Q.
Is it possible to grow sour or bitter orange in Vegas? It’s becoming almost
impossible to find at the local markets and we use it in so many recipes. I was
curious if that was something that might grow here? When should I plant it?
 |
| Bitter orange, sometimes called trifoliate orange, is a good choice for colder climates like Las Vegas where it oftentimes freezes. |
A.
They aren’t very popular here. I understand why you might want to grow them. We
are talking about Citrus aurentium. They are used as a landscape highway
plant or landscape hedge in the Phoenix area where it’s warmer during the
winter. Here they are mostly used as a low temperature rootstock for citrus
when shipped to our area by wholesale nurseries. Trifoliate orange is used primarily
as a freeze tolerant rootstock for our area, but sour orange is also used.
.JPG) |
| Sour orange is used as a rootstock for citrus needing to be cold hardy. If the top of a citrus dies due to freezing temperatures, at least the rootstock will sprout and grow after the top freezes. |
I don’t have the information on their low
temperature tolerance for the winter, but I think it’s around 20° F so it would
be a good choice for planting in the Las Vegas area. Meyer lemon and kumquat, two
more commonly grown citrus here, will handle freezing temperatures to about 24-25° F. once established.
In protected backyards Meyer lemon, grapefruit, and kumquat survive most of our
winters. So, my guess a fifteen-foot sour orange will be at least reach those
temperatures, if not a bit lower.
This tree should start flowering in about
year four to six. You will still lose fruit due to early spring freezes combined
with open flowers in some landscapes depending on its exposure to early spring
freezes and wind. But the tree itself should survive our annual fluctuating freezing
temperatures for about 25 years or more.
Remember ALL citrus are from China and parts of southeast Asia. This
means the desert soil needs to be amended at the time of planting, and periodically
adding amendments to the soil. No citrus are xeric so they will need about the
same amount of water as regular fruit trees of a similar size, about 4 to five feet of water under applied under its canopy in one year.
Just for your information bitter orange
does get a deadly disease occasionally but it’s usually not prevalent in
non-orchard citrus areas so you should be all right. Buy the tree smaller and
protect the tree from sun damage through shading itself or providing it shade
while it gets established. Buy a tree that is shrublike.
You won’t find it locally. It is not that
popular as a tree on its own. I think you will have to order it online. Places
outside of the desert southwest don’t have to worry much about sun damage to
the trunk so it is limbed up higher into a tree. For this reason, you want to
buy it grown into as much of a bush as possible. Limb it up later when it gets older
and acclimated to our desert. The best places to order it are from Arizona
nurseries such as Whitfill or Greenfield if they will ship it to you. Both are
in the Phoenix area.
Plant it when temperatures are cool, but
spring planting is best in the case of citrus. Because of digging and
availability, most nurseries sell bareroot trees in the spring. Bareroot trees
need to be planted as early in the spring as possible. Potted or container
trees can be bought anytime but planting them is always best in the spring. If
it were totally freeze tolerant, or you were sure it will not get extremely
cold this winter and you can find it available, then fall planting is always best.