Chinese New Year Citrus Plants

Limes, Oranges and various other Citrus plants have been a traditional favourite when it comes to welcoming the Chinese New Year festive season in Singapore. Their brightly coloured fruits are an auspicious sign of the abundance and wealth to come in the new year, with their vibrant green leaves symbolizing vitality. It is a traditional practice to gift citrus trees during the Lunar new year, with each type of citrus having their own unique symbolism. Although they may look delicious, these plants are not recommended to be eaten as they are grown for appearances instead of consumption. We have curated a simple guide about the differences of these citruses below to share more information about these plants.

The care for these citrus plants is vastly the same; they all need full sun and to be watered every day. It is possible to keep them indoors, but this will shorten their lifespan as they cannot survive without strong sunlight. These plants can be kept for years if conditions are met.

The mandarin orange in particular is a more sensitive species, highly susceptible to weather conditions. It will only bloom once as it is not suited to our warm climate, so appreciate its beauty while it lasts.

Four Season Lime 四季桔

The most popular variety due to their long lasting round golden fruits, giving them the appearance of golden coins / ingots hanging off a tree. Being able to bear fruits in all seasons also symbolizes incoming wealth throughout the entire year. Their leaves are small, oval with pointed tip. The fruits are round and green when young but ripens into a beautiful golden colour fit for the festive season.

Mandarin Orange 朱砂桔

The classic Mandarin Orange which is symbolic when visiting other families, traditionally associated with good fortune & wealth. Gifting this plant is essentially sharing good luck with others. This hybridized citrus plant dates back all the way to the Han dynasty! Their leaves are large, oval with a rounded tip and the fruit round with a flat top and bottom, ripens into a vibrant orange hue. Most of the larger pots have a tall grass head, making the overall shape look like a pineapple, a symbol of prosperity. This trait makes it easiest to tell apart from the other citrus varieties.

Kumquat 金桔

While the Four Season Lime is sometimes referred to as 'Kumquat / gam gwat' by many customers, it is in fact the Cantonese pronunciation of 金桔 which refers to an entirely different variety of lime. The Kumquat lime are typically more popular with the Southern China / Cantonese audience. It can be easily told apart by their fruit an oblong oval shape, ripening into a beautiful golden colour. Its leaves are elongated with pointed tip. This plant invites prosperity and abundance with its bountiful fruits.

Dragon Heart Lime 龙胆

A variety of festive lime that is very similar to the Four Season Lime, this variety is highly popular with businesses and are often used as gifts to another business to wish them a prosperous and successful year ahead. The Dragon Heart Lime fruits are typically larger and has a slightly oblong shape. The leaves also has a rounded tip instead of a pointed tip, their branches are also thicker and has a strong tenancy for upwards growth.