CLICK HERE AND GET SOME FRESH YET CHEAP SEEDS TODAY!
CONTENTS:
ORIGIN
FOOD USES
OTHER USES
CLIMATE
SOIL
PROPAGATION
CARE AND POTTING
HARVESTING
STORAGE
PESTS AND DISEASES
OTHER USEFUL LINKS:
SEED
SOWING GUIDE
FARMING TIPS
GARDENING TOOLS
Gardening tool guide and general information for gardeners
Calamondin, a native citrus plant in the Philippines and China, is cultivated in Southeast Asia and elsewhere as an important crop. In the U.S. and Europe, it is grown mainly as an outstanding ornamental. The tree, which is often trained as a bonsai, will bloom year-round; filling the air with the aroma of citrus blossom. Flower and fruit often will appear at the same time.
The tree has upright branches with very few thorns and can grow up to 10 feet high. Its 3-inch evergreen leaves are broadly oval and pale green below like those of the kumquat. Its flowers are white and small. The 1 3/4 inch-wide fruit is small, depressed, globose and deep orange-yellow when ripe, loose-skinned and, segmented. The pulp is very acidic. Mature fruit can be produced year round.
It is said that it is an acid citrus, a group that includes lemons and limes. The flesh is orange, juicy and acid, with a fine lime-orange flavor. Because of this, it is usually grouped with the limes. The small seeds are few, with characteristic green cotyledons. One bite of this fruit can pucker your mouth. The fruit, when ripe, is very sour when first tasted. Subsequent tasted fruits make your mouth sweet. If the fruit is picked too soon, it is bitter.
ORIGIN:
Back to Top
In many Latin countries, the calamondin plant is found in backyards, and the
fruit is called 'agri-dulce' (sweet and sour). It is known by the botanical
name of Citrus mitis Blanco or Citrofortunella mitis and is considered a
good remedy for the 'grippe' (cold). Horticulturists believe that the
Calamondin is a hybrid of lime and mandarin, or lime and kumquat, or kumquat
and mandarin.
The early name of the fruit was given the botanical name of Citrus
madurensis loureiro by a man named Loureiro who found this unusual fruit on
the island of Madura, near Java. Later it was changed to the new
classification.
A man named Lathrop introduced this unusual fruit, the calamondin, in
Florida in 1899 with a name 'acid orange.' Later, Dr. David Fairchild, who
came from Panama, introduced it as 'Panama orange.' The fruit had come to
Chile as a stock for mandarin oranges and from Chile went to Panama. Among
alternate common names are: calamondin orange; Chinese, or China, orange;
Panama orange; golden lime; scarlet lime; and, in the Philippines,
kalamondin, kalamunding, kalamansi, calamansi, limonsito, or agridulce.
Malayan names are limau kesturi ("musk lime") and limau chuit. In Thailand,
it is ma-nao-wan. While in Japan, they call it, sikikan.
FOOD USES:
Back to Top
Calamondin halves or quarters may be served with iced tea, seafood and
meats, to be squeezed for the acid juice. They were commonly so used in
Florida before limes became plentiful. Some people boil the sliced fruits
with cranberries to make a tart sauce. Calamondins are also preserved whole
in sugar syrup, or made into sweet pickles, or marmalade. A superior
marmalade is made by using equal quantities of calamondins and kumquats. In
Hawaii, calamondin-papaya marmalade is popular. In Malaya, the calamondin is
an ingredient in chutney. Whole fruits, fried in coconut oil with various
seasonings, are eaten with curry. The preserved peel is added as flavoring
to other fruits stewed or preserved.
The juice is primarily valued for making acid beverages. It is often
employed like lime or lemon juice to make gelatin salads or desserts,
custard pie or chiffon pie. In the Philippines, the extracted juice, with
the addition of gum tragacanth as an emulsifier, is pasteurized and bottled
commercially. This product must be stored at low temperature to keep well.
Pectin is recovered from the peel as a by-product of juice production.
Food Value Per 100 g of Edible Portion*
Whole Fruit % Juice %
Calories/lb 173 (380/kg)
Moisture 87.08-87.12 89.66
Protein 0.86 0.01
Fat 2.41 0.53
Carbohydrates 3.27
Ash 0.54-0.64 0.62
Calcium 0.14
Phosphorus 0.07
Iron 0.003
Citric Acid 2.81 5.52
*The chemistry of the calamondin has received only moderate attention.
Wester (1924) and Marañon (1935) reported the above constituents from
Philippine analyses. Mustard found the ascorbic acid content of the whole
fruit to be, 88.4-111.3 mg/100 g; of the juice, 30-31.5 mg; and of the peel,
130-173.9 mg.
OTHER USES:
Back to Top
Calamondin is widely grown as an ornamental bush in California and Florida.
It is grown sometimes as a house plant, and it is quite showy when fruits
are ripe. The trees bloom all year under warm weather and it can have
flowers, green fruits, and mature fruits at any given time. It can be grown
as a dooryard tree throughout the citrus belt and will do very well as a
container plant in colder locations in north Florida if protected from cold.
It can also be used as a living Christmas tree.
The fruit juice is used in the Philippines to bleach ink stains from
fabrics. It also serves as a body deodorant.
Medicinal Uses: The fruits may be crushed with the saponaceous bark of
Entada Phaseoloides Merr. for shampooing the hair, or the fruit juice
applied to the scalp after shampooing. It eliminates itching and promotes
hair growth. Rubbing calamondin juice on insect bites banishes the itching
and irritation. It bleaches freckles and helps to clear up acne vulgaris and
pruritus vulvae. It is taken orally as a cough remedy and antiphlogistic.
Slightly diluted and drunk warm, it serves as a laxative. Combined with
pepper, it is prescribed in Malaya to expel phlegm. The distilled oil of the
leaves serves as a carminative with more potency than peppermint oil. The
volatile oil content of the leaves is 0.90% to 1.06%.
CLIMATE:
Back to Top
The calamondin is hardier to cold than any other true citrus specie and only
the trifoliate orange and the kumquat are more tolerant to low temperatures.
It can be successfully grown outside throughout California, Florida, and the
gulf coast. It is moderately drought-tolerant. It makes an excellent
container plant in colder areas.
SOIL:
Back to Top
The tree seems able to tolerate a wide range of soils from clay-loam in the
Philippines to limestone or sand in Florida. They prefer well-drained soils
that are kept moist and in full sun.
PROPAGATION:
Back to Top
Calamondin trees may be easily grown from seeds, which are polyembryonic
with 3 to 5 embryos each.
For commercial fruit production in the Philippines, the trees are budded
onto calamondin seedlings. In Florida, propagation by cuttings rooted under
constant mist is the more common commercial procedure for pot culture. Even
leaf-cuttings will root readily. Cuttings of new growth are dipped in
rooting hormone and placed in a perlite-peat moss mixture and kept evenly
moist (not wet) in direct light.
Plants grown from cuttings fruit during the rooting period and will reach 18
to 24 in (45-60 cm) in height in 10 1/2 months. The flowers are self-fertile
and require no cross-pollination. The calamondin should root in 1 to 2
months and will grow at the rate of 1 foot (30 cm) per year. It will produce
an abundant crop of fruit at the age of 2 years and will continue to bear
the year around.
CARE AND POTTING:
Back to Top
Most varieties can be grown in containers, such as pots or tubs (the most
popular container is a two-inch pot), with a fair degree of success.
Drainage of container is utmost importance since citrus plants can develop
root problems if the drainage is not adequate. Citrus can be grown in a
mixture of equal parts of peat, perlite, and a good garden loam. A mixture
of peat and perlite alone is not recommended because plants tend to blow
over and develop nutritional deficiencies when this mixture is used. When
transplanting, do not disturb the soil or roots. Place the plant into the
new pot or container that has been partially filled with soil or rooting
media.
Citrus plants are not well adapted to the house environment. They grow best
outdoors in direct sunlight or half shade. Indoors, they should be placed in
a very well lit area. During the warm months, they should be placed
outdoors. A temperature range of 70 º F to 90 ºF is adequate. Citrus trees
do not grow well at temperatures below 55 ºF. Water plants as needed only,
excess or lack of water will kill a tree. Allow the surface inch of soil to
become dry before watering. Fertilize sparingly but frequently, about every
five weeks. Dusty leaves usually result in mite and scale infections, water
the leaves with a sponge frequently to avoid these problems which may cause
serious problems in small trees.
In orchard plantings, Philippine workers have established that a complete
commercial fertilizer with a 1:1 nitrogen to potassium ratio gives the best
growth. There are 2 applications: one prior to the onset of the rainy season
and the second just before the cessation of rains. Adequate moisture is the
principal factor in yield, size and quality of the fruit. Drought and
dehydrating winds often lead to mesophyll collapse.
HARVESTING:
Back to Top
Calamondins are harvested by clipping the stems as they become fully colored
throughout the year. In the Philippines the peak season is mid-August
through October.
STORAGE:
Back to Top
The fruits will keep in good condition for 2 weeks at 48º to 50º F
(8.89º-10º C) and 90% relative humidity. Weight loss will be only 6.5%.
Waxing retards ascorbic acid loss for 2 weeks in storage but not thereafter.
Potted plants for shipment can be stored in the dark for 2 weeks at 53.6º F
(12º C) without loss of leaves or fruits in storage or in subsequent transit
and marketing.
PESTS AND DISEASES:
The calamondin is a prime host of the Mediterranean and Caribbean fruit
flies, and for this reason is much less planted in Florida than formerly. It
may be attacked by other pests and diseases that affect the lemon and lime
including the viruses: crinkly leaf, exocortis, psorosis, xyloporosis and
tristeza, but it is immune to canker and scab. They are susceptible to
chlorosis, provoked by lack of calcium and magnesium.
CURRENT NEWS & STORIES: