Citrus/Erimocitrus glauca growing conditions

[David Kipps]

Being a desert plant, does Erimocitrus require more alkaline soil?  I've had terrible success with it.

[citrange]

Australian desert soils are not always alkaline - in fact many are acidic. Most information suggests that Citrus glauca prefers slightly acidic conditions.
Are your examples of Citrus glauca seedlings or grafted? If grafted, it is the rootstock that determines the pH requirement and not the top variety.

[pagnr]

Are you growing from seed, or buying in seedling or cutting plants ? In Australia grafted plants are available, on Citrus rootstocks.
pH requirements should probably show up as nutrient deficiencies. Any sign of those.
Many inland Australian plants can be associated with particular soil types, ie the tops of sandhills, the bottom between sandhills, clay river flat soils, saline areas.
This can also be linked to a particular geology, with particular groups of plants growing on top.
Citrus glauca is pretty widespread in Australia, in different environments, not sure it grows on only one soil type over all those areas. Still it might be worth investigating.

[pagnr]

From Flora South Australia
https://cdn.environment.sa.gov.au/landscape/docs/saal/citrus-glauca-fact.pdf
Citrus glauca
It occurs in a variety of soil types including heavy brown clays, desert loams, red earths and also on the sandy loam soils found on the Western Myall (Acacia papyrocarpa) plains north of Port Augusta.
Associated vegetation is often chenopod shrublands such as Bluebush (Maireana sedifolia) or Blackbush (M. pyrimidata), but may also include other small trees such as Blackoak (Casuarina pauper) or Bullock Bush (Alectryon oleifolius), and various Senna or Eremophila species.

[David Kipps]

Thanks, it looks like soil by itself is not the problem.  I've sprouted and grown from seed in the same soil that I use for other citrus (which do well).  They start out looking good, but just don't make much growth. Then stand still and start dying before I think I have enough to cut off as scions to try grafting onto something more vigorous.  I think I need to graft them quicker in hopes of getting some push from the rootstock.  They are such tiny things, including the leaves, that I can hardly see healthy or not.  What I am really after is to eventually cross it with P. trifoliata for enough hardiness to do inground crossing and selecting here in central Virginia.  If you know how I can get ahold of that specific cross already made, let me know.  I already have 'Razzlequat', a supposed hybrid with something else, but it doesn't have enough cold hardiness, plus I haven't been assured that it is for certain a progeny of glauca (leaf shape would indicate so, but that probably could be arrived at independently).

[pagnr]

I would say it is the growing media / soil mix. I would try a more coarse sand / aquarium grit 70 %  and 30 % coir type mix.

[Till]

I have read somewhere that E. glauca cannot be directly crossed with Poncirus. I would try it nonetheless. Yet, don't be disappointed. I try to cross it with Yuzu and C. ichangensis. Perhaps that is easier. My plant is grafted - rootstock unknown. It grows very slowly but had flowered last year.

[pagnr]

I remember reading that Microcitrus is fairly close to Fortunella on the family tree. Does that still hold up to recent analysis ?

[hornad]

I have read somewhere that E. glauca cannot be directly crossed with Poncirus. I would try it nonetheless. Yet, don't be disappointed. I try to cross it with Yuzu and C. ichangensis. Perhaps that is easier. My plant is grafted - rootstock unknown. It grows very slowly but had flowered last year.

If it doesn't cross with poncirus then it would make sense to try crossing it with an acidless pomelo to get size and less acidity to combine with glauca's drought tolerance and quick ripening.

[bussone]

I have read somewhere that E. glauca cannot be directly crossed with Poncirus. I would try it nonetheless. Yet, don't be disappointed. I try to cross it with Yuzu and C. ichangensis. Perhaps that is easier. My plant is grafted - rootstock unknown. It grows very slowly but had flowered last year.

Both will, and have, hybridized with Citrus sinensis.
The citranges are these -- Benton, Carrizo, C35, Morton, Rusk, Willits, etc.
Glauca goes into sinensis as the eromoranges, so an eremorange might be compatible with citrange; there may be enough sinensis moderating the mixture. You could also try straight poncirus or straight glauca with a straight citrange or eremorange. Citranges will hybridize with fortunella. Citrangeremos, which do exist, are that glauca/citrange hybrid. Not sure what you could call poncirus+eremorange. I sort of like triremorange.

Both have also been hybridized with Shekwasha (reticulata/depressa). Poncirus as citrangarins (Changsha, too). Eremoradias show up in the literature.
Apparently, they will go through paradisi, too. (Swingle and Dunstan for poncirus, Coachella for Eremocitrus). Coachella apparently can use poncirus as rootstock. (Which suggests its other parent is not Meyer)

[Mike T]

They do cross readily and are naturally found in a huge area with a range of climates and soils. Some selections have bigger fruits, have thornless trees or are more productive.