Citrus trifoliata, also called hardy orange or Japanese bitter orange, is a cold-hardy deciduous shrub or small tree, 4 to 8 m tall, grown mainly as a rootstock and hedge plant. Its key trait is tolerance of frost and snow, which makes it a useful citrus relative in cooler climates.
Family
Rutaceae (Citrus family)
Grows as
Tree, Shrub
Light
Full sun
Water
Water deeply during dry spells once established; avoid waterlogged soil.
Soil
Well-drained soil, tolerant of a range of soil types.
Temperature
Hardy to about USDA zone 6, tolerating moderate frost and snow.
How easy
Easy
Edible
Yes, some parts
Native range
C. & S. China
Climate
temperate
About
The trifoliate orange, Citrus trifoliata (syn. Poncirus trifoliata), is a member of the family Rutaceae. Whether the trifoliate oranges should be considered to belong to their own genus, Poncirus, or be included in the genus Citrus is debated. The species is unusual among citrus for having deciduous, compound leaves and pubescent (downy) fruit.
It is native to northern China and Korea, and is also known as the Japanese bitter-orange (karatachi), hardy orange or Chinese bitter orange.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Trifoliate orange by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.