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Last updated: August 23. 2006 1:05PM
GARDENING
Citrus under the ceiling
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As assistant manager at The Plant Place and owner of her own indoor fruit-producing plants, Watson is sometimes asked for her opinion on growing fruit trees in Southeastern North Carolina, an area not known for its citrus production. At one time, Watson would have to take into consideration outside temperature and the often cold winters, but not anymore. It seems growers have found a way to give people another option. When you can’t live in California or Florida, a new gardening trend has been quietly growing in popularity: the indoor dwarf citrus fruit tree.
And the Mandarin orange and Meyer lemon trees are the most popular options.
“When there is fruit, customers say, ‘Oh, gosh, real oranges!’” Watson says. “Some of them on my tree were bigger than the ones you get in the supermarket.”
During the fall and winter months, dwarf citrus trees can thrive indoors – if they’re kept in a well-lit area, such as a Florida room. And because they grow as tall as 6 feet, they can become an accent for any living area. Imagine a bright orange or yellow fruit tree in your breakfast area or the corner of your living room.
Regardless of which room becomes home to your tree, you’ll get best results by using potting soil instead of soil brought from outdoors and keeping the plant away from heating and air-conditioning vents. It responds better to humid conditions. You’ll also want to fertilize correctly and avoid overwatering. During warmer months, the container may be moved outdoors, but it’s not necessary.
If you do decide to give it some fresh air in the warmer months, make sure you move them back and forth slowly, and never on extremely humid days.
Besides producing edible fruit, these indoor citrus plants offer sweet-smelling blooms. The Mandarin orange and Meyer lemon will produce fruit in the fall, though you can find other citrus that bear fruit as late as winter.
“The trees are a seasonal thing and so fragrant. The Meyer lemon has an amazing taste, fun and easy to grow, especially for children,” says Dee Sellars, Watson’s daughter and manager of The Plant Place. “When you get to pick it off the tree, you almost need to have a lemonade party.”
In recent years, dwarf citrus producers have been trying to improve the flavors. Lance Walheim, author of Citrus: Complete Guide to Selecting & Growing More Than 100 Varieties for California, Arizona, Texas, the Gulf Coast and Florida, suggests that while there are many dwarf fruit trees, “citrus is probably best. Some people grow bananas, but I don’t remember people getting fruit out of them. The best options are the Meyer lemon and the kumquat.”
Besides local nurseries, the trees can be bought online and bare-root shipped from nurseries such as Four Winds Dwarf Citrus Growers (www.fourwindsgrowers.com). The California-based, family-run business is synonymous with dwarf citrus, as its founder Floyd Dillon was one of the first to develop the diminutive citrus tree. Toby Seeger, Dillon’s great-grandson, oversees the company’s mail-order shipping.
Seeger believes some of the appeal of the dwarf citrus trees is that they are evergreen.
“You have this gorgeous green tree indoors. ... Once you’ve tried fresh juices, you don’t want store-bought juices,” he says. “And it’s a huge culinary thing. There is a wide variety of what you can do with the fruit.”
Dotted throughout the Four Winds Web site are recipes for using the fruit: spicy prawns using Kaffir limes or potato soup using Meyer lemons or chicken salad with Mandarin oranges (see recipes on next page).
According to Seeger, about 40 varieties exist, but he recommends the improved Meyer lemon. “You can’t buy this lemon in a store. It is a sweeter lemon; a cross between an orange and a lemon from China.”
Other varieties include Mandarin Satsuma, Etrog Citron, Buddha’s Hand/Fingered Citron, Calamondins and Kumquats. And those are just some of the available dwarf varieties that they offer. But Seeger considers that “all oranges and lemons, grapefruits and Kaffir lime are great for novices or anyone interested in it for the first time.”
The only trouble you’ll have is deciding which ones you want.
Got fruit? Try these tasty recipes on for size
Potato Soup with Meyer Lemons
This can be served cold. Cover and refrigerate the pureed soup until chilled, then adjust the seasoning before ladling into chilled bowls. Serve with crunchy slices of garlic toast. You can substitute Eureka or Lisbon lemons.
2 tablespoons butter
2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest (about 2 lemons)
½ teaspoon grated, peeled fresh ginger
1 cup strained Meyer lemon juice
½ teaspoon sugar if using Eureka or Lisbon
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
4 cups water
4 large red potatoes, peeled and boiled until tender, then coarsely chopped
2 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley
In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. When it begins to foam, add onions, zest and ginger and saute until onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add lemon juice and pepper; saute for 2 to 3 minutes longer. Add water, raise heat to high, and bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until broth is golden and onions have almost disintegrated, about 30 minutes.
Remove from heat and strain through a sieve into clear container; discard contents of sieve. Working in batches, if necessary, combine strained stock and potatoes in blender and puree until smooth. Transfer to saucepan; bring to a gentle boil. Ladle into warmed soup bowls and garnish each serving with parsley. Serves 4.
Chicken Salad With Mandarins
4 boneless, chicken breast halves (about one pound), cut into bite-sized pieces
½ cup plain yogurt
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
½ cup fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons finely grated mandarin zest (3 mandarins)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 mandarins
2 cups watercress leaves
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
¼ cup toasted coconut or chopped almonds (optional)
Mix yogurt, ginger, ¼ cup of mint leaves, mandarin zest, cumin, black pepper in a bowl. Cut 1 mandarin in half, squeeze juice half of it into yogurt mixture and mix. Add chicken and turn in marinade. Evenly cover, and set aside for 1 hour or refrigerate for up to 12 hours.
Put remaining mint leaves and watercress in a bowl and squeeze in juice from remaining mandarin half. Turn greens to distribute juice. Peel remaining mandarins, removing all white pith, divide into sections and cut each section in half. Add to bowl of greens. In a skillet over medium heat, warm vegetable oil. Using slotted spoon, add chicken to skillet. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes. Pour off collected juices from skillet and return to heat. Continue to cook until meat turns lightly golden, another minute or two. Add chicken to greens and fruit. Toss to mix well. If desired, sprinkle coconut or almonds over top. Serves 3 or 4.
– From ‘Citrus,’ by Ethel and Georgeanne Brennan;
courtesy of Four Winds Growers.
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