http://www.citrolima.com.br/Rootstocks/cleopatrae.htm

decide for yourself as to your needs

Do you know why rootstocks are almost always used? Do you know what happens if a different rootstock is not used?

In nature, fruit trees can get pretty big and they don't start producing fruit until they've grown out of the juvenile stage. People these days rarely want fruit trees that will grow to be that big, and they don't want to have to wait 8 to 12 years for fruit.

One might think that if a tree grows faster it will produce fruit sooner, but actually if a tree is in the juvenile stage and growing fast, most its energy will be diverted towards growth, and it will signal to the tree not to begin producing fruit yet.

If you want a tree that will get so big that it will someday produce more fruit than you can possibly know what to do with, then don't use rootstock.

You may likely be waiting a long time for the fruit though, if you decide to do that.

Im talking about container plants here. If i rooted a cutting from my plants, they would be from mature wood. There is no juvenile period. Im not talking about seedlings.

The plant doesn't know the difference. When I'm referring to "juvenile stage" I'm referring to size.

Unless you were going to try to root a huge cutting that's 6 feet tall ???

Maybe I need to clarify a little bit more for you: If you don't use a rootstock, the Satsuma is probably not going to start producing fruit for you until it gets 6 feet tall.

It would likely grow very vigorously though, and probably soon outgrow the container. But the faster growth isn't going to compensate for the longer time it would take to begin producing fruit.

Im not sure you're right about fruiting after reaching 6 feet tall. Surely it will need to put on some size first but i can tell you i have a 1 foot meyer lemon cutting with a trunk half as thick as a pencil that i just pulled all fruit off.

Some citrus varieties are more precocious than others. Typically these varieties tend to have smaller fruits or a more dwarfed growing habit. Meyer lemon tends to be pretty vigorous growing, the growth habit of the tree is slightly dwarfed, and Meyer lemon trees tend to be very fruitful. In short, I'm not sure you can really compare Satsuma to Meyer lemon, it may be a bit like comparing apples to oranges.

Satsuma doesn't grow as tall as some other mandarins so I might be wrong (or slightly wrong).

It's faster to grow a grafted tree initially because cuttings have to develop roots which take time. I'd say after a cutting has a well established root system, it'll start to grow faster than grafted. For the most part, plants are better on their own roots. A cutting or a graft of any citrus will bear fruit if the wood is mature at a small size. I've had limequats and Ponderosa lemon off of tree's that were 2' or smaller. I just got a grafted orange tree so I'll see when that starts to produce. Hopefully by Spring.

Meyers are precocious, in your experience what else is most so from rooted cuttings...Kumquats?

Some citrus do just fine on their own roots in containers. And they can start blooming immediately. I have a satsuma cutting I rooted and it's doing fine. Still quite small yet. My Oroblanco (rooted cutting) is growing ganbusters. It just bloomed and tried to bear fruit at 14" high. I removed the fruit.

I find kumquats a bit finicky on their own though, but maybe it's just my care for it.

So, yes, you can just root your Owari. The only reason to graft it might be if you wanted to dwarf the plant further -- so you'd use a dwarfing rootstock such as Flying Dragon. Or to impart a bit of extra hardiness for whatever reason. Grafting is also a bit faster than cuttings in my opinion. And if you T-bud, then you have just a LOT of scion material to work with.

Another reason to graft might be if that particular kind of citrus doesn't root easily or as quickly. I've had lemons root in 5 weeks. Keraji mandarin took about 6 months!

Kumquats Meiwa grown on their own roots are drought sensitive and do not handle flooding wet roots at all. I have 4 seed grown Meiwa trees that are growing very nicely at 1 year 8 months old each. Grafted Meiwas do not do well at all.There are only 4 proven rootstocks that work with Meiwa kumquats. Benton Citrange, K x R, Poncirus tryfoliata, and Flying dragon. Nagami has a much broader range of rootstocks available.

kumquat rootstock choices

rootstock choices for fruit quality

This is a Thomasville Citrangequat I rooted from a pruning attempt in perhaps may or June at about 42" high in attempt to make tree branch, it wouldn't have it and just grew another long stalk from base just as long as the pruned branch which sat all summer with no additional growth - go figure.......in any event I find that the cold hardy Thomasville roots readily for those looking for rootstock, for those in not too much of a hurry and it gives good winter growth under lights.