Glad you asked here

Have you checked out the Dave Wilson Nursery website? They have a ton of good info there. In my town, Tom Spellman will be speaking in March, long after I will have planted my bareroots but still worth going too. You might check local nurseries and see if he will be speaking near you sooner.

I have a date January 2nd when my nursery opens after the Christmas break and will have their tubs filled with bareroots.

You might want to have the hubby watch the video on planting several trees in one large hole rather than looking for a 4 in 1 tree. Then he can pick the trees he wants rather than pick what is offered.

Remember to watch your chill time and it is wise to buy trees that you can pick with out a ladder

Here is a link that might be useful: Fruit Trees

No concern about chill hours when you're planting citrus. Much more important is how much direct sunlight will get to the fruit. Sweet citrus fruit depends upon on a maximum number of hours of direct sun on the fruit.

Further, the biggest problem with a multi-grafted tree is that the strongest variety will out-compete all the others. Unless you pay very close attention to pruning, within a few years you'll have just one kind of citrus. (Not as easy as it sounds, especially for a new/novice/beginning gardener.)

Planting multiple individual trees in the same hole can work but one must match the tree form. All must be either upright or weeping. Then, too, pruning is again a challenge.

My suggestion:
Plant individual trees. Or start with one variety, get it established, then graft a 2nd kind onto it.

Oh yes, check with local sources as to which citrus are likely to do well under your conditions.

Jean,
who gardened in Long Beach, CA, for 30-some years.

Get the Blood Orange, you can get them around 25$ for a 5 Gallon Plant from OSH/Lowes/HD (Four Winds is the wholesaler)

The blood orange should work for you, since you have summer heat. I live too close to the beach, and so blood oranges do not do so well for me, and I get sour fruit, even though I get lots of sun, even in the winter.

I do have a cherimoya that is doing well, however, and should have ripe fruit next week.

Lars

We can grow a variety of just about anything here in the valley. 'Meyer' lemon would be a good choice for that spot. It's a nice fruit tree to start your collection with.

Man how I envy you guys who live where you can grow citrus.
I cannot imagine living in Z10 and not having some sort of citrus fruit tree in my yard.
Marstar...if your husband wants a fruit tree. by all means get him one. I wish I had experience with citrus so I could offer help, but sadly I do not because obviously they will not survive our frigid winters. I have read that, as Mrclint suggested, Meyer lemon is a good beginner citrus.
Do get him a tree...if successful it could be the gift that truly does keep on giving...and in many ways.

I wish a hybrid citrus/Poncirus trifoliata actually existed that produced fruit that didn't taste like someone mixed grapefruit juice with urine and battery acid.

Watch out I started with 1 now I have over 100.

I suggest you consider giving hubby an IOU for a citrus tree to be obtained during spring when fresh stock will be in.

When I lived in SoCal, fresh citrus trees were available in March or so. Right now, you'll probably only find "leftovers." Call your favorite garden center(s) to ask when theirs will be available.

What about a pomegranate?