This citrus thing has gotten ahold of me badly…so much so that I’m considering planting a grove on some property 20mins or so away from my home here in the panhandle – 60 to 80 various Satsuma and tangerine trees planted in a high density configuration. Flying dragon suits itself well to the characteristics of the property but I worry about the long term viability of trees budded on FD – namely tree decline due to benching and potential incompatibility with certain mandarins. I’m reaching out to see if any of you guys that have mature (10, 15, 20 year old) satsumas on FD have seen these things 1st hand and if you know of any way to overcome them. I’ve read that benching may be less severe if the scion is budded higher (up to 45mm) on the rootstock.

My issue is that the vendors that I would use to bud these trees for me have little experience with Flying Dragon. 99.9999% of citrus cultivation in Florida is done for commercial purposes. There is virtually no knowledge or experience with Flying Dragon as a commercial rootstock. Flying Dragon is well suited for residential use but since it is against the law to propagate citrus in the state of Florida, I’ve got no small time farmer or citrus enthusiast to chat with.

Any input that you can share would be very much appreciated.

Best,

Skinn30a

I have most of my collection growing on Flying Dragon (FD) rootstock. I started collecting citrus in 1991. Presently my citrus collection is in excess of 50 varieties. I have lemons, limes, mandarins, oranges, satsumas, and kumquats growing on FD. As with most FD rootstocks their is some benching. However, 100 percent of the trees are healthy and continue to grow well. When available, I always insist my purchases be grafted upon FD. There is a fabulous citrus supplier in Florida called the Flying Dragon Citrus Nursery. I am not 100 percent sure if they decided to remain in business after the state of Florida added all the new rules for commercial propagators. Millet

Thanks Millet. I've purchased two trees from Mike Barnwald over the last two years. Last I spoke with him, he sourced his trees from growers in the citrus belt and did not have access to any on FD. With few exceptions, selling citrus trees in Florida these days is a re-sale/retail exercise as production is controlled by the state and only a handful of nurseries can propagate citrus trees - the 3.9 million citrus trees that were propagated in the state of Florida in 2012 were done by only 47 nurseries. Most of these are to the industry only. Two exceptions that I know about are Just Fruits and Exotics in Crawfordville and Harris Citrus in Lithia.

You know more and have more experience with FD than every citrusman that I can find in Florida....

Best,

Skinn30a

Is the elephant foot in grafted trees the same thing as benching ? Thanks. Tom

YES

With the severe problems in Florida from disease I don't think I would be worrying about 50 years down the road. I have several mature satsuma trees on FD that were planted in early 2000s and no problem with benching.

Mr. Texas,

I know what you mean. Couple of things that help me feel better about moving forward in the wake of HLB: Theoretically, the vector for HLB cannot acclimate to our cold winters. My grove location is isolated and miles and miles and miles away from any other meaningful stands of citrus. Culture wise, I'll be incorporating elements from various ACPS trials to further mitigate the risk of HLB as well as soften the barriers that are pushing others out of the business and keeping new citrusmen from coming in. I replicated an ACPS program this year and grew 27 mandarins hydroponically. The results are magnificent - I'll post more about this later.

Bit of a risk but the rewards are there. I think there is money to be made at this time. After all, only dead fish go with the flow...

At present, I'm needing to identify the rootstock(s) that I'm going to move forward with. Best options are either FD or US-942 (I'll most likely do half and half). There's been very little utilization of FD in Florida so I'm reaching out to get some knowledge from you guys. Economically, I think that I couple begin to cover the cost of the grove after year 6 and begin to realize a profit. Given the extended period of time it takes to get trees on dwarfing rootstocks into production, it's important that I choose one that's viable into the very long term. US-942 was released by the USDA in 2010 and there is already 100 times more information and data regarding it's performance that there is for FD. Since it is relatively new, I think it wise to hedge my risk by also incorporating an older variety that's been a good choice for others in the past.

Best,

Skinn30a

I think it is very smart to use both rootstocks when spending the amount of money you are planning to invest. Hedging your bets is smart. Nothing wrong with that ! Tom

Severe freezes do eliminate the psyllids