Kumquat

Kumquat is a small, slow-growing evergreen citrus shrub or tree with glossy dark-green leaves and white flowers. Its golden-orange fruit is about the size of a large olive, and a tree can carry hundreds of fruit a year. It is grown for both looks and fruit.

Why a kumquat?

• Small golden fruit the size of a large olive.
• Ornamental and fruiting at the same time.
• One of the most cold-hardy citrus – good for cold Riyadh nights.
• Slow growth and a compact size that suit large pots.

Where to plant it

Home gardens, sunny courtyards, in front of villas and along wide paths. Leave about 4.5 m between it and other trees or buildings.

Care in the Saudi climate

• Light: full, direct sun; in light shade it gives less fruit.
• Water: twice a week in the first month, then whenever new leaves wilt in the afternoon. In a Saudi summer it needs more water.
• Soil: best pH is 5.5–6.5. In the alkaline soil common in Saudi, yellow leaves with green veins mean iron deficiency – treat with chelated iron in the soil and a yearly manganese and zinc spray.
• Feeding: in the first year, a balanced fertilizer about every 6 weeks from February to October, kept away from the trunk.
• Pruning: remove shoots growing from below the graft; the tree needs little pruning, and too much reduces fruit.
• Fruit: in season roughly November to April.

Sizes

• 1 m: Compact tree. Large pots, terraces and small gardens.