Show Posts
26
Tropical Fruit Discussion / flying dragon vs c-35 for meiwa and improved meyer
« on: September 10, 2019, 12:17:40 PM »
I'm trying to make a decision on how to go ahead with my citrus plans. They will be planted in large containers/pots and I plan to bring them in the house or put them in them in the greenhouse for the winter. However, my concerns are mainly with choosing the right rootstock. Everything nearest commercial that I've found is on C-35, and I assume this is for good reason - being that most people aren't planting them in large containers in the midwest.
I've read various things about how flying dragon, though, is a more optimal chose if I'm trying to maximize the dwarfing effect and preciousness. Yet, I'm curious, why isn't flying dragon used more frequently over C-35? I came across a "post on Houzz that mentions that " 'Flying Dragon' just isn't used here in S. California for a multitude of reasons. ". Yet it seems an very popular choice in Australia for commercial production..... Why isn't "flying dragon" used very much in cali (commercial production or not)? (Interestingly, I was reading that FD as a rootstock was trialed successfully to overcome some of the problems related to growing citrus in the tropics. Environmental factors affecting brix/acid ratio for cirtus.)
Can anyone help explain to me the pros vs cons of choosing flying dragon as a rootstock over C-35? Is it vigor?
I saw several posts mentioning that flying dragon is a slow grower (source1, source2). Is this trait imbued to all grafts? Is it graft specific?
I also saw there were new rootstocks released - US-802, US-812, US-897, US-942, of which US897 is supposed to be true dwarfing. Is this true? Are any of these actually available to be purchased? I can't find them listed even at Treesource.
My original desire was to get a slower growing dwarfing citrus, hence my tendencies toward looking to a true dwarfing rootstock. This is how it's done for apples (M27), so I assumed same principle applies to citrus. I'm not very familiar with citrus in general, so looking for some guidance.
My eventual grafting goals are blood orange, meyer lemon, yuzu, and transferring an existing meiwa on c-35 to something more dwarfing.
Links for future self-reference: Rootstocks With Dwarfing Effect, Citrus Rootstock characteristics (CITTgroups July 2009), Choosing a Rootstock.
I've read various things about how flying dragon, though, is a more optimal chose if I'm trying to maximize the dwarfing effect and preciousness. Yet, I'm curious, why isn't flying dragon used more frequently over C-35? I came across a "post on Houzz that mentions that " 'Flying Dragon' just isn't used here in S. California for a multitude of reasons. ". Yet it seems an very popular choice in Australia for commercial production..... Why isn't "flying dragon" used very much in cali (commercial production or not)? (Interestingly, I was reading that FD as a rootstock was trialed successfully to overcome some of the problems related to growing citrus in the tropics. Environmental factors affecting brix/acid ratio for cirtus.)
Can anyone help explain to me the pros vs cons of choosing flying dragon as a rootstock over C-35? Is it vigor?
I saw several posts mentioning that flying dragon is a slow grower (source1, source2). Is this trait imbued to all grafts? Is it graft specific?
I also saw there were new rootstocks released - US-802, US-812, US-897, US-942, of which US897 is supposed to be true dwarfing. Is this true? Are any of these actually available to be purchased? I can't find them listed even at Treesource.
My original desire was to get a slower growing dwarfing citrus, hence my tendencies toward looking to a true dwarfing rootstock. This is how it's done for apples (M27), so I assumed same principle applies to citrus. I'm not very familiar with citrus in general, so looking for some guidance.
My eventual grafting goals are blood orange, meyer lemon, yuzu, and transferring an existing meiwa on c-35 to something more dwarfing.
Links for future self-reference: Rootstocks With Dwarfing Effect, Citrus Rootstock characteristics (CITTgroups July 2009), Choosing a Rootstock.