When is the right time to do cuttings for soft wood of Orange? How about hard wood of Orange? Does this differ if it's Lemon? Thank you.
Avocado, as no one has answered your post, I will try help you. Cuttings can be taken most any time, but spring and summer are both very good times. Propagation of the citrus cutting is the critical point of origin for your new tree. Drop the ball here and everything else is made more difficult. There is much more to propagation than just getting roots to forum. Conditions in the parent tree, and the cutting, influences root origin and subsequent plant growth. It's all about energy (carbohydrates). If you start with weak cuttings that contain little energy, problems abound. Only cuttings in prime condition should be used. Also do not skimp on quality of the ingredients for the rooting medium. Oxygen is VERY neccessary for root respiration at all times, but oxygen plays an even more critical role in the initiation of new roots on a cutting. For rooting a citrus cutting, drainable pore space in the medium should be 45% to 50%. On the other hand, once the cutting has rooted drainable pore space in the medium should be about 20% to 25%. Cells cannot function and divide without energy. Energy for the initial root production must be already present in the cutting. But as soon as the first new root is little more than a bump on the base of the cutting, it can begin absorbing nutrients and support leaf functions and accelerate its own energy production. Provide nutrition, light, and favorable growing conditions from the time your cutting is stuck. Trace elements and 18-6-12 Osmocote (NO SUBSTITUTES) should also be added to the medium and the cutting will respond much more rapidly than you are likely to expect. Place the rooted cutting in a container that is 4-inches deep, aeration is much better in the deeper container. Therefore, use NO CONTAINER with a depth less than 4 inches. The dissolved minerals in your house water that you will probably use to mist cuttings can have a profound influence on successful rooting and subsequent growth. High sodium and high bicarbonates are the most common culprits. The lower the mineral content of the water, the better cuttings root. Lastly, timely transplanting into larger containers is very important. Transplant just as soon as the cutting has sufficient roots to hold the medium together.A little early is certainly better than being late. For citrus use the growth flush that was the previous to current growth flush. Remember two important words CLEAN -STERILE. Good luck. - Millet
Millet, Do you graft and t-bud? like many members do and try, Or are your findings out of a text book. We need to learn hands on like Skeeters postings. By the way I took a Job in Northern Minn. near the border of Canada working on a powerhouse. I hope I get wireless.
Avocado, in further answer to your post, all citrus varieties, including Lemons, are rooted in the same manner. Some citrus varieties root easier than others. Lemons, are among the easier varieties to root. You should have a high rate of success. Use a cutting at least 6 inches long, remove all the leaves except the top two, wound the bottom 1/2 inch of the cutting, dip the cutting into a rooting compound, and place in a sterile rooting medium. A good rooting medium is 50% peat moss and 50% perlite, some people use 100% perlite. Lastly, when placing your cutting into the rooting medium, take special care that the base of the cutting is NOT inserted into the bottom 1-inch of the container. The best of luck. - Millet
Millet is correct, lemons are about the easiest to root. OK I'll bite, what does this have to do with anything in this thread ?
Thanks for the replies. :-) I am trying to root, I think, valencia oranges. I will do some experimentations and let you guys know how it goes. Ah, no wonder the lemon tree's air layering worked - it is easiest. So far I was able to do air layering on my lemon tree; while layering on my loquat had failed. I cut around an inch of a branch and layered with peat moss (although some other moss was recommended). It was done somewhere in Oct or Nov of last year. Found some roots growing this April. I got it planted on a pot, had it covered for a week, slowly opening up with holes. It is still in a shaded area, and I'll probably move it into sun slooowly.
Avocado, if you are going to use a rooting method other than a professional mist system, the rooting medium should be damp, NOT WET. - Millet
avocado. In the past Ive taken fresh cuttings using Dip N Grow the liquid rooting concentrated for rooting. The way I did it was by slicing down on the cut end about 1/2 inch and dipping it in the concentrate. and remove all but 2 leaves place it in a clear plastic cup using a moist seed starter mix and sealing it in a zip lock bag. place it in a low light area that is warm. After a few months you'll see the roots growing. it worked for me about 50-75% of the time.
Lemons really require no rooting hormone and only take a few weeks to root out. Here are some photos I just took of Meyer lemon cuttings I made three weeks ago & forgot all about them. As you can see they all rooted out nicely & some even have flower buds... Just cut the lower stem at a 45 degree angle & as Millet said, keep them moist not wet.
