Level up your sustainable lifestyle when you grow Kokopo banana (Musa acuminata). This is a fantastic, short-season banana plant that grows quickly. Bloom to harvest time is 5 to 6 weeks, which makes it perfect for that last-minute tropical harvest. If planted in the spring, it will produce fruit by the summer. In addition, it makes a great indoor banana plant, growing fairly thin and lightweight compared to other Musa varieties. This cultivar originates in Papua New Guinea, where almost half of the population is self-sustained. That’s a good testament to the hardiness, success, and versatility of the Kokopo banana. 

The Kokopo banana fruit is unusual in that it holds orange pulp, which is a sign of high vitamin A and beta carotene content. It can be eaten ripe, but is also a popular cooking ingredient.  The banana plant is an evergreen perennial herb, not a tree. The large ‘trunk’ is actually a pseudostem, which is made of bulky, leafy layers that emerge and wither over time. Banana plants are fast-growing, and prone to reproducing new plants through mini clones known as suckers. In well-drained soil, bananas can almost never get enough water, sunlight, and nutrients.

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Red navel oranges are the best orange for people who don’t usually enjoy citrus. That’s because of everything that sets the fruit apart as a cultivar: Naturally red flesh that is seedless, with a low acidic sweetness. Plus, of all Citrus varieties, it packs the most Vitamin C. What’s not to love? This novel navel variety has one of the largest statuses as a cult fruit, if there is such a thing, beloved by chefs as the key to flavorful sauces and vinaigrettes. 

The Red Navel tree is more closely related to other navel varieties than the similar-looking blood orange. Call it splitting hairs, but there is one significant difference in the chemical makeup of the fruits. In blood oranges, the red pigment comes from anthocyanin, but red navel oranges get their coloration from carotenoids like lycopene. 

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Kaffir lime is essential to the ever-expanding palette of foodies everywhere. This citrus tree is characteristic of other lime varieties with its thorny, shrubby growth that can reach up to 25 feet when mature. As a native to Southeast Asia, Kaffir lime makes an awesome patio plant for Floridians living outside of Zone 10 or below. When taken indoors, Kaffir Lime benefits from the use of a mister to mimic its humid natural habitat.

Unlike more conventional culinary uses for limes, Kaffir lime leaves are used more often than the fruit in cooking. The two-parted evergreen leaves are shredded to add flavors to Southeast Asian food dishes, giving them a uniquely aromatic twist. Think anywhere from soups, to spicy stir-fry, hot curries, salads, and meat marinades. The fruits are bumpy, and about the size of golf balls. The pulp and juice can be used for additional flavoring, but it is less common than using the leaves.

Here is a list of all other popular names for Kaffir Lime and their countries of origin:

• Burma: shauk-nu, shauk-waing
• Cambodia: krauch soeuch
• China: ning meng ye (Mandarin), fatt-fung-kam (Cantonese), Thài-kok-kam (Hokkien/Min Nan)
• Indonesia: jeruk purut, jeruk limo, jeruk sambal
• Laos: makgeehoot
• Malaysia: limau purut
• Philippines: Kubot
• Reunion Island: combava
• Sri Lanka: kahpiri dehi, odu dehi, kudala-dehi
• Thailand: makrut, som makrud

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About two days a year, Floridians experience a breeze with an ineffable chill—some people call this “winter.” Satsuma mandarin (Citrus unshiu) is a tree with a remarkable cold tolerance among citrus species. It is grown in cooler subtropical regions of Japan, Spain, Central China, Korea, Turkey, Russia, and South America. In slightly warmer conditions, Satsuma trees produce fruit that ripens a bit earlier, making them favorable for eager growers.

When your satsuma mandarin tree fruits, the flavor and color could vary based on your location. In humid subtropical areas of Florida, fruit could mature internally before the usual outer coloring of maturation appears, hence the name Emerald Green satsuma tangerines where these fruits are commercially sold. It’s important to be gentle when harvesting the fruits, as the rinds are prone to tearing if handled without caution.

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Seize the opportunity for a new shot at luck when you grow Ponkan Mandarin (Citrus poonensis), also called cool tangerine, Batangas mandarin, Nagpur suntara, Swatow orange,  and Chinese Honey orange. Ponkan Mandarin quite literally takes the gold for fruit symbolism in Chinese culture, representing wealth, good fortune, and gold. In particular, mandarin fruit and plants are exchanged as gifts for the Chinese New Year.  However, anyone in pursuit of a little good fortune can grow Ponkan Mandarin for an auspicious start to Citrus gardening.

The Ponkan mandarin plant loves tropical climate conditions, which are said to be the key to encouraging its largest fruit yet. Its upright growth is easy to distinguish amid any citrus orchard. The Ponkan mandarin fruit is round, with a medium-thick rind that’s easy to peel, and has few seeds. Time is of the essence once the fruits of Ponkan Mandarin trees first ripen to a full orange color. Harvest fruits for a titillating flavor, like a tart sweetness that verges on sour candy.

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Embrace life’s happy accidents by growing a Variegated Pink Lemon Tree (Citrus x limon). Occasionally sold as the pink lemonade tree, this variety is a natural mutation of the tried-and-true Eureka lemon.

It's a great ornamental addition to the garden, with variegated green and white leaves, with fruits that are initially green-striped when they first appear in the late winter. Of course, the main event is the tart, rosy fruit of the pink lemon that makes it the Elle Woods of the Citrus genus. At peak ripeness, the pink lemon perfectly bundles up that sugar-spice-and-everything-nice feeling. Use the pink lemons for a naturally blushing twist on your favorite recipes for lemonade, lemon bar, and lemon cake.