An introduction, of sorts.

[LazarusLong714]

Hello all,

      I find myself on the steep end of the learning curve regarding Citrus.  I live in zone 6a, so only container grown plants for me.  I bought some kumquats at the grocery store and planted the seeds.   I have 25 kumquat seedlings almost 2 months old, now.  Not sure what variety they are, (branded "Melissa's Produce" at the store, in plastic clamshell, but not specified for variety), but I think they are Nagami based on the shape (oblong, almost egg shaped). 

      Of course,  based on the successful germination of the kumquat seeds. I planted the seeds of some grocery store lemons, as well, and now have 25 of those about a month old.  The lemons are growing much faster than the kumquats are.

      I am an absolute novice in this regard, but I realize that I have fallen down a rabbit hole.   I have learned a lot here in the last 2 weeks, but I have a LONG way to go.  Thanks in advance for all the answers, to the questions yet to come!  I am obviously in the right place.

[Walt]

Welcome to our rabbit hole.  It is  a deep one.

[Millet]

LazarusLong714, glad you joined, happy to have you as a member.

[LazarusLong714]

Thanks for the welcome, Walt and Millet.
   like I mentioned, I have been reading and absorbing as much as I can, but there are a LOT of gaps in what I have been reading, that I would assume consists of a lot of "basic information" that is so basic it doesn't even get mentioned anymore because everyone already knows it.
   I guess I will start with some really basic questions.    I have read that just about all citrus end up grafted onto beneficial rootstock, but that there are exceptions regarding anything that is destined to stay as a container plant....  Can my kumquats stay on their own roots or should they be grafted?   Even if they COULD stay on their own roots, could grafting be benficial?   How long am I really looking at, to get kumquats from the seedlings of Nagami?

   I synthesize information really well when I am really interested in something, but this Citrus thing.... there are so many contradictions.   I can read completely contradictory information from one day to the next and while both explanations make sense, I don't know enough to figure out what to believe!    So I will just ask a lot of general questions until I get a little handle on things.    Gonna be a bumpy ride.

Lazarus.

[brian]

Welcome to the forum.

It seems kumquats do fine on their own roots but I am not sure how long they take to fruit from seed, might be a while especially if you are growing in a container.  I recommend grafted trees because they fruit very soon.  Plus you might as well grow the seedless Nordmann type which can only be propagated from grafting.

Kumquats are excellent in pots, I have productive grafted ones in containers that are probably twelve years old and only 30in tall or so.

[poncirsguy]

My seed grown Meiwa kumquats were flowering and fruiting in 3 years.  My Fukushu kumquat took 5 years

[LazarusLong714]

Thanks Brian and Poncirsguy.   Now to find some of these varieties!

Any thoughts on what rootstocks kumquats are typically grafted to?  I have done a little reading on C35 and Flying Dragon Orange as rootstocks for other types of Citrus, but no specifically kumquats.

 Good to see I am not the only guy so close to Canada interested in citrus.  Bad luck of the draw that I was born up here.   A few more years and we will head to warmer environs, but for now the gravity is strong here in Northern Ohio.

Lazarus

[drymifolia]

Any thoughts on what rootstocks kumquats are typically grafted to?  I have done a little reading on C35 and Flying Dragon Orange as rootstocks for other types of Citrus, but no specifically kumquats.

I don't have much personal experience, though I did successfully graft Meiwa to a lemon seedling, but here are a couple charts from one study that investigated rootstock compatibility for two types of kumquat:



Source: https://crec.ifas.ufl.edu/extension/citrus_rootstock/rootstock-literature/1998%20Ferguson&Dasle,%20FSHS.%20Kumquat%20Calamondin%20Compatibility.pdf

[bussone]

What is K x R?

[caladri]

What is K x R?

Koethen sweet orange x Rubidoux trifoliate orange

[poncirsguy]

What is K x R?

Koethen sweet orange x Rubidoux trifoliate orange

Thank you; I have been wondering too

[poncirsguy]

Meiwa kumquat on Flying dragon

3 year old Fukushu kumquat on Flying dragon.


1.75 year old Fukushu grafted on Poncirus trifoliata which is grafted to sour orange.


2 year old Fukushu kumquat on Flying dragon.

[LazarusLong714]

Well darn it.    I had written a nice response last night and lost it, somehow.

Drymifolia:  Thanks for that table and the link.   Looks like a good read, which I will have to do, to understand some of the data points that table describes.  Good to know stuff like that exists.

Poncirsguy: Those are some good looking plants you have there.   Nice photos, and good detail to add the ages of the plants, as that really shows me what is possible with just a little bit of time.    I have a little time in my day and week to dedicate to them, which is nice, but the real price is the time that just keeps marching along; I don't have enough of that left to squander, so I will be getting things rolling pretty quickly so I can take advantage of what little mathematical advantage I can, there.   Compound Interest is best employed by the young, but I will take as much advantage of it as I can. 

Reminds me of the old saw "When is the best time to plant a tree?"        ANSWER: "20 years ago."
                                       "When is the NEXT best time to plant a tree?"      ANSWER:  "Today".

I use that all the time when I am mentoring younger people, for various points.    Now I get to do it myself, quite literally.

    Oh, and these are my Kumquats.   Born between the last week of June/first week of July.   I will just generalize and call them JULY 1st birthdays, for record keeping.  But here are the photos.  I have 26 growing from the seeds of "grocery store kumquats".  I hope the photos come through.

Lazarus