The grapefruit tree that ate Bluffton

John Rea of Belfair Plantation in Bluffton crossed the road to bring us some ruby red grapefruits from the monster tree in his yard.

At 40 feet tall and still branching out, he’s got the kudzu vine of Lowcountry grapefruit trees.

“The yield this year was 300-plus,” he said. “I’ve been pulling them off since mid-January.”

On Tuesday, John said in a followup email, and I apologize for getting us so deep in the weeds of agronomy:

“I have maybe five left, two of which are low fruit, will be picked with a mock ceremony. The total had to be north of 300 this season. One other year similar, some years nothing. The tree does what it bloody well likes to do, nothing I can do about it.”

I associate our citrus with the cold of winter.

How big is your grapefruit tree?

This story was originally published May 3, 2016 at 2:46 PM with the headline "The grapefruit tree that ate Bluffton."