Fragrant flowers, evergreen leaves and small orange fruits that form from late autumn to early spring on a shrub of 3 to 6½ feet: the calamondin (Citrus mitis) is grown indoors for its looks, since the fruit is edible but far too acidic to enjoy easily. Give it a well-lit spot away from midday sun and radiators, and it will flower and fruit happily in a heated room.
| Name | Citrus mitis |
|---|---|
| Family | Rutaceae (Rue family) |
| Height | 3 to 6 ½ feet (1 to 2 meters) |
| Exposure | full sun outdoors, indirect sun inside |
| Soil | soil mix |
| Foliage | evergreen |
| Fruit formation | late autumn to early spring |
Planting and repotting, care, watering and pruning are all good habits that will help you to grow a very nice calamondin.
It is recommended to plant calamondin in a blend of soil mix eventually enriched with fertilizer.
An ideal solution is to pour in a layer of gravel, clay pebbles or rocks to ensure that excess water drains well to the bottom.
Make this layer about 1 to 2 inches (3 to 4 cm) thick.
Anticipate re-potting in a pot that is slightly larger than the previous every 2 or 3 years on average.
This small orange tree can only grow directly in the ground in Mediterranean-type climate (dry, warm summer and dry, mild winters), or tropical climates.
If this is the case, mix soil mix together with your garden soil. It’s very important to ensure that your soil drains well.
If it doesn’t drain well, dig a hole that is slightly deeper, and layer gravel, rocks, sand or clay pebbles along the bottom.
It isn’t really necessary to prune it. However, to rebalance the silhouette of your calamondin, prune lightly after repotting, in spring.
The only rule for pruning is that you can give it the shape you want! For instance, style it like a tree with a tallish trunk, or a bushy round shrub! Pleating or trimming as flat espalier are also possible.
Best practices are to:
It is advised to repot every 2 years. This helps replenish soil nutrients that are depleted as the plant consumes them. Watering often washes nutrients out, too.
If ever the pot is too large for repotting, you can go for topdressing. It’s a good enough alternative, but remember to use a richer soil mix than for regular repotting.
Adding citrus-specific fertilizer will greatlyincrease fruit and foliage quality.
Fruit drop occurs pretty often at the beginning, when the plant is young. As it gets older, remember to:
Together, these steps help avoid stress to the plant. It can hold on to its fruits until they’re ripe instead of dropping them on a whim!
Indoors, water, but not too much, as soon as the soil is dry.
Empty the saucer a few minutes after watering, as roots left standing in water quickly rot.
Calamondin dislikes hard water, whose lime can cause interveinal yellowing, so water with rainwater or distilled water; letting tap water stand only releases chlorine and does not reduce its lime content.
Water until it runs from the drainage hole rather than giving small sips, so the whole root ball is moistened.
Watering and the main jobs of the year change with the season. Here is what the plant asks for at each stage.
| Season | Watering | Main task |
|---|---|---|
| Spring | Increase the amount of water | Repot, then prune lightly to rebalance the silhouette |
| Summer | More water, especially in warm weather | Stand the plant outdoors; repotting is still fine |
| Autumn | Water as soon as the soil is dry | Indoors in a well-lit spot; fruit formation starts in late autumn |
| Winter | Wait until the soil has dried a full inch | Keep away from radiators; repot at the end of winter |
Citrus-specific fertilizer, given regularly, supports both blooming and fruit formation through the cycle.
Calamondin is a small fruit shrub that produces edible fruits, but they’re so acidic that they’re hard to digest. However, if you like the tart taste, you can even eat the calamondin peel together with the flesh! They’re a bit like kumquat in that respect, but aren’t as tasty. As a matter of fact, the beauty and fragrant flowers are usually the reason it is often chosen as an indoor ornamental plant.
If you can, it is good to bring your calamondin out after any risk of freezing has disappeared, from spring until the end of summer.
Indoors, simply set it in a well-lit spot but avoid direct sunlight during the hottest hours.
Also avoid setting it right next to a radiator.
Dry air near a radiator invites red spider mites, so check the undersides of leaves for fine webbing and pale speckling.
Yellow leaves with green veins point to iron shortage, common when calamondin is watered with hard tap water.
Leaf drop on constantly soggy compost means the roots are suffocating, not thirsty.
Plan on adding fertilizer for citrus plants regularly in order to greatly increase blooming and fruit formation.
