CITRUS PROPAGATION

Ottillia J. BierCitrus Variety Collection

University of California, Riverside

Methods of citrus propagation for the amateur grower

1. Seed2. Cuttings3. Grafting4. Budding

Seed

SeedAdvantages

most citrus has seedmost citrus is polyembryonic and will come true to type from seedcan plant seed any time of year

SeedDisadvantages

some varieties are seedlesssome varieties are monoembryonic and seed will be hybrid, not true to typeseed sometimes takes months to germinatejuvenile trees are very thornylong time to bearing age

Cuttings

CuttingsAdvantages

usually easy to dono extra materials neededcan make cuttings most of the year

CuttingsDisadvantages

uses a lot of scion materialmany varieties susceptible to soil pathogensno size regulation of resulting tree

Side graft

GraftingAdvantages

can provide size regulation and pest resistancelarger piece of scion is easier to handle

GraftingDisadvantages

uses a lot of scion materialrequires rootstock, suppliesrequires higher level of expertisecan only be done at certain times of year

Budding

Budding

Advantagesvery small amount of scion material neededrequires low level of expertiseknow within 2 weeks if budding is successfulcan provide size regulation and pest resistance

Budding

Disadvantagesrequires rootstock, suppliescan only be done at certain times of year

Budwood Selection

Selection of budwood

healthy, fruiting treecut budstick from hardened growth of last flushor, cut budstick from next to last flushround twigs are easier to handle than angular twigsbudwood may be refrigerated for weeks to months if sanitized

Rootstocks

Selection of rootstock

rootstock must be compatible with scionconsider ultimate size of tree desiredconsider soil conditions, insects, diseasespencil-thickness rootstock is bestbark must be slipping

Rootstock resource

Supplies

Supplies

clean towelrazor-sharp knifebudding tapebleachplant tags

Sanitation

sterilize fingers and knife1 part bleach to 9 parts water

Sterilized knife

Making bark pocket

Cut bark to receive bud

make cut verticallymake cut horizontally, 1/3 downloosen bark along cut with knife

Cutting buds

Cutting buds cont.

Cutting buds cont.

Cut buds

hold knife almost parallel to the budstickcut sliver with bud about1 inch longbud should be slightly above the middle of the sliver

Insert the bud

insert the bottom of the bud at the horizontal cutslide bud down into lower part of bark pocketlift top of bark pocket to accept top of budbe sure bud was inserted right side up

Wrap the bud

pull tape tightly to ensure good bud-rootstock contactbud may be wrapped exposed or covered

Wrapping the bud

Healing

give tree good careif buds turn brown, rebudafter 4 weeks, buds are healedremove tape after 4 weeks

Bud at four weeks

Aftercare

bend top of rootstock over to reduce apical dominancekeep tree “suckered”when new bud is at least 12 inches long, cut top of rootstock offstake new shootplant tree when scion has developed some bark

Defeating apical dominance

Almost finished tree

Finished tree

Topworking

changing over an existing tree to a different varietycan be done by grafting or buddingbudding gives a higher success rate

Multiple scions

can be donechoose scions with similar growth rate and ultimate sizeusually requires routine pruning

Any Questions?