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cold hardy citrus

I potted up some seedlings of poncirus trifoliata (trifoliate orange). They were growing in a lady's yard. I'm excited about having a cold-hardy citrus here in Western NC. Has anyone tasted one? I looked it up on the internets and apparently it has quite a lot of bitter oil that will upset your stomach. Maybe I'll just make home-made citrisol (cleaning product) if the lemonade tastes terrible!
 
My grandfather had one that always produced lots of fruit and I tried one. It was very bitter and full of seeds. I have one now that I grow in fairly heavy shade so it doesn't really produce much fruit. I just like the huge spines it has.
 
I like the way it looks as well! Are you in the mountains or the piedmont? I saw one at an old homesite at Stone Mt. State park.

My grandfather had one that always produced lots of fruit and I tried one. It was very bitter and full of seeds. I have one now that I grow in fairly heavy shade so it doesn't really produce much fruit. I just like the huge spines it has.
 
I'm near Raleigh. I planted mine about 9 years ago in the woods in the back of my property because I ran out of room up front in the sun, and have been surprised how well it's doing in the shade. It was about a foot tall when planted and now is at least 6-7 ft.
 
I just noticed your post and will revive it. Trifoliate oranges might be edible if you're stranded on a desert island, but only after you tire of eating sand.

How about growing a calamondin tree in a pot? They're a sweet & sour little orange that lots of people in FL grow as an ornamental, but they're very forgiving of bad conditions and I used to grow one here in CT (indoors for 6+ months in a very inadequate window). I'd get 2 crops of fruit a year and it tolerated light frosts. I finally gave it away because we needed the space it used to occupy when it was indoors.

I used to eat the fruit and make marmalade too. The fruit that ripened during the outdoor season was the best for eating fresh and the fruit that ripened in winter, although not as sweet, was fine for marmalade.
 
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