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Post by david on Jul 20, 2019 13:51:52 GMT -5
For those that have asked. Here is my tutorial on growing poncirus. Gather your fruit. Get equipment ready. You will need: 1 five gallon bucket full of water. 1 sharp knife 1 pair of rubber dishwashing gloves 1 old spread/blanket to cover your worktable Now cut each fruit in half being carefull not to cut into the seed. Squeeze/pick out the seed into the 5 gallon bucket with the water. When you have done all the fruit, swish the seed in the water to remove the residues and the remainder of the pulp. Change water and do 2 or 3 times. Now throw the gloves away and put the fruit remains in the compost bed. Gently spread the seed on the old blanket 1 layer thick. Let them dry out over night. They should be dry enough and not feel real sticky next day. Sprinkle the seed with Sulpher or Captan and stir them around. Now take what seed you want to plant and do so. They need to be about 3/8th inch deep. Press and firm the soil and gently water. They will take it from here. Sept 1st is planting day for me. The seed will sprout in a few days and continue to grow. They don't need fertilize just keep them watered. They will not rot and the first frost will not harm them. If you have an early or severe cold snap throw a cover on them. The rest of the seed need to be placed in zip lock bags, dated/identified and placed in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator. You can start more by planting more seed in Feb. Your seed in the bags will be viable for a year. Check occasionally for mold. The fungicide should handle any mold.
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Post by david on Jul 20, 2019 13:54:27 GMT -5
To get the residue off your knife use rubbing alcohol and a rag. Burn the rag. Wash your hands with alcohol, dry them and rub them with Neosporin.
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Post by speedyturtle on Jul 20, 2019 14:33:10 GMT -5
Hi David,
Thx for the info.
Do you put them in full sun area while the seeds are germinating?
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Post by Laaz on Jul 20, 2019 14:49:45 GMT -5
Yes, in full sun when germinating, the heat will speed them up. I usually germinate them in a community 15 gallon container & separate them when they are about 12" tall.
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Post by speedyturtle on Jul 20, 2019 15:00:19 GMT -5
Thx Laaz, I am going to order some flying dragon seeds and germinate them for rootstocks.
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Post by Laaz on Jul 20, 2019 15:22:04 GMT -5
Just a heads up, but flying dragon is slooooooooooooooow. It will take two years to get to grafting size. That's one of the reasons I don't use it anymore. Also it benches really badly which I don't like.
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toofarnorth
Full Member
West Central Ga. USA. Z8a
Posts: 162
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Post by toofarnorth on Jul 20, 2019 15:54:14 GMT -5
Laaz, david, this may be a stupid question, but can you use any seedling, or just the ones that came up as multiples ie. polyembryonic? I'm don't know if FD is 100 percent poly or not. I know some seeds such as US852 are about 50/50.
TFN
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Post by speedyturtle on Jul 20, 2019 16:02:33 GMT -5
Just a heads up, but flying dragon is slooooooooooooooow. It will take two years to get to grafting size. That's one of the reasons I don't use it anymore. Also it benches really badly which I don't like. Thx Laaz for the heads up. I read FD is one of the most dwarf for rootstocks. I want to graft some of my seeds citrus trees and ccpp budwoods to be pot plant. I am running out of space at home. FD is one of the best choice for rootstock for pot plant. I am active looking for swingle seeds as well, and hope I can get some soon. I want to compare the taste between the two grafted with the same type of scion.
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Post by Laaz on Jul 20, 2019 16:52:00 GMT -5
TFN, no they are not, but still produce dwarf plants when used as rootstock.
Turtle, there is also Cuban shaddock used as dwarf rootstock. I can't tell the difference between a fruit grown on swingle or trifoliata...
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Post by speedyturtle on Jul 20, 2019 17:02:00 GMT -5
Cuban shaddock and c-35 are good rootstocks, but I don't know where is can obtain some fresh seeds of them. I couldn't find any fruit of them in the local supermarket nor farmer market. Germinate what I have right now.
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Post by david on Jul 20, 2019 18:09:41 GMT -5
I find that I get about 50% FD comes true and will have the contorted form. Do not discard the others. They are still good dwarfing rootstock. As Laaz said FD is a slow growing rootstock. If you keep care of it it is a good rootstock....I am with Laaz on the benching...I think because it is so slow and the citrus you put on it causes the union to bench. I still use it but there are alternatives.
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Post by david on Jul 21, 2019 12:39:25 GMT -5
I do not use CShad. I am opinionated as to the dwarfing capabilities of it. Having grown it and used it I find that it does not have the same abilities as FD. In truth I find CShad to be a standard rootstock....not dwarfing at all. I opine that FD is the only "true" dwarfing rootstock. Four Winds growers uses CShad for their supposedly dwarf trees. Perhaps CShad in container citrus reacts differently? ??
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