Citrus medicaCitron

The oldest of the cultivated citrus and one of the three species from which the rest were bred, Citrus medica makes a small thorny tree of 2 to 4.5 metres with large leathery aromatic leaves. The fruit is enormous, knobbly and almost all rind, with very little flesh or juice.

It is planted for the fruit, the fragrance and the cultural weight rather than for the crop. Fruit is used candied and for its rind, and the etrog selection has been grown for ritual use for well over two thousand years.

Specifications

• Height2 to 4.5 metres
• Width2 to 3 metres
• Native toThe foothills of the eastern Himalaya, in north-east India and adjacent Myanmar
• FoliageLarge, leathery, elliptic leaves, strongly aromatic when crushed, on spiny stems; evergreen
• Growth rateSlow to moderate

Conditions

• SoilRequires deep, fertile, free-draining soils; intolerant of waterlogging and salinity
• LightFull sun
• WaterModerate; needs regular irrigation for fruit quality
• ClimateThrives in subtropical and Mediterranean regions; frost sensitive

Additional Features

• FlowersFragrant white flowers flushed purple in the bud, borne through the warm months
• FruitVery large, thick-rinded, knobbly yellow fruit, aromatic and grown mainly for the rind
• UsesOrchard and productive planting, courtyard and container specimens, and heritage garden schemes
• SpacingPlant 3 to 4 metres apart in a productive block
• Low MaintenanceRequires regular feeding, irrigation and light pruning to hold form and fruit quality
• Pest ResistanceSusceptible to scale, leafminer and aphid, and needs a monitoring programme in commercial plantings
• Cultural SignificanceThe etrog selection is central to the Jewish festival of Sukkot and has been cultivated for millennia
• Frost SensitivityAmong the most cold-sensitive of the citrus and needs shelter from cold wind

The Citron is a heritage citrus for productive and cultural planting where its scale and fragrance can be appreciated at close range.