Hardiness zones
Sunset 12-24
USDA 9 - 11
Landscape Use: Nice small patio tree, container tree, great for small residential landscapes.
Form & Character: Small evergreen tree, rounded, formal, and clean.
Growth Habit: Moderate to 6-25', dense upper canopy
Foliage/texture: Oval to lanceolate medium green leaves without winged petioles, this distinguishes it from other citrus
Flowers & fruits: Small axillary, star-shaped, white flowers, 5 petals, magenta pink sepals, orange fruit small to 1" with sweet rind and acid juice vesicles. F. margarita has oblong fruit, F. japonica has rounded fruit. Regular fruit production in warm to hot summer locations.
Seasonal color: Orange fruit in late fall through early spring sometimes overlapping with white flowers produced in early spring (later February in Phoenix).
Temperature: Hardy to 25oF
Light: Full sun, but avoid reflected western sun on exposed trunk. Like other citrus, trunks of kumquat are often painted white to prevent sunscald injury.
Soil: Needs supplemental micronutrient fertilizer in alkaline soils
Watering: Regular water to maintain densely-foliated canopy.
Pruning: A conservative approach to pruning kumquat is advised. Lightly head back or elevate canopy base only as needed.
Propagation: Mostly grafted onto rootstocks of rough lemon and trifoliate orange
Disease and pests: Aphids and thrips, sometimes scale, Phytophthora root rot
Additional comments: Fruit rind used for jellies, etc. Nice container plant when grafted onto dwarfing rootstock. Good landscape tree for small areas. Fertilizer in Jan., May. and Sept. with 0.7 pounds of nitrogen per tree. Might need Epsom (magnesium sulfate) salts once per year and chelated micronutrient fertilizers (liquid formulation best for landscape trees) twice per year.
