Pucker up.

Not for a kiss. For the sun-kissed taste of citrus.

Although Kansas and its wild weather swings are more suited to growing hardy crops such as wheat and corn, it’s possible to produce fresh, juicy lemons, limes and oranges here as well.

It’s just a matter of bringing the operation indoors.

With their naturally shallow roots and rounded shapes, citrus trees make superb container plants.

And the colorful selections found lined up in neat rows at the supermarket represent just a fraction of the fruits available. In addition to the old stand-bys, kumquat, citron, blood orange, pummelo, limequat and calamondin trees are prolific fruit bearers with fabulously fragrant blooms.

It was once a sign of prestige to grow citrus trees indoors. In Victorian times, landed gentry and royalty often invested in greenhouse structures called orangeries. In fact, the modern greenhouse was developed primarily to grow citrus fruit indoors. French King Louis XIV had the first orangerie built at Versailles, where he demanded that his garden always have orange trees in bloom.

Many people believe they can simply pluck seeds from their favorite fruit and start a tree.

This is true.

However, it would take about seven years for the tree to produce any blooms. A much better alternative is to invest in a citrus tree from a nursery. Most citrus trees sold at greenhouses are dwarf varieties that either originated from a cutting or from grafting. By using cuttings or grafts from mature trees, the plant is ready to begin fruiting immediately. A dwarfed tree does not mean dwarfed fruit. The fruit is, in fact, usually regular sized.

Generally, citrus flowers appear in late winter or early spring and the fruit ripens anywhere from nine to 18 months later. Often, trees will sprout blooms for the next crop as one crop ripens, so it’s not uncommon to have fruit and fragrant blossoms simultaneously.

Citrus trees come in two basic categories: sweet and acid. The sweet variety, which includes oranges, grapefruits and tangerines, need lots of heat to fully ripen, which make them more difficult to grow. But if they can spend the summers outdoors, this helps tremendously. Members of the acid citrus family — including lemons, limes and calamodins — are much easier to grow indoors because they need less extreme heat.

How to get started

Choose a container that is 8 inches wider and deeper than the root ball of your citrus tree and that has drainage holes. Plant the tree in a lightweight, well-draining potting mix and sprinkle the surface with fertilizer. When buying fertilizer, look for a balanced, slow-release blend of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus that includes iron and zinc; this is generally sold as a citrus fertilizer. Feed the plant monthly, even during the slow-growing winter months, because citrus trees really never go dormant. Place the tree in a sunny area of the house that gets anywhere from four to six hours of sunlight daily.

If the tree is kept outside during the summer months, be sure to bring it inside gradually in the autumn. The best way to do this is by moving the citrus to a semi-lighted area like a porch for a few weeks, then moving it indoors for the winter season. The same routine should be followed when moving the tree back outside in the spring. When bringing the tree indoors, rinse the plant with warm soapy water to help eliminate pests and disease.

While indoors, citrus trees only need the top inch of potting soil watered. However, if the plant is outdoors in the summer, it will need to be watered daily. After a year or so, moving the plant into a larger pot will encourage more fruit production. Once the tree is established, remove it from its pot about once every three years to prune the roots and keep the tree’s size in check.

Most area nurseries carry citrus trees and generally receive shipments in the spring. If a certain tree is unavailable locally, try these sources: www.fourwindsgrowers.com or www.ediblelandscaping.com.

Unfamiliar fruit varieties

Blood oranges

A cross between an orange and a raspberry. The rind and flesh are deep red. The three most common varieties grown are Moro, Sanguinetii and Tarocco. Blood oranges are very popular in Europe and are grown commercially in Mediterranean citrus regions.

Pummelos

Bear the largest fruit in the citrus family. Many people believe that they are related to the grapefruit, and often grocers will mark them as Chinese grapefruit. Pummelos have no chewy membrane or bitter rind like the grapefruit. The flavor is delicious — mildly sweet without the bitterness common to a grapefruit. Two principal varieties are Chandler, which has pink flesh, and Reinking, which has white flesh.

Kumquat hybrids

One of the hardiest citrus trees are kumquats. With that in mind, the USDA crossed kumquats with other types of citrus to create hardy kumquat hybrids. Two of these are the orangequat and the limequat. Both are beautiful ornamental trees that are ideal for fruit lovers in cold areas. The orangequat has fruit that is larger than a kumquat, bright orange and makes excellent marmalade. The orangequat is an exceptional ornamental and ideal for containers. Limequats are equally lovely trees with light-green to yellow fruit that is abundant. Fruits are juicy with sweet rinds and tart flesh.