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Which type of citrus should you plant?

By MONICA BRANDIES
Tribune correspondent
Published: January 27, 2010

It's a question many gardeners ask. "Which citrus should I plant?" It all depends on what kind you like, but I've been studying the subject for 22 years and I keep finding new and wonderful kinds.

There are two great ways to test and taste. My husband, David, and I recently visited the Florida Citrus Arboretum where they have about 365 trees and more than 250 varieties on 6.5 acres. It is located at 3027 Lake Alfred Road, which is U.S. 17, in Winter Haven and is open to the public Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Admission is free, but for $5 they will give you a half bushel bag and you can pick whatever you want to fill it as long as the fruit lasts. That is quite a bargain but the bag gets heavy, so I suggest you take a few plastic bags, so you can set the big one down and gather with the other.

"We have busloads of FFA students come here to learn (about citrus) varieties," says Mike Kissinger, chief of the bureau of Citrus Budwood.

You have to sign in at the Shaw Building when you arrive and they will give you a map of the arboretum and a chart with all the names and locations. I was also taking photos, and the best way to do that is to take a picture of the label, then of the tree and fruit. And go down each row at a time so the chart will be of most help. It gets very confusing if you skip around.

It would also be a good idea to check ahead for what varieties will be ready to pick. Hamlin, Parson Brown, Satsuma, Ponkan, Orlando, Dancy and Calamondins ripen early and were pretty well picked over by January. Grapefruits and pommelos are good from November to June. Pineapple, Queen, Minneola, temple and soon Murcotts will be at their prime, and Valencias don't ripen until March.

Another supper opportunity for tasting will be much closer to home at the Citrus Celebration at the State Fair on Feb. 7 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The cost will probably be $1 a plate, depending on how much fruit has survived the cold.