There are things I know are right and then there are things I end up doing The graft is very vigorous so far, so if these 2 additional fruits help it to not take over the tree, then its good. Your fruits look very nice! Interesting that your fruits seem to be coloring up from bottom to top while mine the other way around.
Did you compare different varieties of clementines grown in your location? I have only tried Algerian (from a friend’s tree) and while flavor profile is similar, I clemenules aka Nules Clementine definitely tastes better to me.
I have seen that before, but I doubt if you can really compare Satsumas with different peak ripening times. Having said that, while Okitsu and Miho Wase are from 2 year grafts, Xie Shan is from a one year graft. So, my evaluation is not reliable yet.
I have tasted great Minneolas grown in Central Valley in farmer’s markets. While its slightly more acidic than a Tangerine (like Tango), its not an acid bomb. Monterey Bay has a nice write up of Minneola
Its possible I may not have enough heat and chill to ripen it properly but I have to see. @anon57642013 have you tried storing it a few days after harvest to mellow down the tartness (like it says in the article above)? I also heard that farmers do this with Sumo to make it more sweeter.
I have many Clementine grafted on my trees, but only had ripe fruits from my Fina Clementin (VI-518). The Fallglo mandarin (VI-484) hybrid is interesting, has the bright orange skin, taste is on the tart side but it does get sweeter the longer you leave it hanging on the tree.
That Sumo photo does show the fruits with the greener top and orange body. Here’s a few more photos of my other Sumo grafts where all the fruit color is the same.
When you only have a small lot you can only grow so much. I can only grow around 30 or so trees, but if I grow the finest in citrus, my choices that satisfy me. Do I need more varieties? Answer absolute NO!!!
I am amazed with what I have accumulated for a guy growing citrus in Arkansas, all growing in containers. I also grow a bunch of figs, about 36 in containers and a few inground. I also owned 5 acres but only use 11/2, the rest is jungle.
I think we are done with Mandarins for this season. With some of the earlier Satsumas fruiting well, we have been eating several mandarins per day since Oct and now bored of it. We have shared with neighbors, at work, my daughter’s school but still 100 or so hanging on. All these from just one relatively small (6x6) tree. I need to find a way to preserve the fruits.
We have turned our attention to Cocktail grapefruit. It has fruited in clusters bending many of the branches. I should have thinned it earlier. I think its peak is around Feb but they are already delicious with a pleasant low-acid flavor.
Cocktail can compete with Oro Blanco as the best pomelo/grapefruit for our area. I also now appreciate having a low-acid citrus that complements and adds diversity to winter citrus fruits. I am thinking of adding more low-acid varieties like Wekiwa Tangelo or Vaniglia Sanguigno
If you like Cocktail grapefruit then try growing Valentine, it is larger and has the red flesh sometimes if your area gets cold enough. Both are very productive, I did have a huge cluster of Cocktail fruits one year (34) and it did not break my branch, tree is old and large.
I like Melogold more than the Oro Blanco, if you can get it, try the fruits, very good tasting. My Melogold tree seems to be more consistent in giving decent number of fruits each year.
I do have a young Valentine tree with 1 fruit that formed late in the season hanging on. I’ve also grafted Melogold (along with Cocktail) on the Oro Blanco tree but no fruit yet.
I have been swiping OB fruits from @fruitfruit for a couple of years now and they are the best pomelo/grapefruit hybrids that’s locally grown. My cocktail this year is close but I’ll confirm after I get more OBs from him this year
I have a large potted meyer lemon that I want to graft 2 varieties of kumquats onto (Meiwa and Nordman seedless). Just wanted to see if you have an update if your kumquats-to-meyer graft was a success and if it’s worth doing. Thanks
The growth is very slow but I am thinking of pulling that tree out. I like to try kumquats as a novelty but given that I don’t process fruits (like jams or marmalade), I don’t think I need a whole tree of kumquats for fresh fruits. Space is of premium in my small yard, so I plan to graft these kumquats to random branches of mandarins and then use the space for a fig or pomegranate.
So the grafted kumquat cuttings on the Meyer plant never produced fruits for you? If that’s so, I guess I’ll keep the kumquats potted with its own roots.
Stray cats that come into my yard broke the vigorous grafts - not sure why they specifically play on my lemon tree. There are some surviving grafts and they bloomed but didn’t produce fruits yet. By then, I tried many kumquats from friends’ trees and lost interest
@californicus -Seems like you are doing some very cool grafting to your citrus via CCPP. Congrats!
Was wondering if you could share when you usually graft your citrus and what kind of graft you use? I’m in Zone 10 in Irvine so that’s close-ish to your zone.
Also - how long does it usually take from graft to production for you?
We have an old Tangelo in our yard (from the previous owner or maybe the person before them). Asking a few local experts, it seems like we are settling on it being a Minneola Tangelo. While it’s OK (and this year it had a MASSIVE crop), we want to try a whole bunch of citrus and my plan was to begin large scale grafting efforts on it this year. Given it’s an old an vigorous tree, I’m hoping that works well.
Would love any advice or experience you are willing to share.
I’ve “narrowed” down my list of cultivars to add/try and will share that here shortly.
Here are Mato Buntan Pomelo and Rio Grand Navel Grafted on a lemon that had been frost damaged. Also has Sue Linda Temple Tangelo and Nules Clementina on it
The graft is very vigorous so far, so if these 2 additional fruits help it to not take over the tree, then its good. Your fruits look very nice! Interesting that your fruits seem to be coloring up from bottom to top while mine the other way around.
