Need Help Placing trees

I have an order in with Stan for some of his hardy citrus, and hope someone can give me advice of how best to place them. I have three types of planting locations, and am wondering -- considering their hardiness and individual growing habits – where each is best suited.

Here are the trees:

Thomasville Citrangequat
Ichang Lemon
Taichang Lemon
Sudachi
Yuzu
Nanshodaidai (citrus taiwanica)

Which ones grow the tallest/shortest, and which are the most cold-sensitive? Are any prone to losing dormancy too quickly in late winter?

I’ll be putting most of them in a sheltered back yard in town (Washington, DC, zone 7/8) and the remaining at my orchard outside of town which is more exposed. The narrow back yard runs east-west. On the north side (with southern exposure) I have spots up against a wooden fence for 3 of them. The limiting aspect with these 3 spots is that they’re right next to a main walkway and will really need to hug the fence like a pancake. If the plants don’t get tall enough for a person to walk under the canopy, then I’ll need to espalier (in a fan shape?).

I have two other spots in the yard, where the plants can grow more freely. These two spot are closer to the south side (with northern exposure), and will be in the shade of a wooden fence during the winter.

The remaining tree would be set out at my orchard. Similar climate, but exposed -- so perhaps the most hardy one.

Any suggestions? Thanks!

From my observations, Ichang lemon can be kept in a tight evergreen column, and is slow to medium in growth rate. It is extremely hardy and the flavor of the one I tried last fall in Lake Jackson was novel (not terrible like the poncirus hybrids but nothing I would buy at a grocery). I don't think Ichang likes being tree'd up - but better wait for an expert to address those kind of details.

Thomasville citrangequat might be semi-deciduous for you depending upon where you are w/in the beltway. It tends to get "water sprouts" that shoot up a foot or two each season, then starts filling in. The tree effect is not far removed from poncirus. The fruit probably take until sometime in December to ripen and although they can be ingested earlier, I don't know what you would use them for (I wouldn't buy these fruit in a grocery either). Supposedly there is some variation in fruit quality so I might have tried some that took after the poncirus side.

I thought the Sudachi was another name for ichang and have no experience with any of the other varieties you site but I suspect that they are all extremely hardy - especially in your area since they would be much more likely to remain dormant. The citrangequat can be expected to break dormancy last for the group you listed.

Thanks for the imput Bob. I'm well inside the beltway, so hope to benefit fromt the heat island effect of the city. I've gone ahead and planted all but the Nanshodaidai in the back yard - which will probably go in the orchard in S. MD. I probably was a bit hasty in putting them out, as we've since had a couple of nights in the mid to upper twenties. I've given them a bit of protection, and they seem fine.

Yes, I know these are not the finest tasting fruits, so the local supermarket has nothing to fear. I'm hoping for sweet smelling blossoms, and fruits that can be used for zest and lemon subsitutes in the kitchen, or for lemoncello perhaps. Here are a couple of links that give a little bit of an intro to Sudachi:

http://www2.shikoku-u.ac.jp/english-dept/sudachi/page3.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudachi

Thank you for the links to the introduction to Sudachi. I guess there are many varieties of citrus w/ Ichang papeda relatives.

Good luck - they will probably do well in the DC climate.

Sudachi is harvested in late August early Sept. when the fruit are still green. They have a excellent flavor for drinks & food. Just thought I would add my two cents as there is nothing on that site as to harvest. Sudachi taste like $hit if you let them turn yellow. They are about the size of a Calomondin as well.