Orange, Bitter (Poncirus trifoliata), packet of 5 seeds, organic [INTL NO]
$4.95
Family: Citrus (Rutaceae)
Hardy to Zones 6-9.
(Bitter Orange, Hardy Orange, Trifoliate Orange, Japanese Orange) Thorny deciduous shrub growing to 9 feet tall, native to E. Asia, China and Korea. The plants grows well in full sun to part shade, preferring loose, sandy soils of medium moisture and tolerant of both acidic and alkaline pH. This is the most cold-hardy of all the fruit-bearing citrus trees. The fruits ripen very late in the year, and our first harvest generally occurs around Halloween. Dried peel of bitter orange is an ingredient in many herbal teas and makes a consummate after-dinner aperitif. Traditional use of dried bitter orange peel or cooked bitter orange fruit (TCM, TWM): Aromatic carminative, used as an ingredient in digestive bitters. The tree is also used as rootstock for grafting oranges, lemons and limes, conferring cold and disease resistance. Cultivation: Seeds need 4 weeks in cold soils or in refrigeration prior to germination in warm soils. We refrigerate the seed after harvest and sell stratified seed that can be sown in the warm greenhouse or refrigerator stored until being sown in the warm greenhouse or in the spring garden. Allow seedlings to grow on until large enough to individuate, then pot up to larger pots and grow for a year before transplanting to landscape. We supply only fresh, stratified seeds from our own harvest.
5 seeds per packet, certified organically grown
In stock
Question
Janet Simpson –
Happy Saturday! Will this tree attract the citrus Swallowtail? I have the swallowtails all over my Mexican Sunflowers, but want add a plant for them them stay and lay their eggs on the tree. It is my understanding the bitter orange is the only tree that supports them.
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Richo Cech –
Hello Janet, Yes, the Rutacea is the Citrus family, these butterflies will lay eggs on the leaves. Poncirus trifoliata is a good choice. richo
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Adam M. (verified owner) –
Purchased two packets, 10 out of 10 sprouted within 3 weeks of planting. They are serious when they say they’re ready to go in the ground asap.
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Question
thenaekedgardener –
Hello,
If I were to take a cutting of my mature Poncirus trifoliata that is bearing fruit (green wood now/ lower at base and non-fruiting) and to take it while green; how long would you say that it’ll take before these clones bear fruit themselves???
Would you say 2-3 years?? Any experience in cloning these??
Do you think my cloning method would be optimal, taken now in september??
Thank you Richo for being you!!
-naeked
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Richo Cech –
there is a lot of buzz around this right now, that clones taken from fruiting individuals may fruit earlier than seed-grown plants of the same age. I have started these from cuttings but only once, as I found the trees to be inferior to those started from seeds. my main method of taking cuttings is to do it in the fall to early winter, and stick them in a sand bed in the greenhouse, tented to keep the air humid. A few of the plants you see sold on this website (eleuthero, rosemary and coming up–fig!) are done this way. r
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newcommonsense1 (verified owner) –
I bought a pack last month and they’ve been hanging out on our kitchen table waiting for me to plant them. It’s still cold here and I’m antsy to plant seeds, so I opened the pack and all 5 were sprouting!!! Now each is snug in its own pot in a bright window until Spring, glorious Spring♡ I haven’t always had luck with stratification in the fridge, too much moisture led to mold on my Muscadine seeds, so nice that they were ready to roll! Thank you for all that you ❤
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Question
Adrielle –
How long from seed to fruit? Is it the standard 5-7 years of many fruit trees?
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Richo Cech –
Hi Adrielle, Yes, I think its the standard 5-7 years. Mine are in flower right now.
Richo
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carol –
How cold-hardy i.e. what zone are they likely to survive-thrive in? And if one is allergic to pollen from one citrus variety, does that suggest likelihood of developing allergy to its cousins?
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Richo Cech –
Hi Carol,
Thanks for contacting. If you click on the picture then the monograph comes up, and that gives you the zone assignation–Hardy to Zones 6-9. As for allergenic responses, I suppose if there is an acute allergy to citrus then it could be a problem. Here, we have a nice stand of these and lots of people have come by to sniff the flowers–I’ve heard no complaints.
Richo
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Admin Richo Cech –
https://strictlymedicinalseeds.com/product/orange-bitter-poncirus-trifoliata-potted_tree_organic/
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Admin Richo Cech –
Hi Tim, Certified organically grown bitter orange trees are currently available and on sale. I don’t know if there will be any left in the spring. Here’s the link https://strictlymedicinalseeds.com/product/orange-bitter-poncirus-trifoliata-potted_tree_organic/
Richo
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Tammy –
Hi Richo, curious to know, when an orange tree becomes sour, (or bitter?) is this the same thing basically, now converted to a bitter orange… maybe it was sweet, but then the original root stock takes over? Or, if you find an orange tree out in the wild, and is sour tasting, is this the bitter orange to be used for medicine? Thank you.
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Richo Cech –
Hi Tammy, YEs, that makes sense to me, because the rootstock of many grafted oranges is going to be Poncirus trifoliata. If the tree gives scads of small, round, yellow fruits in the fall then that’s what you’ve got. Also, the leaf form should be trifoliate.
Richo
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