Calamondin - a citrus to grow indoors
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Calamondin - the small sour orange
A small citrus fruit tree, often grown in the Phillipines, Calamondin (also called Calamansi) are ideal for growing indoors in colder climates.
Suitable for container growing, the fruit look like oranges but have a sour taste rather like limes. The trees themselves can be kept small by the use of a decent sized sturdy pot. This, and their ability to produce fruit the year round, makes them ideal indoor fruit trees in most climates.
Suitable for container growing, the fruit look like oranges but have a sour taste rather like limes. The trees themselves can be kept small by the use of a decent sized sturdy pot. This, and their ability to produce fruit the year round, makes them ideal indoor fruit trees in most climates.
Contents
About Calamondin
- Calamondin trees
- In Pots
- Tree or seed?
- Planting outdoors.
- Available outside the US
- Calamondin Flowers
- Calamondin v. Kumquats
- Calamondin fruit on the tree
- A sour orange!
- Fruit and flavour
- A healthy treat - Nutrition
- Cooking with Calamondin
- Reader's opinions on Calamondin
- Bloggers about Calamondin
- Translate this lens
- Leave your views
- About the lensmaster
Calamondin trees
Growing your own fruit
Calamondins are native to the Phillipines, but survive reasonably well in other locations. Small fruit trees, they are often grown as decorative, but their fruit is quite edible and considered a delicacy in their native regions.
The small fruit, like tiny oranges, are extremely sour and may be an acquired taste. Comparable to acid oranges or lemons in flavour, they are high in Vitamin C, and considered to be very healthy. Tended carefully, Calamondin trees can be heavy croppers, so not many are needed to keep their owners in fruit. Several complain that the problem is finding out what to do with all the extras!
When grown in a container, their size is limited, and they form a compact bush. . This means they can be grown indoors easily, so in colder climates you can have home-grown fruit all year round. It also means they are ideal as an indoor tree for organic growing for owners without gardens.
The small fruit, like tiny oranges, are extremely sour and may be an acquired taste. Comparable to acid oranges or lemons in flavour, they are high in Vitamin C, and considered to be very healthy. Tended carefully, Calamondin trees can be heavy croppers, so not many are needed to keep their owners in fruit. Several complain that the problem is finding out what to do with all the extras!
When grown in a container, their size is limited, and they form a compact bush. . This means they can be grown indoors easily, so in colder climates you can have home-grown fruit all year round. It also means they are ideal as an indoor tree for organic growing for owners without gardens.
Citris Mitis Calamondin-Minature Orange Tree 5 seeds
Amazon Price: (as of 05/26/2012)
Calamondin trees can be grown indoors for a small plant that will give fruit all year round.
Important!
In Pots
While they are low maintenance and don't need a large pot, in a smaller pot the tree needs to be kept well-fertilised to keep producing fruit. Either use fruit fertiliser every now and then or, for organic gardeners, I've had some success with occasional tea bags and egg shells.
Tree or seed?
Grow from seed or buy a tree?
Growing from seed is possible, and seeds are easily available. However as with all citrus trees it takes a few years before they are ready to produce fruit.
For the impatient, or people who are buying it for its fruit, I would suggest buying a fully grown tree. A range of Calamondin trees are available, including ready potted ones for the patio or indoors and even bonsai! If you then decide you want seeds, you can plant the fruit. Although, like all citrus, there is no guarantee the fruit will breed true, I have six small trees on a windowsill right now to show it is possible.
For the impatient, or people who are buying it for its fruit, I would suggest buying a fully grown tree. A range of Calamondin trees are available, including ready potted ones for the patio or indoors and even bonsai! If you then decide you want seeds, you can plant the fruit. Although, like all citrus, there is no guarantee the fruit will breed true, I have six small trees on a windowsill right now to show it is possible.
Planting outdoors.
Growing Calamondin in hot climates
Gary Knowleton's video guide to fruit trees uses a Calamondin planted outdoors as an example.
powered by Youtube
Available outside the US
Buying a tree in the UK
For readers overseas, Calamondin are often available in garden centres worldwide. They can also be ordered online from Amazon.co.uk. Oddly, these are rarely available as seeds, unless you already know someone with a tree.
- Calamondin Tree (miniature Orange): Amazon.co.uk: Garden & Outdoors
- Calamondin Tree (miniature Orange): Amazon.co.uk: Garden & Outdoors
- CITRUS CALAMONDIN ORANGE-Superb Birthday Gift/ Plant & Flower,Gifts For Mum,Mom,Grandma,Granny,New Baby Girl, Her: Amazon.co.uk: Garden & Outdoors
- CITRUS CALAMONDIN ORANGE-Superb Birthday Gift/ Plant & Flower,Gifts For Mum,Mom,Grandma,Granny,New Baby Girl, Her: Amazon.co.uk: Garden & Outdoors
- Citrus mitis | Calamondin Orange: Amazon.co.uk: Garden & Outdoors
- Citrus mitis | Calamondin Orange: Amazon.co.uk: Garden & Outdoors
Calamondin Flowers
Small white citrus flowers
Calamondin Orange,
White Flower Citrus Centre
Harte, Sunniva
Buy This Allposters.com
The Calamondin produces clusters of small white flowers, that eventually develop into fruit. If raised indoors or in a controlled environment, the calamondin can produce these year round.
Important!
Calamondin v. Kumquats
These are two different fruit. Calamondin look like mini oranges with thin rinds and large (edible) seeds. Kumquats are long ovals, have four segments when cut, and have thick peel and small seeds.
The plants look similar, since they are both citrus.
The plants look similar, since they are both citrus.
Calamondin fruit on the tree
Important!
A sour orange!
Don't expect this fruit to be sweet! I bought one for the member of the family who eats lemons. They prefer it, since it is more sour...
Fruit and flavour
Calamondin fruit
As mentioned, the Calamondin fruit resembles a small orange. If you cut it across, the inside will be starred like an orange (rather than divided into four like a kumquat) and it contains seeds. When the fruit first develops it is green, but then turns yellow and finally bright orange as it ripens. It gets sweeter (or more accurately, less sour) as it ripens. I know people who eat the green fruit for the extremely sour taste, but personally I don't.
The rind is extremely thin, and grating a Calamondin for its peel is easier said than done, unless you want juice everywhere. However it can be peeled fairly easily by hand when ripe, as the rind is loose. The rind, which is edible, is sweet tasting. The flesh of the fruit and the juice is extremely tart.
Eaten whole the two make a slight and interesting contrast, but if the juice is drained off for cooking you'd want to use it to replace lemon juice rather than orange in recipes. We have used it, with sugar, on pancakes.
The rind is extremely thin, and grating a Calamondin for its peel is easier said than done, unless you want juice everywhere. However it can be peeled fairly easily by hand when ripe, as the rind is loose. The rind, which is edible, is sweet tasting. The flesh of the fruit and the juice is extremely tart.
Eaten whole the two make a slight and interesting contrast, but if the juice is drained off for cooking you'd want to use it to replace lemon juice rather than orange in recipes. We have used it, with sugar, on pancakes.
Important!
A healthy treat - Nutrition
High in Vitamin C and Viatmin A, containing Iron and other nutrients, the Calamondin is good for heath:
Calamondin Nutritional Details
Calamondin Nutritional Details
Cooking with Calamondin
Food and drink recipes
As a citrus fruit it can be used in a variety of ways, as well as eaten raw. While the sweet peel is useful in cooking you can also produce drinks including variants on most citrus recipes - Calamondin-ade, anyone? Its small size also makes it useful as a garnish. The juice can be frozen as icecubes, or well-scrubbed, the fruit can simply be put in the freezer and added to cocktails as an unusual, edible, ice cube.
Here are two lenses with more recipes and options.
Here are two lenses with more recipes and options.
Reader's opinions on Calamondin
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Bloggers about Calamondin
The latest recipes, gossip and news about Calamondin from google's blogs.
- Jessica Sanchez and Lady Gaga on GMA-7's Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho
- Also in this week's episode, find out how the calamondin or calamansi can be used in sweet, delightful desserts and dishes including Chef Jac's Chocolate Truffles, Caroline's Chocolate Kiss cake, and Chef Jonathan's Calamansi Pasta with Spicy Tuyo!
- It does not taste as good as it looks!
- The fruit is not really an orange, but a close relative called the calamondin. The plant tag will say the fruits are ?edible? [Dash] this doesn't mean they taste good, only that you won't die if you eat one. Although they are not poisonous, ...
- Weekend Plantings: 'Citrus Indoors'
- Smaller, slower growing citrus such as calamondin and kumquats are most suitable for interiorscaping. Utilitarian and drab looking, the EarthBox self-contained growing system has, for decades, outsold copycat growing systems manufactured by competing ...
- Der Duft des Südens im heimischen Garten
- Foto: dapd Ein Zitrusfrüchtebäumchen (Calamondin), aufgenommen in Ingolstadt. | Foto: dapd Für exotische Zitrusgewächse brauchen Pflanzenfreunde ein Händchen. Aber es lohnt sich - spätestens dann, wenn die Blüten von Orange, Zitrone und anderen ...
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Calamondin Orange
Murray, David
Buy This Allposters.com
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