I saw this 25-30 foot orange tree growing in front of what used to be an old Gullah restaurant here on Hilton Head, SC. One of the local Gullahs who owned the restaurant said the tree grew from a planted seed. (As isolated as HH was 30-40 years ago, it's easy to believe this is not a grafted tree.)

Anyhow, the fruit was medium-sized, pale juiced, but sweet. Nearly seedless, and did not separate from the skin like a tangerine. (I intend to get one of the last fruits and photo it, but the Gullahs beat me to most of them so far.)

The tree is 25-30', looks like it has multiple trunks with lots of long thorns, even on older, woody limbs.








If this tree has survived here 30-40 winters, it must have some good cold-hardy qualities. Does any one think this tree might be worthy rootstock? Or just another Hamlin? Any ideas? Thanks, Jack.

Jack,

It is a good chance that is an old Hamlin seedling. It certainly looks like a seedling to me. There are a few other similar trees in Beaufort County (for those who don’t know, HHI is in BC), and elsewhere along coastal South Carolina - one is an old tree (thought to be a Hamlin) on Parris Island. I doubt that any here predate 1985, when the temperature dropped to 5 degrees f.. It may have been a degree or two higher in the warmer areas of HHI, but not enough difference to enable an orange to survive. I think a few of the old seedlings may have grown back from their roots, and technically survived the 85 freeze but not the above ground parts. I also believe a seedling has greater cold tolerance than a grafted tree.

The only citrus that I am pretty sure survived the 85 freeze, is the Thomasville at the Bamboo Farm and Coastal Gardens, and I am not too sure it didn't do so by regrowing from underground parts.

That said, most of us here are fruit explorers. Finding and propagating old survivors is fun and interesting, and who knows, we may find a hardy jewel one day. I have clones of the Parris Island citrus myself!

Ned