Planting Rootstock Seeds to Graft Future Citrus Trees It is that time of year for planting rootstock seedlings! This is an exciting part of the citrus propagating process, as it is the first and most important step- growing the rootstock part of the plant, which will ultimately be the root system of our citrus trees. When we talk about grafting citrus trees, we are referring to two plants being fused together to create one, hardier and more disease resistant plant. In this case, the rootstock seedlings will be used for the bottom portion of the citrus tree and the top portion will be cut off and fused (grafted) with a branch of a disired citrus tree (say, a Meyer Lemon) which is the same size and width as the piece that was removed from the rootstock seedling. Eventually those two pieces will become one, and you will see a visible scar, or graft line to demarkate the two plants.  First in the process of planting rootstock seedlings is filling the small seedling pots with soil. From here, the trays are fed through the seeding machine, double checked, and then stacked up. They are then placed 2,000 per bench and watered well. Each one of these seedlings is responsible for the root part of a grafted tree. Once it is mature enough, The top will be cut and a scion, such as a Meyer lemon or Valencia Orange branch, will be attached to the top with a rubber tie. Our planting team is also the talent behind the next step, which is grafting the citrus trees, and they graft tens of thousands of trees every year! We have four main varieties: C-35 Flying Dragon Citrus Macrophylla Carrizo Citrange Here are some photos of the seeding process: The first step of planting rootstock seedlings: Filling the trays with soil Trays ready to go through the seeding machine Here is where the seeds are dropped into the pots Rootstock seeds ready to be planted into individual pots. Maria checks and sorts the trays of seeded pots, and then they are moved to the growing area to be watered. Each one of these will be a citrus tree! These seedlings are about 6 months old and ready to be grafted. Aaron shows us the final result! Product Embed | C-35 Citrus Rootstock Seedling Product Embed | Flying Dragon Citrus Rootstock Seedling Product Embed | Citrus Macrophylla Rootstock Seedling Product Embed | Carrizo Citrange Trifoliate Hybrid Citrus Rootstock Seedling SEE ALL ROOTSTOCK SEEDLINGSFAQs
