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nafex - [NAFEX] key limes, seedling citrus in general

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  • From: <redherring@tnaccess.com>
  • To: <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [NAFEX] key limes, seedling citrus in general
  • Date: Fri, 9 May 2003 12:06:25 -0500

Thomas and all,
Citrus seedling exhibit prolonged juvenility, with thorns, upright
growth, and delayed bloom. Citrus grows lower, bushier, and with far fewer
thorns once it matures, or if grafted from a mature tree. Most grafted
citrus comes from what is known as "an old budline" meaning it has been
through many graft generations since it came from seed, this speeds up the
maturity process still further. I wrote up and article on this, and am not
sure whether it ever came out in Pomona, don't know for sure if I got around
to sending it in. Do you all remember an article on citrus entitled "A
Thorny Issue"?
When I worked in a Florida nursery, someone came in to buy a lime tree
as they said they were fairly commonly grown on the Carolina coast, in pots
I would think. If you can find someone with such a tree, Thomas, I would
bud from it onto your seedlings. It should not be too hard to find someone
in a Master Gardener program, or a greenhouse owner, or someone at a college
who knows of a bearing key lime. My parents had one for years in Florida,
and never did a bit of good trying them from seed, or even growing cuttings,
which is sort of strange. Cuttings from limes and lemons have to undergo a
brief juvenile stage, but generally mature quickly.
If you do a bud or graft, do it fairly low, and when you see it has
taken, cut the upper tree halfway off and then bend it horizontal or lower.
The leaves will feed your bud, but will not compete to grow. This is
apparently standard practice in Florida. I do things like this for
temperate grafts. Donna





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