Age of tree..........45 Days After Sticking..........90 Days After Sticking
1.........................100% Success......................100% Success
2.........................100% Success.......................100% Success
3..........................90% Success.......................100% Success
4..........................56% Success.........................93% Success
5..........................23% Success..........................83% Success
15+..........................0% Success...........................0% Success

Millet

Very interesting information Millet, thanks.

Anybody care to explain the context of sticking? Thanks.

More information required.
I presume 'sticking' means taking a cutting and 'sticking' it in soil or compost.
Whose figures are these? Which part of stem was used for cutting - recent growth or old growth etc.? What conditions were cuttings kept in - temperature/humidity/light etc?
But it's interesting, because I've never succeeded with Poncirus cuttings and this could be part of the reason. I've always wanted to root from fruiting plants which would always be old ones.
On the subject of propagating Poncirus, anyone have opinions on the best time and method to graft or bud? As they are deciduous (at least they are in my climate) this could be different from true citrus.

I would have to guess the meaning...

I think it is not the age of the tree, but rather the age of the oldest stick from the tree, that is why the 0% success rate, the older the stick is.

I can guarantee you, that I can have 100% success rate from a 500 year old citrus tree if I were to select from the tree which stick to root.

Mike,
My experiance is quite limited but here are my thoughts:
Chip grafting - middle March
Bark Grafting (maybe T-budding too) - late May, early June
--ivica

"To stick" is a semi-official term in propagator's vocabulary, meaning to harvest, prepare, and plant a stem cutting.

The pattern follows that of most tree species -- the more mature the cutting source, the more difficult it becomes to root it.

Of course, if you have an old seedling with sprouts near the ground, those sprouts would make cuttings that are less physiologically mature, therefore easier to root. But I'm presuming these data all came from top cuttings, for which it makes complete sense.

I have observed without any error in my observations, that from to time, juvenile sprouts would also come from the citrus tree somewhere in the mid canopy, far from the ground.

The way some of the mature cultivars develop their canopy through time, is that when they are loaded with fruits, the stems droop down to the ground, opening the inner section of the canopy, encouraging vigorous growth from the inner canopy and some are juvenile sprouts that are ideal for grafting unto, as budwood material, or as cuttings.

Similarly, when you hedge off the tree, or continuously harvest them for stem cuttings or budsticks, some of the sprouts would resort back to juvenility, or if the budstick harvest is continuous, their "age" is maintained, as in the technique used by UCR CCPP budwood program, from their screenhouse trees.

But then again, it is correct that the juvenile sprouts are not as often found in very old trees, and often are near the ground if the mid-canopy is thick and have not been opened for sunlight.