Citrina Ornamental dwarf trees

[mehmetsaygin]

Hello,

I just watched the video of Citrina, an ornamental dwarf citrus tree company in Portugal, it is very very impressive.

Please watch the video here;
https://www.citrina-plants.com/en/citrina/

This is what I dream to do as business in a longer period, very satisfying.

The main process should be;

1. Using a dwarf rootstock such as flying dragon and making a very strong root structure. ( On 00:44 rootstock leaves are visible and easy to identify I guess, I couldn't identify though)
2. It seems that at some point where the rootstock is 25-30cm long, and small in diameter they cut it and cleft graft the scion (00:44)
3. The rest is a well planned nutrition I guess.

[Radoslav]

They use rootstock with trifoliate leaves, that means only one thing, when you buy it and place it in living room somewhere in zone 7 or 6, it will be dead within 2 years.

Business with ornamental citrus trees is one big scam.

It is focused on market in zone 6 or 7 where people dream about growing citruses at home. They sell such trees in supermarkets.
At first customers find, that the citrus they bought is inedible, usually calamondin.
Second, they will start to flood local citrus forums with topics like "my citrus is dying, help!"
Because there is no chance for grafted citrus to survive their indoor conditions, except seedlings from time to time, or calamondin rooted cutting.

[Millet]

I don't see any connection what so ever with a trifoliate rootstock and a dead tree in two years -- none.  Almost all of my trees are on Flying Dragon rootstocks, and some well over 20 years of age.  Many millions of people must think Citrina's business model is a great and successful  model, otherwise Citrina's business would have never grown to the massive size that it has.   Their trees are designed to be ornamental trees, used in the home much like a vase of flowers (for decoration) not large production trees.   Wish it was my business.  Mehmetsaygin go for your dream. When your a millionaire send me a tree. 

[Radoslav]

I don't see any connection what so ever with a trifoliate rootstock and a dead tree in two years -- none.  Almost all of my trees are on Flying Dragon rootstocks, and some well over 20 years of age.  Many millions of people must think Citrina's business model is a great and successful  model, otherwise Citrina's business would have never grown to the massive size that it has.   Their trees are designed to be ornamental trees, used in the home much like a vase of flowers (for decoration) not large production trees.   Wish it was my business.  Mehmetsaygin go for your dream. When your a millionaire send me a tree.

I guess you do no have those trees indoor, in living room, as I said this businnes is a scam.
Customers in supermarkets buy such things under the impression, (like on that "happy pictures" on that video), that the plant will prosper in their indoor conditions somewhere in the living room,  and that is not true, especially on trifoliata rootstock in our short winter days (Ordinary customer do not have temperated greenhouse for citruses, or lamps from growshop and those who have it will not buy minicitruses in supermarket).
When supermarkets like Baumax started to sell such stuff (usually from Sicily) in my town, people bought it, now after some years, they do not buy it, because they have bad experiencess, as I said.

[Millet]

Radoslav, we will just have to agree to disagree.  Anyway, the cost of such a tree is so small, it is certainly no big deal.   It would be quite easy to grow the tree successfully inside a house during the winter, with or without lights.

[mehmetsaygin]

Thank you for your opinions.
My first kumquat was one of these small trees that are sold in flower shops, not nurseries. It was so expensive and I hesitated to buy one, then I noticed my cousin bought me one as present when I was thinking at a corner
The price at that time was 10x of current prices. But that tree lived happily at my balcony for 3 years and then I made almost a thousand kumquat tree using it as source.

I know what Radoslav mean when he says scam but I see these ornamental trees as quality cut flowers or ornamental flowers that are sold at corners as Millet mentioned. It is a nice touch in someone's life even for a period. Like buying a violet in a vase from the corner supermarket.

Millet, I will mention your name on company website as "great doyen advisor" and it will be your business from then And I will be pleased to send you a tree anytime before reaching the million

Anytime I talk to someone and when they learn I am doing citrus business the first thing they ask is those small orange fruits that can be eaten with the peel and they can grow in a container at their balcony. "Yes" I reply; "the kumquats."

So actually I will be pleased to talk about the technic more.

1. Can you identify the rootstock from the photo. Yes it is a trifoliata but which?
2. Do you think it is a cleft graft or do you have different ideas?

My first kumquat is almost 10 years old and it is still 1m tall, I suspect it is a flying dragon.
I found out C35 is a perfect rootstock for kumquat, it makes the tree semi-dwarf but it helps branching from the bud point. So the tree starts with 3-4 branches just from the bud union and the result is a compact very beautiful tree.

[Radoslav]

On 0:41 it looks like they are cutting only one side, so not cleft, but something like whip and tongue graft.

I like this video from Tintori nursery, when he grafts and roots the rootstock cutting in one step.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXjXdmxllhA&list=PLUYXwZIn0-i5SgGCW21yjr7qIGYhT6iIj&index=2

Somewhere in the net is a study about best rootstock for ornamental citrus trees, and I think the winner is volkameriana (used by Tintori nursery ) because of compact crown and heavy flowering.

[mehmetsaygin]

Thank you very much Radoslav. What he does with the rootstock and scion is very interesting. I have an ortanique mandarin tree, the scion is dead and it is become a big C35 tree. In February I will try this method with cuttings from this tree.
Actually DVD is totally interesting.

[mehmetsaygin]

Volkameriana is a great rootstock for a nursery. As I observed it is the quickest rootstock to appear at grafting stage and it is also very strong and even under weak nursery conditions it grows very well without much care.
Actually Volkameriana is the reason I got excited to start nursery again. It becomes very popular with growers here because lemon trees on it is are very healthy, vigorous and productive. So farmers are asking for it and the availability is limited.
It would be great for big container and garden ornamentals but I don't think the small trees we discuss here will benefit from Volkameriana.

But I will definitely try some ornamental tree budwoods on them to see how it will work. I have around 130.000 Volkameriana seeds at the fridge, enough to make any experiment

[Millet]

Radoslav, thanks for the Oscar Tintori video.  Oscar Tintori is one of my citrus hero's.  He is an inspiration.

[mehmetsaygin]

I sent an email to Tintori company to learn if the original DVD has a subtitle.