Looking MIGHTY fine Laura, so how did you root them when and how long did it take..I am very proud of you.

Love your cuttings Laura. How long did it take from cutting to show some new growth? And what was your process? I want to believe that your cuttings are making roots as there is no dying or more leaf drop. I really sit on my hands as not to take them out to loof for roots. My succsess was with some small figs (maybe 2") that where relatively easy to root. Took three weeks to show new life. One meyer cutting as definately rooted (repotted) but no new growth yet. it will be interesting to see if fruit quality is different if grown on their own roots. Or are you planning to graft them?

That was going to be the next part of my post. I'm at back to school night so I have type during breaks ;-). I had no success until I used promix and put the stems in more deeply. I try to put at least 4-5 nodes in the dirt. I take off leaves and kind of pull to expose a bit of the interior part of the stem. Then I dip the stem in a liquid rooting hormone, make an opening with a pencil, and insert. I leave three leaves and I cut those in half. I then tent the stem with a zip lock bag, but I don't close it at the bottom. After a few weeks, when I noticed the cut leaves remained green, I removed the bag little by little. I did not intend to root three oro blancos, but a big branch broke off my tree and I cut it in three and figured I'd try. Well, they all took! Initially, they were all in promix, but just a couple of days ago, I did bare root them (Susanne, they all had well developed roots) and potted them in 5-1-1 bc I was afraid how the promix would work out during winter indoors. I kept the promix so I can use it again. These guys are now actively growing. The ST is the lastest one and I am going to wait till it's leaves grow in more before moving it to 5-1-1.

Susanne, I'm not going to graft them. It will be interesting to see how they grow on their own roots.

Laura very nice . I love making cuttings during the winter it gives me something to do during our long boring winters up here . Great job Laura

Brian

Laura I did stuck the cuttings from you in 5-1-1 For no particular reason. The Nagami was in a commercial pottong mix that is very similar to the promix and warmth. Wondering if I would have stuck it with the others if it would have gotten roots? I'm not planning to graft them either.

Nice! Laura, is the cocktail grapefruit sweet? I think i may get one soon. You guys have such good luck with rooting. They look great. I have a glenn navel and a seascape olive that a small peice broke during shipping i am trying to root.

Lauren, I've not tasted a cocktail grapefruit yet, but the parent tree is budding, which is very exciting. I've heard it's a delicious grapefruit. Not to give you any ideas Susanne ;-). Lol

Laura, ive heard the same so it is on my list. I just havent seen it in stock anywhere yet but when i do.....Haha. I bet you are super excited, i would be also. How long have you had the parent tree?

cocktail grapefruit??? LOL

I'm still getting another grapefruit and just because.......... no particular reason, Xie shan is coming too. and another variegated mineola because I heard a second tree from the same is a good insurance. ;) So I really need to figure out where to put them in winter before getting more. Oh and I orderd three flying dragons. One for growing and two for grafting.

Where did you find the cocktail tree? Maybe we all can do a big cutting swap next spring :)

Yes, I heard a lot of goodcthings about the cocktail grapefruit. It's called grapefruit but it's un fact a mandalo which is mandarine x pummelo. It's also in my wishlist!! Yes... I know is a very very long wishlist :)))

That's a great idea Dave! I never thought to use a bin like that.

I have an inground cocktail grapefruit here in southern CA. I never would have considered it if not for comments by either Silica or Hoosierquilt (I can't remember for sure) praising it. I had seen it at my local nurseries but thought the name meant it was a cocktail of different grafts and had ignored it.

It is doing exactly what I wanted for the spot it's in. It has big glossy leaves and the flowers are very large and fragrant. It's been a prolific fruit producer and a prolific grower. I planted it as a 5 gallon in the fall of 2015 and it is now about 6 feet tall.

The fruit has dozens of seeds, showing its pummelo heritage, maybe as many as 40 or 50 in each one. So this is for juicing only and they are very juicy. The mature fruit is heavy, more than a pound each, because of the juice and it has a grapefruit flavor without the bitterness and high acidity. I'm very happy with it.

Dave that is a great idea!! Love it. You could even put a light sitting on the lid, something as simple as a cheap fluorescent!

I have friends that just stick them in the ground in the tropics and they grow like weeds..Just goes to show you how much humidity with air movement can make a difference...

I myself tried a few buy they died because the air dried out and once I forgot to water them...Next time, I will focus on mine more than I did this past time.

Brian, is it too late to start more? You said you started some already?

Laura, thanks for starting this. It's going to be bookmarked for me that I can promise you)

My grafted tree's are doing exceptional good, maybe i did something different.

I did i fed all of them with Dynamite mater magig, i don't what is in there but the tree's almost immediate started sprouting. I bought this stuff last fall on sale at wally's. I am on the look-out again for them and ofcourse Espoma products.

I stop using Peter's H/P, high nitro today and replacing it with Espoma citrus/avocado for the rest of the year and into spring. Take that back, before i bring them in that would be the last.

Looking forward to a bunch of fruits in the next few months, hope you all too. Persimmon starting also, some tree's are loaded, sure pretty to look at.

Thank you Kent for the description of the cocktail grapefruit. I'm glad to hear you like it. The only reason I cloned it was bc it has a long, drooping branch. I cut it off and thought I'd try to root it figuring I'd fail like other times. Well, it was my first success! Bob, why do you switch to that other product? Is it not as "potent" as Peters? During winter I still feed them bc they are in my well lit room, but I reduce the concentration significantly. I hope to keep mine out a bit longer still. The weather has been nice and warm and everything is flushing and blooming. I am going to be overwhelmed with citrus. Lol!

Lauren and Susanne, in the future, when I can clip another branch, i can send you a cutting of the cocktail. ;-). Bob, you too if you want one. The tree is actively growing now and evened out, but maybe next year sometime. Susanne, you've got the citrus bug badly!! Lol. I was like you last year (and this year to a lesser extent)!

Laura that would be great. In the meantime I built up my collection and maybe someday I have what you would love to add too. Trovita for example. I think that is the only one I have and you don't. Or meiwa if the seed germinate. :) Lemone rosso is coming really nicely and will send you one in spring. Maybe I will be better next year but every time I look there is something I think would be great and the list is growing

High nitro fert.. is a little strong for tree's growing indoors for 5 or 6 months. My tree's will carry fruits through the winter in my well lighted basement but still not enough in comp.. to the sunrays. They need more K and micro's.

My biggest concern is tree's flowering in the basement, there is just no enough light for the flowers to sustain and mature into fruits. i want the first bloom my main source for fruits. I can do that by forcing the tree to go into "dormancy".

When they do start in early spring they usely flower too, that is what i am shooting for.

Laura that would be awesome. It is very nice of you to offer! Im like susanne everytime i look i find something else i want and ive only just started. Sometimes i cant resist and add anouther. Lol.

Laura,really thanks for your offer but someone will be grateful for a offer like that. The way my grafts are growing i might even get a flower on them.

That's how grafts work, almost instant gratification.

How critical is the time of year in the success of cuttings?

I'm not sure hibiscus. I read somewhere that Spring is best, but I think any time is theoretically possible. Susanne, that would be nice. When your trovita is big enough we can trade rooted cuttings ;-)

Great thread theme! Here are my cuttings, all Meyer started on July 30. Pictures taken just now

I've read somewhere that it can be tricky to root tree cuttings because you want one that has enough growth and energy to put out roots but not one so thick that the moisture cannot penetrate to the cambium layer underneath the bark. So my cuttings were somewhat thick and showing signs of maturity with that telling stripey bark for a few centimeters but the rest was smooth green. I think the best cuttings are the branches that have been on the tree for awhile but haven't developed the tougher bark exterior yet

I have some lemon cuttings sitting there since June doing nothing but still green, only one out of six rooted from the winter batch.

Is your humidity dome or some kind of covering still on it? Mine rooted when it was left humid but after I split them up into separate containers with the bag off, those 2 cuttings haven't pushed growth and I water them very little :/ I think humidity plays a big part helping the cuttings push roots without having to deal with the stress of drying out lol

What a a great thread Laura...Thank you...If anyone wants to share a cutting of some sort of grapefruit, or any of what Brian has, I will gladly pay or trade something...

You know, all this talk of humidity makes me question whether anyone in the southwest desert regions or California area has to create humidity to start cuttings or if they have success with their drier air?

I really appreciate all of this info!

Very nice Mike! That's exactly what I did with a fig cutting that was dying and it finally put out a leaf! The greatest thing about using a bottle to root a cutting is unscrewing the cap slowly to adjust them to lower humidity. I found that for larger cuttings that can't fit regular bottles, you can stack an upside down cup to enclose a large cutting.

Kvetch, my humidity dome is still on, there's water vapor on the sides on hot days, but no roots so far.

Here is a nice introduction to cuttings propagation, especially with respect to types of cuttings. Although there is no mention of any tropicals but is generally applicable. Tropicals are usually easier. If taking a citrus cutting now try to use a branch that is just about hardened from this seasons growth. In summer the new green shoots are better. For air layers a fully hardened branch from previous years is better.

This is all great info guys. I have had success lately, but I like seeing how everyone else does it to learn and modify my approach. Thanks! Post away. I would love to see everyone's cuttings.

Im starting to think it was the low temps that helped my last batch of cuttings root. Yes they need warm temps and humidity to aid in rooting but u think the internal temps of an enclosed green house like space such as the inside of a soda bottle which i use to trap in humidity will get far too hot in the hottest summer months if left outside. If its 85 degrees outside, I imagine it could get to well above 100 inside the bottle.

Has anyone here from the dry regions tried rooting cuttings before?

If anyone would love to share a rooted 'grapefruit cutting' that would mean the world...

Mike

Laura, I left you a message in your Houzz Inbox. Probably best to email me. I left my email address in the message.

Dave, I have a question for you..

When you put them in the garage, do you use lights and or bottom heat since it gets cool in there? You are doing a great job...Love all the cuttings.