Description
Hardy Bitter Orange (Trifoliate Orange) Seedlings
- Hardiness: USDA Zone 5
- Size at Maturity: 12′ tall and wide
- Edible, Flowering
- Self-Fertile
- Plant Source: Seed
Poncirus trifoliata
Hardy Bitter Orange (Poncirus trifoliate) is a USDA Zone 5 citrus plant that grows 12 feet tall and wide. It is a large thorny shrub or small tree that produces beautiful flowers and a bitter fruit best used for preserves.
Hardy bitter orange is native to Northern China and Korea. There are no examples of this plant in Edmonton and should be considered marginal. It would be best grown in a protected location, against a fence, or in a large pot that can be moved into a garage for the winter.
Bitter Orange is grown for the ornamental leaves, thorns, and flowers and edible fruit. Fruit can be dried, candies, or turned into preserves such a marmalade. Juice made from the fruit is said to taste like a “cross between a lemon and a grapefruit.“
