I have both a Razzlequat and a desert kumquat, rooted cuttings, about five years old. Neither has bloomed, yet they get plenty of cold weather exposure. Do I need to be less kind to them and drought stress them?
How long?

Gene

How old is the tree the cuttings were taken from? From seed or grafted? Citrus can take anywhere from 6 to 14 years to bloom (from seed).

These were apparently mature selections from Sherwood Akin. All the other citrus rooted cuttings I received from him often bloomed the next year. I distinctly remember him saying that he didn't have very good luck with Desert Kumquat, but I didn't ask what he was referring too.

I've been very lucky with early blooming seedlings. I have three 10 ft, four year old kumquats that came up from seed tossed in a flowerbed that fruited at three years . My Thomasville citrangequats, Ponderosa lemon, Changsha, and Ichang hybrids have all produced some blooms at 2 to 3 years old when overwintered in the greenhouse.
I wondered if there is a trick to inducing fruiting in the desert kumquats. Apparently it's not cold stress, so when I read this thread and drought was mentioned, I thought well it is a desert plant so maybe I'm watering or fertilizing too much.

I have heard kumquat do not do well on their own roots- as seedlings. I wonder if this would be true for rooted cuttings as well and if that would play a role in not fruiting.

BTW- what is "desert" kumquat.

Kyle

The Australian Desert kumquat is really a very interesting near citrus variety. As a native Australian variety, it grows practically under desert conditions at certain times of the year. Being a desert plant, the tree is small and shrubby, with very narrow leaves to reduce transpiration. It has a long slender sharp spine at every leaf. Like all Kumquats, its yellow fruit is about 1/2 inch in diameter, filled with a rather good flavored acid pulp. It would make an excellent marmalade. I have often wondered what kind of root stock it would make, because of its very high resistance to both drought and cold. I know it can be grafted onto other citrus varieties, and citrus can be grafted upon it. I'm not surprised that this would be a variety that Sherwood would have grown. - Millet (1,439-)

One of my reasons for interest in the desert kumquat is that it is supposed to be tolerant of clay soils and thus might yield hybrids tolerant of heavy soil conditions.

Ned, a guess, on whether your Ambersweet will again bloom. If the previous bloom came from a minor flush, caused by a warm winter spell, and not the larger growth that can be expected from a citrus spring's flush, then yes I think it will produce a second bloom. I would think a lot depends on the previous winter temperatures, as to how many chill hours the foliate buds were subject to. Again, I would guess, that perhaps a weaker then usual spring bloom might occur. Anyway, interesting, please let us know what the tree does. In SC the spring flush should be coming rather soon. - Millet (1,437-)

Thanks Bob. I have been looking at the tree pretty close, and am beginning to think there might be a chance for a second bloom myself. Like you said, we should know soon, I will keep you posted.

Ned

The spring flush on the Ambersweet does have some buds showing. I think the Ambersweet will produce fruit in spite of the cold damage.

Ned

Ambersweet, an easy peeling early maturing orange, is the ONLY sweet orange cultivar developed by controlled hybridization. Current trade regulations may limit it acceptance as a "true" sweet orange. Ambersweet sometimes has a poor performance as a young tree, demanding cultural requirements. I purchase an Ambersweet from Ned 3 or 4 year back, and this year it presently has quite a few blooms on the tree. - Millet (1,387-)

This is my wife's favoriate citrus. I will try to have some fruit at the Citrus Expo.

Ned