The Tropical Fruit Forum

Citrus => Citrus General Discussion => Topic started by: Isaac-1 on March 17, 2019, 12:00:44 AM

Title: Another grafting / topworking question
Post by: Isaac-1 on March 17, 2019, 12:00:44 AM
I am currently growing about a dozen citrus trees on the 8b / 9a line in Louisiana, most of which are some variety of Satsuma.  Three of the trees are over 20 years old, the rest have been planted over the last 5 years.

One of my 20+ year old trees is in poor condition, it is planted in a more exposed location than the others, was well as in a spot where the soil stays a bit wetter.  I cover my citrus trees and provide them with heat lamps during unusually cold winter weather, and during one of these freeze events a couple of years ago the cover blew off of this one tree during a night where the low temperatures reached about 15F.  This resulted in considerable die back, it lost all its leaves and did not start having any signs of life until the following August with eventual loss of about 1/3 of the tree (the entire northern side).  Since then fruit production on this tree has been light (I would estimate under 100 Satsumas this last season) and growth has been sparse and scraggly, perhaps due to freeze damaged wood.

This leads to consider cutting back at least one of the main trunks and possibly grafting in stems of scion wood from my Miho Satsuma tree which is reportedly one of the most cold hardy varieties.

Any advice you can give on the subject is most welcome, as I have little experience grafting, and no experience grafting citrus.  Also my limited reading suggests that top working is best done on trees under 20 years of age, but I have found no details on this age limit.

thanks
Title: want to be involved in citrus project?
Post by: SoCal2warm on March 17, 2019, 02:10:54 AM
Hi there. I am wondering if you'd possibly like to work with me to hybridize new cold hardy citrus varieties.
I'd just send you plants and tell you what to do.
You would grow the plants, pollinate flowers, label branches, and harvest seeds from the fruit. Then I would grow the seeds and eventually send them back to you to grow again. I don't know how much land you have.

Contact back if interested, and if so send me your address.
(There would be no exchange money, just looking for someone in a warmer climate who can more easily grow them and is interested in that) it would likely be a long-term project, maybe 3 or 4 years.

I know someone else in Kansas who would probably be interested too. We just tell you what to do, you do it and give reports maybe every so often. I'm working on breeding solid zone 8a varieties, the guy in Kansas is trying for 7a, though they probably may not taste as good.
Title: Re: Another grafting / topworking question
Post by: Isaac-1 on March 17, 2019, 04:01:43 AM
Sounds like an interesting project, my only concern is that Louisiana is an ACP quarantine state.
Title: Re: Another grafting / topworking question
Post by: Laaz on March 17, 2019, 09:16:46 AM
Yes it is. You can't legally send any citrus plant from CA to LA or vice versa.