I almost think those leaves look like the leaves on my lemon tree. Do you have a picture of the thorns? My bigger lemon tree has about 2 inch long thorns that pack a wicked "bite".

Yes, I ran into this tree and it stabbed the wahooza out of me. I'd say about 1.5 inch long. We are all mostly guessing lemon but I saw a grapefruit leaf and it looked exactly like my leaf so I still don't know

Best guess from the shape and color of the tree and the shape of the leaf is some kind of grapefruit. You can crush the leaf and smell it and get a pretty good idea. Probably not a lemon as few lemons have winged petioles; and I believe that no TRUE lemon has them. If it is a grapefruit, judging from the size, and without knowing the rootstock, I would suppose that you will have to wait a cupla more years to get fruit. Of course, all citrus will fruit earlier if given excellent care.

It is a Pomelo fruit tree. The fruit is big close to a soccer ball, taste very good. I currently have one.

most likely an edible citrus, i'd start by clearing out the weeds/grass around the tree, about a 2 or 3 feet radius, put down a thin layer of mulch, and start fertilizing.

i didn't see it mentioned, but did you notice a graft line on that tree?

also, did you notice any blooms yet?

I have tilled and mulched about 2-3 feet around this tree now. I uput some weed preventer and citrus fertilizer on it and watered.

I have never seen any type of bloom on this tree. We just bought this house in July, and the owner had let his entire front and back yard become overgrown.

His Fig produced maybe 3 good figs, and a couple of grapes from 2 different grape vines, and no oranges on his orange tree. I'm trying to do what I can for each of these plants to see if I can't get more producing this year. I live in Houston TX, and we get drought and water limits, so hopefully we'll have a good rain season.

It could be a pommelo, a grapefruit, or it could even be shaddock rootstock. It is hard to tell where all the branches are coming from, so I would check to see if you can find the graft line on the trunk, and try to determine whether or not this is growth coming from below the graft line, which would indicate that the rootstock has taken over, or if you've got branches coming from above the graft line. The mention of a lot of thorns may mean it is rootstock, or possibly even a seedling tree based on those wicked thorns. Seedling trees will usually be very thorny, and may not bloom and produce for up to 7 years.

Patty S.

I planted two kinds of tangerine seeds from fruits from the grocery store and one of the varieties has leaves exactly like the ones in the picture - dark green and extra shiny looking like rose leaves without serrations and with the extra big petiole. The two kinds were clementines from Spain (in a little wooden crate covered with mesh) and a bag of tangerines probably from FLA labeled "pixy" or "pixies" although I doubt that means that exact cultivar with that name. The seeds got mixed up (I have a 3 year old) so I don't know which seedlings are which but the other seedlings have leaves that are the typical satsuma type leaves with the elongated shape and are lighter in color and less shiny with a petiole that is barely discernible and they are less decorative. My best guess is that the ones with the big petioles are the clementines.

Here is a picture of where the root is. It seems there is one dead root, 3 large stocks that make up the tree, and I even see smaller green stocks growing from the middle.

If this is rootstock, will it still produce eventually?

Looks like the whole thing is sour orange rootstock; the thorns are the clue; if it were mine it would be a candidate for the trash heap.

I agree with John. Looks like the "dead" part was the actual tree and you have all rootstock :(. But now you can plant something else! :)

Kristopher

Thank you all!!

With all this talk about Rootstock, I wanted to post a picture of what the old owner of the house said was an orange tree.

the branches look like a dead one with two large branches coming off.

Is this also a lost tree??

Not lost if you need firewood; definitely dead if it is citrus; but it really doesn't look like a citrus to me. Maybe you should wait till Spring to see if maybe it is just a dormant something.

Not sour orange rootstock I don't think, the winged petiole is not the right shape for sour orange. Probably shaddock. Will it produce? Yes, but inedible fruits. And, the dead tree is not an orange tree. Looks like possibly a stone fruit of some sort. Verify it is dead. Carefully scrape away a very small part of the bark with your nail to see if the cambium layer is green. If so, it's just a dormant stone fruit of some sort.

Patty S.

Personally, I have never been able to distinguish between Cuban Shaddock and Sour Orange based on leaf shape; the size of the winged petiole seems to depend mostly on the care and the age of the tree, being larger in younger trees and those given better care. Anyway, it is a moot point; the OP is going to take it out and replace it with a Pakistani mulberrry.

Those bigger, rounder winged petioles are more indicative of our shaddock we use here in California. The flatter, smaller, sort of pyramidal winged petiole is sour orange. It's pretty distinctive, especially on older trees. But you're right, based on the multiple trunks and wicked thorns, this most likely is rootstock, and best bet is to shovel prune, and replant with a variety of the owner's choice.

Patty S.

I agree with hoosierquilt about testing to see if that plant is green to see if it is still alive. If not id rip it out and replace. As for the other one. Even if it is rootstock if it is a nice looking tree how about keeping it. You could play tricks on house guests when it does fruit and give them one to try. Watch as their eager face drops as they bite into it....hehe or if you are not as evil as me it may just be a nice tree to look at. If none of those ideas appeal just replace it but i cant bear to get rid of a tree unless it is a real pest!

Since the poster is in Houston my guess would be sour orange. It's not the best for this area but allot of the big box stores sell it since it's cheap to produce trees. Used allot down in the south Texas valley area. Works well down there.

That said-rootstock looks healthy and growing well. Top-work the tree with a scion of your liking.
New tree, done deal!

We are continuing to beat a dead horse... the OP has already decided to take it out and replace it with a Pakistani mulberry.

This post was edited by Johnmerr on Mon, Mar 11, 13 at 20:27