Citrus TreeSource nursery caters to the commercial sized orders for the commercial citrus industry. The citrus that they sell are very cheap from the point of view of hobbyists, they categorized the cheapest ones as liners, as in tree liners, sold in 1 inch by 1 inch by 6 inches conical pots. Every year at the end of the planting season, about during the fall to winter time, they post their excess stocks and sell them online to the public. That's where you can order these liners for half the price at Home Depot or even WalMart. Although smaller, they become as big as those sold in 5-gal pots within just a year.

It is strongly recommended to repot immediately these citrus liners. Thus you will have to repot them or plant them after you got them.

This company was recommended to me by a UCR professor about 4 years ago and recommended them to the gardenweb citrus forum in turn after successfully ordering from them.

Here's the listing that you have to watch out for. When the numbers become non-zero, it is time to post your orders.

http://www.citrustreesource.com/product_mini_avail.html

I have to warn you that because they are commercial based and tend to consolidate everything together in a single shipment and pickup day, the long shipping wait could kill you. But if you have patience like we do, you will be rewarded with cheap but outstanding citrus liner. Usually on the upwards of 2 months to 6 months waiting time after you pay them.

Joe, please expand on the meaning of your sentence: "Here's the listing that you have to watch out for. When the numbers become non-zero, it is time to post your orders." We actually never saw that list, we just inquired with Tree Source by telephone at the end of their selling/shipping season. BTW, After Citrus Joe and I placed our liner order it took about a month before they were shipped. - Millet

Hi Millet,

I usually don't call these guys and continually ask if they have something available. I just watch out for the updates on their website. But of course, it is better to call them in the first place if you are interested. I am more of an opportunistic passive citrus collector rather than a true citrus collector. If they have a variety for sale at a bargain price that I don't have, I will snap it up, and if they have none, it doesn't matter to me. So I love watching online sales catalogs and their excess stocks. One of these days I will actively hunt down some varieties, but so far, I am more than happy with what I have, but happier still if somebody exchanges with me, or have obtained something from sales whenever opportunity arises.

Joe.

Hi Benny,

Today I inspected the Key Lime graft that I have forced last week. This was the Key Lime budwood that you sent me earlier. Truly your Key Lime is super duper productive. It only sprouted flowers upon flowers instead of regular branch. I am hoping that it will change its mind later and would give me a nice growing branch instead of fruits directly.


Joe

Joe:
I am at least glad that it took. I was afraid that it won't take because it was flowering when I cut it for you.
I hope that it will be like the Asian pear that I got from my sister (see it at the propagation of noncitrus thread. ). I knew it was a flower branch but I got it anyway as an experiment. After flowering there are 2 new buds sprouted beside the flowers. I will post more soon.
But I am sold with your bark graft method.
I grafted 6 branches to my Fuji and all took. I took pictures this morning and maybe tonight I will post it.
Thanks Joe for showing us those. That helped improved tremendously the successful take of my budwoods.
Even the Asian pears of my sister that I coveted for 2 years now they are a success with your bark graft method.
So for all of you guys reading here, try it and you will thank Joe for it.

Regards,
Benny

Joe:
I am still foggy what it means by "forcing" a graft to grow and when do you do this? And how many ways can you do that? In your opinion what is the best way?

And do you remove the all the new growth that emerge from the mother plant both before and after T-buds? So there is no competition with the nutrients supplied by the mother plant?
I am pulling all the new growth but I really don't know if that is right.

Benny, I simply cut off the branch 1/2" above the top portion of the grafted bud that took. Then I kill off other sprouts that grows aside from the one coming from the grafted bud. Sometimes it takes a year before they grow. Oftentimes, they sprout even without cutting the branch. Depends on how vigorous is your tree. If it did not sprout, I simply graft elsewhere and forget that branch, and the moment you did forget those, they will sprout!

Joe

"I simply cut off the branch 1/2" above the top portion of the grafted bud that took"
But then when can you say a graft is "took". When the buds are 1 inch long? 1/2 an inch long? or 3 leaves or four?
Please be specific.

Benny, the bud took if it remained green after 1 full month of warm days (> 70 deg F). Sprouted or not, I force its growth by cutting the host branch, 1/2" upward of the T-bud. Hopefully, with a week, the T-bud starts to sprout. You know, if you review the PDF file that talks about citrus and avocado budding and grafting, there is a dotted line where to cut. I don't bend the branch to force the T-bud to grow, I simply cut off as in the diagram in that free publication.

I am actually talking regarding noncitrus plants It maybe different scenario if it is a citrus but with my Asian pears, apples and plums they are vigorous growers it seems like they want to overtake the mother plant for some reason or another. Or perhaps they will stop growing at a certain point. It was not so with my green gage plum. It kept on growing until I had to cut the branch I wasafraid it would break for having no support to a long branch.

Benny, I missed that out. I thought you were specifically asking about T-buds, and my answer would be the same across all types of plants.

For bark graft and others, I also cut off anything below the grafted branch. If you have enough grafting tape wrapped over the rubber band, that would make the union very strong and could last a whole year without breaking. The limb bark graft when they heal is also very strong graft and would seem to straighten out and disappear through time.

Thanks

I am now convinced that removing the fruits will enhance growth.
Last Spring, March 2006 I removed most of the fruits to all of my citrus. I left 2 fruits in one of my Satsumas and here’s how it looked like pic taken on May 15 2006. Notice the number of buds sprouted in the branches. Not too many.



And here’s her sister Satsuma that I removed all of its fruit.



Here’s also citrus that I removed all of its fruits.






Chandler Pomello


This Chandler should have been a typical example because before while it was in a wine barrel and I let it have its fruit, I can count on my fingers the new branches it produced a year. But take a look at it now when I transferred it to the ground and I clipped perhaps 4 fruits on it.
I also have one OroBlanco that is prolific fruit bearer. I just clipped most of its fruit- more than 10 fruit and it has just started to sprout new buds but still too small yet to take pictures.