18 JANUARY 2021
OBSESSIONS
F YOU OPEN A PACKAGE of fruit I have sent or delivered, you are consenting to the
conditions of Official Fruit Time (OFT), which are that any time you engage with
the fruit, you may not work, listen to the news or any other programming, or
scroll through social media; you must only be present with the fruit. Violation
of these terms means that I will present you with no further offerings. That will
suck for you because I give really good fruit—most recently mangosteens and
lychees, chosen for their intense deliciousness and their precious seasonality. Lest
we bury the lede under a heap of legalese: If I’m sending you fruit, it’s because
I’m trying to take care of you.
But I’m trying to take care of myself, too, which is a daunting prospect in a
standard winter and seems like an almost impossible task now. In times past,
I’ve self-medicated with citrus, temporarily boosting my mood with a blast of
vitamin C, potassium, and what feels like liquid light, and the ritual has become
increasingly elaborate over the past few seasons as I endeavored to chase down
every variety under the sun. When I was growing up in Kentucky, there were
essentially four kinds of citrus available to me in a calendar year: lemons, limes,
grapefruit, and exceedingly average oranges that were a staple of soccer games
and Christmas stockings. Once I moved to the East Coast, I developed a strange
dependence on easy-peel clementines, downing half a dozen at a time—likely
my body screaming out for sustenance (or maybe just sugar) to counteract the
stress I was putting it through as a broke-plus-loans grad student who often
I
GROWING
TIPS
LIGHT IT RIGHT
The biggest fear
people have shared
with me is that
their home doesn’t
get enough light to
grow citrus. Bring
sunshine inside
(inexpensively!)
with clip lamps
and full-spectrum
grow bulbs that
bring the right kind
of rays to keep
your trees happy.
I recommend the
grow lights from
feit.com.
GO SMALL
If your trees will be
permanent or even
part-time indoor
residents, opt for
varieties grafted
onto dwarf root-
stock. The plant
will remain man-
ageable and still
bear full-size fruit.
LISTEN TO THE
LEAVES
My friend and
personal citrus
whisperer Joey
Hernandez, of Bon
Appétit, advises
that leaves will tell
you what your tree
needs. Generally
speaking, if they’re
drooping, they’re
thirsty. If they’re
falling off, they
need more light.
NO FRUIT?
DON’T FRET
Even if it doesn’t
bear fruit, the tree
itself is a treat as
a houseplant, and
many—like makrut
limes—are prized
for their leaves
that can be used
for culinary or tea-
making purposes.
