So we have alot of wild/volunteer sour orange trees in the forested part of our property, and had some questions about them.
Firstly, I wanted to know if wild oranges like that make a good rootstock? They grow pretty rigorously even in our crappy sand soil, appear to he healthy, and we have a ton of small ones that could be easily transplanted into a sunnier spot.
Secondly, I wanted to buy a juicing orange tree, but I am a little worried about these wild trees having diseases. Is this something I should be concerned about? The trees appear to be really healthy, but we definitely have had greening and canker outbreaks in Hilsborough/Polk county in the past, and it is not feasible to remove them all.
Lastly, if I were to move one of these into the Sun, would they taste better? They have a super strong orange flavor, but they are absurdly sour.
They would be suitable to graft onto if they’re doing well.
Regarding citrus greening; I believe the “greening” in the name refers to the way the disease causes the fruit to stay green and not properly ripen. If you see evidence of this on any of your wild trees you should cull any which are affected.
Not likely! They are sour oranges, and will be sour wherever they are grown. They probably make great marmalade, though! And yes, they are the thing traditionally used as a citrus rootstock in many areas, including FL, so they will work fine for that. I don’t know how well they will respond to transplanting, you probably should just move small ones that will be easier to dig up without damaging them too badly, or better yet plant seeds from those trees and graft on them a year or two later.
