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Started By
Message
Serious Question
Posted on 11/25/19 at 3:39 pm
Posted on 11/25/19 at 3:39 pm
My elderly neighbor has a large lemon and tangerine tree growing in her yard. The trees are next to each other. A couple of years ago the lemon tree produced real large lemons and the tangerine tree produced real sweet seedless tangerines. Last year the trees grew some awful fruit that were neither lemons or tangerines. The fruit did not look like a lemon or tangerine and they were loaded with seeds. My other neighbor told her to get son to saw off the suckers that the trees were producing. She forgot to tell her son and this year both trees produced fruit that looked like huge lemons. She gave me one so I could tell her if the fruit was edible. I brought the fruit inside and cut it in half. The fruit contained a few seeds but I'm not brave enough to eat it. I licked the cut citrus and tasted the juice. The fruit did not have a smell of citrus and the juice was a mixture of sweet and sour. I told her if they were my trees I would simply remove the fruit and trash the fruit. The fruit isn't worth keeping. I also told her that I would saw off the suckers for her at the right time. Oh, the suckers have large thorns on them and they hurt like hell if you get stuck by one. What do we need to do to get the trees to produce great tasting fruit again? I'll do the work since this lady is very old. I just wish that her trees would start producing again before she passes away. I don't know much about growing trees or outside plants and I'll admit it. I'm just a pro at growing orchids that supposedly aren't able to grow down here. I devote all of my time to raise the orchids in my collection. I really want to help my neighbor so if anyone knows what happened to her trees, please share that information with me. Thanks
Posted on 11/25/19 at 4:26 pm to avondale88
I think I know what happened but hopefully someone who is sure can comment. The trees are grafted and the grafted part of the the tree has died. Now the rootstock is producing the offensive fruit. As far as I know, you will never get the "good" fruit again.
Posted on 11/25/19 at 4:44 pm to avondale88
Sounds like poncirus trifolia rootstock has taken over.cut back all thorny branches.
Posted on 11/25/19 at 7:28 pm to TigerBalsagna
Yes, that’s exactly it. The rootstock has taken over. Perhaps someone pruned the tree incorrectly a few years ago and cut out the good wood above the graft, leaving only the suckers thrown up by the rootstock.
Posted on 11/25/19 at 8:49 pm to hungryone
Thanks for the prompt responses. It's really sad to see two beautiful trees put out crap that you can't eat. I hate to give my neighbor the bad news.
Posted on 11/25/19 at 8:53 pm to avondale88
Are they salvageable if you cut off everything from below the graft? Is there ANYTHING at all above the graft still living? Or have you not checked that out yet?
Posted on 11/25/19 at 11:00 pm to avondale88
As others have advised, remove any sucker limbs/stems (thorny branches) below the graft union, other than of course the main trifoliate rootstock, and assuming the grafted scion lemon and tangerine stock above the graft union survived the severe freeze of a couple years ago, the two citrus trees will begin bearing good fruit again.
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