To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] thanks and holiday wish list
Date: Thu, 02 Dec 2004 09:04:10 -0600
Deb,
You mentioned Osage Orange. It's commonly used as a cold-hardy(and readily
available) rootstock for the edible Chinese Che fruit (Cudrania
tricuspidata). You could plant some OO, let the stems run up 4-6 ft, then
topwork them to Che, and have a source of edible fruits.
While I (and a number of others here) wouldn't necessarily place them in
the edible category, trifoliate orange(Poncirus trifoliata) and its dwarf,
contorted form, 'Flying Dragon', could certainly have a place in the
'thorny' category; I don't recall where you're located, but I know of
trifoliates growing outdoors, in the ground, and doing well, as far north
as Cincinnati, OH.
Lucky Pittman
USDA Cold Zone 6
AHS Heat Zone 7
Hopkinsville, KY