February 2023

February 2023

The beginning of every year is citrus overload for us enjoying the bounty of our lime, lemon, and orange trees. Because my Charlie Brown grapefruit tree never grew an inch over the decade since I planted it, we rely on neighbors for Ruby Red donations.

Five years ago, I learned that one kind of citrus could be grafted on another. Since we have many more lemons than we (and our neighbors) can ever use, I got the bright idea to graft grapefruit shoots onto the lemon tree. So every Spring for the last five years, I tried grafting a dozen cuttings. I used several different methods and branch sizes, but never got more than one or two each year to take and grow.

But even the successful graftings took time to grow and lengthen. This year two of the grafts actually bloomed and one actually produced fruit. A lot of fruit. Seven large juicy softballs were too much for the slender shoot. I had to support them with one of our tall earthenware planters. I am not sure what I am going to do if I get too successful with these grafts!