Grafting golden nugget to lemon tree.

[12Zodiac]

I want to graft a golden nugget to my grow from cutting 3 years old lemon tree. Just wondering if it’s a good idea.

[poncirsguy]

yes

[gumbo2go]

When is the best time to do that?

[poncirsguy]

When daytime temperature are in the 80'sF regularly for graft joining growth

[poncirsguy]

a

[tedburn]

I' ve grafted last Spring satsuma to my lemon, now satsuma graft is showing first flowers.

[12Zodiac]

yes

Awesome.

[SoCalGardenNut]

Bring back this thread to ask if you are successful with grafting Gold Nugget to a lemon tree, i’m thinking of doing the same thing to my in ground lemon tree, I think it’s Eureka.

[70Malibu]

Yes, it will graft fine. I have mandarins, kumquats, Sumo, all grafted to the Eureka lemon tree.

Don't graft too many citrus now if your night time temperature gets to cold (below 70F), wait until next spring then. I graft all year, but when it gets colder than 70F, the scion won't do much until next spring. I had some rare citrus graft that did not bud out for 1 year.

[SoCalGardenNut]

Thanks @70Malibu, I will wait until next Spring.

[JCorte]

I forget the name of the person, but he said grafting citrus on lemon rootstock produces less sweet fruit.  He said that there are commercial orchards that graft on lemon rootstocks because it will produce larger, juicier fruit but this is at the expense of flavor.  If you want the best flavor and sweetness, graft onto an appropriate rootstock for mandarin or sweet oranges.  He also mentioned that using interstocks of sweet varieties does not matter, the rootstock is the determining factor in the tree producing the sweetest fruit.

Janet

[JCorte]

Just remembered, it was Dan Wiley.  He has a youtube channel, Fruitmentor, and has a video titled "Never Graft Oranges to a Lemon Tree."

Janet

[SoCalGardenNut]

Thanks Janet,
Unfortunately this lemon was planted in the ground and it’s so big, I was thinking of digging it put, but that’s hard work too. I think I’ll try grafting to see if I get something out of this tree.

[brian]

I forget the name of the person, but he said grafting citrus on lemon rootstock produces less sweet fruit.  He said that there are commercial orchards that graft on lemon rootstocks because it will produce larger, juicier fruit but this is at the expense of flavor.  If you want the best flavor and sweetness, graft onto an appropriate rootstock for mandarin or sweet oranges.  He also mentioned that using interstocks of sweet varieties does not matter, the rootstock is the determining factor in the tree producing the sweetest fruit.

Janet

I have read this about rough lemon specifically, but not sure if it applies to all lemons. 

[David Kipps]

If grafting sweet orange onto lemon will hurt the sweetness, then does grafting sweet orange onto Poncirus trifoliata also hurt sweetness, since it is so sour?

[BorisR]

Hi David!
No, according to numerous rootstock tests, Poncirus trifoliata is a rootstock that gives maximum sweetness to fruits. But some rootstocks outperform it in crop size and fruit size.