Growing citrus cuttings

Wayne says...
Can you grow citrus from cuttings??

Jason says...
I grew my Lemon tree from cuttings, I can't remember what time of year it was but it took a long time to root, several months sitting outside in a pot

Jason says...
A cutting will probably grow bigger than a grafted tree depending what rootstock it's on but every? commercial citrus rootstock is dwarfing so chances are good it'll be a much bigger tree. The amount of fruit and flavour might change slightly too but it'll be the same fruit

mark says...
Citrus will grow from cutting, but will always do poorly on their own roots. In heavy soil or times of continual rain they will die off due to root rot. A grafted tree is a lot better option and will be more vigorous and fruit a lot quicker. A grafted tree size will vary depending on what rootstock it is grafted and will always be bigger than a cutting grown one. My advice, don't waste your time with cuttings and just buy a grafted one and enjoy your fruit years earlier!

Brad says...
what citrus? what soils? what after care?
some citrus take and go as cuttings better than others. Most likely if you try the types people tell you won't work, they can be made to work well enough for home gardens.

I just took a cuttings from a sour mandarin (rangpur lime) which apparently takes and grows well as a cutting. (Plan to do more when it cools down - Perth is 24-36 or so every day this week). Take from the top of the tree, get at least 4 nodes with current growth. make sure the base of the cutting is at a node, with 2 or 3 nodes in soil. I make a small scratch in the bark if there's semi-hardwood (which i aim to have some of, via earlier pruning). Remove most leaves and cut some in half on the cutting. less leaf, needs less moisture/energy while roots form. Keep the cutting away from direct sunlight. Keep the cutting humid. I have my cutting in soil mixed with coir (nice and moist). Covered with a cut plastic container (e.g. milk/juice) which has newspaper over it top and some sides to stop direct light. If cutting starts to wilt, try again. So far mine looks good after a week of crazy heat. too moist or humid it can rot. too little it'll dry out. experiment. too cool and the roots won't grow (bottom heat can be applied if needed - e.g. pot on an old baking tray). don't expect 100% success, so start plenty extra if you're in a rush.

Boris Spasky says...
When the juevenile vigour wears off, the Phytophthora will take over. Without exception.
Let us all know how long it lasts.

Jason says...
Its about 9 years old now, phytophthora doesn't exist here so I'll be fine as far as that goes. I've actually never lost a plant to anything other than sunburn. The parent tree I got the cutting from wasn't grafted, most likely a seedling and it would have been at least 50 years old like the rest of that garden was. I'm going to try get a cutting mandarin going but they seem more difficult to get to take

Brain says...
it's Brain, and for those 'young' enough, it's from the cartoon Pinky and the Brain. It's about pair of genetically altered lab mice hell bent on taking over the world. :)

Back on topic, I've been to a few different Bunnies here in Brisvegas and so far I've failed to find any. But you've given me hope. LOL.

(I could buy online but the freight now cost more than the bottle ... thank you Australia Post, thank you ... [sorry, just had to put that one in!])

I plan to use anti-rot a bit like toothpaste, as a preventive measure for the trees & seedlings. I've lost far too many lemon seedlings to trunk/stem rot, so need to bring on chemical assistance.

jakfruit etiquette says...
Pretty sure I saw the Yates product at Kmart and Safeway or Coles in Vic.

Julie says...
What's the hurry Mary? It won't have outgrown the pot in five weeks, surely?

I have Rangpur limes from seed which are around two years old, and still in small pots. When I check on them, although they are growing well, there's not much root growth. Of course, plants from cuttings may be different.

Julie says...
Mary, I know exactly what you mean!
After doing some repotting, I always find myself looking around to see what other things I can pot. One of my favourite activities - definitely therapeutic!

Manfred says...
I'd hold off a month or two, Julie, and then do some softwood (or tip) cuttings when the plant is growing vigorously and the tips are a good size.

I've lent my travelling copy of Hartman and Kester so I can't recommend authoritatively for now, on IBA/IAA/NAA, but if you have any, you might want to try whatever you have, Some people also swear by honey but I haven't noticed any spectacular additional result from it. If it works, it certainly doesn't work in the same way as the commercial rooting compounds. Let us know, if you try it.

I've just, in the last hour or so, been giving away some nice meyer lemons grown from hardwood cuttings about 14 months ago, repotted in May and ready to go out into the ground. (No treatments used.) My experience with lemonades has been all bad though. I think they are one of those citruses which won't grow on their own roots.

Trikus says...
Yes Julie thats what Manfred told me yesterday .. Finally got permission to take our local RFA branch on a trip to his place .

kenpo says...
I took 20 cuttings 2 years ago from mums orange tree. 2 survived. What I would like to know is I have some root stock and want to do some cleft grafts how long can I keep new cuttings I take from the tree in the fridge? The root stock will be big enough in February.

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