Posted by Suzanne on May 24, 2011, 1:40 am
I live in southern Utah, zone 7-8.
Last spring I bought four dwarf citrus trees in pots. I left them out in a
frost before bringing them inside, and three of the four ended up dying.
Before I knew that they were dead, I removed suckers from the rootstock, but
eventually I just gave up. Now there are a ton of healthy suckers and no
tree.
The suckers are obviously citrus, though I don't know if they are the same
exact kinds as the scions. My question is, would it be worthwhile to just
cut the tree off right above the graft, and then let these suckers grow into
a new tree? I understand that the rootstock is often not the best quality,
but even a poorly-producing citrus tree would be better than none.
I await opinions, with thanks in adavnce...
--S.
Posted by David Hare-Scott on May 24, 2011, 3:23 am
On Mon, 23 May 2011 23:40:24 -0600, "Suzanne"
>I live in southern Utah, zone 7-8.
>Last spring I bought four dwarf citrus trees in pots. I left them out in a
>frost before bringing them inside, and three of the four ended up dying.
>Before I knew that they were dead, I removed suckers from the rootstock, but
>eventually I just gave up. Now there are a ton of healthy suckers and no
>tree.
>The suckers are obviously citrus, though I don't know if they are the same
>exact kinds as the scions.
They are not the same, otherwise why would anybody bother grafting?
The rootstock will be selected for resistance to root disease and in
your case dwarfing, not for fruit quality.
My question is, would it be worthwhile to just
>cut the tree off right above the graft, and then let these suckers grow into
>a new tree? I understand that the rootstock is often not the best quality,
>but even a poorly-producing citrus tree would be better than none.
>I await opinions, with thanks in adavnce...
>--S.
Not worth the trouble in my view.
David
Posted by Derald on May 24, 2011, 10:10 am
>The suckers are obviously citrus, though I don't know if they are the same
>exact kinds as the scions. My question is, would it be worthwhile to just
>cut the tree off right above the graft, and then let these suckers grow into
>a new tree? I understand that the rootstock is often not the best quality,
>but even a poorly-producing citrus tree would be better than none.
Although, not likely to be a true "Seville" orange, the rootstock is almost
certain to be a sour or "bittersweet" orange. Sour orange rootstock is used for
its vigorous growth, adaptability to a wide range of growing conditions and --
as you've experienced -- cold-hardiness. It'll be a number of years before the
tree bears; tradition says seven but reality says three-to-four. Pimply skin,
relatively thick pulp, flavorful but not at all sweet. On its own, inedible to
most folks but a key ingredient in sauces ("mojo") in Caribbean/Hispanic
cooking.
Bittersweet orange trees, as well as their fruit, have become difficult to
find at retail here in FL and I'd offer to buy yours -- especially if they're
dwarf stock -- but it is illegal to ship citrus into FL; go figure.... DW uses
the oranges for cooking and when we can't find fresh ones (increasingly
difficult) she uses a commercial product. If you're interested in trying some
Cuban-style recipes, including a classic "mojo", you could do a lot worse that
the "Three Guys from Miami" web site:
<http://icuban.com/food/main_d.html> .
Here are their mojo recipes:
http://icuban.com/food/mojo.html
--
Derald
FL USDA zone 9a
Posted by Doug Freyburger on May 24, 2011, 4:04 pm
Derald wrote:
>>The suckers are obviously citrus, though I don't know if they are the same
>>exact kinds as the scions. My question is, would it be worthwhile to just
>>cut the tree off right above the graft, and then let these suckers grow into
>>a new tree? I understand that the rootstock is often not the best quality,
>>but even a poorly-producing citrus tree would be better than none.
> Although, not likely to be a true "Seville" orange, the rootstock is almost
> certain to be a sour or "bittersweet" orange. Sour orange rootstock is used for
> its vigorous growth, adaptability to a wide range of growing conditions and --
> as you've experienced -- cold-hardiness. It'll be a number of years before the
> tree bears; tradition says seven but reality says three-to-four. Pimply skin,
> relatively thick pulp, flavorful but not at all sweet. On its own, inedible to
> most folks but a key ingredient in sauces ("mojo") in Caribbean/Hispanic
> cooking.
Bittersweet oranges are great for baking and canning purposes. Okay for
juice alternate to lemon or lime juice. If you can eat a lemon or lime
out of hand you'll be able to eat a bittersweet orange out of hand,
don't expect to find them useful for that.
Posted by Derald on May 24, 2011, 7:36 pm
>If you can eat a lemon or lime
>out of hand you'll be able to eat a bittersweet orange out of hand,
>don't expect to find them useful for that.
I grew up in Florida where dooryard citrus is commonplace. I never could
(and still can't) enjoy sour oranges, although, I can tough it out. However, my
older sister enjoys them with great relish. Of course, my wife uses them for
cooking. We have a young volunteer tree in the back "yard" that comes into its
own any year now but I'm not overly optimistic: I don't think it gets enough
sunshine.
DW&I frequent a family-owned Cuban grocer from whom we purchase his
home-grown fresh fruit. It is available most of the year but we keep a bottle of
"Goya" store-bought mojo on hand just in case. The common substitute, that is,
lemon and lime juices added to the juice of a sweet orange just don't make the
grade for us, although, many find it acceptable.
--
Derald
FL USDA zone 9a
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>Last spring I bought four dwarf citrus trees in pots. I left them out in a
>frost before bringing them inside, and three of the four ended up dying.
>Before I knew that they were dead, I removed suckers from the rootstock, but
>eventually I just gave up. Now there are a ton of healthy suckers and no
>tree.
>The suckers are obviously citrus, though I don't know if they are the same
>exact kinds as the scions.