/Sour Orange tree. It grows small, bitter, knobby, lumpy fruit, all but inedible. It is used for rootstock to graft other citrus onto as it is very cold hardy. About the only thing you can do with this plant is to graft other citrus onto it but in actuality, it would be best to take it out. What has happened in the past was the previous owner of the house had a grafted citrus tree but it died or was killed and the rootstock survived and grew into that tree. People do actually grow them on purpose for security hedges and you can make juice out of the fruit but it's not very good at all.

 

[frdnicholas]

Thank you for that sad, but helpful news. I'll start cutting it down and hopefully be able to dig it out so I can put something more useful in its spot.

 

[Marck]

The plant pictured is not a trifoliate orange (Citrus trifoliata, syn: Poncirus trifoliata). Trifoliate orange is a deciduous species with smaller leaves divided into three leaflets.

What is pictured is an evergreen Citrus sp. that most likely will produce an edible fruit. By the way, bitter or sour oranges are also not the same as the trifoliate orange. Rather they are cultivars of orange that are grown primarily for their aromatic oils used for perfrumes,marmalade, Earl Grey tea, and other products.

 

[frdnicholas]

How do I tell when the one piece of fruit at the top is ripe? I will wait for sure until I look at the fruit before taking it out. If indeed it is bitter or sour orange, can you tell from the pictures what I need to do before next spring to encourage more fruit?

 

[Marck]

Yes, wait until the tree produces a crop of fruit,which should consist of more than a single fruit. That one fruit you are seeing now may be an old, aborted fruit from a previous season.
In any case, trifoliate orange fruit are not bumpy. They develop into small orange balls with a velvety texture to the skin.

 

[frdnicholas]

Since this is already August, is there any chance of fruit this season? In the spring the tree did make some flowers at the top, but I didn't see any fruit until this week. You may well be right that this piece of fruit is leftover. It's so far at the top it's hard to see, even with a ladder and, of course, my aging eye sight.

 

[Chuck]

The plant pictured is not a trifoliate orange (Citrus trifoliata, syn: Poncirus trifoliata). Trifoliate orange is a deciduous species with smaller leaves divided into three leaflets.

What is pictured is an evergreen Citrus sp. that most likely will produce an edible fruit. By the way, bitter or sour oranges are also not the same as the trifoliate orange. Rather they are cultivars of orange that are grown primarily for their aromatic oils used for perfrumes,marmalade, Earl Grey tea, and other products.

It is a trifoliate orange (Poncirus trifoliata). It does, according to the pictures have three leaflets and in many cases trifoliate orange is a bumpy fruit. The large thorns and the growth habit shown in the pictures only add to my identification of this plant. And some trifoliate oranges have 5 leaflets

 

[Marck]

That's hard to say, different citrus varieties produce fruit at different times of the year. I would keep giving it the best care you can, and observing it regularly. If it doesn't produce a crop then you need to troubleshoot the reason. depending on the variety it is possible that low winter temperatures could inhibit flower and fruit development. Find out which citrus varieties other growers in your area are able fruit successfully.

Chuck, I am not seeing trifoliate leaves. In any case there is no need for the original poster to take anything on faith. He can and should look up trifoliate orange online and compare images and descriptions for himself.