Tahitian pummelo

(Citrus maxima ‘Tahitian’)

Tahitian pummelo tree overview:

The Tahitian pummelo tree produces humongous sized delicious fruit.

Tahitian pummelo fruit appearance:

• This is one huge citrus fruit.
• The scientific name gives its size away (Citrus maxima).  Pomelo’s (as a group) are the largest of all citrus, in this case the Tahitian pummelo’s that I have grown are about 2-3x larger than a grapefruit.
• The fruit skin of the Tahitian pummelo is deep-green when it is young and as it ripens the skin turns yellow.
• The fruit peels rather easily and the individual segments are easily skinned.  After you get past all of the fibrous segmentation you will find the surprisingly pale-green and juicy flesh.
• There are many seeds, but they are all clustered at the apex of the large segmentations.  In this exposed location, the seeds are easily removed.

Tahitian pummelo taste:

• Oh my; the Tahitian pummelo is truly a delicious fruit.
• Some have called it luscious, and I can’t argue with that.
• The Tahitian pummelo is perfectly sweet with flavors that are distinctively citrus with a tasty mild melon flavor to it as well.  If you concentrate,  you will find tiny hint of that signature grapefruit flavor, but it is rather subtle.
• Overall the Tahitian pummelo almost tastes like a sugar sweetened grapefruit, only much better and lighter.
• It is really hard to stop eating it.

 

Tahitian pummelo fruit season: 

• I haven’t been able to find much information about when to pick the fruit, so I just waited…
• I didn’t want to pick this prize too early so I was patient… The fruit got bigger, all of the green faded to yellow and I waited some more… and then I kind-of forgot about it for a while.
• Then one day I noticed that one of the fruits just fell off the tree on its own.  As it turns out this fruit that I picked up and then devoured was delicious.  So I concluded that the tree would let me know when it was ready by letting go of the fruit.

• This year, about 5 large fruits fell off my young tree from April to June.
• However, I have read that in Florida, the fruits ripen from November to February.  This dramatic difference in season seems odd to me as I would expect the Florida and California seasons to be closer aligned. Perhaps I will have another fruiting season this Winter-Fall to match Florida.
• This second crop may not be too far out of the realm of possibilities as the trees may flower up to 4x a year in tropical Asia and produce 4 crops a year there.

Landscaping use: 

• The tree has some distinctive character with with a crooked/bent trunk and branches.
• The leaves are quite a bit larger than most other citrus trees.
• The flowers are large to match the size of the fruit.  The flowers are also highly aromatic, so much so that in North Vietnam they are made into perfume.
• From what I can tell, in California the Tahitian pummelo grows to be a smallish tree/large shrub.

Soil:

• I have read that some people just plant citrus in the ground without much fanfare.  However, I have not had any previous luck with this Laissez-faire method of fruit tree planting.
• Therefore, I did what has worked for me in the past;  I aggressively augmented the soil with grow mulch/compost, and inoculated with Micorriza.  Click here for the planting method that I have used with great success.
• I also added in some peat moss to the soil because I figured that this may help to mimic the plants native-tropical soil.  I don’t know if this peat moss is necessary or even helpful, but the plant is doing very well at them moment.

 

Water:

• I water most of my other citrus around 2-3x a week in the summer.
• However, because of the trees tropical heritage, I have been erring on the side of wet.
• I have planted a few ferns around the tree as a kind-of “canary in the coal mine” in hopes that the ferns will wilt and inform me of the need to water before the Tahitian pummelo gets too stressed.
• I also planted the tree right next to a water fountain in a wind protected location thinking that there might be a tiny bit of localized increased humidity as a result.  Am I crazy?  Perhaps, but for whatever reason the tree looks very happy.
• Regardless of your method, don’t let this tree dry out.
• Covering the ground around the base of the tree with a good layer of wood mulch will help to retain moisture.

 

Sun:

• The Tahitian pummelo seems to prefer full sun.
• However, I have read that in Asia, palm trees are planted to shade the young citrus trees but are removed at the end of 3-5y to allow full sun exposure.
• That being said, I planted the Tahitian pummelo that I have in full sun from the start even though the tree was likely younger than 3y when I planted it.  The tree has been doing very well in full (coastal influenced) California sun from the beginning.

 

Fertilization: 

• I haven’t found much information about fertilizing the Tahitian pummelo.
• Ok, that is not entirely true;  in Asia “night soil” is commonly used as a fertilizer.
  • What is “night soil” you ask?  Well I didn’t know either until I looked it up.  As it turns out, “night soil” is people poo.  Since crapping on my plants is not an option for me I had to look elsewhere.
  • In Asia, the burnt husks of rice plants are also spread around the base of the plants to allow it to seep into the soil.   Since I don’t have access to rice husks I was kind-of on my own.
• Therefore, I have been fertilizing the Tahitian pummelo the same way I do the rest of my citrus and go figure… it seems happy.
• I have also read that Pummelo trees may need nutritional sprays to correct zinc, manganese or boron deficiencies.  Because, I have not had a lot of personal success with nutritional sprays I have been adding these micro-nutrients directly into the soil in the form of citrus specific fertilizer.

 

Temp:  

• This is a tropical plant.  Therefore, I suspect it is rather frost sensitive, although I don’t know that for sure.  To be safe, keep the tree out of low areas in your yard where cool air can collect.
• For more information about the lowest temperatures that you can expect in your area, check out my article “Climate Zones: What can I grow in my yard?”

 

Pests: 

• The major pest for all of my citrus is the Citrus Leafminer. Click here to see my post about the diagnosis and treatment of Citrus Leafminer. 
• However, I recently also discovered a mealybug infestation on a few branches of this Tahitian Pummelo.  I quickly cured the tree of these sap suckers with a thorough blast of water, followed by horticulture oil spray and then Tanglefoot around the trunk (see Tanglefoot discussion below).
• I also suspect that the Tahitian pummelo is venerable to the rest of the usual citrus attacking suspects (aphids, scale etc).
• One of the most important things to do is to keep the ants out of the tree which often bring aphids, scale and mealybugs with them.  A great way to do this is to use Tanglefoot.  However, don’t apply Tanglefoot directly to the bark because the thin bark of citrus can be easily damaged this way.  Create a skirt of masking tape around the trunk of the tree (with the sticky-side out) or buy the Tanglefoot guard paper wrap.  Then add the Tanglefoot on that skirt/paper.
• Phytophthora root rot seems to be a big issue in Asia.

• Update (7/29/13): I noticed a grasshoppers munching on a leaf of this tree a few days ago. I tried to usher it elsewhere, however, this brave (or dumb) little guy don’t seem to care much if I poked him.  Eventually he hopped just where I didn’t want him to go; deep in the tree.  The funny thing is that when I came back the next day, he was in the exact same spot as when I first saw him.  He crawled back to the exact same leaf he was munching on before.  It seems that when they find a spot they like they come back to it.  Anyhow, I easily caught the bugger today (with a glass container) and sent him on his way.

Fruit Use:

• It is hard to imagine what else you would do with a Tahitian pummelo other than eat it fresh right out of your hand.
• Although the fruit is huge, I find myself completely devouring it before I can even think of other options for it.
• I am sure that Tahitian pummelo fruit would be good in salads or just about anything you would use other citrus for… but why bother.
• In Asia, the fruit is made into preserves, the juice is made into beverages and the peel is candied.

 

Misc:

• The pummelo is the principal ancestor of the grapefruit.  However, in my strong opinion, grapefruits are not an improvement on this parent tree.
• The pummelo is native to southeastern Asia and all of Malaysia. It was introduced into China around 100 B.C.
• Flowers, leaves and sap from the tree are used in many folk remedies throughout Asia to treat illnesses ranging from epilepsy to ulcers.
• Pummelo AKA: Pomelo, Sarawak pomelo, Pamplemousse Tahiti, Pamplemousse Sarawak, limau abong, limau betawi, limau bali, limau besar, limau bol, limau jambua, Bali lemon, Tahitian grapefruit.