Just came back from Greenfield citrus nursery to buy the Tahitian pummelo tree and got a sample from the tree. :D

This pummelo is definitely up there on my favorite fruits. Quite a unique flavor. It has a lime scent and flavor to it, but not sour or bitter like a grapefruit. It's sweet but I'm sure it'll be even sweeter if this was picked around winter time during their season.

I can't wait until this tree gets planted in my backyard! :)

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I have a Tahitian and a Chandler pummelo, so far the Tahitian is winning the taste test. Mine aren't quite ripe yet this year, but the Chandler, in the past 3 years, has been dry and flavorless, whereas the Tahitian is juicy and full of sweetness. Chandler is pink and "pretty" but, not nearly as good as the Tahitian. My Tahitian is a bit more frost sensitive compared to my other citrus (except my limes).
An under rated fruit for sure. I'd also suggest Greenfield Citrus Nursery if you're planning to buy one, or any citrus.

Kevin

did you have to protect it from frost? I talked to John at greenfield and he said that the cold isn't really a problem for these trees, they're not really cold sensitive like limes.

How big are your trees now?

Maybe your Chandler isn't getting enough water and heat? The hotter the weather the sweeter the citrus fruits are from what I've read.

Pummelos are fun, aren't they? I grow grapefruit instead, but several of my gardening friends around the Valley grow pummelos and have amazing success. They grow them the same as other citrus and have had no issues with them in winter/summer. Neat to hear that Greenfield has some.

I have ZERO room for more citrus in my garden, but you're all giving me a craving, hah! Please posts updates on your trees and their fruits, pummelo-growers! Happy gardening!

I had to protect the Tahitian pummelo when I first planted it and it gets frost damage every winter, but the tree is big enough now (it's a dwarf and is almost 6 feet high) that I don't bother covering it. The Chandler is a little more cold tolerant.
My two trees are about 40 feet apart from each other, the Chandler (10 feet high) gets slightly more water and the fruit are still dry, BUT I haven't tried any yet this year, so I'm just speaking from the past several years experience. With the mild winter last year, I've got a bumper crop on both trees! Bumper crop of limes too, first time I've had more than a handful.

Kevin

Good to know there are dwarfs. I hadn't heard of pummelo before but it's on my list now.

mine are on standard rootstock. I like big trees and lots of shade in my backyard :)

but yes definitely try them out when they're in season. Most of them have thick rinds but the tahitian one is surprisingly thin.

Sarawak or Tahitian pummelo is indeed IMHO the best flavored retail available cultivar. It is however seedy. The Truman Ranch has a couple of trees. Pummelos are grown all over the valley by a few select people. Chandler (commercial variety) is not that good though it sadly is usually the one found in the market and most widely available as a tree. I have wanted to try Valentine.

There is a serious grower in Mesa who has two red fleshed varieties and one yellow fleshed variety that he grew from seed of a Thailand green fleshed cultivar that are the best tasting pummelos I have ever eaten. Hoping they get propagated before cotton root rot strikes, but the fear of spreading citrus diseases is irrationally IMHO hampering the effort locally for all citrus propagation.

The segments are separated and the bitter skin removed to get at the flesh. Some hybrids do not have bitter skin. They are the largest citrus with thick rinds.

They are the first citrus of the season but that season is short lived for citrus. Season should start in Nov. and end in Jan. The fact that you found the Tahitian is edible 5-6 weeks before it is ripe is a good sign of its sweetness.

http://www.citrusvariety.ucr.edu/citrus/pummelos.html
https://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/pummelo.html
http://users.kymp.net/citruspages/pomelos.html

This post was edited by Fascist_Nation on Tue, Sep 23, 14 at 11:10

Glad to hear that there's other people out here that are interested in these fruits. I might have to try growing some from seed when I see a different variety this winter at my local asian grocery. Do you happen to know if these citrus will grow true from seed?

The pummelo he gave me to try still had a very green rind to it, I know they turn yellow when ripe, but it still tasted really good.

I found this awesome website that this guy did a taste test on a variety of pummelos that are grown in California. With pictures provided of each type.

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Apparently, Tahitian and Sarawak are two different pummelos.

It's a really good read if you guys have the chance to check it out.
http://www.fruitmentor.com/californiapummelos

and here's a video of a guy doing a taste test of his Hirado Buntan and Sarawak pummelos he grows in his backyard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihDBf8iWmww

This post was edited by raimeiken on Tue, Sep 23, 14 at 15:55

Pummelos are not true from seed.

The gentleman I mentioned planted 12 seeds. Got seven to germinate. Two cultivars were inedible (I can attest to this; pure acid!). Five were good to the best. The parent was a green fleshed variety. The offspring were 3 red fleshed, 3 yellow and one white fleshed I believe; no green fleshed. The two bad tasting cultivars were yellow fleshed.

7 of 12 is a good germination rate and getting them all to mature trees is an amazing (IMHO) accomplishment of a master. 5 good tasting of 7 or 12 is pretty good odds of developing your own unique cultivars. No reason you could not use that pile of seeds.

This post was edited by Fascist_Nation on Tue, Sep 23, 14 at 18:58

I love pummelos. I didn't know any varieties. I am growing a grapefruit called "cocktail" yet no one has ever heard of that variety grapefruit. I wonder if it is actually a pummelo. Anyone know? It only bears one fruit a year for me.

"Cocktail" pummelo is a pummelo x mandarin hybrid.
I'm personally not a fan of it but every nursery in town has them instock instead of real pummelo varieties like Chandler, Tahitian, etc.

I love the fruit but the tree has never taken off. It only gets one fruit a year. I tried to dig it out last year but even though it's a small 3 ft tree I could not get the roots out. So after I did that it starting growing a little better this yr. I'm literally stuck with the tree.

My Tahitian Pummelo tree finally got delivered from Greenfield Citrus Nursery :) So excited!

I paid $300 for the tree. It's a 24" burlap size. A little more than the other local nurseries for the same box size but this one was a specialty type that's why it was more, and also this tree is a lot taller than other 24" box size citrus trees I've seen in other nurseries. It's almost 8ft tall. I'm extremely happy with it! If you guys are planning to buy some citrus trees, go check them out. All of their trees are grown here and in ground.

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and here's all the fruit that I picked off of it.
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I'm not sure, but I think one of the reasons true Pomelos have such little popularity in the United States is because supposedly they need more prolonged heat to ripen to full sweetness. (So when you do see Pomelos, you typically see hybrid varieties like Chandler that was bred for maximum sweetness)

And if you look at the history, grapefruit was bred to be more cold hardy so that it could survive in places like Florida and Texas that experience occasional frost years. It would be very difficult to commercially grow pomelos in these places (except in limited areas like Miami and Brownsville). There shouldn't be any worries about frost in the Phoenix area though since it has a very mild winter climate.

Americans are not familiar with Pomelo and when they do see one they typically just think it is some kind of Grapefruit. Pomelo is very popular in Asia though, particularly Southeast Asia, where it existed long before Grapefruit started being grown in Jamaica and Florida.

I like to try the Tahitian pumelos. The Oroblanco is my absolute favorite and you can get it cheap at Costco!!

Raimeiken how has your Tahitian done? It's been a while since you posted about it and I'm wondering how it's done in the winter and if you have had any fruits from it and if so how they have been? This is on my maybe plant list but the more I read the more it moves up to a must plant!

Love this thread! I recently sold my home with a thriving pomelo tree and sadly my attempt at growing from a cutting did not survive our move.

Looking at that picture I think it was melogold or oroblanco. I've been searching for trees for sale in Phoenix area and can't seem to find. Any suggestions? Thanks!!

Oroblancos i buy from harriscitrusnursery.com in fl for my vegas yard ....they hv the hardy pomel too ...shipping isnt bad 13$ ea