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Post by wazone8 on Dec 17, 2022 13:26:33 GMT -5
I got a few seeds as a bonus with some US-852 seeds from ebay (yea I don't love ebay for seeds, but these looked good and fresh when they arrived). The only hit on Google is from a web page with a security warning. Anyone have any info on this one?
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Post by poncirusguy on Dec 17, 2022 16:47:08 GMT -5
more information such as web site and seed names
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Post by wazone8 on Dec 17, 2022 23:25:24 GMT -5
Found some stuff in a tropicalfruitforum search. Looks like McClendon Citrus has it on their Facebook page. I got it as a bonus pack of seeds tossed in my ebay order. Packet just said "Augusta Citrangequat".
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Post by mikkel on Dec 18, 2022 3:34:05 GMT -5
Yes, Augusta Citrangequat is a seedling plant whose seeds were obtained by Tom My Clendon in Winterhaven FL. He gave it to someone in Augusta, that where it got its name from.
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Post by mikkel on Dec 18, 2022 4:49:04 GMT -5
written by Tom Mcclendon
A citrus that I'm hoping will come into wider cultivation is a citrangequat that I collected as seed more than 20 years ago at the Florida Citrus Arboretum in Winter Haven. At that time, visitors could pick and pay for fruit in season, and just before New Year's in 2000, I did just that. I had been reading a very old USDA publication called The Citrus Industry and had gleaned some ideas about what might be hardy. That day, I picked a lot of fruit that I wanted to eat, but I also included fruit that had hardiness potential. One of these was an unnamed Citrangequat by a gazebo that had beautiful orange-red fruit.
To review, a citrangequat is a three-way cross involving a citrange (Poncirus trifoliata x Citrus sinensis) and a kumquat (Fortunella spp.). Early researchers wanted to combine the sweetness of the orange with the hardiness of the Trifoliate orange, then crossed the result with a kumquat for delayed dormancy in the spring. After the most famous cross (Thomasville) early in the 20th Century, hybridizers still produced citrangequats, mostly to create better rootstocks for more desirable citrus.
This was no doubt the case with this citrangequat, which didn't have the dignity of a name. It was given only a USDA number, which I've long since forgotten. The fruit were larger than Thomasville and far more attractive. Seedlings grew vigorously and I gave one to my friend Joseph LeVert in Augusta, who planted it on the grounds of Aquinas High School. It has been there ever since, growing into a stunning citrus tree that produces astounding crops of egg-shaped, orange-red fruit. Like Thomasville, the fruit start out sharply sour, but if left on the tree, become edible out of hand by late winter. In the meantime, they are useful for marmalade, sauces, and juice, and are beautiful to look at.
The tree itself is clearly hardy to Zone 8, having been growing without injury in Augusta for more than two decades. I have confidence that it will be as hardy as Thomasville. Unlike Thomasville, this citrus has few thorns and produces a dense canopy, making it a very attractive landscape plant.
In the tradition of previous citrangequats, which were named after the city where they first bloomed, I propose calling this one "Augusta." I hope citrus growers will find this plant as beautiful, hardy, and useful as I do and make it available!
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Post by wazone8 on Dec 18, 2022 10:15:00 GMT -5
That's great info. Thank you!
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