I'd like to find the best options for use as a lemon/ lime (or substitute) to plant outside next to my satsuma. For it to be worthwhile for me, I'm focusing on options that would have the best chance of being useable during the summer months here in Massachusetts (think Coronas, citrusade, etc... for the warm part of the year).

I anticipate that my ripening season for any given variety could easily be a month or two later than in more traditional citrus growing areas. For perspective my typical average last frost date is somewhere around April 20-31. In comparison, according to plantmaps.com, typical average last frost dates for southern coastal South Carolina range from Feb 21 to March 31 and for UCR it is Feb, 11-20. It could take even longer for my soil temps to warm up, as spring weather in New England is typically on the cool side.
I've been thinking varieties that would be very quick to ripen (Citrus glauca) or that are very late (with fruit that could be over-wintered) are my best bets. Based on my citrus winter protection, I believe I could even overwinter a true lemon or lime w/ fruit.

Any input on possible choices, and or personal experiences/comparisons between varieties would be great! Is anyone growing Citrus glauca or the Razzlequat?

Below are some varieties with misc. ripeness dates/notes from UCR, and this forum that I've collected as a reference.

Eustis Limequat:
UCR at Riverside Flowers May-Sept
Ripe: Year-round

Sunquat (Lemonquat):
Quoting MrTexas: Sunquat tastes great and sweet in March and April. It's pretty sour at Christmas. Peel tastes nice. Tastes of kumquats to me. Makes passable marmalaide. Many better citrus available.

Eremocitrus glauca X Meyer lemon (Eremolemon / Razzlequat):
UCR at Riverside Flowers Feb.-April
Ripe: April-Nov.

Eremocitrus glauca (Citrus glauca):
UCR at Riverside Flowers March-April
Ripe: May-July

Yuzu:
UCR at Riverside Ripe (still green): Sept.-Oct.
Not much juice though...

Sudachi:
UCR at Riverside Ripe (still green): Sept.-Oct.

Meyer Lemon:
UCR at Riverside Ripe Primarily in winter, but distributed throughout the year

Thomasville
Backyard Grower in Houston: Ripe (still green) August

Rangpur Lime:
Winter harvest?

I would say Eustis Limequat. I still have a bunch hanging on my tree. Sudachi is used as a lime in Japan, but tastes nothing like the lime you know.

My vote goes for:

Quote:

...I believe I could even overwinter a true lemon...

It's not just about fruit, you'll enjoy fragrance of leaves too, the whole tree in fact.

Or even better,
raise a descent rootstock and, by grafting, experiment with varieties.

I had (on my outside tree, PT + Lemon) a branch with Calamondin, and gave up on that.
"Gave up" above means that Calamondin is: air-layered, potted, given away.

Currently, I have there Kabosu branch. Leaves are not fragrant - and I'm close to 'give up' on that,

New idea popping-up in my head this winter: graft a citron, leaves are supposedly very fragrant...

Just remember that ALL fruit will be destroyed @ 28F or below for any duration of time.

If you already have Satsumas, then just use a green one when you need some sour citrus juice.
In my opinion, unripe Satsumas make a great lemon substitute.
(Put some in the freezer for winter use)

Probably taste a hell of a lot better than a rangpur or some of those poncirus crosses.

That is why I said Eustis Limequat. The taste is very close to a Key lime.

Laaz, Ivica
I already have rooted cuttings of a few of the varieties on my list including (one of which is a Eustis limequat). Ivica, my plan is to do exactly what you suggest, I'd like to pick two or three of the most interesting options and graft them onto a FD rootstock. I'm pretty confident that I can keep the temps in my winter enclosure at or above 30F (-1C) via design improvements and/or using a little supplemental heating during the coldest part of winter.

Laaz, how long do the limequats hold on the tree for you? Are they still useable into May, June, July???


Also, is there anything not on my list that would be worthwhile to consider?

Ivica, I have thought about that too. But I think FD is still the best choice for me. The maximum size I am willing to protect is around 5-6 ft (1.5-1.75m) tall and wide. Straight PTs can easily grow to over 15 ft (4.5m) in my area. In fact Tim has pictures of his at around 15 ft in less than 10 years from seed: link
From your pictures it looks like you have a lot more space to let your trees grow so its possible a straight PT would work well.

Those of us with cold snowy winters can only dream of growing citrus from seed to fruiting age in less than 7-8 years or more.

Mr. Texas,

What about an orangequat? I use them as a lemon substitute.

I would not put lemon in a beer. Eustis is small? How large are Key limes?

Brett 5 hours @ 24F would destroy the fruit.

Quote:

*Fruit damage occurs when the temperature falls below 28°F for at least four hours.

http://flcitrusmutual.com/news/freeze.aspx

Cristofre,
Yes, I have thought of the satsuma idea. I tried this with an unripe Armstrong Early last summer, but it wasn't really acidic enough for my taste, perhaps I did not try it at the right time. In any case, I think I'd rather save my satsumas for eating after they are ripe. I do not have the space to allow my trees to get very large, so I will have to make my choices carefully.

I agree, I really do not want to resort to using any Poncirus crosses inside my citrus enclosure. I should be able to overwinter pretty much any variety in there... and the limited space will be too valuable for anything Poncirus other than rootstocks.

Although eventually I would like to plant my Thomasville, or possibly another hybrid (glances in Boca Joe's general direction ) somewhere else in my yard with less protection. Anything like this would need to be a mature rooted cutting or grafted, as I don't have space to grow (or protect) anything that would get more than 5 or 6 ft tall.