Citrange 'Morton' – Poncirus trifoliata × Citrus sinensis

Of all citranges, 'Morton' has the fruit that most resembles a true orange. Large, round and juicy, it keeps just a hint of bitterness inherited from Poncirus. The English eat it with a spoon, like a grapefruit.

• Parentage: Poncirus trifoliata × sweet orange (Citrus sinensis)
• Breeders: Herbert J. Webber and Walter T. Swingle, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
• Hardiness: −15 to −18 °C
• Fruit: large, round, orange, juicy, slightly bitter
• Ripening: November
• Uses: marmalade, lemonade-style juice, eaten with a spoon like a grapefruit
• Habit: vigorous, 3 to 4 m in open ground, dark green foliage

History

The great freeze of 1894–1895 devastated Florida's orchards. The Department of Agriculture then tasked Webber and Swingle with creating cold-resistant citrus. They crossed the sweet orange with Poncirus in 1897 in Eustis, Florida, and named these hybrids “citranges” in 1905.

In the garden

A vigorous tree that needs space. Full sun and well-drained soil; at altitude, give it a spot sheltered from cold winds.

The plant you receive

You receive a young grafted tree about 40 cm tall above the pot, low-grafted onto a Poncirus trifoliata rootstock from our own production. Planted young, it roots straight into your garden soil and establishes better than a tree kept in a pot for years.

Because it is grafted low, the variety itself forms the trunk: the tree stands on its own without a stake and can regrow from above the graft after a severe frost. All our citrus trees are grown at 1,000 m altitude in the Livradois, never in a heated greenhouse, with organic fertiliser only.

Grafted trees are shipped from June; the rest of the year, you can pre-order them.