Citrumelo 'Dunstan'

Citrumelo 'Dunstan' is a hardy heirloom hybrid of the rugged trifoliate orange, Citrus trifoliata, and the sunlit grapefruit, Citrus paradisi, and from that unlikely marriage comes a fruit and tree of real merit. The golden-yellow globes swell to nearly four inches across, fragrant, and, touched with sugar, carry the tart refreshment of a grapefruit picked a little shy of ripe. Here is fruit both rustic and refined, bred for survival yet still hinting at the orchard.

Growers have long rated 'Dunstan' the best of the trifoliate hybrids, often called the best overall cross with fifty percent trifoliate parentage, and the praise rests as much on constitution as on flavor. Where ordinary citrus fail at the first hard frost, 'Dunstan' endures, among the hardiest of all citrus, holding ground in southern gardens where grapefruit and orange could never survive. For anyone after both sustenance and experiment, here is a treasure: very hard to find, and worth the search.

The tree grows small and handsome, with glossy green leaves that fall in autumn to leave a strong winter silhouette. Fragrant white blossoms open in spring, and by fall the yellow globes ripen into a harvest that is as much story as sustenance. In the garden, 'Dunstan' suits the adventurous grower, the historian of southern gardens, and the lover of hardy heirlooms; give full sun, sharp drainage, and shelter from the worst winter wind, and this small tree will reward the gamble.