Arizona Citrus Fruit Gardening
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| A (Citrus × paradisi,) Often Cited As (C. paradisi). Grapefruit Tree In Our Glendale, Arizona Home. Planted In 1996. Photo Taken At The Beginning Of The Blooming Season. March 13, 2012. This One Grapefruit Tree Produces Enough Grapefruit For 8 Families Every Year! A Lemon Tree With Fruit Is On The Left Side Of The Grapefruit Tree. |
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| Grapefruit Tree Fruit. (Citrus × paradisi,) Often Cited As (C. paradisi). Photo At End Of Fruiting Stage. Now Blooming. | Grapefruit Tree Leaves. (Citrus × paradisi,) Often Cited As (C. paradisi). |
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| Grapefruit Tree Flowers. (Citrus × paradisi,) Often Cited As (C. paradisi). | Grapefruit Tree Flowers. (Citrus × paradisi,) Often Cited As (C. paradisi). |
Grapefruit Trees.
HISTORY OF GRAPEFRUIT TREES: We wish to thank Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; for much of the information on our page. We also share our information and photos with Wikipedia. It is thought that one ancestor of the grapefruit was the Jamaican sweet orange (Citrus sinensis), itself an ancient hybrid of Asian origin; & the other ancestor was the Indonesian pomelo (C. maxima). One story of the grapefruit's origins is that a certain "Captain Shaddock" brought pomelo seeds to Jamaica and bred the first fruit. However, it probably originated as a naturally-occurring hybrid. This hybrid fruit was first documented in 1750 by a Welshman, Rev. Griffith Hughes, who described specimens from Barbados. Currently, the grapefruit is said to be one of the "Seven Wonders of Barbados." It was brought to Florida by Count Odette Philippe in 1823 in what is now known as Safety Harbor. Further crosses have produced the tangelo (in1905), the Minneola tangelo (in 1931), and the oroblanco (in 1984). Until the 19th century, the grapefruit was known as the shaddock or shattuck. Today, it gets its name from its tendancy to grow its fruit in clusters, similar to grapes. Botanically, it was not distinguished from the pomelo until the 1830s, when it was given the name Citrus paradisi. Its true origins were not determined until the 1940s. This led to the official name being altered to Citrus × paradisi, the "×" identifying its hybrid origin. An early pioneer in the American citrus industry was Kimball Chase Atwood, a wealthy entrepreneur who founded the Atwood Grapefruit Co. in the late 19th century. The Atwood Grove became the largest grapefruit grove in the world, with an annual production of 80,000 boxes of fruit. It was there that pink grapefruit was first discovered in 1906. The 1929 Ruby Red patent was associated with real commercial success, which came after the discovery of a red grapefruit growing on a pink variety. Only with the introduction of the Ruby Red did the grapefruit transform into a real agricultural success. The Red grapefruit, starting with the Ruby Red, has even become a symbolic fruit of Texas, where white "inferior" grapefruit were eliminated and only red grapefruit were grown for decades. Using radiation to trigger mutations, new varieties were developed to retain the red tones which typically faded to pink, the Rio Red variety is the current (2007) Texas grapefruit with registered trademarks Rio Star and Ruby-Sweet, also sometimes promoted as "Reddest" and "Texas Choice". The Florida Department of Citrus states "the primary varieties of Florida grapefruit are Ruby Red, Pink, Thompson, Marsh and Duncan. The fresh grapefruit season typically runs from October through June." DESCRIPTION OF GRAPEFRUIT: The fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world – primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind (zest) are also used, mainly in cooking and baking. Lemon juice is about 5% to 6% (approximately 0.3 M) citric acid, which gives lemons a sour taste, and a pH of 2–3. Many lemon flavored drinks and foods are available, including lemonade and sherbet lemons, as well as lemon and seasoning salt as a snack. The distinctive sour taste of lemon juice makes it a key ingredient in many dishes across the world GROWING GRAPEFRUIT IN ARIZONA: Our weather in the Arizona desert produces some of the best tasting citrus in the world! Our summer heat produces lots of sugar in citrus fruits making them sweeter and our cool weather in winter produces acid making Arizona citrus more tart. Therefor, our Arizona hot summers and cool winters in the desert produce a much fuller flavored fruit than can be grown in either the consistently warm climates such as in Florida, or the consistently mild climates such as on the California coastal regions. A second advantage is that Arizona citrus can still be grown on Sour Orange root stock, which produces some of the best tasting fruit. California and Florida have both baned Sour Orange rootstock because of its susceptibility to Tristeza, a citrus disease carried by a brown aphid. Fortunately, this aphid cannot survive the lower desert heat of Arizona. Generally speaking, just about any citrus will grow in the low desert areas of Arizona.
A great resource about Citrus in Arizona is written by the Arizona Cooperative Extension, College of Agriculture, The University of Arizona. It is called, a Crop Profile for Citrus in Arizona.
When to Plant: The best time of year to plant a citrus tree is in very early fall. Usually in late September. At that time the hottest part of the year is over and the tree will have the maximum amount of time to become well established before the hot weather arrives next summer. Planting Depth: Dig your hole at least twice the size of the rootball. At minimum, make the hole 2 feet in diameter and 2 feet deep. After you have planted the tree and added your soil to the hole, it is best if the hole is recessed about 2 inches so that a watering basin is formed. Since our soil is often clay soil, we recommend adding some well blended sand, gypsum, and mulch to your soil, around the roots in the hole. The quality you want in your soil is to have good drainage. One common problem in Arizona is that we have a hard layer under our soil called caliche. In digging your hole make sure that you dig through the caliche layer. Sometimes a jack hammer is needed to do this. Many nurseries will offer to plant your tree for you for an extra fee.
WATERING:
Assuming you are planting in the fall. For the first two weeks after planting, water every three days. After that, the normal schedule should be followed. When watering citrus flood them very thoroughly for 30 minutes to an hour. Citrus do better if they dry out between waterings. In the hottest part of summer water once every one to two weeks. In the winter water once every four to six weeks. During other times of the year, schedule watering between these two extremes We actually use a drip system and run three drip emitters for 15 minutes, every two days. It works great! We started the plants with the basin method about 10 years ago.
FERTILIZING:
Newly planted trees should not be fertilized the first year because they are too easily burned. Slow growing citrus need less fertilizer than more vigorous varieties. Generally speaking, the recommendations on chemical citrus fertilizers bags are generally too high. We recommend that you use half the rates recommended. Remember that most citrus trees can go for years without fertilizers and be relatively healthy as long as they are correctly watered. But, over fertilizing a tree can cripple and kill the tree rather quickly. Also, slow release chemical fertilizers, and organic fertilizers such as fish emulsion; can also be used, and they are less likely to burn your trees. We recommend that slow release fertilizer can be applied at the beginning of the growing season in March and once again in the middle of the growing season in early June. Organic fertilizers such as fish emulsion can be applied monthly. You can also apply any one of these fertilizers less often and at lower rates, if you feel you need to do so. HINTS & TIPS: Citrus tolerate the summer sun well in the Phoenix Area, but will always get some sun burned leaves during the hottest weather. Nothing to be concerned about! Water regularly; do not overwater. This plant is attractive to bees.
DISEASES & PESTS:
A great resource about CITRUS DISEASE in Arizona is written by the Arizona Cooperative Extension, College of Agriculture, The University of Arizona. It is called, the manual of Citrus Diseases of Citrus in Arizona.
A great resource about CITRUS PESTS in Arizona is written by the Arizona Cooperative Extension, College of Agriculture, The University of Arizona. It is called, the manual of Citrus INSECT PESTS.
Quick Notes:
Type: Fruit.
Height: About 10 - 30 feet tall.
Spread: About 3 - 25 feet wide.
Flowers: White, 4-petalled flowers, are 1 3/4 to 2 in (4.5-5 cm) across and borne singly or in clusters in the leaf axils.
Blooming Time: Spring. In Phoenix about March 15th.
Fruit: White, green, pink, red, purple, almost black. 6 - 10 grams. Some up to 3 cm. in size. Berry.
Leaves: Evergreen, ovate, alternately arranged, 3 to 6 inches long, and 1 3/4 to 3 inches wide; dark-green above, lighter beneath, with minute, rounded teeth on the margins, and dotted with tiny oil glands; the petiole has broad, oblanceolate or obovate wings.
Hardiness:
Elevation: 0 - 1,500 feet.
Light: Full Sun.
Soil pH requirements:
Habitat: Well-drained sandy soil, Loamy Soil, Acidic Soil. Best pH 5.6 to 6.5. Will tolerate some alkaline soils.
Native: Southeast Asia.
Miscellaneous: Photos Taken March 13, 2012 In Glendale, Arizona. Plant has spines or sharp edges; use extreme caution when handling.
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