OK, Mike, rub it in. Seriously, your fruit-laden trees are spectacular. I am green (or orange or yellow) with envy right now. I can attest to your advice about saving $ on large trees ... same with Meyer Lemon, lime, and kumquat trees. I do really envy you the grapefruit and blood oranges.

Thanks so much for posting those. Going to go open my bag of store-bought tangerines now.

Lovely photo's Mike - I'm green, yellow and orange too

Mike I love you photos. Does that ever bring back memories of my childhood.

Beautiful, Mike!

Here is my puny little orange tree. with oranges

That is one thorny tree too!!!!

Oh Charleen you have a Flying Dragon! Fruit will be ripe sometime around Oct. of 2012 I believe. I have a dear friend in N.C. who saw that at a botanical garden where she lives & she fell in love with it. It's hardy even up there. Managed to get some seeds sent to her. have to remember to ask her about that. You have to keep the seeds in the fruit until planting. Big NO NO to let them dry out before planting them.

That tree is under my old oak tree in a flower pot. I tasted them one time, I don't think I liked them. Hard as little rocks. I took that picture this afternoon.
Love that name "Flying Dragon"
You mean don't let them dry out??? That thing is tough, I know it got pretty dry a couple of times this summer.
You think it will grow if I plant it???

No, I meant the seeds. don't let the seeds dry out if you want to plant them. Keep in the fruit until the moment you take them out of fruit to plant them.
The fruit will never be good for eating I understand. It stays small like that & hard. What do you expect from a cold hardy citrus? I think people make something like preserves out of them.

I just wanted a hardy tree and I got one. Have a couple here in house that I planted from Seed but can't remember what they are. Do they all have thorns on them????

Most all citrus have thorns. BIG thorns.

Wow, do they get the normal citrus blooms on them?

That one outside has "curley thorns" I try to stay away from them all.

That one does I hear. I think all citrus get citrus blooms on them. Now, the size of the blooms --- I don't know if they're the same or not. I have not seen Flying Dragon in person. I never would actually want one. Same reason I never wanted any Bougainvillea which grew so prolifically where our house is down south --- the thorns! --- I'm not fond of thorns. The Bougainvillea grow so fast & you have to keep up on pruning them (stuck by thorns) & then do something with the prunings (stuck by thorns) & any you drop during your doings & they'll go right through flip flops, tennis shoes, doggies paws. No thanks.


But yes, the Flying Dragon has some really, really wicked thorns --- rather THE feature of it.

I know that Flying Dragon [at least at one time] was the scion for all grafted citrus in Arizona - probably for that cold hardiness, although it might have something to do with high pH tolerance, too - I am not knowing this.

I just miss the scent of the blooms. Not sure if it's worth the thorns, though - or if it would make it all the way up here.

I think you're right Sheryl about it being the root stock. I think it still IS a common root stock. I read a lot about it when my friend went ga-ga over it but I've forgotten a lot. Your comment jogged my memory.

Charlene, you should post that photo in the DB.

Be careful with this plant if you have a sensitivity to poison ivy. Poincirus trifoliata is in the Rue family and can cause dermatitis just like poison ivy.

Nice article! I can't have grapefruit or grapefruit juice because of a medication I'm on. I like tangerines and limes.

Thanks, Linda. It's a good thing the interaction with medications isn't across the board for all citrus fruit.

And isn't that interesting? Grapefruit but not other citrus. It's a strange, strange world we like live in.

Now, I DON"T remember reading anything about Poincirus trifoliata (Flying Dragon) being able to cause dermatitis. Thanks for pointing that out Tee.

I think it seems to be mainly those who handle a lot of it in processing of the fruit.