Multi grafting citrus - what's the best method?

[BMc]

I'm having a new deck built, so I will loose one spot from my yard where a young Honnef's Surprise cv Grapefruit (Poorman Orange x Grapefruit) is currently growing well. I also have a Meyer Lemon in an unprotectable spot and we have citrus sucking moths and fruit flies that adore the fruit. So I was hoping to graft these and maybe more onto existing citrus, most likely onto a Flick's Yellow Pomelo (hybrid). Does anyone have any tips on the best way to multi graft onto existing plants, where to position them, what method to use, etc? Any advice greatly appreciated.

[mrtexas]

Must graft with new bud as top most bud on the tree or it may not force. I'd recommend a top bud, let it grow out and then repeat. You would then have bottom, middle and top with different varieties. If you try to bud multiple branches, one branch may outgrow the others. I've done it that way and got a lop sided tree. May not be too lopsided or very lopsided. In my experience the one that grew most vigorously was the variety I least liked and then cut that branch off. At my old house I had a multi-variety grapefruit and blood orange tree. Each had 5+ varieties and not very lopsided.

[behlgarden]

I grafted varieties of mandarin 8 buds on single trunk on my planted tree, facing different direction and heights, 3 inches apart. what you think are chances of take? Do you do bud grafting? I want to hear more about bud grafting.

[fyliu]

I do both bud and stick grafts. Now is a good time to do budding. All mine from a month ago are still green. Need to top the branches to force them soon.

mrtexas makes a good point about how to graft them. I did it the normal way like Behl since my dozen varieties all came at the same time. Maybe I'll try it his way after I have a budwood supply of my own.

[mrtexas]

I grafted varieties of mandarin 8 buds on single trunk on my planted tree, facing different direction and heights, 3 inches apart. what you think are chances of take? Do you do bud grafting? I want to hear more about bud grafting.

They may take but will they force. the top bud may suppress the lower buds.

[CA Hockey]

I think you will have to force somehow.

Follow this link - I basically used this tutorial to learn bud grafts.

http://www.fruitmentor.com/grafting-orange-trees-t-bud

He saws through the top which I agree is a fast way to force. If you want to keep rootstock/interstock, or if doing multi and you don’t want to lose wood, then you would score through the wood like a partial girdle or semicircle or hemicircle just above the top of the graft AFTER the three weeks


If your buds are green at 3 weeks, then they’ve taken and you just have to force them. By scoring, you can get growth within 3 weeks in my experience.

Fruitmentor has other videos showing how to force the buds

[beicadad]

I’ve had many buds that were green after a couple of months but wouldn’t bud out despite being the top bud of the branch and eventually dried up after a long time. Much harder to force for multi-grafting has been my experience

[shaneatwell]

I've been attempting with a lemon for a few years. I've had the most luck with whip grafts (cleft after that). Also a few days of overcast/cool weather appears to help. Just added 24 grafts about 5weeks ago and they're all still quite green.