Grafting citrus choices

4 years ago

Back ground on me, I live in Ohio and I'm a pastry chef with a bit of an obsession with growing fruit to bake with. I used to have an attached sunroom where we tried growing various types of citrus, only having real success with lemons (I made a lemon creme brulee that my family still talks about years later).
I need advice on grafting, I've read tons about it but never done it. I understand the concepts and ideas but execution is another matter.i will take any advice for a first time grafter.
On to the project, I no longer have the sunroom but a future greenhouse isn't out of the question. Currently the plan is to keep it in a corner of the furnished basement with grow lights in winter and outside in summer. I would like to graft 2-4 types of fruit onto one tree.
As far as types of citrus I'm open to suggestions. My personal favorite is blood oranges but I also like tangerines, lemons, limes, you name it. The only things off the list are grapefruit and pummelos, no one in my family will eat them. I would love any suggestions on types to grow as well as reputable places (likely online) to buy viable saplings.
So basically I know I'm asking for everyone to figure it out for me but this is new territory for me and would love any advice I can get!

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Comments (5)

bklyn citrus (zone 7B)
4 years ago
Why don't you just buy yourself a nice premium lemon tree for starters (and skip meyer lemon) and take care of that. Four winds sells nice trees. If you speak to a customer rep. they may even separately sell you a rootstock to play with. You can get trifoliate seedlings cheap on Etsy. One green world uses rubidoux trifoliate and would likely sell you one with a purchase. Scions are another matter. As far as multi grafted trees I'm not a fan, had 4 in one pears etc., multiple issues and thats with a year round outside tree not an in/out tree.
Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
Not necessarily trying to discourage you from grafting, but you might consider just growing individual trees for now. See how they do in your particular winter quarters. If your basement is really warm, they may be plagued with bugs or not grow well. And it can be difficult enough to get one variety to grow and fruit well, let alone a tree with multiple varieties.

Grafting, in my limited experience, is best done in summer when plants are actively growing outdoors. But having multiple varieties on one tree can be tricky because they all grow at different rates and one variety may take over. I'd consider grafting if a particular variety was difficult to obtain and I had access to scions through the mail. There are tons of citrus grafting videos on YouTube. But I think they don't always tell you the best time of year.

Your goal seems to be to get fruit, so I think you'd be the most successful with growing individual plants, for now. If you have tons of success, then venture into a 'fruit cocktail' type of multi-grafted tree.

For cooking, consider key lime (love my key lime pie!) , lemon, and Persian lime. For eating out of hand, I like and have had success with any early-bearing mandarin/satsuma. I'm also hoping the Oroblanco is good. It's a sweet, acid-less pummelo-grapefruit hybrid (my plant is still young though). Oranges and grapefruit I can get in the store.
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Sandra: Citrus is not as easy to graft as pomes and stonefruit but it is a lot easier than jujubes. The thicker the cambium layer, the easier the graft and you almost cannot go wrong on a pear with its thick cambium. Your sucess rate will depend on your ability to match and grow cambuim layers togeather before the scion dries out. The Simple Wedge Cleft: The cleft graft linked above is one I find particularly difficult. Begin with the simple wedge graft and match both scion and rootstock edges. See http://sites/johnpanza/refinementsingrafting John left out these details(he covers it in his class). Demensions assume budwood near pencil size. Use this method if the bark is not slipping. Trim the scion wedge with taper length of 1-1/8 to 1-1/4 in. Insert wedge until ~3/16 (4 to 5 mm) of the taper sticks above top of the rootstock. The cut the depth of the cleft should be about 1/4 in. longer than depth the wedge is inserted. Use L.E. Cooke or equivalent heavy 1/2 in. wide x 0.008 in. thick green grafting and tieing tape (usually green). Twice the thickness of budding tape so you can pull the stock against the scion leaving no gaps the length of the cleft. Pull hard streaching the tape to the point of breaking. Cut off about 10 in. of tie tape. Start the wrap 3/8 in. below the bottom of the cleft split. (Below where it says rootstock in the drawing) Spiral wrap upward about 3/8 in. past the top of the taper of the wedge and then spiral back down and stop 1/2 in below top of the rootstock. Cut the tie tape. Take a piece of sticky tape ~1/2 in wide x 1.5 inch long to finish the wrap. Tape down the tag end of the tie tape to the previously wrapped bottom layer of tape. Sticky tape can be masking tape, freezer tape, or last choice duct tape. Write date and scion variety on the sticky tape with a marking pen. Cut a piece of Parafilm -M or newer grafting Parafilm about the width of the diameter of the scion or a few mm wider. Spiral wrap the scion leaving just yhe buds uncovered. Remove the paper and put that side on the scion. Streach the parafilm and it gets tacky. The best scion wood is second (or in a pinch third) from last flush. It is best to use "slighted striated wood" Do not use the first 2-3 buds of a flush.
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Assuming you are talking about potted plants, yes you can use them, as long as they are at least about pencil thickness. Budding is probably better for small rootstocks, but both budding and grafting should work OK. Look up some websites about citrus propagation. The only disadvantage of these rootstocks is they don't have some of the disease resistance that a commercial grower would require. But as long as you water carefully to avoid foot-rot (phytopthera disease), and do not require the absolute maximum fruit production then they are perfectly good. If you are talking about in-ground citrus then you should take local advice because choice of rootstock variety depends on soil type, minimum temperatures, required final size etc.
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If a cutting is grown from mature fruiting wood, then it can flower and fruit almost immediately, regardless of size. There is very little scientific research about rootstocks for potted citrus because there is no commercial incentive to drive it. I doubt there are many commercial growers who produce fruit from potted trees, and nursery growers of potted ornamental citrus have different requirements. They need to quickly produce a visually appealing potted plant, preferably with showy fruits. They are not interested in the taste, disease resistance, long term viability or fruit quantity - all of which can be affected by rootstock choice. If varieties root easily - such as Meyer's Lemon - they will stick a few cuttings in a pot. Otherwise, they will use whatever rootstock is available that will quickly produce a saleable plant. In Europe, such plants are produced in quantity, mainly in Italy, and exported to more Northerly countries where they are often sold for Christmas. I guess most of them will be dead by the next Christmas! So the alternative to such ornamental plants, is to buy grafted plants meant for growing in-ground which are mostly a 'by-product' from commercial citrus plant producers. I think that if you then plant these in a pot, you have taken control over nutrition, irrigation, temperature and soil conditions and these factors will far outweigh any effect from the rootstock. For instance, restricting pot size has a huge effect on plant size. So, in many ways, rootstock choice no longer matters if you provide the right conditions in your pot. Perhaps, if you know you are going to over water or leave outside in cold conditions or water with salty or acidic water, then you should select a suitable rootstock. Otherwise, just ignore the rootstock type - give the plant a good home and it should be happy.
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Hey Vlad, mostly lemons and a few mandarins and oranges. I have been trading budwood with a few people on the Tropical Fruit forum run by Millet. I have flame grapefruit, Moro blood, and Bearss lime coming tomorrow lol. Georgia will inevitably become a full quarantined state, it’s only a matter of time. I’m trying to stock up now before that happens. Plus, it’s a great way to try new varieties without spending a fortune doing so. My husband is getting nervous, though lol
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Aaron Haueisen
Original Author
4 years ago
The main reason I want to graft multiple trees is just for space. One is manageable in my limited space
poncirusguy6b452xx
4 years ago
Anything in a pot will have enough problems as a single cultivar. 2 in 1 tree will not grow.
jaydub83
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
i would probably keep similar types together. For instance I have a lemon tree that i grafted limes and key limes onto. Id give it to you if you anywhere near here, since im running out of room lol. But i think if you try too many different varieties together one type may become too dominant and shade out the other types.

Grafting citrus choices

Comments (5)

bklyn citrus (zone 7B)

Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A

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Grafting citrus choices

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bklyn citrus (zone 7B)

Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A

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