Fukushu kumquat grafted cutting or seed grown is the easiest of mine. Meiwa kumquats come next and are much more finicky than Fukushu. Valentine pomelo comes next with significant winter time difficulties. New Zealand lemonade usually come close to death every winter and must be an in ground tree to do OK in my neighborhood. In ground Fukushu from seed below.

that's it.

Steve

that's so funny! My New Zealand lemonade does just fine in a container and is one of the least finicky trees I have....my Meyers lemon, on the other hand, is the ultimate diva.

(I'm in NYC / Zone 7)

Of my own trees, I would probably second that the fukushu is among the easiest to keep happy.

Those are the first round of blooms for the season on an exclusively indoor fukushu. It's been my lowest maintenance tree.

After the fukushu the next easiest would be the Makrut/kaffir lime. Tree grows like a weed.

I would say the Nagami is a bit more difficult, although that may just be my tree as it wasn't the healthiest when I got it, and, at least mine wants to be a huge tree.

Following the Nagami would be the Rangpur lime, mine's seed grown and is never happy unless the sun is moderately bright (spring sunshine), and the temp doesn't go below 60F or above 78F. Either the temperature is too low (I get leaf curl if the temp in the room drops below 60), or the sun is too bright (it gets sunburn in a window as soon as it starts getting hot, and it lives in a house with air conditioning). It is the only indoor tree I know that needs shade in a window.

Of trees I've worked with I would say that the limes are pretty easy, while the Meyer has always taken me as fussy.

If you are talking about in containers, I would say some kumquats can be finicky. Also, the larger citrus fruits like grapefruits, pomelos and pomelos hybrids can be difficult to get the fruit to hold and to ripen fully. Also, the plants get large. Shiranui is vigorous, but fruits seem harder to get to perfection. I've had some split and many fall off before they're ripe.

The smaller mandarins seem to be on the easier side. Also, I would say key lime is fairly easy and quite productive. Probably calamondin is on the easy side, if you like them. Meyer lemon can be productive, if a bit finicky in winter if you are in the north. Persian lime is fairly easy. In fact most of the tart citrus varieties are easier to 'ripen'.

Of course it all depends upon your growing conditions. If you have a green house, sunny three-season room that you can keep cool in winter, or live in a warm climate and can grow them in the ground (unless you are in an HLB region), they are all fairly easy.

Honestly, I would not select citrus so much based upon degree of difficulty, but on what variety I really most like to eat, or couldn't be without. All citrus have some basic requirements that need to be met. Once you have that decision made, you can do your research and usually figure out how to best grow them.

One other thought: it's one thing to grow citrus and another to actually get good fruit.

In my experience, lemons and limes have been the easiest to grow .(lisbon and Persian) My experience is only growing in containers and wintering indoors.

"I would say it has nothing to do with the tree, but rather the grower."

Thanks Silica I needed that. Rootstock may make a difference. There has been tremendous amount of research for root sock for orchards but very little research for rootstock for potted trees.

Steve

Steve, that's an interesting point. I would also say that it has to do with a grower's environment, too. If you have a rootstock that is more adapted to alkalinity and dry environments, and that's what you have, your tree will seem easy, for example. I would be interested to see research on dwarfing rootstocks for containerized trees in more northern environments. Come to think of it, my two happiest trees both come from four winds who has a history in container citrus.

We have 17 trees at the moment, 13 in ground and 4 in pots. We live in an area where citrus thrives year round, so they are generally easy trees, but we have had a few challenges. Over 25 years, we have lost a grapefruit tree, two meyer lemons and one mandarin. Generally, orange, lemon, lime and kumquats are all pretty easy. Grapefruit, I think is a no for our climate (not hot enough). The third time was a charm for our Meyer Lemon, that being said it is much harder to grow than other lemons for us. My FIL lives in Southern California and has no problem growing Meyers, so it may be a lack of heat issue for us. We also have to work a bit harder for mandarins, which seem to need more care than our other citrus trees.

The most consistent citrus and I have 20 different varieties in ground and in containers is my Bearss Lime in a 1/2 wine barrel followed by my Lisbon in a 1/2 wine barrel.

Everything I grow is very easy to grow unless they are not provided the right conditions to grow well. The root stock does make a difference in a couple of my trees which I have no clue about.

I do know even without the right conditions and just growing with artificial lights, without them , not the best sunny window, on a cold porch, warm room, and neglected at times, the Ponderosa by far my easiest.

The Dekopan is the hardest for me and I think it's because of the root stock they send it to me on.