Ryan, I really really think that it's the company that you buy the bulbs from that is very important in insuring that you get properly labeled bulbs. I already know straight off the back NOT to order from M&Z, heard some mislabeling action at B&B's, eBay is notorious for selling mislabeled bulbs, and I've heard the NGA also sends out a good number of mislabels. For very affordable, good quality, and accurately labeled bulbs I urge you to try John Scheepers next year. Not only was Candy Floss, Lemon & Lime, Elvas, San Remo, and Double Record labeled accurately, they have really out-performed many other bulbs I have purchased through various other companies and suppliers. If you are willing to pay a little bit more, Royal Colors so far has provided me with the best quality bulbs this season and they are well reputated to have accurately labeled bulbs that perform beautifully. WFF and Wayside Gardens are also well reputated companies that specialize in many varieties. I've realized big time though, that you get what you pay for....almost all my bulbs from Walmart, HD, and even local supermarkets have either performed poorly or going down hill in terms of bulb condition....not to mention that all bulbs from W-Mart this season were mislabeled....but they were cheap! So whateva.....live and learn. =)

The curtain is falling on the season, so here's a summary of the new hybrids this year, using the Picassa collage function I've been playing around with. In each case, the host plant is above, and the pollon donor is below on the left, with the larger image of the offspring on the right. Here are two Benfica x dancing queen - the first has produced single flowers and the second doubles: Here are two different results from Bogota x Carmen. Again the first is single and the second double: This one is Bogota crossed with San Remo: This is carmen x giraffe: Two very dark parents, royal velvet x Benfica: A papilio crossed with a cybister - giraffe x Lima: Lemon-lime x dancing queen: And finally - giraffe x double white: It's been a rewarding season, so looking forward to some more combinations next spring Geoff

Key Limes would be one of the quickest to bear fruits from seeds. There are others trifoliate types which can also bear much fruits even earlier than key limes but they are used as rootstocks or ornamentals but not for palatable fruit use. Fortunella hybrids that include hybrids of kumquats such as Calamondins, limequats, lemonquats, mandarinquats, sunquats would often come true to type from seeds and they also bear fruit early. Perhaps the longest to bear fruit from seeds are the pummelos and their hybrids like the grapefruits. The oranges come intermediate when it comes to bearing fruits from seeds. Grafted or not, but very often, the first few fruits from your citrus tree would be lousy tasting and of poor quality. It usually improves with tree age, with the quality starting to peak and stabilize after about three to four seasons from first fruiting. So don't chop off your tree when the first fruits do not compare with the ones you buy from the stores. The vigorous sour orange most probably came from rootstocks used way back in 1872. Here's short history: Before 1880's, most of California Citrus groves were composed of seedling trees. Most popular are lemons and oranges planted in the missions and haciendas of Southern California. Around 1872, the almost seedless Washington navels became so popular that there were not enough seeds to plant more navel trees, and so rootstocks became a necessity. First rootstock used was sweet orange (C. sinensis) and used until the 1940's. The next more popular rootstock starting around 1890's was the sour orange (C. aurantium) which tolerated phyhtopthora gummoosis and produced high-quality fruit. Then the rough lemon (C. jambhiri) was introduced around 1900's as rootstock for lemons and grapefruits where it achieved high yields even in sandy desert areas, but alas, due to poor fruit quality and susceptibility to cold limited its use. Then Cleopatra mandarin (C. reticulata) was used when trying to find tristeza-tolerant rootstocks. Its value was discovered in saline soils. It produced excellent quality grapefruits, but alas, it is susceptible to foot rot and also lost its popularity. All the above rootstocks were popularly used in commercial citrus industry of California until the 1940's. Around the 1940's a big event happened in California. Tristeza virus was discovered to be causing devastation of most citrus groves on sour orange rootstocks. This has lead to various works on rootstock development and changed the rootstock usage in California todate. Thus it ended the use of sour oranges and the hybrids of Sweet x Trifoliate oranges (Troyer and Carrizo) were introduced. Lately, there is a resurgence Citrus Tristeza Virus in Southern California which could mean that citruses on sour orange rootstocks and the sour oranges themselves would face another bout of devastation. As to the ultimate multi-grafted citrus, I currently have a 61-n-1 citrus tree. Tomorrow, I'm grafting 4 more cultivars unto it. Here's the tree when it was still 50-n-1: Fruits from 50-n-1 citrus tree And here's the best technique to add a cultivar when your tree is already mature. Budding is good for younger trees, but bark grafting have better success rates when multi-grafting to a mature tree. Citrus Bark Grafting Demo Here is a link that might be useful: Citrus Rootstock History

I purchased Dancing Queen last summer, split it into four plants, and they have taken off. I love the piecrust edge, the lemon yellow color, and the speed of growth. I've read that it turns a pale yellow at summer's end, which is fine with me. I look forward to seeing how big these babies get. When I purchased this one it came without a label and I was hoping for a medium-small plant. With that in mind, I put three of them in this flat bed, whose identity is short plants only. You can see one Dancing Queen in this image. When it gets big, I'll divide it and leave a small piece, or move it. There are three of them in here, providing zingers of yellow in a green, yellow, white, and purple setting.