Tell me your favorite online Citrus Nursery...

I'm starting to get into Citrus and would like to know good and bad about places you've used online. I've checked Watchdog but it's a little hard to do if you don't have the name of a place...!!!
Thanks!
Susan

I've always be partial to Four Winds Nursery in Fremont, CA. Since I now live in Texas, I can't order from them anymore. Four Winds has a large variety of dwarf citrus, the perfect large pot plant. Dwarf citrus are recommended for growing in pots as they don't grow larger than 10' to 12' and usually stay well below that size. Standard citrus trees can grow up to 35', way too large for a pot. I had my citrus planted in 24" to 30" pots. They were in 5 gallon pots when I bought them so they didn't object to being put in pots that size.

Mail order trees will probably be a lot smaller. The only citrus grower of dwarf citrus here in Texas is near Dallas — a day's trip from here. I did the next best thing and placed a mail order from them — Acorn Springs.
I was disappointed in the size of the trees and their selection is rather small

I was pleased with Thompson's Rio Pride...good size and pricing on their trees. However, delivery on a Meija kumquat ordered April 7th and expected within a month hasn't happened, and my e-mails haven't been answered. Time to try phone contact, I guess. Yuska

For cold hardy these guys know what they're doing. http://www.mckenzie-farms.com/favorite.htm

6a is probably to cold for outside but their varities fruit earily etc. so they may work better for you.

Brite Leaf: http://www.briteleaf.com/

I agree with bettydee, Four Winds Growers in Fremont, CA. They're in Garden Watchdog with 100% rating. Plants are beautiful.

For Citrus, McKenzie farms sent a great kumquat. Four Winds had great plants too. I also got some nice plants and got some great information from Martha on ebay, mgmg9495. I also got a Eustis limequat from Acorn Spring (via ebay) for only $10 (I think) and it is tall and full. I've been very pleased with all my buys!

I am also a fan of Four Winds Nursery.

I have ordered several from mckenzie-farms and was very pleased.

Many thanks for this thread, everyone. Hubby's latest passion
is fruit trees, but he's leaning towards a company I knew from the
Watchdog was a baaad one.

Thanks for the suggestions of the other companies.

Karen Marie

This thread was about citrus trees. I have the names of many good ones that specialize in non-citrus fruit. My favorites are:

Raintree
Jung
Trees of Antiquity
Bay Laurel
Stark

I have had good to excellent with all of the above over the years. I am guessing that in Oklahoma you won't be planting citrus trees.

Oh, no, he is definitely into citrus. We've had lime and lemon trees
for years, as well as an orange, but they must always be brought indoors
during the winter.

He's looking at Four Winds, but as of late has been having more
fun growing his own and growing from cuttings.

:-)

wuvie,

I bought two last year from Four Winds. They were great trees, and the combined shipping is reasonable. I would buy from them again.

Karen

Is there a Kumquat expert here? I have two kumquat trees: can anyone name these pls.?
1 tree has round sweet fruit
1 tree has long sour fruit

Also does anyone know where i might find books about citrus trees?

Thanks for any answers.

The long sour one is probably from a tree grown from seed. I seem to remember all kumquats are grafted and the ungrafted ones tend to have sour fruit. No expert but I think that is right. Basicly you have one wild one. LOL.

Thank you for the feedback CoreHHI, those long fruits are some sour ones, but my friends and neighbors love them, so no waste there. I can't eat them! The round sweet ones are my favorites. The oil in the skin kind of burns my lips, but well worth it. I have another one with the label still on it, but it's dark. Anyway it bears sweet fruits the size and shape of a bantam hen egg. I bought that one in Jacksonville Fla. Thanks

I think the long one might be a Nagami kumquat and the round one a Meiwa kumquat.
http://www.ccpp.ucr.edu/variety/kumquats.html
I thought all kumquats are sour but the skin is sweet so when you eat it together it's Yummy!

The Meiwa kumquat is sweeter than the Nagami.

I got my Meiwa from Stan the citrusman and I just love it. I got my tree the 2nd week of August, it started blooming 9/16 and we started eating Kumquats the beginning of Feb.
My husband wraps a piece of fish in tin foil after adding spices and sliced kumquats or calamondin. Then bakes. YUM!
I'm going to buy more kumquats this summer, I think. Or since DH likes them so much maybe he'll buy them.... LOL

Thank you for the recipe, it sounds scrumptious. My wife puts calamondin on just about everything we eat and i love the taste. I will make a point to buy some fish next time i go to town. Our trees are still loaded way up high. What kind of fish do you & your husband favor with the calamondin? My Pummellows are starting to ripen. Some people bake those with herbs & spices like Grapefruit.

I've never had a Pummelo. I'm more of a fish sticks/ fish sandwich type but my husband likes salmon and tillapia. We've gotten some bags of frozen tillapia fillets at Walmart and they are very reasonable and taste good even to me. The only other thing I've made with my fruit is lemon bars. There is a guy on the citrus growers forum that makes Calamondin wine.

I just love Pummelo. They are actually sweeter than grapefruits. Yummmm!!!!!!!!

I had a pummelo from H-E-B one time. it was like 1" of rind and pith and the actual fruit was smaller than a typical grapefruit. I wasn't all that impressed. Is this just a bad grocery store example?

I really like pink grapefruit but the last few times I have had Rio Star Texas pink grapefruit, it has tasted "off" to me.

Just a bad grocery store example, it should have peeled off larger than a typical grapefruit. The ones in Wal-Mart are not very large and they don't taste anything like a fully developed pummelo. Our Ruby Red grapefruits did really good for the past 2 years.

I buy my Pummelo from an oriental market. They have them as large as basketballs. I have had the ones from Wally World and you are correct, they are nasty. I have also grown a couple on my tree and they were delicious.