The Tropical Fruit Forum
Citrus => Citrus General Discussion => Topic started by: jcaldeira on April 13, 2014, 11:10:41 PM
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I recently pruned the lower branches off many of my citrus trees, and now I'm plagued with shoots coming out of the rootstocks. Is there a good way to reduce the number of rootstock suckers that a plant generates? How long with this plague last?
I only cut off the braches low to the ground to keep fruit off the ground, facilitate cutting grass and reducing mosquito habitat.
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I recently pruned the lower branches off many of my citrus trees, and now I'm plagued with shoots coming out of the rootstocks. Is there a good way to reduce the number of rootstock suckers that a plant generates? How long with this plague last?
I only cut off the braches low to the ground to keep fruit off the ground, facilitate cutting grass and reducing mosquito habitat.
Nope, you're going to have to live with it I'm afraid. You can tar over the places where they've shot to stop them regrowing, but rootstock shoots are par for the course with grafted citrus. Even my grafted finger limes send out rootstock suckers. Pretty much the best thing you can do is pop them off as soon as you see them; don't let them develop, and chances are the top growth will start growing before new suckers are sent out. Flooding can induce excessive suckering, as can excessive fertilization. Do you know what rootstocks these trees are on? In Australia, it's almost always trifoliata or flying dragon. Almost all Australian finger limes are grafted onto tri.
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Citrange, swingle and bush lemon are used here as well.If you keep chopping off the root stock shoots they will reduce over time.
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The number and vigor of the suckers will also dwindle as the canopy develops and shades the base of the trunk, particularly if you do not prune lower branches of the scion.