Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.

Topics - Travillion

Pages: [1]

Citrus General Discussion / I accidentally girdled my trees, how big of an issue is this?

« on: November 08, 2024, 05:14:00 PM »

I was out inspecting my recently planted citrus trees and I was horrified to see that I had accidentally left some training wire in place that I used to stake the trees when they were very young. Their trunks have grown since then and there are some deepish grooves where the training wire was. The trees don't seem to be affected yet, and fortunately they were not completed girdled. Still, how big of an issue will this cause when they get older? I grafted these trees myself from rootstock I grew from seed. I have a backup for both of these trees in pots if needed, but I'd rather not dig these out and plant new ones if I don't have too. OTOH, I don't want these trees dying in 5 years.

Citrus General Discussion / Cut off sunburned trunk or let it grow?

« on: November 04, 2024, 02:15:33 PM »

I bought this meiwa kumquat a few years ago and kept it in a pot because I didn't have a yard until now. I finally planted it in the ground yesterday. It got severely sunburned when I first bought it. You can see a long strip of scar tissue going up the trunk. It has almost completely grown over now. I know it's not "healed" and that dead tissue will always be in the tree. I'm also assuming it won't grow new buds there so it will always be a bare stretch of trunk. I'm wondering how weak/vulnerable it will be in the future. Should I cut that section of trunk out and let it be a short bush, or keep the burned trunk and allow it to keep growing up?

Citrus General Discussion / Prune back limbs touching the ground?

« on: October 31, 2024, 11:33:01 AM »

I recently planted in ground the citrus trees I raised in pots for the last two years. In pots, the natural bushy growth could droop down because the pots lift the plant off the ground. When I planted them in ground, a few had branches that are now draped on the surface of my wood mulch. Do I need to prune these off to reduce pest/disease issues? Or are the branches fine to touch the ground? If they do need to go, is it fine to do that in the spring or do they need to go now?

Citrus General Discussion / Alternatives to pine bark for potting mixes?

« on: January 13, 2024, 03:14:16 PM »

Sorry for posting another potting mix thread....

I'm needing to make a change and am searching for alternatives. I have several trees in modified 5-1-1, but I need to do some up-potting and my source for the pine bark has turned to garbage.
I know I could use reptibark or Bonsai Jack but that becomes cost prohibitive for me in large quantities. I have all my trees on a drip system, so whatever I switch to will need to be comparable to 5-1-1 in terms of drainage so I don't run into issues. I have one tree in the 1:1 Turface MVP:MGGS and that seems to do well, but the resulting mix is HEAVY, and probably wouldn't be suitable to put in the ground later (which I hope to do once I get more property). I could do CHC, but I understand that tends to break down pretty quickly with how much watering I have to do here in Phoenix. So, besides pine bark, CHC, or Turface, are there really any other options?

I do have a distributor of EB Stone mixes. I've never used those but they look like good quality. I also have access to Sunshine Mix #4. I can get plenty of course (#3) perlite. Any ideas for a low-cost mix that might be comparable to 5-1-1, or negative experiences with EB Stone or Sunshine Mix #4?

Thanks in advance!

Citrus General Discussion / Cleft graft in summer?

« on: August 23, 2023, 12:22:42 PM »

I did a bunch of bud grafts in the early spring that are all doing really well. I have a few rootstock left over and would like to graft over more variety. I'm in Phoenix so it's hot right now, but just starting to come down. Our low to high temps are averaging upper 80s to low triple digits. We probably have a good 2-3 months left in the growing season before trees slow down for winter. Would it be okay to do a cleft graft now, or should I wait for spring?

Citrus General Discussion / Why are my mandarin grafts struggling?

« on: June 09, 2023, 06:10:30 PM »

In March I grafted 5 varieties on to 10 sour orange seedlings. All of them succeeded, and most are going really well. My Rio Red grapefruit, navel orange, and valencia orange broke early and have taken off. My minneola tangelo and daisy seedless mandarins were the last to break and grow. As summer has started here in Phoenix, most of my young grafts are tolerating things okay, but my two daisy mandarin trees are really struggling. They are doing the taco curled leaves. At first I thought it must be a pest because they are getting watered daily and are in a fast draining mix. But the more time I've spent, the more I wonder if it's a watering issue. I pulled one of the mandarins out of its pot this morning. The mix is moist but was not soggy or clumpy. The roots looked good and their were several white tips, which I believe are new root growths. Are daisy mandarins just more heat sensitive than other varieties? Or perhaps since they broke last, they didn't harden off as well as their siblings? Or is this pest damage? The leaves aren't crispy and aren't falling off. Temps are hitting 100F daily and they are in morning sun and afternoon shade.
I'll post pics as soon as I can figure out how.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/9UkGmmqrqyjBUsvU6
https://photos.app.goo.gl/TGuNuNGhyetgwxDn6
https://photos.app.goo.gl/CcyTrj3oBm2ZBUnD8