Poncirus trifoliata ‘Flying Dragon’, year-round fave

Poncirus trifoliata ‘Flying Dragon’ bare

Now that the leaves have all fallen, the twists and turns are fully visible. Here’s what Gossler Farms has to say about it on the Plant Lust site:

The hardy citrus is a wickedly thorned plant. The thorns are 2″ long and are unusual all year. P. trifoliata ‘Flying Dragon’ is contorted all over- leaves, thorns and stems. We have seen 5′-6′ irregular shrubs and they are always show stoppers. P. trifoliata ‘Flying Dragon’ is hardy to -20 °F so will be interesting from New York to California.

The display specimen at the HPSO booth was more of a full-grown tree and the thorns were the full 2″ and curved like talons. Mine has a few noticeable thorns, but none quite that impressive. I still have high hopes.

Poncirus trifoliata ‘Flying Dragon’ with leaves

When fully leafed out, closer inspection is needed to appreciate its distinctive traits. Let’s look at it through the seasons:

Poncirus trifoliata ‘Flying Dragon’ with fruit

Poncirus trifoliata ‘Flying Dragon’ beginning to color up

Poncirus trifoliata ‘Flying Dragon’ fall color

All leading up to the bare beauty that presides over winter’s garden. I failed to chronicle its blooming season, but I think you can see why it is a favorite in any of its costumes. Check out Danger Garden for more favorites of the week.

15 thoughts on “Poncirus trifoliata ‘Flying Dragon’, year-round fave

  1. What a beautiful specimen you have! Mine doesn’t seem to want to grow up but seems to enjoy scrambling around on the ground although it produced it’s first three fruits this year and it has nice spikes.

  2. Peter~The scrambling sounds nice.

    Laura~Pride of place works for this.

    Grace~Yes, it would, but they are much easier to find in the trade these days. It was considered rare when I purchased mine.

    Jane~Hope is in order. Mine has been place for almost 10 years.

    Beth~Thanks for the sleuthing. I always considered it inedible. Marmalade next year!

    Loree~Give it time. Mine took several years to produce fruit.

  3. I love the form of this! I’ve not seen the contorted variety but I have seen the ‘normal’ variety here. What are the fruit like? Could you make marmelade from them?

  4. Anna K~’Hardy Orange’ is one of its nicknames, and it has sailed through all kinds of bad weather. The cold that’s coming is predicted to be brutal, though, so I guess we should be careful.

    Amy C~I especially like the fruit: it almost glows.

    Sarah~That is its most distinctive profile, for sure.

    Shirley~This is one we can both grow. I think it would look great in your garden.

    Christina~Stay tuned: I will be experimenting with marmalade next year, thanks to comments left here.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *