Question:
I am thinking of buying an indoor plant that is a calamondin tree, this grows small oranges throughout the year. I don't know enough about orlah to know if this is permitted, or if I would need to wait time before being able to eat the fruit . Please can you let me know. This is for USA not Israel residents
Answer:
Hello,
Here is what you would have to know.
Ask the person selling you the tree, how old the tree is, because if it is only a year or two old, then orlah will apply. (If the person selling the tree doesn’t know, then you will have to ask a gardener, or someone else who understands the growth of trees, to assess how old the tree is.)
If the tree is still young, you may eat the fruit of the tree from what grew after Tu B’shvat of the fourth year. The fruits from then will be considered “neta rivai”, the produce of the fourth year. Fruits that are neta revai, are kadosh, however you can “move” the kedusha of them on to a coin, which will then acquire it’s kedusha, and the fruits will be permitted to eat. (The coin should not be used for anything else, and it will eventually have to be destroyed). Fruits that will grow after Tu b’shvat of the fifth year of the tree may be eaten normally.
You do not have to worry, about the possibility that even if the tree is older than four years old, that it was transported from a different container into its present container, (which might necessitate for us to start the count of four years all over again). The reason is because in chutz la’aretz we can rely on the rule that safek orlah is permitted.
One other point that is noteworthy, is that you should not move the tree to another flowerpot. This is for two reasons, firstly it might cause the tree to be considered freshly planted, and then the tree will be considered orlah. Secondly, many trees nowadays are hybrids, we may eat the fruit of a hybrid tree, but we may not plant it ourselves. By moving the tree to a different flowerpot, it would be considered as if you planted klayim! Therefore you should be careful about that.
If you have any other question, don’t hesitate to contact us.
Best wishes
Sources:
Yora Deah 294-9, 16, 19, Discussion with R’ Saul Riechenberg, author of Mishpatei Eretz, on the hlachos of orlah.
