So it’s not even worth trying the side branches?
Ive only grafted two Prague. But all i did,is wait till my 2 trifolate rootstock in gallon pots were just beginning to push, and cut them low about 2" tall and then graft them a bud 1" scion to the side of them near the top, making plenty cambium contact. Sort of a z graft except the scion is much smaller than the rootstock diameter, but it gives plenty cambium side contact.
And parafilm tape them.
They both took. A year ago. And are doing well.
So im thinking they shouldnt be too hard.
My scion pieces I robbed from my original Prague that i got from Mr Stan. So i have 3 young plants and plan to bud graft 3± more this early march. Indoors 6b.
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I’m not even totally convinced ccpp is sending me the chimera. Whatever. Worst case scenario is I’ll get some practice with my grafting technique. This endeavor is way more about the process than the end result for me. Commercial citrus used to thrive right over the hill from me in Cloverdale, but some epic cold in the 1890’s ended that. If you drive around town you still see lots of big old lemons, kumquats and navel oranges growing happily next to people’s houses.
Thanks for the grafting info. How long can you keep citrus cuttings viable in the refrigerator?
I take all my citrus budwood from side branches to no ill affect.
I’ve even grafted buds upside down. After a few years you
can’t tell. I’ve grafted thousands of citrus trees until greening
arrived. What was your bad experience?
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Citrus budwood survives at least months in the refrig
I’ve grown a dozen different satsumas. The only difference is how early the fruit is ready. However amstrong early is not grown much anymore as there are much better earlies like LA Early etc. I had armstong early awaken in February before all the other ones. Lost the blooms to a late freeze, however, it re-bloomed!
“Breeding cold hardy citrus is an easy thing.”
If it is so easy why hasn’t anyone done it successfully?
Citrus is a semitropical that retains green bark all winter which is a problem for freezes. To avoid freezing the sap needs to go to the roots.
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Flying dragon is slow. In a pot makes little difference as you want a small tree anyway. My 9 year old inground satsuma trees on flying dragon barely make 6 feet tall. Not used much
anymore for rootstock. In Texas it is sour orange or citrange.
When did I write that breeding cold hardy citrus is easy? I don’t have any specific knowledge about that process. I’d imagine it’s not much different than standard citrus but with a significantly shorter growing season.
I bring a lot of citrus up to Oregon from Northern California. Mendocino County specifically, zone 9b about 35 miles from the coast. I know people there who use the citrange for rootstock.
All the citrus I’ve brought up to Oregon so far have done very well on an unheated covered patio with a polycarbonate roof. It never drops much below 30 and the citrus thrive.
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You can have snow at 31 degrees. Snow does not kill Yuzu.
Temperatures under 20F can kill Yuzu. Snow can actually protect Yuzu if air temps are 20 degrees and snow is piled around the tree.
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Wow I found available Louisiana Early Satsuma plants. They check all the boxes: Smaller tree, early ripener, improved LSU release. Im being tempted to order one to begin growing out for my greenhouse but i hate to spend another 34+20 shipping this spring with all the stuff i have on order lol
Help me yall, what should I do?? 
We very rarely get temps below 20F. But much more frequently get snow.
Snow melts around the tree and rots it when it thaws.
It has happened more than once.
Would making a mound to plant your tree on help drain the excess snowmelt?
I know in Louisiana we had drainage problems and a mound helped there.
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I think you are intending to ask these questions to someone else. I didn’t say I had any bad experiences grafting. My grafting skills are limited. I’m actively pursuing improvement. I found what I think is your tutorial on citrus grafting. That’s immensely helpful. You should put a link for people to find more easily.
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Go for it. You’ll wish you had in a year.
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That is exactly what I’m doing now. In fact I leave them in a pot and bury the pot in ground. Also protect the base so that snow doesnt mound over it. So far my Yuzu and Sudachi have been doing great this winter.
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Hit me up this fall, I will have a few Prague available. Also I grow for one green world.
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This is a fun experiment. But guys, there would billions to be made if they could even shift sweet citrus a zone. Let alone “zones”
Can’t see this happening in this lifetime.
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I did some reading into this very topic because making citrus more cold tolerant struck me as something that would be easy with genetic engineering. What I read is that it is attempted, and fails again and again. The mechanisms that make plants tolerant to freezing temps are polymorphic and still arcane to science. While scientists can easily change individual traits like leaf shape or color making them resist cold is much more complicated. It’s similar how with humans we can genetically engineer eye color, hair color and other superficial traits, but can’t engineer a human that can breath underwater not have to sleep. I’m sure that ability is coming eventually, it just isn’t part of the mainstream scientific community yet. Now it seems you have a streak of suspiciousness about what knowledge is shared and which is hidden. That very likely is a real phenomenon. I just don’t think advanced genetic engineering is hidden to prevent cold hardy citrus. There would be no point. Do you know how big on an economic boom it would be if places like Oregon and Washington could grow satsumas and navel oranges? I mean many billions upon billions for corporate players and some would trickle down to small farmers. Given this I really believe when I read that tinkering with cold hardiness in citrus isn’t sorted yet.
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Getting citrus to be more tolerant of freezing temps is a complicated endeavor from what I’ve read. It would be like engineering people to breathe under water or not have to sleep. Like with plants we can change individual traits pretty easily, we just can’t change the fundamental nature of an organism. It’s coming someday, that’s likely. People will look back in wonder at the things we contemporary humans struggled with.
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Thanks! I absolutely will. I’m currently trialing 100 yuzu seedling. I’m going to grow 50 in the 8b zone in Willamette Valley and 50 in the 9a zone in Mendocino County inland about 35 miles from the ocean. People are often telling me they’ll have no problem in the zone 9 which isn’t true. We managed to kill the first yuzu in that zone. They need to be protected for the first couple years for sure. And that area used to have a thriving citrus industry until a massive freeze killed off all the groves in the 1890’s. I’ve been wondering what kinds of rootstocks they used back then. Did they have the trifolate rootstocks in common use that long ago? Also the climate has warmed a bit since then.