Citrus Trees

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This is the citrus tree range in full: lemons, limes, oranges, mandarins, kumquats, grapefruit and pummelo, with dwarf grafted forms alongside full sized trees. Two decisions matter. Pick the fruit your kitchen actually uses, then match the tree to your winter, because most citrus tolerate light frost only. Nearly everything here also thrives in a large pot, which puts a lemon within reach of a balcony in any capital city. Lemon, lime or something less common Most gardens only need one lemon, so choose it carefully. Eureka ( Citrus limon 'Eureka') is nearly thornless, fruits close to year round and finishes about 4m tall. Lisbon is more vigorous and handles heat and wind better, which suits hot inland gardens, but it carries serious thorns. The Meyer lemon is the pick for cooler regions: a smaller tree at about 3m and the most cold tolerant of the common citrus. Among the limes, Tahitian is seedless, thornless and reaches about 3.5m, while Kaffir lime is grown for its leaves rather than juice and needs a frost free spot. Washington Navel remains the classic backyard orange at 3m to 4m, Imperial is Australia's most popular early season mandarin, and the Meiwa kumquat is the sweet one you eat whole, skin and all. Where citrus trees grow well Citrus thrive from the subtropics through warm temperate and Mediterranean climates, so most of the country qualifies. The honest limit is frost. Nearly every tree here is rated for light frost only, so in cold inland and southern gardens, plant against a north facing wall, protect young trees with frost cloth for their first two winters, and favour Meyer lemon or a kumquat. In the tropics, limes and pummelo ( Citrus maxima ) are the most reliable performers. Growing citrus in pots Any citrus on dwarf rootstock will live for decades in a container. The dwarf Meiwa kumquat stays near 1.5m, dwarf Cara Cara orange and Lemonicious lemon hold close to 2m, and even a full sized Imperial mandarin can be kept to 2m in a big pot. Start wit