# 8'-10' fruit tree? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 30, 2017, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-10-fruit-tree/797685 "2017-09-30T23:23:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-10-fruit-tree/797685/1 "2017-09-30T23:23:06Z")
I’d like to have a small citrus tree out the front, but I’m not sure how to select. A cumquat is smaller than that, right? And an orange tree is bigger? What are my options? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2017, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-10-fruit-tree/797685/2 "2017-09-30T23:30:02Z")
Get a dwarf variety. The dwarfing is caused by the rootstock, so pretty much any fruit can be dwarfed. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-10-fruit-tree/797685/3 "2017-10-01T03:11:38Z")
For an alternate perspective on this issue, I took a backyard orchard class at my local nursery, and the guy said to grow whatever varieties you like, and just keep them pruned. You’re going to be pruning a citrus every year anyway, just prune off as much as you need to keep it the size you’d like. So grow whatever you’ll get the most use out of. I’d choose lime, personally. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2017, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-10-fruit-tree/797685/4 "2017-10-02T00:16:25Z")
[Ponderosa lemon trees](https://gardenerdy.com/how-to-grow-care-for-ponderosa-lemon-trees) stay small for a long time but produce huge fruit at an early age (I have one in a pot which fruits well). There are a number of varieties of satsuma orange which are dwarf and also relatively cold-tolerant. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2017, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-10-fruit-tree/797685/5 "2017-10-02T01:33:42Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > [Ponderosa lemon trees](https://gardenerdy.com/how-to-grow-care-for-ponderosa-lemon-trees) stay small for a long time but produce huge fruit at an early age (I have one in a pot which fruits well). > > There are a number of varieties of satsuma orange which are dwarf and also relatively cold-tolerant. Well… I have a Ponderosa that is one of the biggest of my citrus trees. It’s at least 15’ tall, and tends to crowd out the trees next to it. It does produce an amazing amount of lemons. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2017, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-10-fruit-tree/797685/6 "2017-10-02T05:14:30Z")
I’ve had good luck with dwarf citrus. I keep them in containers that I can move around as the seasons change. Key Lime and Meyer Lemon are my two favorites. My mom has an orange she really likes. I’ll have to check the variety. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2017, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-10-fruit-tree/797685/7 "2017-10-02T08:58:49Z")
> [@araminty](#): > > For an alternate perspective on this issue, I took a backyard orchard class at my local nursery, and the guy said to grow whatever varieties you like, and just keep them pruned. You’re going to be pruning a citrus every year anyway, just prune off as much as you need to keep it the size you’d like. So grow whatever you’ll get the most use out of. I’d choose lime, personally. This is true, but please also learn how to prune a citrus tree, there’s a right way and plenty of wrong ways to prune to a healthy tree. Such issues as when to prune, and where and how to make your cuts, can be critical. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/8-10-fruit-tree/797685/8 "2017-10-04T01:35:33Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Get a dwarf variety. > The dwarfing is caused by the rootstock, so pretty much any fruit can be dwarfed. Didn’t know that. I guess it means I can get a better choise of tree size for the same fruit by going to a better supplier. I don’t think I want to depend on pruning the tree to keep it to size. I’ve seen to many trees where you look at the tree, and the house, and ask – what were they thinking? – Thanks for the suggestions everyone.