Yes, you may be right. Transport shock and acclimatization process had to take their toll...

Well, one of the two fruitlets wasn't growing and was turning yellow, so it was obvious it would come off. But the other one had grown and had a nice dark green color...

(posted with a 2 days delay...)

Too bad... The branch of my bergamot tree that was carrying 2 fruits broke off because of the weight of the fruits...
The good thing is I no longer had to wait to sample the fruits!

The fruits...


Cut in halves...


The juice...


I started by eating a sample of the zest. That wasn't a good experience though. It was kinda bitter. More than an hour after sampling it I still had a strong, bitter bergamot taste in my mouth. I have to say lemon zest is a lot better to chew on! It's like having drunk a very strong earl grey tea!
I was thinking about making some bergamotcello from the zest, but considering the taste of the zest I don't think that would have been a good idea.

Then I decided to juice the fruit. The 2 fruits were still rather small but very juicy. The juice tasted good, although probably too acid for many people. It was less acid than lemon juice though. I would describe the taste as something in between lemon and yellow grapefruit.

I now have one fruit left on the tree. I will wait before picking it until it's completely ripe!

Is there anything better than having a sip of earl gray tea flavored with some homegrown bergamot juice... Great job Marc, thanks for the pics!

Excellent photos MarcV! They look like pictures out of a textbook. Thanks for the report on your bergamot fruit.

Thanks! I usually take many pictures and choose the best ones for publishing!

I'm thinking about giving up some of my plants. Not because they're not doing well but because they're so susceptible to pests. I've been having a lot of problems with scales lately. Getting rid of the bugs requires thorough spraying with horticultural oil and frequent checking, but that is very hard to do on plants with a dense canopy like the chinotto or the ruby clementine have. The bearss lime too is very sensitive to pests, both scales and red mites. If there's a pest on my citrus, I most likely find it on the bearss lime first. So those are the plants I'm probably not keeping. But I may still change my mind of course! In fact, I would like to make a graft from each so I won't lose them completely...

The problems with pests made me decide to keep my plants inside all the time. But I'm not entirely sure if that is OK to do. Inside they get more warmth but less light. Outside they get more light but (much) less warmth. I'm not sure what is best... Opinions are welcome!

I thought pests gather more often indoors than outdoors.

That's because spider mites, along with some other pests, generally prefer warm and dry air conditions which prevail in most of our homes... That's why I keep them outdoors from April until the first frosts in November.

Took the good advice and took everything outside!

Summer, finally!

Time for yet another photo update...

The Amoa8 from Radoslav


Seville orange...


The bearss lime I may discard at the end of the season. But then again, I may not as it is a very vigorously growing tree that easily sets fruit...


Bergamot...


Finger lime...


Chinotto...


Etrog...


Eustis limequat...


Femminello lemon...


Flying dragon, growing in ground...


Kara mandarin...


Mandared...


Meyer #1...


Meyer #2...


Moro, regrowing after a serious pruning...


Ruby Clementine...


Salustiana orange...


Sanguinelli orange...


Seedlings (seville, poncirus, pummelo, ponderosa)...


More seedlings (sanguinelli, moro, tarocco)...


Seedling of homegrown femminello fruit...


Star ruby grapefruit...


Valencia late...


Yuzu...

Wow marc, your collection continues to look better and better. You making some nice looking trees and fruit. Keep up the good work!

you got everything

What is Tarocco rosso? They are all red...