Cold Hardy Citrus in New York - Trifoliate Orange (Poncirus Trifoliata)

While on a walk with my fiancé I noticed what appeared to be two relatively large poncirus trifoliata trees growing close together. They were loaded with fruit at varying stages of ripeness and surprisingly flowers too. Average fruit size was about that of a key lime, though some were as large as a clementine.
Though they are uncommon, it is not unheard of to find a spontaneous seedling tree in this part of New York. It is how I found the small tree shown in the video, which was already several years old and had withstood at least one or two winters below 5°F (-15°C).
For those familiar, it is far from the best-tasting citrus but it makes for a very good lemonade, and tastes similar to an ordinary lemon with some unique, grapefruit-like flavors as well. The rinds however were completely unusable. For the novelty of growing cold hardy citrus in New York however, I enjoy this plant greatly.

[@filmhayreview]

video wonderful, 👍🌹🤝🤝

[@mflbikes1870]

Great find, plant the seeds as they sprout easily

[@themulberries]

Thank you! I've been growing these with high percentages of germination. I'm going to harvest them again this year to freeze the juice and save the seeds!

[@mflbikes1870]

@@themulberries if you ever want to sell the seeds let me know

[@pakoymotovlogs9382]

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[@rafaelramos441]

Your tree has fruits from 2 distinct periods of bloom. The yellow fruit are from the Spring bloom from dormant flower buds formed last Summer. The green fruits originated from flower buds developed this year and flowered prematurely rather than waiting until next Spring. This is a very common occurrence with Poncirus.

[@themulberries]

Thanks for your comment, and what a fascinating occurrence. I was under the impression poncirus only bloomed in the Spring, but then I saw this tree had both immature and mature fruit as well as flowers, all at the same time!

[@anonymousfx5254]

It can withstand up to -25c, so it's a good option for those who like to grow something exotic at home but living in cold climate.

[@themulberries]

100% agree!

[@ConnectingwithNature]

💫 Excellent moments🌟❗\\\ 🇨🇦 /////👍 /////// ☑

[@raregrowsNJ]

Looks pretty big, how old do you think? There's 2 poncirus trees/shrubs in an arboretum not too far from where I am, a large standard trifoliate and a flying dragon I want to go back in a month and check on the fruit.

[@themulberries]

That's awesome, I've checked Google maps for this spot and it's been there at a reasonably big size for at least 20 years, but it's likely a good bit older than that! We picked probably 50-60lb off this tree this year and there's still hundreds of fruit left on it. If you're able to acquire the fruit, the seeds germinate really easily after some cold stratification, and the seedlings are tough and hardy for sure.

[@newlife956]

We are now growing trifoliate oranges in Nova Scotia.

[@themulberries]

That's awesome, I hope they do well for you.

[@newlife956]

@@themulberries They are doing very well. There is a lady named Jill Covill who grows them in Port Royal Nova Scotia. I only found out about these yesterday.....and couldn't believe it....but then saw her tree in NS. I think the tree makes a very exotic addition to a garden or orchard. I'm not sure about the taste though...as some say they are sour but tasty...while others say they taste awful.....??

[@themulberries]

@@newlife956 Yes, they are beautiful trees! The flavor is usually not terrible, and mostly just like a sour citrus with a pine aftertaste. We have detected lemon, orange, and grapefruit flavors. They make a good lemonade or jelly and can be used as a lemon substitute if you desire.