Kumquat Tree Question

5 years ago

Hello All!

I have a Nagami Kumquat tree that has been doing pretty well lately. I have had some rootstock suckers come in below the graft line that was easy to quickly identify as a trifoliate citrus and I cut it off. My question is about some other new growth that has come in recently. This new growth was toward the bottom of the tree and above the graft line. It looks like the rest of the plant, but it is much larger. The leaves are larger, the branch is larger and the whole stock is longer. Also, this growth shot out of the tree at record speed. There is a lot of other new growth that is coming in much slower. Is this dangerous for my plant and should it be removed? Or is just part of the kumquat tree and should be kept on there? I have found conflicting information about watersprouts online, so I’m not sure if this is potentially one of those.

Thanks for any help!

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Comments (4)

Andrew Odum
Original Author
5 years ago
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evdesert 9B Indio, CA
5 years ago
Definitely a water sprout. It’s up to you what to do, I usually cut them back but not completely just to slow down the growth. Totally up to you. Some folks say it takes away energy from the rest of your tree, I’m not sure that is totally true. I normally wait for the sprout to stop it’s aggressive growth and then cut it back by half or to the top of the existing canopy depending how big it is. Just my two cents.

Evan
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poncirusguy6b452xx
5 years ago
Kumquats are more bush like and send up a lot of new shoot. Head it off at about a foot tall so it branches out.

Steve
Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Since you are growing this in a container and indoors (at least part of the time), I would think you'd want to encourage more lateral (instead of vertical) growth. I'd keep it and tip it to slow it down. Looks like you have another one growing up the stem about 6 inches as well. These will fill out your plant over time. But, if you like the trunked (limbed up) look, cut it off. It's an aesthetic decision really.