You like the sourness of the calamondin? Wow! People usually grow it for an ornamental because it keeps fruit on it most of the year. I live in an area where there are lots of Asians, and there's a great nursery here owned by a Vietnamese couple, and they always have lots of wonderful citrus, especially the Calamondins. There's even a variegated one. They all taste about the same.

I have a limequat and am going to remove it because it's very sour, and doesn't fruit very well, and they don't keep well, either. It's next to two of the sour kumquats, and they're both loaded with fruit, while the limequat had 3 on it this year.

Grafted citrus can be hardier than own roots, I think, and most citrus are grafted, but I don't know about the calamondins. If they're on their own roots, they will get a lot larger than grafted, though. If you get one that isn't grafted, give it plenty of room. And think about some of the sweeter citrus, such as clementines or mandolins, they are also very attractive and will give you lots of delicious, small fruit in a few years. Or a kumquat. My two trees are about 3-4' tall and loaded with fruit, and they put on fruit twice a year. I've attached a pic of one of mine.

Hi eahamel and thanks so much for your input! I actually have 21 citrus trees now (including grapefruits, satsumas, tangelos, clementines, oranges, tamgerines, a pummelo and a kumquat--plus my new Calamondins and Meyer Lemon), some of which I've had for several years now. But this is the first time I ever bought anything that's not grafted and it seems that I've heard that the soil requirements are different--that a tree on its own roots prefers less acidic soil. And the reason I wondered if they're hardier in some way was an article I read somewhere in which people were discussing how their non grafted trees faired better in frosty temps. But I think your reminder about size is something to definitely keep in mind since I don't have a bit of experience with that. With that in mind, seedlings probably do better in containers than in the ground too, but I'll be planting mine. I also bought a seedling Meyer Lemon and did get the grafted Calamondin today and it should produce quite well since it's a much older tree.
So is your limequat more sour than the Calamondin? Perhaps you can replace it with a Meiwa Kumquat, which are quite sweet when you let them stay on the tree long enough. In fact, I've eaten enough of my Calamondins now to realize how much of a difference that makes with them too! The riper they get, the less sour they get, and I do like the really ripe ones. But as you said, in addition to actually liking them, I do like that they bear fruit and bloom year round, which they might not do as much in my area as they do in yours. They might do more like your kumquats and bear twice a year, but I love the fragrance of citrus blossoms so any additional opportunities to smell them is good as far as I'm concerned, which is why I'm choosing my new ones this year!
I'm sure your tree is beautiful, but since I can't see, I can't see the picture. I know I'd really love seeing all the pics everyone shares--it really would be quite inspiring!
Again, thanks for sharing your experience and for reminding me that my seedlings are likely to get bigger than all of my grafted trees.
BB in FL

No, my limequat isn't more sour than the calamondin. I'm thinking about doing exactly what you suggest - replace it with a Meiwa kumquat. I'm waiting for someone who says he wants it to come and dig it out.

Oh, you're blind? You're really a go-getter, with so many citrus! I love to smell them blooming, too. My lemon has just started blooming and it's still got a lot of lemons on it.

And yes, your seedlings will get larger than grafted citrus - the grafting dwarfs the tree to some extent, and some citrus are grafted onto a dwarf rootstock, now, and they stay quite a bit smaller.

Grafted rootstock are usually selected for their hardiness, and if the rootstock is a dragon it will dwarf whatever scion you graft onto that rootstock. These combinations are usually referred to as patio varieties for those who wish to plant them on containers or just wish a small growing plant. As to the seedling vs a grafted, nature will have a seedling be vigorous and with large thorns to aid it in surviving its adolescent stage. In a grafted tree the scion selected has passed the adolescent stage (thus can fruit) and will grow less vigorous and with smaller thorns. Grafting allows the certainty that the tree is clone of the original. I have a calamondin (patio dwarf) which is only 3 feet and has been like that for many years. Despite its size it produces a lot of fruit. In contrast I bought a grafted calamondin (not a patio rootstock) a year ago and in one year its grown 6 feet.

Why is this 2 year old message thread popping up? How odd.

Patty S.