I’m a landscaper here in southern California. Whenever we are asked to re landscape a yard, the people almost inevitability ask my company to plant a lemon tree. This is especially true if these individuals have moved here from a cold climate.
I usually just do as they wish, but I always wonder out of all the varieties of citrus trees that can be grown here, why a lemon tree?
What the heck can you do with a lemon? You can’t just eat it. Are you really going to go through the work of making your own lemonade? Are you going to remember to go out to your tree when you’re cooking some fish and squeeze some lemon on it? Lemon trees produce lots of fruit year round and nobody wants them. Believe me; my maintenance crews rake them up and trash them all the time.
If you had an orange or tangerine tree, all you have to do is stand there, pick the fruit and eat it right there. One doesn’t even have to bring it inside. Outside of peeling it, there is zero preparation. Grapefruits have to be brought inside and cut up, but at least you can eat them right then.
If you could grow a citrus tree, what kind would you grow?
Someone has to do it, and it may as well be me, so:
*
Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet
But the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.
Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet
But the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.*–Peter, Paul, & Mary
On topic, I’d go with an orange tree.
Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet
But the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.
We have a lime tree growing outside the front bedroom window. If I was planting new trees at a new house, I’d plant several kinds of oranges and a lime tree or two.
I have a tangerine tree and sadly noone picks it or eats it. In my new backyard I want to grow an avocado tree and a lime tree or some sort of hybrid with different branches producing different fruit.
I was going to say orange until you mentioned tangerine. That’s it for me, as long as it’s the kind without seeds. If I could have any kind of fruit tree though it would be cherry. Cherries are my fav fruit.
I also had the pleasure of seeing a HUGE mango tree at the Fairchild Tropical Gardens in FL. Full of fruit. If I was there a week later I probably would have seen the beautiful colors of the ripe fruit but I was a little too early and they were green. Oh to have a fruit tree. But, alas, I live in the Northeast. sigh…
Satsuma tangerines are the best. I don’t know why anyone would bother with lemons either! You can use them to flavor your tea, but tangerines are so much better.
If somebody is complaining about how much fruit a lemon (or lime, I guess?) tree produces, I would then stay far away from a mango tree.
My grandparents had orange, lime, mango, banana, soursoup (guanábana, graviola), and a couple other fruit trees. The damn mango tree gave the most fruit, and I remember when I was a kid helping them harvest it. Even going every day, during the high season, there would be tens of fruit rotting and wasted. Insects and birds had a banquet. And the tree gave enough fruit to give out plenty to everybody, eat fresh, freeze, or make jam.
In comparison, the fruits of the orange and lime trees were much more manageable. And yes, my cooking always loves lime (use in lieu of vinegar).
Any time my family’s had lemons it’s been to put in iced tea and make lemon meringue pie. As with most fruits and veggies, you can definitely tell a difference between store-bought lemons and lemons fresh from the tree.
We have a Meyer lemon, orange, avocado and tangerine. We use all the fruit but the lemon tree has fruit all year round. I use lemons a lot in cooking and so do my friends, so I can always find a good hostess gift! I do wish I had a lime as they also come in handy (Salsa! Guacamole!) but have no room.
I had three very mature lemon trees when I lived in So Cal. They produced very large lemons (the size of grapefruit) year-round. The neighbor kids came with large shopping bags and filled them frequently (with my permission, as I insisted on it). They then (so they said) gave them to granny, who frequently spoke no English, and made them into pies and other ethnic food products. My trees were very popular with the locals, especially the illegal ones.
So you can’t say that lemon trees produce worthless fruit. Someone uses it.
I had tangerine, navel orange, plum and grapefruit trees, and I recommend them, too, although the fruit isn’t produced year-round.
Yes, absolutely. And it’s one of the perks of living in So Cal to go out to your trees in the AM, pick some oranges or tangerines, and squeeze them for breakfast. Nothing better.
I would want a lime tree for daiquiris and other drinks. I love fresh citrus but something about buying and squeezing them annoys the hell out of me. If I didn`t have to buy them, that’d be a start.
Ideally I’d want a whole citrus orchard though. Think of all that ceviche. I’ll need a fish market in the backyard.
You ought to check the price of lemons in the store too. Often I need only a little lemon juice for a recipe and it saves quite a bit of money. Bonus: when I have used all I need I can put the rest in the garbage disposal and my kitchen smells terrific!
There’s a lemon tree on our property in San Diego. It’s been there since I was four, at least. My mom had the sweetest grapefruits I’ve ever eaten, at her house in Arizona. If I still lived in SoCal and wanted to plant a citrus tree, I’d try to get the kind of grapefruit mom had. Oranges would be good too.
We had peach trees in our yard in Lancaster. I’d prefer them to citrus.
I LOVE to eat lemons. I buy them myself just for a treat with a little salt. I even eat the peels sometimes. Do not make fun of lemons around my family because we like them just how they are. The saying about that is the dumbest piece of wisdom in the history of the world. They are yummy. If I had to vote though, my favorite would be a key lime tree. Screw the pie. That is good too but I can eat ten of those in one sitting. Just thinking about it is about to make me have a citrus flavored orgasm. Oranges are disgusting though. Keep those far, far away unless they are Clemetines then they can sit at the table for one month a year.
Hi Mangosteen, I am now building a house in San Diego What would you recommend for a citrus tree that would grow well! I heard there were hybrid trees that would produce different kinds of citrus in one tree, I always thought that sounded neat. I am planning to plant a pomegranate, an avocado and something else! Any suggestions, tips for So Cal would be greatly appreciated!
If I could have any kind of fruit tree though it would be cherry. Cherries are my fav fruit.
What would you recommend for a citrus tree that would grow well! I heard there were hybrid trees that would produce different kinds of citrus in one tree, I always thought that sounded neat. I am planning to plant a pomegranate, an avocado and something else! Any suggestions, tips for So Cal would be greatly appreciated!