Rootstock identification, from label?

8 years ago

Can

Can anyone tell me what root stock this is? My daughter bought this Buddha's Hand online and had it shipped to me for my birthday, a couple years ago. It is growing well, but getting extremely tall, with little branching. (I don't remember what company she ordered it from, or I would contact them to ask about root stock.) I would like to know how large to expect it to get. (Although I may have to prune it back to encourage it to produce more limbs.) It has bloomed but never holds it's fruit, (at least so far).

So, can anyone read this label and help a fellow citrus grower out? lol! Thanks.

Featured Answer

jenny_in_se_pa

8 years ago

Just to echo PacNorWreck, the Kinkoji (Bloomsweet grapefruit) is Citrus obovoidea (which is where that "OBO" abbreviation comes from). I was curious myself and hunted down what the "OBO" could be. I would think anything that is a grapefruit (even if hybrid with something else) is probably pretty aggressive.

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Comments (10)

Ike Stewart
8 years ago
I can't help, but I suspect one of those numbers is the nurseries license number, google may help determine who they are.
PacNorWreck
8 years ago
Is that a Harris tree? The rootstock is Kinkoji / Bloomsweet Grapefruit. I have a couple of trees on that stock from Harris.
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redneckgirlgreenthumb
Original Author
8 years ago
PacNorWreck, It might be from Harris, I'm really not sure. I take it that that particular root stock is not a dwarfing root stock? My Buddha is taller than much older trees, that I have. And I really need it at a more manageable size! It's never going to fit back in the greenhouse as it is now. Lol!
PacNorWreck
8 years ago
Kinkoji isn’t a dwarfing rootstock unfortunately, it’s believed to be a complex hybrid of mandarin, pomelo, and possibly ichang papeda or Yuzu. It’s got decent root rot resistance and is cold hardy into the teens. I have sour orange and calamondin on it, as it’s a decent option for trees that spend most of their time outside in zone 8b/9a. You could always give it a nice haircut before it goes back into the greenhouse!
redneckgirlgreenthumb thanked PacNorWreck
Dee
8 years ago
Harris has very few trees on dwarf rootstock. Budda's Hand is not one of them.
redneckgirlgreenthumb thanked Dee
redneckgirlgreenthumb
Original Author
8 years ago
PacNorWreck, Yes, it will have to have a trim this fall. Or maybe I should trim it now and give it time to fill out before it goes back inside? Height is it's problem, as it has very few limbs and all of them go up.

Thank you Denise. I sort of figured it wasn't on dwarf root stock when it grew three feet straight up. Lol! I accidentally broke about 18" off one limb and it is still taller than I can reach. Of course i am only 5'4", so I can't reach very high! Lol!
redneckgirlgreenthumb
Original Author
8 years ago
Jenny, Thank you, I tried searching for the abbreviation "OBO" but came up empty.

I may have to find a dwarf and try my hand with grafting. (Scary!)
PacNorWreck
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Just my two cents, but I think we as a group get wrapped around dwarfing rootstock a bit more than we should. The container itself is going to dwarf your tree, and judicious root and top pruning should be more than enough to keep our trees looking good (and keep them at a manageable size), kind of like a giant bonsai. I figure if bonsai enthusiasts can grow trees in tiny containers that in nature would be way bigger than the biggest citrus, I probably shouldn’t be afraid of some pruning every now and then either. I’m also jealous of everyone who is afraid their trees might grow TOO big, considering the hoops we have to jump through up north just to keep our trees alive :).

Edit: I realized my above post could be read as criticism, which is not what I intended. I just want to encourage people to be willing to try full-sized rootstocks if they otherwise have great characteristics! Four Winds uses C-35, which is only slightly dwarfing and lots of members have really amazing looking trees from them on that rootstock, that's all.
redneckgirlgreenthumb thanked PacNorWreck
redneckgirlgreenthumb
Original Author
8 years ago
PacNorWreck, I understand, and I wouldn't worry to much about size if I didn't have to get them into the greenhouse each fall. This spring when I pulled the buddha's hand out, it had reached between the rafters and was bent over, it had grown so much. My greenhouse isn't real tall, maybe ten feet at the ridge line, and six feet on the side walls. Not really built for trees, but it works!

I don't mind pruning, but root pruning worries me a little. I'm always afraid I will kill my trees. My key lime is seed grown and it has to be trimmed each fall to get it inside, both width and height, (which means I lose some fruit! ). When they built my greenhouse, they made the door wider but it still isn't wide enough sometimes.