Friday, February 5, 2016

Tart, but beautiful - the calamondin


The first citrus I ever tried to grow as a child was a calamondin brought back from Florida by my grandparents.  I thought that it was a miniature orange and was thrilled when it produced even a couple of fruit indoors in Rhode Island.  Since then, I have expanded my citrus knowledge, but still like the little charmer also known as the calamondin orange, Chinese orange, Panama orange,  golden lime or the  scarlet lime. Both edible and ornamental,  the calamondin is hardy, well-adapted to both the landscape and container culture, has wonderful fragrant white flowers in season and produces truly abundant fruit.  To see a calamondin in full fruit or flower (or even both at the same time) is a treat that reemphasizes the value of such a tree in your yard.

As far as I understand, the calamondin is a hybrid resulting from a cross of a mandarin and a kumquat.  Originating in China, and later traveling to Indonesia and the Philippines,  the calamondin was brought to Florida in 1899 and has since become very popular as a bushy, dense evergreen ornamental.  One of the hardiness citrus trees, calamondin can tolerate temperatures down to twenty degrees F.  Growing about a foot a year to no more than twenty feet tall, this small-fruited citrus can begin to produce fruit in as early as two years.

The fruit, which  is small, bright orange in color, and one and one-half inches in diameter, can take almost a year to fully ripen.  The peel of the fruit can actually taste sweet and is edible.  The pulp is very acid and the flavor reminds me of a mix of tangerine and lime – just very,  very tart!  This tartness makes calamondin fruit work well as a lime substitute for making refreshing beverages, pies, cakes, marmalades, preserves and sauces.  Some people may even use the cut fruits to liven-up iced tea or seafood.  Harvest fruit as it is just beginning to show some color as overripe fruit is soft and less flavorful.  Clip the fruit off the tree with scissors as otherwise the thin peel will rip at the stem end and the fruit will not keep as well. 

Grow your calamondin in a full sun location with good drainage.  Calamondin trees grow very upright and are almost naturally columnar in shape.  They will flower and fruit year round with a spring flush producing an abundance of fruit.  The white flowers are intensely fragrant and will permeate your yard with that classic citrus blossom scent. 

In addition to the normal green-leaved variety, there is a variegated form which adds another attractive dimension to this classic plant.  For more information on this and other citrus, please call our Master Gardener volunteers on the Plant Lifeline on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 1 to 4 pm at 764-4340 for gardening help and insight into their role as an Extension volunteer.  Don't forget to visit our other County Plant Clinics in the area.  Please check this link for a complete list of site locations, dates and times - http://charlotte.ifas.ufl.edu/horticulture/Plant%20Clinics%20Schedule.pdf.

Resources:
King, M. & Oswald, M. J. Florida Food Fare – Calamondin.  The University of Florida Extension Service, IFAS – Sarasota County.
McEachern, G. R. (2004) Calamondin – The Most Versatile Citrus.  Texas A&M University.
Christman, S. (2006) Citrofortunella microcarpa.  Floridata: Tallahassee, FL. 
Morton, J. (1987) Calamondin. P. 176-178. Fruits of warm climates. Miami, FL. via Purdue University.

No comments:

Post a Comment