Citrus Growers Forum

Ohiojay · Posted: Fri 11 May, 2007 8:53 am

I have a grafted lemon I believe is a meyer that I've had for about 4-5 years now. As I learned, the grafted specimens usually do not have any thorns as plants do grown from seed. If they do, normally very small and inconsequential.

While checking for aphids the other night, I noticed a rogue branch up high in the plant that had fully developed thorns. All were quite a match for the thorns on my key lime grown from seed. Where in the world did these come from?

JoeReal · Posted: Fri 11 May, 2007 11:31 am

It is quite very common with most citrus cultivars. Sometimes the vigorous branches will revert back to juvenility and develop those thorns, and those thorns could be big. Examples of cultivars with such displays are Lisbons, Meyers, Calamondins, Tarocco Blood oranges, and even the original Calamondins (the thornless types are sport mutation of the original and are the ones sold in the US). Some mandarins would also have this characteristic of sprouting thorns even though they were thornless when you originally bought them.

Ohiojay · Posted: Fri 11 May, 2007 2:33 pm

My plans are to eventually graft my lemon, lime, and key lime onto my orange tree since it is the largest and most developed. Would you stay away from this particular branch when choosing which to remove to try the graft?

This brings up another question...will my key lime, which has nasty thorns, onto the orange, continue the thorns after grafting?

Patty_in_wisc · Posted: Sat 12 May, 2007 1:16 am

Sorry to bud in here, but I want to thank you Jay & Joe for answering quests I had.
I have a grafted meyer (never got a lemon from it yet!) with no thorns, & a cutting (no graft line & it is bushier), both same size pot. The cutting plant has thorns & I got several lemons from it last fall.
I also have a satsuma that I thought was a goner last spring...all dead branches had to be cut down, & it looked like a stick. It grew back a few nice branches & then one came up from around the graft line & it has big thorns on it. The rest of plant has no thorns. I found out it is NOT part of rootstock, but is satsuma. I wondered why it was the only branch that has big thorns on it! I tried T budding onto it & none took, but branch is still growing. It thinks it's a 1 yr old? LOL

_________________
Patty
I drink wine to make other people more interesting Wink

JoeReal · Posted: Sat 12 May, 2007 1:56 am

Ohiojay wrote:

My plans are to eventually graft my lemon, lime, and key lime onto my orange tree since it is the largest and most developed. Would you stay away from this particular branch when choosing which to remove to try the graft?

This brings up another question...will my key lime, which has nasty thorns, onto the orange, continue the thorns after grafting?

Nope,
i would treat it like any other branches. Yes the Key lime would continue its nasty thorns, but it all depends. If it becomes very old enough, sometimes the thorns are a lot smaller and disappears, only to reappear on vigorous branches.

JoeReal · Posted: Sat 12 May, 2007 1:58 am

Patty_in_wisc wrote:

I also have a satsuma that I thought was a goner last spring...all dead branches had to be cut down, & it looked like a stick. It grew back a few nice branches & then one came up from around the graft line & it has big thorns on it. The rest of plant has no thorns. I found out it is NOT part of rootstock, but is satsuma. I wondered why it was the only branch that has big thorns on it! I tried T budding onto it & none took, but branch is still growing. It thinks it's a 1 yr old? LOL

Try bark grafting unto the thorny branch. Nip off the thorns first, otherwise it will puncture your skin.