Hong kong Kumquat/ Kinzu

[Peterk21]

Hello Everyone,
Does anyone have experience with Kinzu as bonsai? I've seen allot of pictures of them in Japanese exhibitions, but information on them seems practically non-existent.
Also, are they able to be grown as cuttings, or do they need to be seed grown?

Thankyou

 

[meushi]

They root rather well and can be grown from cuttings. They are also commonly air-layered and mame/shohin with radical trunk movement can be trained from root cuttings. The seeds take up to 3 months to germinate and the seedlings will take 6 to 8 years before fruiting,

I have a few non "golden bean" kumquats and a Citrus myrtifolia in the garden, there isn't much published information outside Japan for Kinzu.

Here's what I gathered from Japanese sources:
They don't like drying out but they don't like being excessively wet either. Water once to twice a day in Spring/Fall and three to four times a day in Summer.
Susceptible to fungal problems when it's hot and humid, they don't like frost.

Calendar of sorts for the northern hemisphere:
They require winter protection from November to late April, the buds differentiation happens in early March.
The fructification happens from December to February.
They can be repotted from May to June.
(partial) defoliation before new growth April to May.
Pinching/bud selection May to September. Pinch the tip of strong branches, then pinch the new shoots when they're extended up to 7cm. Healthy trees can be pinched up to 3 times in the season to increase ramification.
Pruning from late May to end of September, light pruning possible from late November to end of December (to prepare for display).
Wiring June to September, remove when it looks like it's about to bite. Only wire young shoots.
Fertilize May to October, except during rainy season. Tamahi is a good base, but supplement with high phosphorus and potassium from time to time.

EDIT: I forgot... soil: hard akadama with kyryu or pumice. I use APL in equal proportions but the Japanese books go with hard akadama, kiryu, river sand (5:2:3).

 

[Canada Bonsai]

Hello Everyone,
Does anyone have experience with Kinzu as bonsai? I've seen allot of pictures of them in Japanese exhibitions, but information on them seems practically non-existent.
Also, are they able to be grown as cuttings, or do they need to be seed grown?

Thankyou

The second half of this book is devoted to Kinzu. There's lot of good info, with pictures to follow the step-by-step instructions (see link). The google-translate app is handy -- I attached the table of contents for you

老爺柿・きんずの育て方 | 　　盆栽、盆栽書籍、盆栽鉢の通販│近代出版

www.bonsai.co.jp

 

[Bonsai Nut]

I kept my kinzu outside in SoCal, but I brought it inside from mid-Dec to early-March in North Carolina. Otherwise I treat it like a standard citrus.

FWIW I planted seeds this spring, and one germinated, so they appear to be self-pollinating. Like all citrus, you can't let the seeds dry out. A dry citrus seed is a dead seed.

 

[tanlu]

I live in zone 7b in Washington, DC area and have been training my wife's kumquat shohin bonsai for the past 3 years. It's been super easy to grow outdoors or indoors (on a southern windowsill). Also, so we're clear, the Latin name for the kumquat species is Fortunella hindsii, a.k.a., Fortunella japonica, Citrus japonica, Citrus hindsii, etc. I believe "kinzu" is just the Japanese pronunciation of "jinju", which is Mandarin for kamquat.

Here are some growing notes:

- Very forgiving species for beginners
- Can be grown indoors year round, granted it gets full sun for at least 6 hours per day, but I heard artificial lighting works well too.
- Growing outdoors will result in more vigor, shorter internodes, and overall better health.
- Is very cold hardy down to 40 F, but I strongly recommend bringing it indoors before the first frost.
- Needs good drainage like most evergreen bonsai, but any basic bonsai soil will do.
- Gets very thirsty when in active growth - so water accordingly
- Roots easily from cuttings
- Can be repotted when in active growth - so really any time of the year works, so long as the plant can recover with a good several months of active growth resulting from warmth and sunlight. I've actually repotted very late in the season (late August...*gasp*) twice and have had no set backs.

Hope this helps!

 

[meushi]

I believe "kinzu" is just the Japanese pronunciation of "jinju", which is Mandarin for kamquat.

Kinzu/キンズ/金豆 means "golden bean(s)", because of the tiny size of the fruits. Regular kumquats are called "kinkanzoku"/キンカン属 in Japanese.

 

[tanlu]

Ah, yes. Kinkan that sounds more correct. In that case, is kinzu an actual kumquat or something else? If it's something else, it might not have the same winter hardiness as the kumquat base species.

 

[meushi]

It's a wild kumqat. It's supposedly able to survive -10C but that would be in the ground and not in a pot. I'm sheltering all my citrus to be on the safe side... even the ones that support down to -15C (poncitrus trifoliata).

 

[tanlu]

Okay, now that that's clear, I say if you're in zone 8, which is milder than where I am, then the plant will do just fine outside the whole year. The big issue that far north of course is less day light in winter. You may need supplemental lighting inside during the winter months if you want your plant to be vigorous.

 

[hinmo24t]

kumquat are on the end of spectrum for citrus hardiness i read recently
which is why my kumquat and limequat arent coming inside for a few weeks at least

How cold can kumquats get?


Temperature and Humidity

Kumquats don't like cold weather, though they can survive temperatures down to 18 degrees Fahrenheit.Aug 24, 2021

 

[tanlu]

Kumquats are native to south China, so in your case (being in MA) they'd definitely need to be kept inside almost half the year. Down here in the DC area, however, I bring our's (it's my wife's) inside just before Thanksgiving and back outside after Easter. I wait for night time temps to get consistently above 40 F. It's been very happy with this treatment. I've been neglectful over the years and have accidentally left it outside when night temps dropped to 35 F. This plant proved its winter hardiness by showing no adverse affects and sustained vigor on my windowsill each winter.

I purchased kaffir lime plants a few weeks ago. I'm growing them for their leaves, which smell amazing. I received free seedlings along with my 3 year-old seedling, and am leaving them outside now until night temps go below 50 F. I think this species might be a bit less cold tolerant than kumquat, so if I see no problem after a few weeks, I may try 45 F. I won't experiment with the 3 year-old seedling because it's putting out lots of fresh leaves and I want to keep its vigor throughout the winter months.

 

[hinmo24t]

Kumquats are native to south China, so in your case (being in MA) they'd definitely need to be kept inside almost half the year. Down here in the DC area, however, I bring our's (it's my wife's) inside just before Thanksgiving and back outside after Easter. I wait for night time temps to get consistently above 40 F. It's been very happy with this treatment. I've been neglectful over the years and have accidentally left it outside when night temps dropped to 35 F. This plant proved its winter hardiness by showing no adverse affects and sustained vigor on my windowsill each winter.

I purchased kaffir lime plants a few weeks ago. I'm growing them for their leaves, which smell amazing. I received free seedlings along with my 3 year-old seedling, and am leaving them outside now until night temps go below 50 F. I think this species might be a bit less cold tolerant than kumquat, so if I see no problem after a few weeks, I may try 45 F. I won't experiment with the 3 year-old seedling because it's putting out lots of fresh leaves and I want to keep its vigor throughout the winter months.

Good info, thanks. The limes sound nice and I think I've heard of them. I'm surprised ppl don't do kuzu (sp?) Lemons more. Only had mine since late spring. 5' tall each and the kumquat has a good amount of fruit forming now. Wild they fruit inside in winter. I have good south light for them but def big plants for my house setup. Jungle status

 

[BonsaiDTLA]

I kept my kinzu outside in SoCal, but I brought it inside from mid-Dec to early-March in North Carolina. Otherwise I treat it like a standard citrus.

FWIW I planted seeds this spring, and one germinated, so they appear to be self-pollinating. Like all citrus, you can't let the seeds dry out. A dry citrus seed is a dead seed.

Curious.. Only one germinated — How many seeds did you attempt to germinate?

I’ve read they sprout really easily from seed. Had some seeds and fruit from mine that I’m attempting to get started.

I put some into shredded sphagnum, some into seedling mix + perlite.

Did you peel the husk off the seed or did it go straight into the soil?

 

[AndThenWaterThatShit]

I live in zone 7b in Washington, DC area and have been training my wife's kumquat shohin bonsai for the past 3 years. It's been super easy to grow outdoors or indoors (on a southern windowsill). Also, so we're clear, the Latin name for the kumquat species is Fortunella hindsii, a.k.a., Fortunella japonica, Citrus japonica, Citrus hindsii, etc. I believe "kinzu" is just the Japanese pronunciation of "jinju", which is Mandarin for kamquat.

Here are some growing notes:

- Very forgiving species for beginners
- Can be grown indoors year round, granted it gets full sun for at least 6 hours per day, but I heard artificial lighting works well too.
- Growing outdoors will result in more vigor, shorter internodes, and overall better health.
- Is very cold hardy down to 40 F, but I strongly recommend bringing it indoors before the first frost.
- Needs good drainage like most evergreen bonsai, but any basic bonsai soil will do.
- Gets very thirsty when in active growth - so water accordingly
- Roots easily from cuttings
- Can be repotted when in active growth - so really any time of the year works, so long as the plant can recover with a good several months of active growth resulting from warmth and sunlight. I've actually repotted very late in the season (late August...*gasp*) twice and have had no set backs.

Hope this helps!

Hey Tanlu,

I'm in VA and been looking for a kinzu but can't find one anywhere. Do you have any suggestions where to get one?

Thanks!

 

[vp999]

Hey Tanlu,

I'm in VA and been looking for a kinzu but can't find one anywhere. Do you have any suggestions where to get one?

Thanks!

Meehans Miniatures in MD always has a bunch in stock.

 

[badatusernames]

Bumping this with a question!

In terms of how they behave during winter - is it normal for them to lose some leaves due to having less access to sun? I have some seedlings that are doing that - if keeping them near a window isn't enough, this species may not work out for me.

 

[JoeR]

According to how mine behave, no they shouldn't be losing a lot of leaves. If they fruit heavily and you don't fertilize enough, or the pH is off, then you will get yellowing and falling leaves.

I have had fantastic success with them from seed, I have probably 50 seedlings now from one tree. The oldest seedlings have been wired and potted, and they are already producing fruit- about 5 years max if I had to guess. Not bad at all, so key lime and kinzu from seed can both produce fruit in 5 years give or take from my experience.

 

[JoeR]

Not saying it's the best time, but I repotted and wired them in summer and they did not skip a beat. They're in pure akadama, which broke down immediately.

 

[badatusernames]

According to how mine behave, no they shouldn't be losing a lot of leaves. If they fruit heavily and you don't fertilize enough, or the pH is off, then you will get yellowing and falling leaves.

I have had fantastic success with them from seed, I have probably 50 seedlings now from one tree. The oldest seedlings have been wired and potted, and they are already producing fruit- about 5 years max if I had to guess. Not bad at all, so key lime and kinzu from seed can both produce fruit in 5 years give or take from my experience.

Thanks!

The lil guys I’ve played with I’ve found can be quite sensitive in terms of watering - mine get sad fast if on the dry side, and that may be what’s happening here. Had one that died REAL quick upon drying out.

The ones in question are in soil and have been worried about overwatering but I think I’ll try taking it in the other direction. Another I have in a/p/l and I am better at knowing when to water with that substrate - that one is doing fine.