Orange, Bitter (Poncirus trifoliata), packet of 5 seeds, organic

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 seeds have been stored cold and moist.  Plant immediately to fast-draining medium and tamp securely, keep warm and in the light.  Germination is relatively rapid.  Work up seedlings in successively larger pots before transplant.  The tree is extraordinarily thorny and makes an ornamental and very effective barrier hedge.  The plant is also used as rootstock for grafting oranges, lemons and limes, conferring cold and disease resistance.  Unless spacing closely for a hedge, space trees 15 feet apart.

Packet of 5 seeds,  certified organically grown