Have you looked at the Oro Blanco post? If you like the blooms along with the fruit, you can't go wrong here. Even though I have yet to try the fruit, I have heard several people say that it is very sweet and lacks the bitterness of grapefruit. It also doesn't require heat to sweeten the fruit, and blooms twice a year. I just got mine from Four Winds and it is beautifull. It is almost 2 feet tall and 2 feet wide. The description on the tag says huge fragrant flowers and late spring ripening fruit. Fruit is very sweet even in areas of low summer heat. Even without tasting the fruit, I told Mike that I wished I knew about this grapefruit variety sooner. It is a pummelo cross with medium size fruit. Most grapefruit require high temps to sweeten fruit. I would at least check out the Oro Blanco post. The one thing that I fell in love with right away with is the natural beauty of this tree. I have NEVER seen a citrus tree with leaves so large and green! I have Improved Meyer Lemon(Which I just love!), dwarf keylime, and dwarf moro blood orange. None of tho others have leaves that are as dark green as the Oro blanco. I wish I had a fruit for you to try but I just got mine. I do know that the fruit is in season now so maybe you can find a specialty fruit store that carries it. I am going to check out Wegmans and see if they have it. I have found hard to find citrus varieties there.
Andrew

Charles, if it were me picking between the two lemons, I would go with the Lisbon. That way you can keep them outside longer if you wish to in the spring and fall. From what I have read, the Lisbon is the most cold hardy of the true lemons. (I currently have a five year old Meyer, and have just planted a Lisbon as well). As far as taste, I am also told that the Lisbon and the Eureka are the two varieties found in grocery stores.

Roger

Andrew,
I'll think about the Oro Blanco it sounds like a really good tree. Everyone on the thread seems to like it and I like the idea of the big fragrant blooms. Although I think I'll probably go with the Lisbon Lemon. We will use more lemons than grapefruit.
Probably will order from Four Winds. We have a trip scheduled for East Texas in a week or so and I want to check at Tyler and Dallas and such before I order, in case they have one.

Thanks for the input,
Charles

I would go with a Fig if I can suggest outside of the citrus family. For my reason, they are cold hardy and can be planted in the ground or a pot, they grow extreamly fast and have excelent fruit. Do some research on what varity grows best in your area. Check out figs4fun.com for help or the fig form here, both are good for help.

As for a Lemmon, I have a eureaka, its nice but what do you do with lemmons other than make lemmonaid?

Bontanicalbill,
As a matter of fact we have two figs. I don't remember the varieties off hand. One of the problems with figs around here is that sometimes they freeze back to the ground. We do have two cold hardy varities, on in the ground and one in a container, this time so maybe we will have better luck.
We use some lemons in cooking and lemmonaid is always good:-) We use some of the meyers before they are completely ripe so they are still tart, the others we still use for cooking even they are a little sweet.

Charles,
Too bad you could not see both the Oro and the lemons together. I had the opportunity to see a lisbon and eureka up close. I almost bought a variegated eureka but decide against it be cause I had just bought the 6ft meyer. How large are your meyers? I would think that they would eventually produce more lemons then you would know what to do with but I know what it is like to want another fruit tree even if you all ready have one. I have 2 mango trees and am working on getting a 3rd. I still say that the Oro Blanco would be a good choice. Not only are the flowers great but it is such a handsome tree. I have never seen a citrus that looked as nice. Even the variegated eureka didn't look as nice to me! The true draw for me with the varigated eureka was the pink lemons. Still may get one when I have more space for my plants! I will post pictures of my Oro when it blooms. I think I am still at least a week and a half away from the buds opening and from what Meyer Mike has said, the grapefruit eats more like an orange than anything. he said that the fruit is sweeter than blood orange juice! That has to be a sweet fruit. I can't wait for the first fruit. I guess you could also see the length of time it takes for the fruit to ripen as a slight drawback. From what my tag says fruit ripen late spring, and the flowers arrive in early spring so it takes about a year. To me it is worth the wait. I love grapefruit and the fact that is so sweet, requires no additional heat and lacks the traditional bitterness associated with grapefruit, that was all I needed to know to buy this tree.
Andrew

Hi Charles.

I would try a Kumquat or a Calamondin.

Tim

If you can find some of the super cold-hardy trees for sale you might try one of them in the ground and just protect it during the really cold spells. A lot of them don't have superior flavor but there are some tangerine types that taste great and really produce a lot of fruit. I think the largest trees for sale are in South Carolina and Georgia and they are growing them in the ground without protection. My guess is that they are a zone warmer than you. You might have to protect from strong winds.

I have some of the variegated lemons (they weren't tagged so I have no idea which variety they are) and they are very eye catching as a patio plant. Mine aren't huge so they only produce a dozen or so lemons but they are so pretty I will keep them around.

I also have a small kumquat and a calamondin that I keep small and potted as a patio container plant. I love how they always have fruit on them. I always have ripe citrus available for something I'm cooking or something to snack on while sitting outside. The fruit is sour and seedy but I've gotten to where I love it.

I now live on the east coast but I grew up in Norman, Oklahoma. I remember growing a grapefruit from seed that got to be about 8 feet tall - I would plant it outside and dig it back up every winter. It never bloomed or set fruit but I was mighty proud of it.

Looking at your picks - I would suggest a Lisbon lemon or a Meiwa Kumquat (sweeter than others and ornamental too) or a Moro Blood Orange (requires less heat to color up). I have a "very handsome" Oro Blanco tree too - yes the foliage is extremely green and glossy (so are my Cara Cara Pink Navel Orange's leaves), and the fruit is sweet, but, personally I like the taste of Blood oranges better than Oro Blanco (just a personal taste preference on my part).
Lisbon lemon has a slight edge over Eureka for me, as Lisbon bears year around in my yard (prolific producer too). But, my personal favorite in my collection (my little champ) is the Mexican Key Lime or Bartender's lime. Good luck.