Congratulations, Mike!
What an excellent specimen. I love Four winds!
Now you can invite even more people over to sample your fruit.

Josh

Congratulations Mike. I hope you enjoy that tree and its fruits for many years to come.

Well done, Mike! Your Oro Blanco looks really nice, an excellent specimen, and yes, Four Winds are a great outfit! All my Four Winds trees have done extremely well. In fact, I'll have to snap a photo of little Honey mandarin I purchased from Four Winds. It is so full of fruit, I'm thinking of possibly thinning it. I rarely if every have to do this, but this little tree is SO happy, and is so well established, all the fruit set. Amazing, and I do think a testimony to how Four Winds starts their trees. All of my Four Winds trees have established this way in the ground for me. Enjoy your Oro Blanco, it is a delicious citrus, I just love it. All the flavor of a grapefruit without all the bitterness. And, it doesn't need the heat to sweeten up, so it's perfect for our area here in the mild N. San Diego coastal climate. Love Four Winds, and hope they continue to offer more unusual types of citrus:
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Patty S.

Great tree, I also bought one by Four Winds, but at Home Depot. Mine's in the ground, fighting citrus leaf miner, tough little guy, taking all the miners can give and keep growing.

Josh: Thanks buddy! It is one tree that I am going to treasure. You know I have a very big liking to the Oro tree!

Amaji: Thanks so much. I hope so too. Have a great night:-)

Patty, my dear Patty: I LOVE that tree and look at all that fruit you have there. Now that is going to be one very happy tree I tell you. I love every tree I have ever received from them plus more. We shall have to do updates from time to time on these. Patty, my calf muscle swelled up today and I hope it was just do to my first exercise for my leg to foot. I am icing now.
Many a good night to you and all

MIke:-)

Hey Mike,
Nice tree ya got there! Can you help me buddy?? I forgot how you mix the FE for spraying for insects and I really need to get this down. I was so ANGRY because I am battling spider mites on 2 of my 3 largest angel trumpets outdoors.

I thought that I would be safe with them outside but I guess not.

I am going to be like a mad scientist with my 'ORo' over the winter. Conducting my own experiments to see if I can successfully air layer it and then get it to grow on it's own roots.

The flowers and scent are worth it alone!!

How's that foot coming along? GReat tree, and I know it's in great hands!! Hmm...maybe i need to enter that contest again!

Hey Josh,
How are ya? It's been a long time huh! How are you and your citrus doing?

Take care,
Andrew

I know, Mike, isn't that crazy!?! I might have to pull some of the fruits, I think this tiny tree has like 20 some fruits on it. Maybe more, it's hard to see them all. The Calif. Honey mandarin is a very vigorous tree that is a prolific bearer. It's actually a hybrid (one of the Willowleaf mandarin hybrids that have been so successful). I think it tends to be alternate bearing, so this must be its "on" year. So, I don't expect a lot next year, but that's okay, I've got plenty of other mandarins :-)

And as to your calf muscle - I suspect you've also had some Achilles's tendon involvement with your fracture, so some swelling from your PT is probably going to happen in the beginning. So, after your PT, elevate your foot and ice it, plus ibuprofen as your doc has prescribed (or, whatever anti-inflammatory drug he's told you to take.) The PT will get better, it will be less painful. The worst part of PT are the first 3 sessions :-) It does get better, promise!

Patty S.

Patty:

More than helping with my trees, I thank you for your expertise and encouragement with my condition lately. You actually gave me a reason to smile this am and even a more reason to consider you a friend.
I really appreciate you around these parts. Today is much better. I think it was a side effect of PT yesterday and it never occured to me that the Achilles's was going to cause this, me a Massage Therapist. Thanks for your advice:-)

Yes, that is one awesome tree to say the least! I wish my Oro Blanco had come loaded with fruit like that.lol
I actually had a bit of the fruit the last time my other tree provided me a few fruit and it did not bother me at all:-)
Yes, no worries, you have plenty more where that fruit came from.

Patty: FYI. Did you know that Four Winds has that contest every month? Yes, I think you could win one:-)
Here is there number and ask Kerri to explain. She will fill you in:-) 1(877) 449-4637 then press 1

Andrew, nice surprise!

Lol..I can't imagine you being a mad scientist, but you have on occasion chopped the limbs off of trees, ripped off the heads of a few bugs,tossed a sickly tree out in the dump, and certainly decapitated all the fruit on your Lemon trees..

Do you have a MG end sprayer?
I usually fill one of those things up half way with FE, and let that container do the job. Once it fills with water from the hose, both the FE and water come out in a perfect ratio. Now is the time to spray Andrew. You need to treat at least 3-4 times every couple of days before they come inside.
If your mite problem is very bad, you may have to take more desperate measures. But I think you will be ok if you start this weekend.
Don't forget to drench especially under the leaves and the soil mix.

You are SOOOOO right about the scent and flowers of the Oro! One huge flower open will fill the house and yard with fragrance, especially on a very humid morning or evening! Have you even considered a flowering plant like a Brunfelsia? Ok, we will not even go there..lol

Mike

Great tree Mike and Patty. Next spring I may have to get one of these wonderful Four winds trees.

Andrew if you dont have a hose end sprayer like mike, I use a 1 gallon pump up sprayer and mix a cup of FE to a gallon of water.

mike

Hey Andrew.

Mike's method works too. He has been blessed with bug free plants lately, well at least from spider mites.

Thanks Mike!

Mike

Mike, I have 3 Oro Blanco Pomelos...aka Sweetie; a cross with the grapefruit; so it remains for me to see what the fruit tastes like. I also have 3 Chandler pomelos; it is not available here, so I bought one for my son in Sacramento from Four Winds; and then I brought a few buds into Guatemala and created them here. As I have lots of space, my Pomelos are on Macrophylla root; so I expect fruit in 2 years. My Meyers are on the same root and i have fruit set at 10 months from budding.
I don't have any grapefruit; because, when I was doing nutrition studies at UCDavis, I learned that pigs (whose digestive system is nearly identical to humans) will not eat grapefruit... they will eat almost anything else including another pig. From that I reasoned that if a pig won't eat grapefruit, then John ain't eatin no grapefruit.

John..lol You are funny! Can they handle all other citrus? If not, then I know what I resemble.lol

Man you are so lucky to have trees like that! Just wonderful John:-0)

HEy Mike,
Now I have another question. I had asked about the mature size of the Oro grapefruit. MY tree has a "Y" shape to it. I have had the tree for a year so it's what....about 3 years old now(I got the 2 year old tree last year)?

Anyhow I have 3 good sized fruits on the tree. Thankfully it is still happily living outdoors. Temps have been cooler but still in the 50's to 60's at night...days in the low to mid 70's.

The fruits are on a branch that is still small in diameter. My darn camera is broken right now, otherwise I would take pics of it! What I am trying to figure is how to support them so the limb doesn't snap. IT's almost bent straight down all ready. IF it wasn't for the fact that I REALLY want to taste these fruits, I would remove 2 of them so to take stress of thast branch.

I was almost thinking of making a make shift hammock with an onion bag...thinking that there would still be air circulating around the fruits.

Do you have any tips?

Thanks!
Andrew

Ooh how's the foot?

Hi Andrew!

I have had fruit that heavy on mine and it would bend the branch but never break it. It did distort the shape of my tree and I eventually cut it off.

I have used a stick and pushed it into the pot and tie off the fruit to be supported.
You will be amazed at how tasty the fruit is once you bite into it. Look at how nice you are doing so well with your trees.

The foot still hurts like crazy but is coming along ssslllooowwllyy. I am finally able to stand on it and walk with the aid of one crutch, but I am being told that I should not get discouraged because I am coming along better than I think by my therapist.
I am just happy enough to be able to carry my plants in and out for protection and rearange them outside.
I wish I was able to climb out onto my flat sunny roof too, but that will have to wait.
Another 7 days of temps warm enough for our trees to thrive. 70's by day and 60's by night. Very HUMID for the next 5 days!

I hope to see pictures soon. It has been awhile since I have seen yours. I hope you are well and the back in tip top shape!

Mike

HEy Mike,
I know I had asked this before and you were going to answer after everyone else had a chance....how large did your Oro fruits get and how long did they take to get to maturity? Mine are now bigger than a baseball and I noticed the other day that the skin is now just starting to give a little when I put just a little pressure on it. I'm not trying to bruise or damage the fruits but I am kind of wondering how much longer of a wait I will have.

I am really debating on buying another Meyer this spring. I know I could get one from this awesome greenghouse/nursery in PA. That's where I got the 6ft tall monster I sadly lost last year.

The good news is that I could get it at the same price that they buy it for!

Take care, and glad to hear your foot is improving. Just be patient Mike! Please be carefull moving your plants around!

Andrew