Propagation of Citrus Trees

By: Timothy Peterson

In this report I am going to tell you some of the different ways that citrus trees can be propagated. Citrus trees can be propagated in many different ways everything from planting seeds to grafting. Some can be propagated in many different ways while others have only a few different ways to be propagated. Citrus trees are vital to the human race since they are a very good source of fruit and can also be used in many different applications for cooking.

Soil Requirements

Citrus trees need a deep soil that has good surface and internal drainage. Water cannot stand around these trees that is why the surface drainage must have good run off. The drainage internal is important because the roots cannot sit in water either. If you have any doubt as to the drainage. A person can dig a posthole in the area that you would like to plant the tree. This hole should be three to four feet deep. Next fill the hole with water if the water is all gone within 24 to 36 hours then you should not have a problem. If the soil takes 48 or more hours then you have a problem unless you are planning on using raised beds to plant your trees. As with many other plants citrus trees grow best at pH ranging from 6 to 8. Soils that are salty or contain high caliche content should be avoided.

Where to Plant Your Citrus Tree

As always you should plant your trees away from your septic tank to avoid plugging of lines in the future. If you are on the edge of the zone that your citrus tree can be planted you should plant it on the south and southeast sides. This should provide the best protection from northwest cold fronts and also give the tree the best sun and warmth. You want to make sure to pant the trees a good distance from buildings and other trees to eliminate problems later in the trees life. Remember that citrus trees like full sunlight.

If you remove seeds from the fruit that you eat they will grow but they may not be true to type. Another problem with this is that you may not get any fruit off of the tree Growing Citrus Trees from Seeds

for more then ten years. If you are lucky and get fruit it may be of very poor quality. If you vegetative propagate you may get fruit in just a couple of years. Even if you are going to use vegetative propagation you must still grow a rootstock from seed. There are many rootstocks that work very nice but you must first decide what species you are going to use for the scion then select a rootstock that is compatible.

Budding

This is the most common type of grafting that is done with citrus trees because it takes very little time and with this you are able to make better use of your scion wood. Each plant with this needs only one bud as compared to 3 or 4 with other types of grafting. The general rule of thumb is to do the budding when your rootstock is ¼ to 3/8 of an inch thick. Budding can be done even after this stage all you really need is slipping bark on the rootstock. Scion wood must also be available. The bud should be placed about 6 inches off of the ground. The most common buds used are the t-bud and chip bud that there are pictures of below.

T-Bud

Chip Bud

Sources

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/BODY_XC004

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/homefruit/citrus/citrus.html

http://www.dagov.ph/tips/citrus.html

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/citrus/oranges.htm