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kybasche

Yuzu...

kybasche
18 years ago

This yuzu tree has got me interested... an air of mystery and rarity or something along those lines. I know a couple of you have one of these trees and I was wondering what you thought of it. Difficutly of growing... taste of fruit (I've read lots about using it for cooking, and bathing, and other such things... are they too sour to eat out of hand?).

Anyways, any sort of information would be lovely, I anxiously await your replies!

~Derek

Comments (10)

  • Laaz
    18 years ago

    I have two grafted to flying dragon I got from Stan last fall. They are very easy to grow. My plats are still very small but one has small fruit on it. I can't give you much info until the fruit ripen, but the plants have had three groth flushes already this year.

  • GrahamO
    18 years ago

    You will find that the fruit is dry and full of seeds. The value is in the peeel.I have one planted in the garden that is two years old from seed and starting to grow fast now. I am amazed at their cold weather adaptation. These trees know when to start growing and when to stop for the winter. My plant was perfect protected with a 100 watt bulb through the cold snap. My dad did not heat his yuzu and it defoliated in the 18f weather, however, there was no wood loss and it soon had an extreme flush once the warm weather ruturned.

  • egardener
    18 years ago

    Mine are not dry... Both the zest and the juice are wonderful. I use it where I would use lemon, lime or calamondin. I have so far tried deserts, maranades and salad dressings... all great.

  • Millet
    18 years ago

    My Yuzu is medium juicy, and taste much like lemon, also is seedy. Yuzu's are easy trees to grow and grow rather fast. The juice of the fruit is currently very trendy in many upscale restaurants. Millet

  • carol_nv
    18 years ago

    Hi..You people in zones 9&10 just make me sick..I'm in zone8 in Las Vegas, and I've killed more citrus than I care to confess to. I do have a Pummelo tree thats been living for about 6 years, but no fruit. Last year I planted a beares(?) lime and a Pink Lemonaid tree. The only thing that survied was the root stock.But I love it..It has thorns. Now I made a big find at the nursery. A 'yuzu'..It's mine..Here's my question; Should I plant It in a place that It gets winter sun, or summer time afternoon shade? Thanks,Carol

  • Millet
    18 years ago

    I would plant it in full sun year around if possible. - Millet

  • joereal
    18 years ago

    Yuzu is quite cold hardy so it should even survive the zone 7 and able to regrow each spring. Las Vegas should be warmer, so plant the yuzu in the ground.

    Here's from seller hyping yuzu:
    "Citrus junos... Yuzu is a cold hardy citrus from the highlands of Japan. Yuzu has been reported to survive temperatures as low a 5 F! Fruit has a complex flavor of lemon/lime/grapefruit and is useful as an ingredient in seafood, sherbets...."

    I have grafted Yuzu to Meyer, and to Calamondin, and it grows and seem to follow the habit of the host tree so that it doesn't overgrow nor get left behind by the other branches or grafts.

    I am planning to graft the Yuzu and Sudachi hybrid unto my 5-in-1 lemon tree. The taste are more closely related to the lemons. For sure I will graft these on the topmost branches as they are the most cold hardy among my lemon type citruses.

    I will experiment on using Yuzu as a rootstock, the fact that it is seedy. I wonder if anyone here has done so. So what's the drawback or the size category of the grafted tree over a Yuzu stock?

  • genboutin_gmail_com
    17 years ago

    Hello everyone,

    "Yuzu has been reported to survive temperatures as low a 5 F!"

    Are you kidding me? Being in what 5a or something, this is incredible news for me! I almost want to plant one at my parents house who have an outdoor corner that is so protected and fueled by heat from the clothes dryer vent that it creates a micro-ecosystem that makes things grow at times where they really shouldn't, even at -30úC things may not thrive, but they do survive!

    I have just recently acquired Yuzu seeds, and plan to do them proud. I was a little dissapointed to read that they were yet again a sour fruit. I have a Cal, a Meyer, a Grapefruit seedling from store bought seed and now yuzu seeds. I LOVE growing them all, but was wondering if someone could suggest someting I could maybe try that is actually a sweet fruit, that is also cold hardy. Everything I own is sour....I want to mix it up a bit.

    Any suggestions are very welcome, thank you!

    Gen

  • tcjotm
    17 years ago

    Gen,
    Not a citrus, but I suggest pineapple guava. It's suppose to be hardy to 10F (or 15F according to some). It has a pineapply, but not quite as sweet, kind of taste (hard to describe it, sometimes has an aftertaste). It's skin is also edible, with a minty taste (also hard to describe). Anyway, they're now ripe here in SoCal.

  • citrusboy
    17 years ago

    Hi Derek,

    I have 3 Yuzu trees. 2 in the ground and 1 in a container. This has been my first crop and I have used about 6 fruits. More on that in a bit.

    Very easy to grow & VERY Thorny! I would say the only think that I have seen thornier is a Flying Dragon. Plant in Full Sun. My two year old (Grafted) plants gave me about 20 Yuzu this year.

    Now, The fruit. Not Dry as all! 50% of the fruit is seed. Has a subtle lemon-like flavor. Quite good when replacing the lemon in a lemondrop martini.(Big hit at a dinner party a week ago) Yuzubars instead of lemon bars. VERY tasty. Be careful about the zesting the rind. SUPER STRONG Flavor and Aroma. It will overpower almost any flavor. A Big no on eating out of your hand. WAY too sour and way too many seeds.

    Hope this helps...

    Citrusboy aka Marc