5 Unusual Citrus Fruit For Your Garden

We’ve written about veggies and fruits alike in our ‘unusual foods’ series but today it’s all about bright tangy citruses. They aren’t just delicious but also ornamental and can be grown indoors for both fruit and as decoration.

Buddha’s Hand

Unusual, fragrant, ornamental citron is shaped in a form of a hand with open or closed fingers. Used for its showy appearance Buddha’s hand can also be eaten or used in making of beverages. Growing in a well-drained soil this citron prefers partial shade and its watering schedule will change depending on the season.

Kumquat

Kumquat looks like a small orange with a taste between a real orange and a tangerine (it translates from Cantonese as ‘Golden Tangerine’). This cold hardy citrus can withstand 14 °F (-10 C) temperature in winter but requires a hot summer weather up to 100 °F (38 C). Preferring full sun kumquat can tolerate any type of soil as long as it’s well-drained.

Calamondin

A kuquat hybrid Calamondin is a bright orange fruit that looks very similar to a tangerine. It is also cold hardy and can be grown outdoors for both ornamental and other purposes. Growing a potted tree indoors can add a beautiful accent to your interior.

Australian Finger Lime

Also known as Citrus australasica Australian Finger Lime is a peculiar fruit just like the Buddha’s hand only it produces separate finger-like fruits that contain a myriad of small caviar-like juice vesicles that have a lime-like taste and come in rosy pink, yellow, and lime green colors. Native to rainforests finger lime may prove better suited for indoor cultivation if your conditions are different.

Kaffir Lime

Kaffir limes are pretty much the limes we know but their skin is covered in bumps and its leaves are very valued for their fragrance. as most citruses it prefers full sun and moist, well-drained soil. Being cold sensitive it’s best to keep them indoors and provide adequate humidity levels especially during frowing season.

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