Yuzu - Citrus junos

The Yuzu or Yuzu lemon (Citrus junos) is a Japanese citrus tree highly appreciated for the extraordinary fragrance of its juice and the peel of its fruits. It is an essential ingredient in Japanese cuisine and is also used to make the famous yuzu sauce.

Slightly flattened, the yuzu fruit resembles a yellow mandarin and is harvested from September to November.

Still relatively uncommon in gardens, the yuzu lemon tree is a small, hardy bush that can withstand temperatures as low as -10 °/ -12 °C in a sheltered location. It has a beautiful and fragrant flowering in spring. Its branches are very thorny and its growth is slow, especially during the first few years.

It can be grown in a pot, but it can also be planted in the ground in regions with mild winters, in a neutral to acidic soil. It should be kept cool throughout the growing season and regularly amended.

Yuzu, a hardy Japanese citrus tree

Citrus junos is a large shrub belonging to the Rutaceae family. It is a hybrid cultivated for millennia in Japan, resulting from the cross-breeding of the wild mandarin, Citrus deliciosa, and Citrus ichangensis, two relatively hardy citrus trees.

Fairly vigorous but slow-growing, especially in its early years, the yuzu citrus is a small, very thorny bushy tree that reaches a height of 4 meters and a width of 3 meters (10 feet) when fully grown.

Hardy down to -10/-12 °C, it can withstand short periods of frost and can therefore be planted in the ground in the olive tree zone, in a sheltered location. Elsewhere, it should be grown in a pot and stored indoors during the first frost.

Cultivated for its uniquely fragrant and aromatic fruits, this Japanese lemon tree blooms abundantly in March-April on plants at least 4 years old, but does not necessarily bear fruit every year. It produces small white flowers with a pleasant fragrance, light and subtly spicy notes.

The flowers give way to fruits that resemble mandarins in size and shape. Their thick skin is initially green and then turns yellow when ripe, with a slightly bumpy texture.

The flesh of the fruit, yellowish and translucent, is filled with numerous seeds. Its very acidic flavor is a combination of grapefruit and mandarin, with subtly spicy notes borrowed from citron and lime.

The yuzu fruits are harvested from September to November-December, when they are yellow and their essential oil content is at its peak. The evergreen and aromatic leaves of this citrus tree are lanceolate, whole, and shiny green.

The Yuzu fruit: highly sought-after Japanese lemons

The fruit of the yuzu, simply called "yuzu," is part of the ancient culinary traditions of Japan. It is used in cooking to enhance Asian dishes, as well as in juice, sauce, jam, and pastries. It is also used to flavor liqueurs.

Like all Citrus trees, the Yuzu contains essential oil pockets in its leaves, flowers, and fruits, often visible to the naked eye. These essential oils, extracted by distillation (flowers and leaves) or by pressing (zest), have toning and sedative properties. They help combat stress and insomnia. The fragrance of the essential oil is particularly delicate, somewhere between lime and green mandarin, sparkling, with a slightly powdery and meringue-like undertone.

Our advice for successfully growing your Yuzu

Yuzus, like most citrus trees, thrive in pots or in the ground in Mediterranean coastal regions where they receive the necessary year-round warmth. However, to bear fruit successfully, they must not lack water or nutrients.

Relatively hardy, this Japanese lemon tree can lose its leaves at -10 °C, but a well-established plant will recover without any problems in spring. This hardiness is only valid when frosts are brief and temperatures rise significantly during the day. The Yuzu is a self-fertile bush, which means that a single individual is sufficient for complete pollination and fruiting.