World of CitrusLakeland Limequat
Swingle and Robinson report that the limequat cross series was made at Eustis in June 1909 in F. W. Savage’s citrus grove. Their article identifies Lakeland and Eustis as sister hybrids of Mexican/West Indian lime and round kumquat; the exact cross date for the named Lakeland clone is not separately stated.
Made the 1909 West Indian lime × round kumquat hybridization from which Lakeland limequat originated.
Sources: [5]
The 1923 article publicly identifies and describes the Lakeland limequat and associates its name with doing particularly well in H. J. Drane’s Lakeland garden. This dates the checked published naming/description evidence, not necessarily the first use or nursery release of the name; Florida Fruit Geek later reports the three limequat varieties were released in 1913.
Named and described the Lakeland limequat selection.
Grew the selection at Lakeland, Florida, where its particularly good performance led to the name Lakeland limequat.
Chiefland Budwood Facility notes that Lakeland clone F-55-26 was entered in 1953 as SPB-145b (5-8-7). The same note separately attributes the clone’s origin to Indian Rocks Nurseries in Pinellas County; this is an accession record for clone F-55-26, not a date of origin for the Lakeland cultivar.
Sources: [3]