I have a Washington navel and citrus that was supposed to be a blood orange but I think it might have been mislabeled. The trees are considered dwarfs and have been in the ground for 3 years and were probably 2 years old when I purchased them.
I’m thinking of grafting 3 spring/winter mandarins (Owari, California Honey, and something else) onto the Washington navel and 3 blood oranges onto what was supposed to be the blood orange (tarocco, moro, Vaniglia sanguinelli). Would this work?
Side question - do you think these varieties could do well for me in a cool coastal bay area Zone 10? We don’t have heat in the summer (total of 2-3 weeks of scattered 90-95 F), and get some minor frost in the winter.
I think citrus are all compatible to graft, but rootstock can influence the fruit quality differently on the various types. And some citrus are more vigorous than others. I think the varieties you mentioned should probably be fine on the base trees you have, that is just guessing without knowing what your rootstock is on each.
I am in 10b, SoCal. We don’t get a lot of heat in general, maybe 6-8 weeks consistently around 83-87, and maybe 15 days over 90. But that’s just a guess without checking records.
I get great flavor on Owari at my place. I would guess it would do well in your location. It doesn’t seem to need a lot of heat. It is droopy in its growth habit. It might look strange grafted in a Navel orange, which is more upright, but that’s the only negative I can think of with grafting in Owari on Navel. I don’t have any growing experience with the other mandarins you listed. I grow Gold Nugget and Tango, which are both more upright than Owari.
In regards to the blood oranges, have you considered adding Smith Red Valencia instead or in addition to the other 3? It has just as nice of color or better and great taste. Typically Valencias do good near the coast. I think most traditional blood oranges prefer hotter summers and cooler winners than my coastal zone 10 usually has. Some years the neighbor’s Moro are great, some years they have little or no pigmentation. They need winter cooler temps (by SoCal standands) to be excellent.