Citrus Growers Forum

dauben · Posted: Sat 20 Oct, 2012 4:01 pm

I have 5 acres of grapefruit trees on citrange rootstock. They taste pretty good, but I have way too many grapefruit trees and I can't give them away because everyone is on blood pressure medicine. I've topworked about 30 of the trees into other types of citrus and greatful they are on citrange rootstock instead of their own roots.

Phillip

hoosierquilt · Posted: Sat 20 Oct, 2012 7:04 pm

Wow, that's a lot of grapefruit, Philip, and you should get enough heat in the summer in Ramona to make them nice and sweet. What variety do you have? Slowly topworking them all? That's a lot of work, plus time to let your new scions mature and produce. I wonder if grapefuit sales overall have dropped due to folks being on certain statin medications. Not all statins are contraindicated with grapefruits/pummelos. Too bad the docs don't pay attention to that, and prescribe ones that still allow you to have grapefruits & pummelos!

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Patty S.

dauben · Posted: Sat 20 Oct, 2012 7:27 pm

I'm not sure what variety they are. They're a light pink grapefruit that I think was planted in the late 1970's or early 1980's when the grapefruit diet was the craze. I shouldn't say all 5 acres are planted in grapefruit because some burned up in the fires before I bought the house and I've planted stone fruits in those areas. I've got about 150 citrus trees with about 30 of those topworked. Of those that I've topworked, I got a nice yield from my Page mandarins last year and it looks like Cara Caras will be good to me this year. All of the others have a few pieces of fruit on them for me to taste test this year.

Phillip

Millet · Posted: Sat 20 Oct, 2012 8:35 pm

I've not tasted every type of citrus that exists in the world, but I have tasted a great many.Many varieties were from my visits to UCR. Most citrus varieties would be put into the taste class of "OK". Some in the taste class of "Good". And just a few into the taste class of the "Best." In my opinion the Best of the Best is Xie Shan. - Millet 85

dauben · Posted: Sat 20 Oct, 2012 10:53 pm

Millet wrote:

I've not tasted every type of citrus that exists in the world, but I have tasted a great many.Many varieties were from my visits to UCR. Most citrus varieties would be put into the taste class of "OK". Some in the taste class of "Good". And just a few into the taste class of the "Best." In my opinion the Best of the Best is Xie Shan. - Millet 85

I topworked three of my grapefruit trees into Xie Shan last fall. No fruit yet, but the trees just now seem to be showing more vigorous growth. Where a vigorous grapefruit branch shoots up, I'm inarching those branches onto the Xie Shan limbs to give it a little more energy and provide a little more scaffolding to keep the branches from breaking off.

Phillip

Millet · Posted: Sat 20 Oct, 2012 11:33 pm

Phillip, it will be interesting how a Xie Shan fruit taste when growing on a grapefruit tree. You will have to give us an up date on this thread after you get some produce. The best to you and your family.. - Millet 85

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dauben · Posted: Sun 21 Oct, 2012 12:08 am

Millet wrote:

Phillip, it will be interesting how a Xie Shan fruit taste when growing on a grapefruit tree. You will have to give us an up date on this thread after you get some produce. The best to you and your family.. - Millet 85.

Thanks. The grapefruit is an interstock and the rootstock that the grapefruit was grown on was citrange. I have to be fairly proactive keeping the grapefruit pruned back or that would end up taking over most of the cultivars I've grafted onto the trees. My pink lemonade lemons seem to hold their own, but lemons tend to be just as vigorous as the grapefruit.

Phillip

Malcolm_Manners · Posted: Sun 21 Oct, 2012 2:25 pm

I hope there is no CTV (citrus tristeza virus) in your area. Grapefruit as either a rootstock or an interstock is highly susceptible.

hoosierquilt · Posted: Sun 21 Oct, 2012 2:57 pm

Not that we're aware of, Malcolm. We're much more fearful of HLB, since we now have spots of ACP popping up in San Diego county.

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Patty S.

dauben · Posted: Sun 21 Oct, 2012 8:32 pm

Malcolm_Manners wrote:

I hope there is no CTV (citrus tristeza virus) in your area. Grapefruit as either a rootstock or an interstock is highly susceptible.

If there is, I imagine my sour orange rootstock would be doomed. Smile

I tried to find out if CTV was in the area at one time before I planted sour orange, but I never did find out for sure.

Phillip

hoosierquilt · Posted: Sun 21 Oct, 2012 9:17 pm

Phillip, if it's an consolation, I back a 147 acre 3 generations old orange orchard, all on sour orange with zero signs of CTV.

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Patty S.

dauben · Posted: Sun 21 Oct, 2012 10:20 pm

hoosierquilt wrote:

Phillip, if it's an consolation, I back a 147 acre 3 generations old orange orchard, all on sour orange with zero signs of CTV.

That's good to know. I figured that since I couldn't find anything on CTV when I had looked at one time, that it might be that it wasn't prevalent here. No one does news reports on where diseases aren't found. Smile

Phillip