http://www.jacksonsun.com/article/20091204/LIFESTYLE/912040302/Are-thorns-always-bad?-Not-when-they-hold-Christmas-candy

Are thorns always bad? Not when they hold Christmas candy

December 4, 2009

Am I the only one who remembers using a branch of hardy orange for Christmas decoration? We would stick it firmly onto a heavy pin frog and let its curving green stems and wicked thorns make a very Oriental statement, which we promptly ruined by sticking colorful gumdrops onto the points of the thorns.

Some people aren't familiar with those old pin frogs, now that floral foam is used so extensively, but I still use them occasionally, especially when I need to anchor a woody stem.

They look like a small plate of upside down nails. The sharp points allow you to impale the stems and hold them upright so that they do not lean against the side of the vase. A crumpled piece of chicken wire will work, too.

Trouble is, I no longer know where to find specimens of hardy orange growing wild in the fields, free for cutting. We have a couple here on our grounds, but they are too small for me to hack.

Some readers probably have them on their property and wonder why in the world I would want them. True, they are viciously, dangerously thorny, but that's not always a bad thing.

This plant often is used to discourage trespassers or for pedestrian control.

Its botanical name is Poncirus trifoliata, and it is not quite a true citrus because it's not evergreen, but it's close - so close that it's used in breeding programs and as rootstock, in efforts to create fruiting citrus that can be grown farther north.

Poncirus will produce numerous small oranges on its own, but they are extremely sour. I read that famous Tennessee nurseryman Don Shadow has a recipe for making poncirus-ade. He says to use one barrel of water and one barrel of sugar and one sour hardy orange fruit.

I have read many times that it can be used as a substitute for lemon, and I wonder if this isn't why it is found scattered around old country home sites.

In the days when you couldn't run to the store for lemons when you wanted them, wouldn't you just grow this in your kitchen garden along with your herbs and vegetables? It was introduced in 1823, so this makes sense to me.

Shipping citrus north didn't become common until the late 1800s, and then it was expensive.

Hardy orange is easy to grow, just needing several hours of sunlight and average soil with good drainage. It's hardy to zone 5.

Why would you want it?

Well, if you like your shrubs in tidy packages of mounds, spheres or squares, you wouldn't. If you like only those shrubs that erupt in masses of colorful flowers, you won't like it.

I find it infinitely interesting. The narrow branches twist unpredictably, while the curved green thorns add a certain element of repetition. It blooms white in spring before leafing out. I have found some plants to flower with delicious fragrance, as you would expect of an orange tree, while others mysteriously lack any scent.

The trifoliate leaves are shiny green, turning yellow before they drop off in fall. The fruit is about two inches in diameter - in yellow-orange orbs dramatically scattered through the branches in random patterns.

So what if they are sour and full of seeds? They smell delicious and dry nicely. We would put them in our chest of drawers to impart a fragrance to our clothing.

Need one more reason? Birds like to nest in them, I'm sure for the thorny protection from predators.

Carol Reese is an ornamental horticulture specialist with The University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service. For more information, call your county extension agent.