Otaheite orange

noun
A house plant that is possibly a hybrid between a lemon and a mandarin orange, resembling a miniature orange tree and having insipid yellow-orange fruit.

insipid

adjective

without flavor; tasteless

That takes care of the orange anyway...

3 in 1's grow weird and need lots of pruning of some branches to slow them down and make the tree balanced. That branch removal will make those varietys not produce fruit. So you could be choosing between the vigorous variety(s) and letting it(them) out grow the rest or the least vigorous variety and having a balanced tree from a foliage point of view but no new wood to fruit on the vigorous variety(s).

I don't like to be that guy but maybe kill the other 2 and make it a dancy.

Ponderosa- not real lemon
Otahite not real orange some think it's a sweet lime but most think what the previous poster said.

Ponderosa are quite vigorous. Not a true lemon as others have said. Zest not as good as lemon.

From Wiki:

The ponderosa lemon (Citrus limon ÃÂ medica) is a citrus species thought to be a hybrid of a lemon and a citron. It is less cold hardy than a true lemon.

Hmmm. If it's a hybrid it can't be a species can it?

They are interesting plants. Fruit can be huge.

I would guess it would outgrow the other two in the pot buts that's just speculation.

Here is a link that might be useful: UC Riverside - Ponderosa

This post was edited by dave_in_nova on Thu, Nov 6, 14 at 19:07

Punky, everyone has been super nice with you and that's great but the reality is you got some junk in a pot and the amount of time and emotional energy you are putting into this will not reward you with 3 delicious yet different citrus crops. Pip's idea of just working with the Dancy is the best. If you want a lemon, get a Santa Teresa or Meyer depending on your taste, and if you want an orange you have a zillion choices but why not try a Trovita?

Already got a Myer and a calmodion and now I have this 3n1 citrus. I'm not killing something I paid for would of just bought the tangerine then.

Orange - you've gotten the low down. Not worth growing imho.
Ponderosa - will eventually overtake your other cuttings in the pot. Vigorous, not a real lemon, cross between a citron and lemon. Huge fruit, average flavor.
Dancy mandarin - average to good. Not one I would grow, as there about 20 other mandarin varieties that produce much better-tasting fruit (and I have about 20 different mandarin cultivars on my property, none of which are a Dancy).

So, guess it's up to you what you want to do. Frankly, I would ask on this forum for advice regarding any other citrus trees you'd like to grow, and this forum can give you advice on the best cultivars. Otherwise, it's a crap shoot, and you'll end up with something like what you've ordered - a tree that really isn't a "3-in-1" tree, but three rooted cuttings or average of sub-par cultivars, stuck in one pot. SO many other, much better cultivars to pick from.

Patty S.

I'd send it back and ask for a refund based upon the fact that they sold you 3 plants in one pot vs an actual 3 in 1 cocktail citrus tree. Then I'd take that $20 and add another $10 to it and place an order on the four winds growers web site and get a good quality tree that you know will produce good fruit and that you know comes from a reputable grower. Also, if you would like more info on any type of citrus tree here's the link to the citrus variety collection. http://www.citrusvariety.ucr.edu

Evan

Already got a Myer and a calmodion and now I have this 3n1 citrus. I'm not killing something I paid for would of just bought the tangerine then.

I don't see that anyone is telling you to kill you tree. Evan suggested you return it, since it really isn't what was advertised, and since you have limited space. He suggested you consider purchasing a better quality tree that will produce edible fruit, and will have a better chance of growing well for you. Don't see how that could be construed as suggesting to kill your tree.

Remember, you started this message thread and asked, "can you tell me about these varieties please". So, we did that for you, and let you know about all 3 varieties. Up to you to keep a tree that provides average to poor quality fruits, and one that will present challenges growing all to maturity in one pot. We wish you well with your tree.

Patty S.

I did suggest to him to kill 2 of the varieties. The fact is he wasted money buying a tree because it's a 3 in 1. He should have found out what kinds it was first and chose another obviously.

Sorry punky but what advice do you want? You basically only have 3 options, make it a single variety, trim the fast growing variety and hope the other 2 fruit, or don't trim at all and watch one or two varietys get overgrown by the strongest resulting in the rest dying.

You don't really have the option of having all 3 fruit. To do that you grow a single variety to the size you want then graft the ends of branches with different varieties. People have 30 and more varietys on one tree successfully that way.

If you go to a Tom Spellman from Dave Wilson Nurseries talk he usually tells the story of a guy who went to the k-mart end of the season super discount sale and bought a ridiculous number of Quince trees bareroot. Had grown and tended to them for a few years and was now asking what to do with them. If you like to use quince, that might have been a wonderful bargain. But if the only thing you think they are good for is throwing, then it was a giant waste of time, space and money on that cheap bargain batch of trees.

It might be better to realize you got rooked by a company selling some type of indoor decorative citrus tree rather than a good nursery selling a quality fruiting tree. Rather than shooting the messengers, you might want to have a talk with the seller of that plant and see if you can get a refund and use that money on a good tree for your area.

Pip, didn't see your post, sorry. But, know that it's not a "3-in-1" grafted tree. What he has are three rooted cuttings stuck into one pot. Three completely separate trees growing in one pot, one of which is very vigorous and will crowd out the other two and eventually kill them (so, I guess it will probably end up with your recommendation, if punky tries to continue to grow 3 trees in one pot). No need to kill anything. Punky really should remove two of the cuttings and re-pot them in their own pots. And, what Kippy said. It really is a very perfect example of "you get what you pay for". These are cuttings of more ornamental types of citrus trees, which is fine if that's what you want - a pretty plant that is rather high-maintenance inside, and produces pretty, but either inedible or marginal fruits.

And, punky, again, Kippy has given you some good advice - don't shoot the messengers you asked us about these cultivars we've told you what they are, where to go to find out more about them, and what we, as experienced citrus growers would do. It is entirely up to you as to what you wish to do with your 3 cuttings. Wishing you well, whatever it is you decide.

Patty S.

Thanks for advice not returning I like what I got if dog would stop breaking off new growth. By the way its she not he

Sorry for the he/she thing.

Ms. Punky, do you want fruit to eat or just a tree with colorful fruit for looks?

Also if you don't mind what part of the country are you from? Just a general area not specifics.

"I like what I got"

Congratulations -

In the end, that's all that counts.

I think everyone has good intentions in all the recommendations and warnings about the cultivars. but...

At the end of the day it would be very unusual if Punky has all that much success given the location and the environment he/she lives in (zone 5 in a window is a pretty sure bet for not much fruit development if any). Even with the best, most awesome cultivar, it probability wouldn't be able to mature properly in that environment anyway.

What Punky has probably be just as good as any. I wish you the best of luck and please prove me wrong.If/ When that happens, you are ready for better cultivars but not yet.

I live in Missouri

If I have luck rooting some cuttings I'll send you one. Grafted is better but rooted will work fine in a container. It's a w. Murcott I'll know in a month if they take.

And the W. Murcott is absolutely delicious, sweet, rich mandarin. That is a very generous offer, pip. Punky, I would take pip up on the offer if you want a really excellent-tasting mandarin.

Patty S.

I've rooted tomatoes and peppers a bunch but don't know how successful I will be with citrus.