Add drama and year-round beauty to your garden with this stunning Bitter Orange! Far cold hardier than others, it sports elaborately twisted branches set with enormous (and quite sharp) thorns. Their bare winter silhouette is breathtaking, and in spring they set large, quite fragrant creamy-white blooms, followed by round, 1 1/2-inch diameter yellow oranges so sour that their main purpose is ornamental. And in autumn, the foliage turns bright yellow before dropping.Densely branched, 'Flying Dragon' is the most cold-hardy member of the citrus family, surviving temperatures of 0 degrees F without damage. Introduced from Japan in 1915, it is a splendid barrier planting or hedge -- no need to fear intruders or nibbling critters around these thorns! Its ornamental value is coming to be recognized as exceptional well beyond its usefulness, however.
Give 'Flying Dragon' a site in full sunshine or partial shade and let it reach its full size of 8 to 12 feet tall and 12 to 15 feet wide, or trim it to desired height. Zones 6-10.
