OK, that makes sense. A cucumber-shaped citrus would be interesting, but gosh, it takes so long to breed fruit trees! Multiple years per cross, what dedication. Growing one generation from seed is about my limit, and I'm hoping for something to eat at the end.

Hello Mike,

I've been following your hybridizing project from the beginning in 2002. The most recent pictures on your web site date from about a year ago. I noticed that in the mean time you posted pictures of the fruit in this thread. Unfortunately I didn't know about this forum at that time (only discovered it a few weeks ago ), and the links to the pictures don't seem to work anymore...

I'm really curious... how are the hybrids doing right now? Any new pictures?

I've corrected the links so the pictures earlier in this thread should now appear. But, Marc, you've probably already seen them on my webpage.
One fruit now seems to be ripe. It is yellow and about the size and shape of a small chicken's egg. The other is is still green about the size and shape of a very large chicken's egg, but possibly still growing.
At the moment, I'm still having difficulties looking after plants and website due to a very nasty fracture of my right arm. But, I'll try and get some pictures posted in the next few days.
Mike aka Citrange

Thanks for updating the links Mike!
You're right, I already did see those on your web site. I was expecting the missing pictures at the forum to be of a more recent date...

I hope your arm gets better soon!

- Marc

Here are some photos taken today.
Plant7 with ripe yellow fruit about 5cms X 3cms

Picked fruit7 and leaf

Fruit7 cut open

Frui7 seed and flesh

Plant10-unripe larger fruit


I tasted the fruit. As expected it was very sour, with a lingering bitter aftertaste. With a spoon of sugar it had a slightly lemony tang.
The fruit had one seed, and the flesh had a slightly crunchy texture inherited fom its Microcitrus parentage.

Mike aka Citrange
www.homecitrusgrowers.co.uk

Very cool, basically a Micro-Pummelo. Now, recross it with a blood orange!

Very nice indeed! Looks more like an (easter) egg to me!
I would suggest to cross it with a buddha's hand instead!

Very interesting , and nice too Mike

Mike can explain your pollenating process? How you did it? I want to try pollenating my Algerian Clementine with either Moro or Sanguinelli pollen. But I have no idea how to do it.

The process is fairly simple - it's the time taken to get results that is the problem!
First you need to check whether your variety produces zygotic seeds that are the result of sexual combination. Otherwise you are likely to get only a clone of the mother.
You need to have a flower that is shedding pollen on the 'father' variety. A tap on the flower, or touching the pollen bearing anthers should show this. It is usually a day or two after the flower first opens - the pollen colour changes from bright yellow to a more dusty-looking cream colour.
Then you need a flower on the mother plant with a receptive stigma - the central column in the flower with a small lump at the end. This is slightly sticky. Simply transfer some pollen on to this. I usually pick off the 'male' flower and carry it to the 'female' one, and rub the pollen on to the stigma.
If you are being really scientific, books will recommend that you emasculate the 'mother' flower by removing its pollen bearing stamens and anthers. This prevents self-pollination. You should also put a paper bag over the pollinated flower. This prevents subsequent insect or wind pollination. But I don't bother with all this.
Then wait for the fruit to develop. Plant the seeds. Wait about 10 years, and you may have a new hybrid. Chances are it won't be an improvement on any other variety.
My hybridization was easier than yours is likely to be. I chose Pummelo as a parent because it always produces zygotic seedlings. And with two such different parents it is soon obvious that seedlings are true hybrids.
Mike.

The first mature fruit from my hybrid plant #10 fell off a couple of days ago.





Further details see http://www.homecitrusgrowers.co.uk/hybridfruits2010.html

Mike/Citrange

That's awesome Mike, I've been wondering how your hybrids were doing. I hope I have the same success with my attempted pomeloquat!

Mike, I envy your work here. I hope to one day create my own hybrid. I don't care if it's the most horrible and useless plant ever created. I will keep it proudly.

What are your plans now? Has anything in the process of this particular creation yielded something you deem special? Any further experiments with this plant, like cold tolerance or rootstock uses?

Will you keep the plant? And further create further hybrids from it?

Or do you plan to create something entirely new?

I love this stuff, so forgive my questions.

I'll certainly keep this plant, and see how the other plants from the same cross perform - but I can't really see these being of great interest to anyone other than a citrus specialist/collector/freak!
Trouble about more citrus crosses is that they take so long. I'm just about at retirement age now, so the next results could take me into my seventies. I don't know whether by then I'll still be up to looking after a greenhouse full of potted citrus. Perhaps some of the younger members of this forum should take up the challenge of producing a fantastic new fruit!
Mike/Citrange