There's a satsuma grafted onto poncirus on ebay, do you guys think it's worth buying for a beginner like me?
I intend to grow something like that indoors - in a bright, warm, south facing window and I'm a bit concerned that the roots would cook. I think I also read somewhere that satsumas are slow to begin fruiting, but the listing says it will fruit in two years.

What do you guys think?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121164132993

If I was going to purchase a satsuma on a dwarfing root stock, I would not by it from e-bay. I would certainly buy it from Four Seasons Growers of California. Four Season Growers True Dwarf trees are some of the best trees that I have purchased, and I have purchased over 100 citrus trees of many different varieties. . - Millet

Well, not sure Four Winds ships to the UK, Millet. But, I do agree with Millet in that I would only buy citrus from a well known grower in your area.

The description (despite the slight inaccuracy, in that satsumas generally do come true to type from seed), the plant pictured (healthy, but small, with grafting tape still visible, other plants in the picture - definitely mandarin-type leaves, and a small-diameter rootstock), and the price (perhaps a little high for a plant of the size, at least for the U.S.) all seem believable. I've never ordered citrus on eBay, but I have ordered other plants, and never been seriously misled. While I would stay away from any eBay offering that is too good to be true, this listing does not immediately seem to fall into that category. E-mailing the seller is always a good idea - e.g., in this case, you might ask for a picture of the actual plant you would be receiving, a close-up of the graft, info on where the rootstock seed was obtained, whether it is the P. trifoliata species or some named cultivar like Flying Dragon, what variety of satsuma it is, and some information on growing citrus in the UK. Even if you don't end up buying the plant, you might make a good contact with a fellow plant enthusiast.

Hoosierquilt, I did not look at where marches was from. I assumed he/she lived in the USA. I have no idea if Four Seasons ships outside of the US, except maybe for Canada. Personally, I have never bought anything from e-bay ever.. - Millet

Four Winds will certainly not ship to the UK because they obey the legal rules, and no citrus is allowed into EU countries.
However, I ordered four varieties from them in 1982 when these regulations did not exist in the UK. Although the shipping and phytosanitary inspections cost more than the plants, they arrived in good condition. All four plants are still doing well. Sadly, the rather nice plastic label tags are disintegrating - I keep meaning to ask for some replacements although I'm not sure they still supply the same type.
(Trovita Orange, Bearss Lime, Minneola Tangelo, Meiwa Kumquat.)

Marches - I see the grafted satsuma has been sold. Did you buy it?

No imports of citrus trees allowed into countries like England is bureaucratic nonsense, lacking good sense - just plain silly. - Millet

OH look an imported citrus tree - OH No.

I see your point, but of course the reason for such laws is because of the lack of border controls between the Schengen states, and pretty lax controls, other than passport checks, between the U.K. and other E.U. nations. Similarly, here in the U.S., it's illegal to import citrus plants from abroad into Maine, Alaska, or North Dakota. If you were to import a tree into Stockholm, you could have it in Seville in less time than it would take to drive a tree from Bangor to Riverside. Of course, this logic only justifies uniform treatment throughout Europe - if it is true that England and Sweden have more stringent regulations on the importation of seeds than Spain or Italy, then I agree that that is pretty much bonkers.

Regardless, it is just plain stupid. I would never hesitate to send citrus seed to English members. Legal or not. - Millet

Millet - Well said sir! Hear, hear!

GT - I think you have it wrong my friend. I looked it up many times to make sure I wasn't breaking any of the stupid rules. There is no law against importing citrus seed into the UK.

Even for seeds on the 'forbidden list' you are allowed to import a 'small number' of them into the UK, making the rules effectively redundant. Citrus is not on the forbidden list as far as I can tell (I looked to no avail), and even if it was I can legally import a 'small number'. What that number is I don't know (again I looked to no avail), but I'm pretty confident the tiny numbers of seeds traded by citrus enthusiasts would definitely be classed as small.

Marches, welcome to the forum, nice to see another member from the UK.

Check out the following website, I have bought from them before a couple of years ago and they were good. They have a nice little selection of citrus now (10 varieties) and the prices are very cheap for the UK, especially considering the tree sizes which are decent:

http://www.mulu.co.uk/search.asp?types=Fruit