Our Ruby Red Grapefruit Tree

Back in May in THIS BLOG POST we chronicled an addition to our little citrus grove by adding a Ruby Red Grapefruit tree.  I am somewhat ashamed to admit that the tree itself looks worse right now than it did four months ago.  Right after we planted it, we went into a severe drought with high temperatures and the tree was obviously stressed.  Despite the fact that it never grew or added any new leaves, it clung to life and after the recent rains, we were greeted with this sight:

Blooms!

I think that the tree appreciated a respite from the sweltering heat and dry conditions and responded with some very sweet smelling blooms.  I must admit I was a little surprised at blooms on the tree at this time.  None of our other citrus trees are blooming, as they are loaded down with fruit that will ripening in just a few months.

Sweet smelling grapefruit blossoms

If you look real closely in the photo below, you can see a tiny greet circle just above the center of the picture.  That is the baby grapefruit.  Now, I learned from reading a few interested things about the grapefruit tree.  First it takes somewhere between 8 - 11 months for a grapefruit to mature.  Grapefruit do not continue to ripen once you pick them and they get sweeter the longer you leave them on the tree.  The Ruby Red is a delicious, sweet fruit that I really enjoy.  When I was younger, I would cut them in half and spoon sugar on top of them to make them sweet.  There is no need to do this with the Ruby Red!  Finally, in order to promote growth of the tree, you should remove any fruit that set for the first two years.  So, I'll watch the tree and if any fruit sets, I'll pull them off.  I've already noticed many blooms falling since I took this picture.

Tiny fruit forming

The first production of fruit on these trees in the third year averages 25 pounds, but increases to 250 pounds by the tenth year!  The tree doesn't require pruning, except to remove dead limbs and mature trees are even cold-tolerant with temperatures in the mid-20's!  In cold weather you can throw a tarp over the tree to protect it from the low temperatures and I've read about building a "soil bank" around the trunk of the tree from Thanksgiving until March.  You want to be real careful removing the soil in the Spring as the trunk will be real tender:

Image Credit

I've never tried this practice of building soil banks before, but it is one I'll explore if/when the cold weather gets here.  The soil forms a barrier that protects the tree from the cold and even if the entire tree is killed from the cold, the tree will re-sprout above the graft.  Many times I've lost a tree in the cold, only to have it re-sprout, but beneath the graft.  That's no good as the growth is from the root stock, not the productive fruit tree.  This practice of soil banking is supposed to be an effective tool and I'm going to employ it.

Removing competing grass around the base of the tree

Finally, This Article gave me some additional insight into caring for the tree. Grapefruit trees don't like competition from lawn grass, so you are supposed to keep a 1 foot circumference area around the tree free of grass. The trees don't like to be mulched as they'll get foot rot for which (unlike foot rot with our cows) there is no cure.  

Looking forward to Ruby Red Grapefruit from our own tree.  Like most things, though, I'm gonna have to be patient...