This week, I thought I would reintroduce a sweet lemon I’ve discussed a few times recently on GardenLine. In fact, I got an email this week asking, “What was that crazy-sounding citrus you just mentioned?”
It was the ujukitsu!
I love this fruit tree for several reasons, and one is its ability to handle cold temperatures better than other sweet lemon. Frankly, it can handle lows in the mid-20s and survive. I also love cooking with ujukitsu. And I love saying oo-joo-KIT-soo.
There are a number of lemon trees considered “sweet,” and several are just called “sweet lemon.” The ujukitsu was originally named Lemonade Fruit. We have had success locally with the Meyer lemon and, while it’s not as sweet as ujukitsu, it has a hint of orange.
And what exactly is “sweet?” It’s a generic term used to describe citrus hybrids with low-acid pulp and juice. Sweet lemon plants are not really lemons … they’re lemon hybrids - crosses with other types of citrus. In the case of ujukitsu, it is thought to be a strain of tangelo, which is, in turn, a cross between a grapefruit and a tangerine.
Rio Farms, a USDA research center in the Rio Grande Valley, originally brought ujukitsu to the United States from Japan. The valley had a significant freeze in 1983, killing most of the citrus, but one ujukitsu survived. John Panzarella, a citrus expert from Angleton and a past GardenLine guest, collected some budwood from it to propagate.
Ujukitsu sweet lemon trees have "weeping" branches – long and arching. Fruit appears at the ends of the branches and is pear-shaped. When ripe, the fruit is bright yellow and thick, making it difficult to peel. Inside, the pulp is mildly sweet and juicy.
Ujukitus grow more slowly than other citrus, but its fruit appears earlier than other sweet lemon trees, such as sanoboken. They bloom profusely with aromatic blossoms in the spring followed by fruit formation. The largest fruit is about the size of a softball and ripens through the fall into winter.
I’m bringing this to your attention right now because there will be no Extension Service or Master Gardener fruit tree sales this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, citrus trees of this type will be for sale, in some cases year-round, at many independent nurseries and garden centers endorsed on the radio show. I doubt, though, that you’ll find them at big box stores or mass merchandisers.
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PHOTOS: Randy Lemmon