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2006 Southeastern Citrus Expo Report |
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Expo Report by Ned Rahn, Port Royal, South Carolina The 2006 Citrus Expo was held in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on November 18, 2006, at the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center in Virginia Beach, Virginia. First, I would like thank our hosts, Kathy and Ralph Denton, Gaylord Ventura and Lisa Zimmerman for making this event one of the most interesting and enjoyable we have had. Also a special thanks to Kathy, Ralph and Mr. Robert Motyca for opening their yards to us so that we could get a look at the efforts of some real cold hardy citrus growers. Stan “The Citrusman” McKenzie arranged for a tour bus to transport those interested from South Carolina and North Carolina. It was a long, tiring trip, but we all had a good time socializing and even had live entertainment provided by Dr. A. J. Bullard, his wife (who played the fiddle) and an entourage of volunteer singers. Stan even arranged for the bus driver to give us a ride down the beach that night, where they had a beautiful (20 blocks plus) Christmas light display. The Aquarium and Marine Center turned out to be the perfect place to have the expo. There was plenty of room, and excellent accommodations. The staff at the Aquarium went out of their way to make sure everything went smoothly. As a bonus, our hosts arranged for discount tickets for anyone wanting to see the sights at the aquarium. This provided entertainment for spouses and children who were not all that enthused about listening to lectures on citrus and participating in the citrus judging event. That afternoon, we visited several fellow Southeastern Fruit Fellowship members to look at their gardens and check out the plant sales. I know, many of you say, “what kind of citrus could they grow in Virginia Beach?” The answer was waiting at the home of Robert “Bob” Motyca. The variety and superb condition of the citrus he has is a sight to behold and a testament to his horticultural skills. Many of us had our first taste of Keraji mandarin, which turned out to be delicious, with a sweet lemon-like flavor. I am not sure I can recall them all, but I do remember Thomasville citrangequat, Citrus taiwanica, Nagami kumquat, Rusk citrange, US 119, Meyer lemon, satsuma, Republic of Texas orange, Mineola tangelo (growing out the roof of a cold frame) and a cultivar Bob called Taiwaniquat. Besides the citrus, he had many other fruiting plants, to include a most impressive Kiwi vine, that was loaded with fruit. On top of his fruit, Bob keeps as a well tended vegetable garden. All of Bob’s citrus (most of which are high grafted) were covered with fruit, which I understand he left just to insure that we would all have a chance to sample each variety. A plant sale was held at Pungo Palms Nursery, at the home of Ralph and Kathy Denton, where various growers offered a wide variety of cold hardy citrus and palms, as well as various other plants. Ralph gave tours of his place where he has many hardy citrus, as well as palms and other plants. Though I don’t think there was an official count, I would guess we had around 150 attendees. We had folks from Louisiana, Connecticut, and Wisconsin plus states in between. Bob Koch, from Bennett, Colorado, who spoke to us about growing citrus in containers, flew into Charleston with his wife and rode up to Virginia Beach with us on the bus. Bob is an avid citrus enthusiast, and grows citrus, mostly in containers, in a large greenhouse, despite the snow and ice that the area is famous for. Primary sponsors: Ralph & Kathy Denton, Gaylord Ventura, & Lisa Zimmerman Other sponsors included: Southeastern Palm Society, Flying Dragon Citrus, Nursery, Southern Fruit Fellowship, McKenzie Farms, Rahn’s Plant Connection, Pungo Palms, Gary’s Nursery, Virginia Greenhouse Association, The Artist in the Garden Expo Organizers: Ralph & Kathy Denton, Gaylord Ventura, Lisa Zimmerman, Robert Motyca
Contest Report by Gaylord Ventura Citrus Contest Organizer & Chief Judge: Gaylord Ventura (Southeastern Palm Society & Southern Fruit Fellowship) Citrus Contest Judges: • Tony Melton (Clemson Extension Agent, Florence SC) • Bob Snyder (Southeastern Palm Society) • Alan Pocta (Virginia Master Gardener)
CITRUS CONTEST RESULTS There were 63 fruit entries for the contest. And the winners are BEST IN SHOW • Eric Dziamniski (South Carolina) for Robinson Tangerine (grown in ground) HONORABLE MENTION • Keith Endres (North Carolina) for Yuzuquat (container grown) — for fruit grown in ground — SWEET / SOUR ORANGE 1. Ned Rahn (South Carolina) for Ambersweet 2. Eric Dziamniski (South Carolina) for Naval Orange 3. Evelyn Amos (South Carolina) for Washington Naval Orange MANDARIN 1. Eric Dziamniski (South Carolina) for Robinson Tangerine 2. Eric Dziamniski (South Carolina) for Satsuma 3. Keith Endres (North Carolina) for Owari Satsuma GRAPEFRUIT / PUMMELO 1. Eric Dziamniski (South Carolina) for Star Ruby Grapefruit 2. Gary Kerr (South Carolina) for Duncan Grapefruit 3. Gary Kerr (South Carolina) for pink Grapefruit KUMQUAT & HYBRIDS 1. David Lavergne (Louisiana) for Changshou Kumquat 2. Keith Endres (North Carolina) for Nameiwa LEMON / LIME 1. Gary Kerr (South Carolina) for Persian Lime 2. Eric Dziamniski (South Carolina) for Persian Lime 3. Gary Kerr (South Carolina) for Meyer Lemon ICHANGENSIS HYBRIDS / COMPLEX HYBRIDS 1. Keith Endres (North Carolina) for Yuzuquat 2. David Lavergne (Louisiana) for Keraji 3. Eric Dziamniski (South Carolina) for Thomasville Citrangequat TRIFOLIATE HYBRIDS 1. Robert Motyca (Virginia) for US 119 2. Will Taylor (Tennessee) for US 80-5 Citrumelo 3. A. J. Bullard (North Carolina) for Dunstan Grapefruit (Citrumelo) — for fruit grown in containers — SWEET ORANGE 1. Robert Motyca (Virginia) for Republic of Texas Orange 2. Ned Rahn (South Carolina) for Ambersweet Orange 3. Del Floyd (South Carolina) for pineapple Orange MANDARIN 1. David Lavergne (Louisiana) for Page Mandarin 2. David Lavergne (Louisiana) for Satsuma 3. Robert Motyca (Virginia) for Satsuma KUMQUAT & HYBRIDS 1. Joe Rozier (South Carolina) for Calamondin 2. Keith Endres (North Carolina) for Changshou Kumquat 3. Ned Rahn (South Carolina) for Changshou Kumquat LEMONS & LIMES 1. Robert Motyca (Virginia) Meyer Lemon 2. Del Floyd (South Carolina) for Persian Lime 3. Unclaimed for Eustis Limequat |
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