I was just wonder how do you graft any kind of citrus tree onto say a trifolta rootsock? Do you just do a t-bud graft and how big does the rootstock have to be to graft onto it???

The rootstock should be about pencil size, but I have done much smaller. Yes the inverted T bud is the best...

Hi Valencia, I posted 2 links in "grafting Tutorials"...shows how to T bud & detailed instructions & pics.

thanks i will look at them in detail but first i must get some rootstock, i am waiting until fall, i will have some things to trade then.

My favorite two rootstocks are flying dragon, and sour orange. Sour Orange is a great root stock, IN COLORADO where we have absolutely NO citrus dieases at all. In Florida Sour Orange was the number one stock, until tristeza. Sour Orange ranks good against salinity, high pH, clay soil, extra good against wet soil, freezes and fair against drought. It is tolerant against phytophthora, xyloporosis and exocortis, blights. Gives a large size tree, high juice and good yield. Tristeza was it nemesis, but in Colorado that is not a problem. - Millet

To add to Millets post. Rootstock should be selected per type of scion your budding to it & also what size tree you want as the end product. There are some compatabilty issues. Eureka lemon is not compatible with Trifoliata...

Well i wanted to graft a red grapefruit i started from seed and a lemon i got from the store and planted it as well. Are both of those compatable with flying dragon because i need smaller sized trees.

My preferance to t-bud is pencil size to 3/8th inch in diameter. The one year old seedlings, while the bark is still thin, this give better takes.

What do you do after you have grafted the scion onto the rootstock, do you snip off the rootstock so it stops growing and only the scion grows?? Also wouldn't the tree have a little curve because it was grafted onto the side and not directly on top.

I snip off the rootstock before the grafted bud sprouts. Sometimes the bud sprouts first before I snip off the rootstock and in that case, I graft another cultivar higher than the sprouted one. In the end, the rootstock should always be snipped off.

If you only have one cultivar budded, you snip off about 1/2" over the bud. Initially the tree would look bent, but after 3 to 5 years, this would straighten out and sometimes hard to know where the original budded line is.

My meiwa has a visible graft line, but it came strapped to a training rod. The rod is like 1/16 welding wire or similar-

My smaller trees are trained to bamboo posts with PFTE plumbers tape for some straightening and/or shaping where needed.

After you are sure your graft has taken and is strong, you might secure it to a post for a season or 2, making sure the fastener wont girdle the tree or get moldy.

One method is to force the bud by bending the rootstock, just above the bud and tying it in some way (often back to itself). Professional grafters use this method a lot. The idea is to remove dominance by the rootstock top, so that the new bud can break dormancy. If the stock is small like buddingman likes, this is easily done.

For thicker stocks, you will sometime break the rootstock in the process. Because of this, I sometimes use a 4"cable tie, about 1/2" above the bud, to keep the rootstock from splitting into the area of the bud. One advantage of this method is that, should the bid fail, the rootstock will still remain intack. You can straighten it up and have another go at it. It is also said that the bent over rootstock top will continue to feed the new shoot, causing it to grow faster. Others say they see no difference, and get the process over by just wacking the rootstock off above the bud. I have never been able to figure which way was best.

How long after you T bud do you bend the rootstock? Right away? I just did some budding & I bent some branches over same day. On some, I pinched off the top of rootstock. Is this good or bad?
It's really my 1st attempt at T budding...I only practiced once. Had a hard time cutting some buds off cuz the budsticks were so triangular.
How long will it take for buds to start sprouting? Thanks
Ned, you made it look so easy

Patty, I would usually wait three weeks and check if the buds are still green before snipping the top off. If they turned brown or black, I would T-bud again. Bending the top right away would also be helpful to increase juice supply to the bud increasing its chances, but, if the bud failed to take, it would take time to straighten the stem out and T-bud again. When you bent the top and the bud has sprouted, that's the time I would cut the top portion completely.