I may have made my post sound as if I actually carried it home from Florida, but I didn't folks! I couldn't leave here for a vacation if you paid me. Who is going to care for all my plants even for a day while I am gone, unless someone is willing to get paid. God knows I could use one.

I carried it home from the Nursery here and they got their first shipment from Florida since the Ban was started. It has ended for shipments up here, and there is going to be a lot more by the spring. By the way, they are much less priced than what I am use to seeing. It is about time! :-)

Mike:-)

Ok now Im really confused. I thought no citrus came out of Florida.

Mike

For crying out load, instead of being happy for me, no one believes that the Florda ban is over and I actually got my first tree from them. Check my credentials.lol
Do I have to provide the nursery phone # I got it from?

781-729-5900. Mahoneys'

Thanks everyone for all your excitement for my first Florida tree.

Kidding.

Mike;-)

Happy to see it is ISD; it goes a long way to starting a healthy tree. I also have never heard of a Sambo lemon; but in Florida they have a habit of putting their own local names on citrus, e.g. the cara cara in Florida is mostly known and sold as Red Navel.

Hey Mike!!!

FIVE DOLLARS? Seriously? Are you sure they didn't ring it up wrong at the register? What a bargain for Five bucks!!!

I bet the fragrance was something that was very special...Im so happy that you found this cute citrus...especially at this time of the season. You really hit the "jack Pot" especially putting it in your special pots that you just found for a great deal as well!!!

Looks great all potted up and ready to grow to its full potential..with your wonderful ways of growing anything, i'm positive it will flourish!

You have some great nurseries near you..lucky man!!!

Any citrus that size would start around $ 30.00 in my area.. I did pick up a Lime tree and another Ponderosa Lemon last week. They were in the price range of 25 bucks for the lime and 30 for the Ponderosa.

So... Five bucks is the best deal that i have heard of for the season!!! If you are looking for a plant sitter... I dont charge much!!! LOL!!

Congratulations on a great find!!!

Glad to hear that the ban has lifted in your area!! Whoo hooo!! That is great news!!!

Hello to Sissy and hope all is well up in MA!!!

Take care,

Laura

For Mike in OK, I did a little more research about the Florida citrus quarantine and found that those nurseries that have passed all of the Federal rules and guidelines in the state of Florida are now allowed to ship citrus trees out of the state. So, things are starting to improve in Florida, mainly due to the large amount of screenhouse propegation. So, you'll now start seeing citrus coming out of Florida. I imagine that we still will not be seeing Florida citrus trees shipped into other quarantine states, though. So, for me, I'm still not going to be able to get a Bloomsweet grapefruit quite yet :-( But for Meyer Mike, awesome score! A $5 tree, that's super, what an incredible deal! I was able to score a $5.00 Rio Red grapefruit at Lowe's because the tag fell off the tree. I asked one of the employees in the nursery what variety the tree was, and they couldn't tell me. I asked him, "Well, how are you going to sell this citrus tree if you can't tell a customer what it is??" The guy said, "Well, I'll see it to you for $5.00." Sold. I knew this tree was from Durling's nursery, so I just called them up and asked them what of their grapefruits (I could tell by the leaf of course) were color coded with a red mark. They told me it was a Rio Red. So, I have two, now, one in front and one if the back. Isn't it fun to get such a great deal!?!

Patty S.

Hi Patty,
This is great news! If I make it to FL this summer, then I will be stocking up..LOL! Maybe I will buy 3-4 more if I can get them at good prices. I don't mind buying smaller trees but I know I will spend the xtra to get larger Minneola and Navels.

Andrew

Mike,
i was just rereading the post that started it all in regards to many of us buying the Oro Blanco. You had posted pics of your Oro's in various stages of growth. Some were budded up, some were blooming, and then some with fruits. I am still bummed that I didn't get to taste mine when they were fully matured and ripe.

Anyhow, Mike, do you remember the guy there that posted pics of his citrus that he grafted? The guys name was fotograf. HE mentiones a very sweet lemon...lemon Sunboukan. Is it possible that these 2 varieties are one in the same?

I will add a link to your original post. Man, now I am kicking myself for not buying this citrus. I may just call out to Potrazt in Erie and see if they still have it. I think they only had 1 but they had it both times when I went out. Once when I got my Navel and my Meyer and then 2 weeks ago when I got my 'Star Ruby'.

Hey Patty,
What's your opinion on this? Am I just obviously stupid and still lacking enough experience with the diffrent citrus?

I also wanted to ask you about the Meligold. I actually read your opinion on the fruits on the same post Mike had about the Oro Blanco.

Anyhow, you mention that the Meligold was slightly sweeter than the Oro. Like I said before, I never got the chance to try my Oro's since the fruit dropped before ripening. I was really upset because the fruits were almost there. In fact, I think they would have not necesarily grew larger but they just needed time to sweeten up.

I also think you had said that you actually prefer the meligold to the Oro. IS that true, and is it only because the fruits are sweeter? To me the major plus would be that the Meligold has a much thinner peel. I did try each of the 3 Oro's and the first thing that came to mind was the peel. The peel was super thick! If Meligold's is thinner, and the fruit is sweeter, I could see why it would be more appealing to you, and many others.

Mike, so sorry for hijacking your post momentarily but I had to ask Patty this. Not that I plan on buying one. IMO I have 2 excellent tasting varieties...the Oro Blanco and the Star Ruby.

My Star Ruby should have some open flowers here within the week!

Andrew

Andrew, YOU will probably not be able to cross state lines with the citrus, so check on that before you try :-) Only certified nurseries can ship out of state, and I'm thinking only to non-quarantined states (like Mass for example). It would be sad to have your tree confiscated at a state line check.

Yes, the "Sambo" lemon is most likely a Sanbokan Sweet Lemon:
http://users.kymp.net/citruspages/lemons.html#sanbokan

The Melogold and Oro Blanco are literally "brothers", genetically. In general, the Melogold tends to be a little sweeter and has thinner skin (thus less likely to be grown commercially, as it sustains more damage due to the thinner skin.) But, I have found a wide variability between Oro Blanco and Melogold trees on an individual tree basis. For me, the above holds true for my two trees, but my Oro Blanco is not that thick skinned. I'm lucky, I've got a nice specimen. I have bought Oros at the Farmers Market that have had very thick skins, as well as some Melos with thicker skin, more like an Oro. So, it's a bit of a crap shoot due to the individual variations expressed by each individual tree. I really like sweet grapefruit/pummelo hybrids and have the room, so I have one of each.

Patty S.

Talk about not having THICK skin, right Patty?lol

Thanks Andrew and I hope to come across other varieties that I have not yet seen. I'll tell you now, that if you are into fragrance, this is one you will not want to miss out on...!:-)
That's a great question that I'll bet Patty could answer.
I wonder myself.
Andrew, you of all people can talk about anything on my threads, it never bothers me when anyone does, as long as my questions get answered in which they always do. It's fun coming here, right and I must say I missed you around these parts. Now, where's Josh and a few others:-)

Remember Buylady and Jojo? I will have to e-mail them and make sure they are ok.
It is also nice to see Dr. Malcolm.

Hey John, good to see you and thanks.

Hello Laura and Patty! Gee it's nice to have a couple of good women on my side! I could be so lucky, right? I really do appreciate what the both of you have to say and for your guenuine interest in my success and plants:-)

Patty: Thanks a bunch for doing that research for me,and making sure. I don't want to do anything illegal in ignorance and I had certainly hoped that reputable nursery would feel the same. Thank goodness they do. I am really looking forward to many more different varieties and at reasonable prices.
Look at you getting yours for 5 bucks. Now, that will be the one to give you the least amount of problems I'll bet.lol I can't wait to see a tour of your yard Patty.
Do you realize that the Ruby Red grapefruit is also a fave? I have one about 7 inches tall,lol, but it flowers liek crazy though.
Patty, is there room for containerized one to put along side your pool? Now that would be heavenly!
Looking at Laura's pool gave me that idea.

Laura! What's up? I'll bet your weather is much warmer than mine. Scary, right, but nice. My brother just came back from that area and he said everything has bloomed almost a month early? What will happen if an Artic Cold Blast moves in?

Yup, 5 BUCKS kiddo!lo. Sometimes the cheapest, a gift, or free thing can one of our favorites, right?
You should smell the whole greenhouse with every whiff of air I take in! Every time I open my doors, whew!! It reminds me of getting off the plane in the Tropics after a long winter and just after a rain shower. The humidity, warmth, and fragrance is so heavenly.
I actually took just one plant, the Brunsfelsia inside with just one flower, and the whole house smelled so good!

Sissy says,' right back at ya' and sends a hug!
How has little 'Ponderosa' been faring these days?
Pic please?
I'll bet just nice now that she can sit by the pool.lol

Between you and Patty with the pool thing, I don't know.....

Well, I've got a little Chironja in a pot by the pool that is finally coming along. And, I'm going to put two tree roses in the ground, and instead, plant two fig trees, so my little patio by the pool is pretty full, now. BUT, I might find a spot for a Buddha's Hand or something equally interesting by the pool, never know ;-)

Patty S.

HEy Mike,
You know I can't pass up a citrus with good fragrance....remember the 'Oro Blanco' craze YOU STARTED?! That's how I ended up with mine! I wish it would hurry up and bloom now even though now I have 3 citrus that are budded up, the 'Kishu', 'Page' and the 'Star Ruby'.

Andrew

Wiat..What do you mean? You got the Kishu already!!!!?

Did I miss that? WONDERFUL PAL! Yes, I too love the Oro..

But I am telling you, this new one I have, wowowowowowowow

Mike:-))))