Author Topic: How long does citrus budwood last?  (Read 2965 times)

fyliu

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How long does citrus budwood last?
« on: April 05, 2018, 05:36:36 PM »
How long can they be expected to last and what's the best way to store them?

CCPP cuts them in the morning and sends them overnight FedEx.

mrtexas

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Re: How long does citrus budwood last?
« Reply #1 on: April 07, 2018, 01:01:36 AM »
At least a month if wrapped in damp paper towels and store in the refrigerator and likely a couple months.

fyliu

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Re: How long does citrus budwood last?
« Reply #2 on: April 08, 2018, 12:22:04 AM »
Okay, good to have a second opinion on this. Here's my experience.

I had some yuzu bud wood from last January that I stored in the thick ziploc style bag that CCPP uses and they looked green and good when I grafted them in Dec/this Jan. On the other hand, I had some fingerlime budwood in the same kind of bag with paper towel and they rotted. The fingerlime budwood was much newer than the yuzu. I suspect that that citrus cuttings don't like the extra dampness. It was not soggy, but just damp with water squeezed out as much as possible.

My yuzu grafts look okay but I haven't checked to make sure they're alive. They felt moist when I grafted them.

I wasn't sure if that's generally true so I wonder what other people's experiences are, or if someone knows for sure.

CA Hockey

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Re: How long does citrus budwood last?
« Reply #3 on: April 08, 2018, 10:26:12 PM »
I’ve had buds take 1-2 months after ordering. THey were  still green.

In fact they’ve been green for a year (unused buds) but I didn’t try those.

Can you graft finger lime into any citrus rootstock? I have a dead finger lime tree whose base still has green wood beneath the bark but absolutely zero growth for the past 6 months. I bought new budwood and grafted onto lemon interstock but if that won’t take I could try again on the original root stock. I’m just surprised it’s green but won’t send up shoots.

fyliu

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Re: How long does citrus budwood last?
« Reply #4 on: April 09, 2018, 01:30:35 AM »
If it's alive but doesn't grow, you might try forcing it by making sure it's the highest bud of that branch. If you need to preserve the branch, then your option is scoring above the bud to stop the hormone flow. It may take more than one try.

Millet

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Re: How long does citrus budwood last?
« Reply #5 on: April 11, 2018, 11:04:00 AM »
Budwood is generally collected from the shoot behind the current flush, or from the current growth after it has begun to harden or mature, The sticks should be 8 to 10 inches long  and the leaves should be removed, leaving about 0.8 inch of petiole to protect the bud.  The budwood should be washed with running water, dipped for 60 seconds in 10% bleach solution and shaken to remove the excess. Air dry the budwood on a rack for no more than 15 minutes at 64-F.  Precool the budwood at 40-F, then seal it in a plastic bag and store at the same temperature.  Inspect the bag for condensation within 2 days, if there is more than a fine mist, dry the inside of the bag with clean paper towels.  Desiccation is the major problem in stored budwood . If storage is longer, repeat the sanitation and surface drying again at  2 months.

mrtexas

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Re: How long does citrus budwood last?
« Reply #6 on: April 11, 2018, 11:53:36 AM »
I store in damp paper towels/zip lock and check for moldy towel every few weeks.