Citrus australasica x C.australis – Sydney Hybrid (plant) QLD ONLY!

Description

The so called Sydney Hybrid was raised from seed sent to USDA’s Agricultural Research Service by J.H. Maiden, Director of the Sydney Botanic Gardens, ‘Before its hybrid nature had been established, this form [sic] was called Microcitrus virgata, a provisional name alluding to its very numerous slender, straight, whiplike twigs. More than 200 meters of twigs both large and small, were borne on a single branch, 3 cm in diameter, of a Sydney hybrid growing near Riverside, California, which survived for several decades on land no longer irrigated where citrus trees made little or no growth’. There is a plant in the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney today, but I have been unable to establish when or from whom it was received or whether it, too, was grown from Maiden’s seeds; it is also unclear when Maiden sent seeds to Swingle or whether he had deliberately made the cross. Mabberley. DJ. 1998. Australian Citreae with notes on other Aurantioideae (Rutaceae).

The fruit is intermediate between both parent species, being ellipsoid or pear shaped, 2.5-5cm in length.

Care and Cultivation of Citrus australasica x C.australis ‘Sydney Hybrid’

The Sydney Hybrid likes a part shade position with adequate moisture and regular fertiliser, just like normal Citrus. Easy to care for and drought hardy once established. Keep pruned to desired shape and height.

1 grafted plant (P. trifoliata rootstock) Shipped within Queensland only.