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

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  • From: "philip sauber" <mrtejas@lycos.com>
  • To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] key limes, seedling citrus in general
  • Date: Fri, 09 May 2003 13:57:26 -0500

I live 500 miles north of the commercial citrus area near Houston, TX but in
a good area for satsumas. Enthusiasts like me "push" our zone(8b/9a)and
ground oranges and grapefruit in the ground with winter protection. A
neighbor had a mature key lime tree seedling in the ground 8 or 10 feet tall.
I have a grafted 3 footer in a pot. My pot tree outproduced by several fold
the much larger seedling without the wicked thorniness. A thornless
selection is available for key lime and I have one in a pot.

Seedlings may do well in the ground for citrus though. I have had them bear
fruit from 1-3 years old although 5 years is thought more likely. One
limequat fruited the first year in a pot at about 3 feet tall.
Phil
--

On Fri, 9 May 2003 12:06:25
redherring wrote:
>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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