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Lemon Tree wild and fruiting in Virginia!?!
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Posted by brandywine_pa z6 PA (My Page) on Sun, Nov 8, 09 at 2:28
| I was doing some work today that involved bushwhacking in a somewhat inaccessible wooded area, suburban central Virginia.
Zone 7 according to the map.
Smelled it before I saw it.
A 20+ foot lemon tree, loaded with fruit and with drops all around. Yes, I took some fruit. No, I forgot to get a photo of the tree. Yes, I marked the location. No, I will not tell you where it is. (Private property, so don't want to publish it for plant gawkers.)
The fruit is exceptionally tart and has a lot of seeds, but they are decent lemons considering.
I'd have been less surprised to encounter a family of penguins or a stray wallaby.
What gives? How is this even possible?
The tree is low in a ravine, so protected from wind.
Help me out here. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Lemon Tree wild and fruiting in Virginia!?!
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| Sounds like Poncirus (hardy orange). It's actually hardy into zone 6 and can grow into Pa., NJ., Conn., and a bit further on the coast. They are quite a thorny tree which is probably why we don't see them too much locally. There supposedly are recipes on line for what to do with their tardy fruit. You should be able to grow one if you really want one! |
RE: Lemon Tree wild and fruiting in Virginia!?!
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| Brandywine, does the fruit have a nipple on the end and somewhat oval like a lemon? I have held a theory for many years there is a poncirus orange and lemon. The two poncirus "lemon" trees I knew of are both gone. I have the poncirus orange which is round like an orange. If it is lemon shaped, would you be interesting in trading lemon for orange seeds? |
RE: Lemon Tree wild and fruiting in Virginia!?!
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| Google image search sez - poncirus it is. I was wondering about the thorns and green stems on the tree. I have never heard of this plant. tsmith, the fruit is round. But it tastes like a lemon, smells like a lemon -- incredibly aromatic. The stuff I'm reading about poncirus says the fruit is inedible raw. But we've been using it in our iced tea for a couple days, and it tastes like lemon to me. We are in zone 5. I wonder if I could grow this against our brick kitchen wall, which faces SE and provides a shield against cold coming down the slope from the NW. Thanks! |
Here is a link that might be useful: Raised by Wolves - in which I find a lemon in Virginia
RE: Lemon Tree wild and fruiting in Virginia!?!
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| The NC state university web site say they are hardy to zone 5. After the seedlings get a couple of years old, I would plant one or two outside and keep some inside to see what happens. The SE protected area sounds good. See the link below. |
Here is a link that might be useful: NC State Ag School
RE: Lemon Tree wild and fruiting in Virginia!?!
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| Most of the Poncirus I've seen have way more seeds than the one you found. They are so full of seeds you can't squeeze much juice out of them. The fruit has a sticky resin under the peel that can be a pain to get off of metal or your hands, it also departs an odd taste to the juice or any jelly or other food made with them. It also taints the numerous hybrids out there in the quest for colder hardier citrus (it is truly hardy to zone 5). But, that resin has a brief period where it breaks down right before the fruit starts to rot. Maybe your timing was just right. Plenty of people eat them, most often as marmalade. |
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