Have very old Grapefruit tree and want to start successor with same taste
 

Hi,

I have a very old grapefruit tree with great tasting fruit. Really the
best grapefruit I have ever had. It is white, large, and very sweet.
I don't know the specific cultivar or rootstock. It is in S. Florida.
How can I find out?

The tree is 30-35 years old and looks like it is declining. There is
some bark damage around the trunk. It is about 25.' tall How can I
start a new tree with the same traits?

I have done a little research and see that seedlings can work (true to
type) but take a long time to fruit and may be not be hardy without
grafting them to rootstock.

I also see that budding the original tree onto rootstock will produce
fruit much sooner (the bud remembers it's age). Will this produce a
tree that is allready old and may not live long? How long would an
old bud placed on a young root be expected to live?

Any other methods I should consider?

Thanks in advance for any help,
Michael

Have very old Grapefruit tree and want to start successor with same taste
 

On 16 Feb 2004 16:47:31 -0800, (m v) wrote:

Hi,

I have a very old grapefruit tree with great tasting fruit. Really the
best grapefruit I have ever had. It is white, large, and very sweet.
I don't know the specific cultivar or rootstock. It is in S. Florida.
How can I find out?

The tree is 30-35 years old and looks like it is declining. There is
some bark damage around the trunk. It is about 25.' tall How can I
start a new tree with the same traits?

Cloning is called for. Air layering is often recommended for citrus trees.
(snip)

Have very old Grapefruit tree and want to start successor with same taste
 

On 16 Feb 2004 16:47:31 -0800, (m v) wrote:

Hi,

I have a very old grapefruit tree with great tasting fruit. Really the
best grapefruit I have ever had. It is white, large, and very sweet.
I don't know the specific cultivar or rootstock. It is in S. Florida.
How can I find out?

The tree is 30-35 years old and looks like it is declining. There is
some bark damage around the trunk. It is about 25.' tall How can I
start a new tree with the same traits?

Cloning is called for. Air layering is often recommended for citrus trees.
(snip)

Have very old Grapefruit tree and want to start successor with same taste
 

On 16 Feb 2004 16:47:31 -0800, (m v) wrote:

I have a very old grapefruit tree with great tasting fruit. Really the
best grapefruit I have ever had. It is white, large, and very sweet.
I don't know the specific cultivar or rootstock. It is in S. Florida.
How can I find out?

The tree is 30-35 years old and looks like it is declining. There is
some bark damage around the trunk. It is about 25.' tall How can I
start a new tree with the same traits?


http://tinyurl.com/339cy

"Most grapefruit come true-to-type from seed; however, growing a
citrus tree from seed is undesirable. Seedling trees are juvenile,
which means the plants will be vigorous, thorny, and have an erect,
upright growth habit. Juvenility may last 6 to 15 years, during which
time the tree does not flower .Grapefruit can be propagated by
budding, grafting, and cuttings, although the latter is least
desirable. Budding and grafting are easily done and enable specific
rootstocks and interstocks to be used. Budding is usually most easily
done in the spring. Budded or grafted trees will usually produce some
fruit within three years, if properly cared for. Specific, detailed
information on citrus propagation is available from your local
Cooperative Extension Office."

Have very old Grapefruit tree and want to start successor with same taste
 

On 16 Feb 2004 16:47:31 -0800, (m v) wrote:

I have a very old grapefruit tree with great tasting fruit. Really the
best grapefruit I have ever had. It is white, large, and very sweet.
I don't know the specific cultivar or rootstock. It is in S. Florida.
How can I find out?

The tree is 30-35 years old and looks like it is declining. There is
some bark damage around the trunk. It is about 25.' tall How can I
start a new tree with the same traits?


http://tinyurl.com/339cy

"Most grapefruit come true-to-type from seed; however, growing a
citrus tree from seed is undesirable. Seedling trees are juvenile,
which means the plants will be vigorous, thorny, and have an erect,
upright growth habit. Juvenility may last 6 to 15 years, during which
time the tree does not flower .Grapefruit can be propagated by
budding, grafting, and cuttings, although the latter is least
desirable. Budding and grafting are easily done and enable specific
rootstocks and interstocks to be used. Budding is usually most easily
done in the spring. Budded or grafted trees will usually produce some
fruit within three years, if properly cared for. Specific, detailed
information on citrus propagation is available from your local
Cooperative Extension Office."

Have very old Grapefruit tree and want to start successor with same taste
 

On 16 Feb 2004 16:47:31 -0800, (m v) wrote:

I have a very old grapefruit tree with great tasting fruit. Really the
best grapefruit I have ever had. It is white, large, and very sweet.
I don't know the specific cultivar or rootstock. It is in S. Florida.
How can I find out?

The tree is 30-35 years old and looks like it is declining. There is
some bark damage around the trunk. It is about 25.' tall How can I
start a new tree with the same traits?


http://tinyurl.com/339cy

"Most grapefruit come true-to-type from seed; however, growing a
citrus tree from seed is undesirable. Seedling trees are juvenile,
which means the plants will be vigorous, thorny, and have an erect,
upright growth habit. Juvenility may last 6 to 15 years, during which
time the tree does not flower .Grapefruit can be propagated by
budding, grafting, and cuttings, although the latter is least
desirable. Budding and grafting are easily done and enable specific
rootstocks and interstocks to be used. Budding is usually most easily
done in the spring. Budded or grafted trees will usually produce some
fruit within three years, if properly cared for. Specific, detailed
information on citrus propagation is available from your local
Cooperative Extension Office."

Have very old Grapefruit tree and want to start successor with same taste
 

In article , Frogleg wrote:
On 16 Feb 2004 16:47:31 -0800, (m v) wrote:
"Most grapefruit come true-to-type from seed; however, growing a
citrus tree from seed is undesirable. Seedling trees are juvenile,
which means the plants will be vigorous, thorny, and have an erect,
upright growth habit. Juvenility may last 6 to 15 years, during which
time the tree does not flower .Grapefruit can be propagated by

Must not apply to all citrus, cuz there is a lemon down at our club
which came from a seed someone there stuck into the ground, and by the
time it was 6 or 7 years old it was a big tree producing truckloads of
lemons (tho they taste more like they want to be grapefruit, and some
are almost that big), and if it's not hacked back with a chainsaw once
a year, it takes over the neighbourhood! It grows new canes as much as
ten feet long in a single season. No one has ever done a thing with it
other than chop back the excessive growth.

~REZ~