Citrus

The Mexican lime, as we call them, produces a small, round to slightly ovoid yellow green fruit. The flesh is bright green and juicy, with an aromatic sweet tart flavor. In the southwest, these fruits are best known for use in cocktails, most notably in margaritas, but they are also prized for baking, putting the zing into traditional salsas, and as a BBQ seasoning. This is a thornless lime with a bushy habit, growing as wide as they are tall. These limes thrive in intense heat, and produce prolifically once mature, but they are quite cold sensitive requiring protection from frosts in low desert winters.
All varieties of edible Citrus make lovely ornamental landscape trees for the low desert. They all have deep green, glossy leaves, unique, sturdy branching structure, with attractive, sweetly fragranced white blooms primarily from February through March. Contrary to common belief, they are relatively low maintenance once established and they are long-lived, moderate growers. All edible Citrus spp. are grafted onto size-determining rootstocks. While the fruit is not affected, Standard rootstocks allow trees to reach 25-30 ft. high & wide at maturity and Semi-dwarf rootstock trees grow 30-50% the size of a Standard tree. Provide citrus trees with well-drained soil, regular deep watering, especially during the growing season, and annual spring feedings with a balanced and complete fertilizer.

Mandarins are one of the most ancient species of oranges, which have been used in breeding for multiple centuries, along with the pomelo, to create most of the orange varieties we grow and consume today. Mandarins refer to an entire group of small, sweet citrus fruits that include ‘Clementine’ and ‘Satsuma’, which is another popular variety, but it is the ‘Clementine’ that are most recognizable by their commercially marketed name of Cuties®. The term “Tangerine” and “Mandarin” refer to the same type of fruits. Clementine fruits are distinguished by their flattened, globular shape, bright orange color and thin easy to peel rind. Their juicy sweet flavor and easy segmentation makes them the best snacking citrus.
All varieties of edible Citrus make lovely ornamental landscape trees for the low desert. They all have deep green, glossy leaves, unique, sturdy branching structure, with attractive, sweetly fragranced white blooms primarily from February through March. Contrary to common belief, they are relatively low maintenance once established and they are long-lived, moderate growers. All edible Citrus spp. are grafted onto size-determining rootstocks. While the fruit is not affected, Standard rootstocks allow trees to reach 25-30 ft. high & wide at maturity and Semi-dwarf rootstock trees grow 30-50% the size of a Standard tree. Provide citrus trees with well-drained soil, regular deep watering, especially during the growing season, and annual spring feedings with a balanced and complete fertilizer.

‘Improved Meyer’ Lemon is a hybrid cross between a lemon & sweet orange, which provides a slightly sweeter, less tangy flavor. This cross also provides to some additional cold hardiness to this variety as well, compared to other lemons. The fruits are more rounded, with fewer seeds but still very juicy. Like other lemons, the heaviest crops are in spring, but they can flower and set fruit throughout the year. The “Improvement”, mentioned in the name, refers to this new version being virus-free, which allows them to be offered and grow without worry in AZ.
All varieties of edible Citrus make lovely ornamental landscape trees for the low desert. They all have deep green, glossy leaves, unique, sturdy branching structure, with attractive, sweetly fragranced white blooms primarily from February through March. Contrary to common belief, they are relatively low maintenance once established and they are long-lived, moderate growers. All edible Citrus spp. are grafted onto size-determining rootstocks. While the fruit is not affected, Standard rootstocks allow trees to reach 25-30 ft. high & wide at maturity and Semi-dwarf rootstock trees grow 30-50% the size of a Standard tree. Provide citrus trees with well-drained soil, regular deep watering, especially during the growing season, and annual spring feedings with a balanced and complete fertilizer.

‘Lisbon’ lemon is the true lemon lovers lemon! Smallish, bright yellow fruits are juicy and tart. Trees are vigorous, a bit thorny but they are more cold hardy than other types of true lemons and they thrive in low desert heat making them a great choice for any edible garden in the valley, or southern CA low desert regions.
All varieties of edible Citrus make lovely ornamental landscape trees for the low desert. They all have deep green, glossy leaves, unique, sturdy branching structure, with attractive, sweetly fragranced white blooms primarily from February through March. Contrary to common belief, they are relatively low maintenance once established and they are long-lived, moderate growers. All edible Citrus spp. are grafted onto size-determining rootstocks. While the fruit is not affected, Standard rootstocks allow trees to reach 25-30 ft. high & wide at maturity and Semi-dwarf rootstock trees grow 30-50% the size of a Standard tree. Provide citrus trees with well-drained soil, regular deep watering, especially during the growing season, and annual spring feedings with a balanced and complete fertilizer.

‘Oroblanco’ is a hybrid between white grapefruit and a pomelo, which provides more sweetness with less bitter after taste of a traditional grapefruit. Individual fruits grow to about 3-5 in. across, with bright yellow, waxy skin. They are easy-peel fruits with multiple interior segments, soft white, spongy rind with a florally sweet aromatic scent, especially when the skin is crushed or zested.
All varieties of Citrus make lovely ornamental landscape trees for the low desert. They all have deep green, glossy leaves, unique, sturdy branching structure, with attractive, sweetly fragranced white blooms primarily from February through March. Contrary to common belief, they are relatively low maintenance once established and they are long-lived, moderate growers. All edible Citrus spp. are grafted onto size-determining rootstocks. While the fruit is not affected, Standard rootstocks allow trees to reach 25-30 ft. high & wide at maturity and Semi-dwarf rootstock trees grow 30-50% the size of a Standard tree. Provide citrus trees with well-drained soil, regular deep watering, especially during the growing season, and annual spring feedings with a balanced and complete fertilizer.

‘Rio Red’ Grapefruits are a sweet-tart, seedless variety highlighted with attractive red blushed skin and flesh. Grapefruits do well in and prefer heat for fruits to color up and become as sweet as possible. Seasons with cooler temperatures cause fruits to take longer to ripen, which we don’t typically encounter in the low deserts.
All varieties of edible Citrus make lovely ornamental landscape trees for the low desert. They all have deep green, glossy leaves, unique, sturdy branching structure, with attractive, sweetly fragranced white blooms primarily from February through March. Contrary to common belief, they are relatively low maintenance once established and they are long-lived, moderate growers. All edible Citrus spp. are grafted onto size-determining rootstocks. While the fruit is not affected, Standard rootstocks allow trees to reach 25-30 ft. high & wide at maturity and Semi-dwarf rootstock trees grow to 30-50% the size of a Standard tree. Provide citrus trees with well-drained soil, regular deep watering, especially during the growing season, and annual spring feedings with a balanced and complete fertilizer.

This selection of Blood Orange is a strong upright growing tree, virtually spineless, and very productive. ‘Sanguinelli’ flesh as well as the rind has a deep purple to intense red coloration, which contributes to the attractiveness of these fruits. They are as good to look at as they are to taste! Fruits are mostly seedless. Please note, since these trees can produce prolifically some early fruit thinning can be beneficial to help the remaining fruits to grow a bit larger.
All varieties of Citrus make lovely ornamental landscape trees for the low desert. They all have deep green, glossy leaves, unique, sturdy branching structure, with attractive, sweetly fragranced white blooms primarily from February through March. Contrary to common belief, they are relatively low maintenance once established and they are long-lived, moderate growers. All edible Citrus spp. are grafted onto size-determining rootstocks. While the fruit is not affected, Standard rootstocks allow trees to reach 25-30 ft. high & wide at maturity and Semi-dwarf rootstock trees grow 30-50% the size of a Standard tree. Provide citrus trees with well-drained soil, regular deep watering, especially during the growing season, and annual spring feedings with a balanced and complete fertilizer.

Sour oranges have been cultivated for centuries, and they are used as durable but highly ornamental trees. They bloom profusely with waxy white flowers heavy with fragrance, which are followed by large deep orange colored fruits that can hang on trees for up to a year.  Like other citrus, they have deep green, glossy leaves, and an upright, thorny branching structure. They bloom heaviest from February through March. Sour orange trees are low maintenance and long-lived. Although they can grow to 25-30 ft. high & wide, ornamental orange trees are often pruned or sheered to stay much smaller. Savvy modern landscape designers have used them effectively for living walls and privacy screens. Provide these citrus trees with well-drained soil, regular deep watering, especially during the growing season.

These limes are named for CA nurseryman J.T. Bearss, who reportedly discovered this lime seedling in his nursery in the late 1800’s. But their origination is less important than the large, dark green seedless fruits that these trees produce. These are the quintessential “grocery store” limes. Oval shaped with pointed ends, with bright yellow-green juicy, acidic and tart flavor. They are vigorous trees, with virtually no thorns, with cold hardiness like that of lemon trees, and they are reliably productive.
All varieties of edible Citrus make lovely ornamental landscape trees for the low desert. They all have deep green, glossy leaves, unique, sturdy branching structure, with attractive, sweetly fragranced white blooms primarily from February through March. Contrary to common belief, they are relatively low maintenance once established and they are long-lived, moderate growers. All edible Citrus spp. are grafted onto size-determining rootstocks. While the fruit is not affected, Standard rootstocks allow trees to reach 25-30 ft. high & wide at maturity and Semi-dwarf rootstock trees grow 30-50% the size of a Standard tree. Provide citrus trees with well-drained soil, regular deep watering, especially during the growing season, and annual spring feedings with a balanced and complete fertilizer.