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Mystery fruit looks like fuzzy navels

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED SEP 4, 2020

Notice the three-part leaves on this citrus tree. They are a clue to its identity. (Photo courtesy Allen Pierleoni)

Citrus rootstock sprouts a trifoliate orange tree

“What’s growing over my fence?”

That’s a common question from many gardeners, one that I ask myself sometimes, too.

In the case of fruit, it comes with a corollary: “Can I eat it?”

Such is the case of this mystery fruit, spotted by a loyal reader in Fair Oaks. He pondered whether he was going to get some bonus citrus – or should cut the branches back.

“The skin is slightly velvety, the plant is growing next to a grapefruit tree. Unusual leaves, no?” he wrote in a note with his photo of what looked like fuzzy navels.

All three observations were clues to the mystery fruit’s identity – plus one more. Look out for those great big thorns.

The fruit is a trifoliate orange ( Citrus trifoliata ), also known as Japanese bitter orange or Chinese bitter orange. And it sprouted from the rootstock of the grapefruit tree.

Allowed to grow and thrive, the trifoliate orange is forming its own tree – and could crowd out the grapefruit grafted on its roots.

Trifoliate orange – named for those three-part leaves – is among the most cold-hardy citrus. So, it’s often used as rootstock to give tender grapefruit and other citrus a little more cold tolerance (especially in Northern California).

The fruit is covered with soft down. Usually packed with seeds, it eventually ripens to yellow and looks like a small orange but with skin that feels like a peach.

As for taste, it lives up to its bitter nickname.

My advice: Get out the pruning shears.

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garden mystery citrus gardening Sacramento Fair Oaks backyard produce rootstock home orchard

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Garden Checklist for week of April 21

This week there’s plenty to keep gardeners busy. With no rain in the immediate forecast, remember to irrigate any new transplants.

* Weed, weed, weed! Get them before they flower and go to seed.

* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.

* Smell orange blossoms? Feed citrus trees with a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants.

* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.

* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.

* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden is really hungry. Feed shrubs and trees with a slow-release fertilizer. Or mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost.

* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, radishes and squash.

* Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias.

* Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom.

* Mid to late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce seedlings. Choose varieties that mature quickly such as loose leaf.

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