keitt / kent as viable rootstock?

[TheFlyingFarmer]

i have 8 keitt and 5 kent seedlings that are about 4 monthes old and been toying around with the idea of possibly using them as rootstock next year. i know many people consider turpentine to be best but i figured since i already have them growing maybe i could graft a pickering / cogshall / or sugarloaf onto them.

let me know what you guys think.

[Thematt829]

Sprouting  10 keit and about 7 kent yesterday. Following for answers.

[chris1]

I also started bout a dozen non turpentine seedlings for grafting so I look forward to the answers.

[TheFlyingFarmer]

the only info i could find was that supposedly keitt seedlings are prone to root rot, but other than that i assume they would be ok for grafting if they survive to be a few feet tall.

i guess the only way to find out is to wait until theyre big enough and start to experiment.

[JakeFruit]

I used Kents for rootstock last year since I lost access to a Turpentine tree. Much more vigorous from the start; since it's a mono seed, all the energy from the seed is going into only one seedling (where a poly has multiple seedlings each taking a segmented share of the seed energy). A Kent at 4 months old seems twice as thick and (much) taller than a Turp seedling. Currently I have Pineapple Pleasure (double-stone grafted), Ice Cream, PSM, and Honey Kiss grafted to year-old Kents. So far, so good. I worry the Ice Cream and Honey Kiss might be a problem in the long-run with the vigorous rootstock, we shall see....

[TheFlyingFarmer]

I used Kents for rootstock last year since I lost access to a Turpentine tree. Much more vigorous from the start; since it's a mono seed, all the energy from the seed is going into only one seedling (where a poly has multiple seedlings each taking a segmented share of the seed energy). A Kent at 4 months old seems twice as thick and (much) taller than a Turp seedling. Currently I have Pineapple Pleasure (double-stone grafted), Ice Cream, PSM, and Honey Kiss grafted to year-old Kents. So far, so good. I worry the Ice Cream and Honey Kiss might be a problem in the long-run with the vigorous rootstock, we shall see....

thanks for the info, another concern i have is the rootstock vigor, especially with pickering, i worry that the rootstock may "outrun" the graft and start to produce branching below the graft.

[Viraldonutz]

I used Kents for rootstock last year since I lost access to a Turpentine tree. Much more vigorous from the start; since it's a mono seed, all the energy from the seed is going into only one seedling (where a poly has multiple seedlings each taking a segmented share of the seed energy). A Kent at 4 months old seems twice as thick and (much) taller than a Turp seedling. Currently I have Pineapple Pleasure (double-stone grafted), Ice Cream, PSM, and Honey Kiss grafted to year-old Kents. So far, so good. I worry the Ice Cream and Honey Kiss might be a problem in the long-run with the vigorous rootstock, we shall see....

thanks for the info, another concern i have is the rootstock vigor, especially with pickering, i worry that the rootstock may "outrun" the graft and start to produce branching below the graft.

If that happens, you can always trim back the rootstock, right? Or graft another scion to it?

[JakeFruit]

thanks for the info, another concern i have is the rootstock vigor, especially with pickering, i worry that the rootstock may "outrun" the graft and start to produce branching below the graft.

I've seen some photos of purported incompatibilities when grafting low-vigor to vigorous rootstock, what they showed was an unequal diameter trunk at the graft location. Bottom trunk was maybe 6" while the top was maybe 4". There were several photos, looked like the bark had torn apart at the graft line and couldn't heal; all the trees were dead. What were the varieties and was that their ultimate cause of death, one can only guess....

[TheFlyingFarmer]

maybe something with alittle more vigor, perhaps cogshall or sugarloaf?

[simon_grow]

For my location, Keitt seedlings grow very slowly even though they are monoembryonic. Kent grows well at my location and performs well in my heavy clay, lower oxygen soil.

I would recommend planting as many different varieties of mango seeds as you can get your hands on. Try to plant both monoembryonic and poly embryonic varieties. One type may grow better at your location and your specific soil/pH.

Simon

[Viraldonutz]

Are Kent also mono?

[simon_grow]

Yes, Kent seedlings are monoembryonic although they may have more than one shoot come up. If you get multiple shoots from a Kent Seedling, it is highly likely that all the shoots originate from a single source root.

True Polyembryonic mango seedlings will have multiple sprouts, each with their own tap root although sometimes a few of the seedlings will share a tap root. The seedlings that share a taproot should be considered genetically identical.

Simon