Orange tree in backyard

bone · Sun Jan 15, 2006 10:15 am

I live in central florida and I wanted to put an orange tree in my backyard and I was reading that budding is the best technique, because you can have oranges in a year or two, plus the taste of the orange should be similar to the tree you look the scion from.

I'm kind of confused in the process. I have a friend who has an orange tree and I can cut a branch a branch, but I'm not sure where to get the rootstock? Is there a place to buy orange rootstock or a better way to grow an orange tree in my backyard?

A friend of mine told me about a friend who saved an orange seed and grew it in their backyard, but the taste was horrible, so everything I've read says to do grafting/budding, but that's about all I know.

any help will be greatly appreiciated.

opabinia51 · Sun Jan 15, 2006 2:41 pm

I should think that local nurseries should be able to provide you with root stalk or at least direct you to where to buy the root stalk.

Also, try any orange farmers in your area. They may provide you with free root stalk and can give you the best advice on how to graft the tree and the general care of trees.

https://www.easyfruit.co.uk/oranges/

https://www.urbanharvest.org/classes/classesevents.html

bone · Sun Jan 15, 2006 6:43 pm

thank you so much for the link. I was talking to somebody that told me seed sold oranges are not as good tasting, then I was talking to somebody who said their cousin bought a valencia orange tree that was great from a nursery and tasted great, so maybe it's much easier just to buy a tree.

opabinia51 · Mon Jan 16, 2006 12:19 am

It certainly would be easier. You'd have to wait several years before your grafted tree bared any fruit.

I graft apple trees because this far north, orange trees only grow in greenhouses and the oranges only get to be about at big as a cumquat. But, the principle is still the same.

Grey · Mon Jan 16, 2006 12:24 pm

Opa, you know about kumquats? Most everyone I've ever talked to has NO CLUE what those little gems are! Guess I shouldn't be surprised that you know...

Anyway, I would buy a tree rather than try to graft it myself and not be sure of what I was getting. Orange trees are too much work to not have good fruit at the end!

The Helpful Gardener · Tue Jan 17, 2006 6:18 pm

Great kumquat tree in the big greenhouse at Logee's in Danielson, CT. This place is like Mecca to a lot of plant people, especially if you like begonias...

Grafting is a pretty technical skill, one I do not feel qualified to speak at, but let me know if you need help there and I'll get some advice from the guy at the nursery who does all our grafting...

Scott

opabinia51 · Tue Jan 17, 2006 7:18 pm

Hi Grey. Well, I obviously don't know them well enough to spell their name correctly! But, yes I do know about them. Though, I've never tried growing them.

Actually, on that topic; I'm all ready to start my indoor start ups for the growing season this year. Bought myself a nice growlight that clips onto one of my shelf units and everything (it's pretty trick).

Tomorrow I will get that all done up. (At least, I will plant the tomatoe and artichoke seeds and perhaps some Nemophillia)

H20.world · Sat Mar 04, 2006 7:54 pm

Being a lifetime Floridian I would only want the finest of citrus trees. Cloning IS possible, so finding fruit worthwhile of keeping should be kept in mind.... Why grow a orange that tastes bad right?

~ Such is true w/ our infamous seedless pink grapefruits too... Those are keepers in the backyard! Hard to come by, but they're out there... My buddies got one in his yard that products some top shelf grapefruits... mmmmmm... Breakfast!

opabinia51 · Mon Mar 06, 2006 3:34 pm

The gardener in me (which just about all of me) is just going green (pun) with envy, growing all those lovely citrus fruits.

I bought a Leche Fruit the other day from China Town and boy was it delicious! I'm going to buy a bunch more when I am in town today.

Anyway, happy gardening.

Grey · Mon Mar 06, 2006 8:11 pm

Well, I sure don't turn green with envy over citrus. I grew up with it (I'm a native Floridian... but I don't miss the place) and it's never agreed with me...

But I do agree - the best pink grapefruit can often be found in a neighbor's backyard. We had a neighbor in Boca Raton that had to ENORMOUS grapefruit trees - I mean, I didn't know they GOT that big - they were the size of some oak trees - couldn't wrap your arms around the trunks.

opabinia51 · Tue Mar 07, 2006 1:58 pm

It's funny how we want things that we can't have and when we've had them, the want is not there.

Some people try to grow orange trees around here in their greenhouses but, the oranges stay about the size of a marble.

phoenixtropicals · Thu Mar 09, 2006 2:56 pm

Why don't you just buy an alreadygrafted tree? If you still want to try budding then you could bud other citrus to that tree. Any citrus can be budded to any other. What you use for a rootstock is only important when you are choosing the rootstock to actually be the part in the ground. Technically you could stack up 100 differnent types of trees if you wanted. I have been successful doing t-budding. You can search on the web on that subject to find some info.