How to Graft Citrus Fruit Trees

Graft a citrus tree to grow new shoots.

Grafting citrus trees involves removing a branch from a mature and healthy citrus tree and attaching the branch to another citrus tree. Once the branches are combined, new shoots will grow. These new shoots allow different citrus fruits to grow from the same tree. A successfully grafted citrus tree will grow the grafted material as if it has always been a part of the tree.

Things You'll Need

• Grafting knife
• Paper towels
• Budding tape

Instructions

1. Find a stem or branch that is ¼- to ½-inch thick and 5 to 6 inches long from a healthy and mature citrus tree. Remove this piece, called a scion, with a grafting knife during the winter at the location where the stem attaches to the leaf petiole, and place it in the refrigerator wrapped in damp paper towels so that it remains fresh.

2. Select branches on the tree that you wish to graft that are ½ to ¾ inch in diameter in the spring. The location on the branch needs to be protected from southern and western sunlight so that the bud does not become burned.

3. Cut a 1 ½ inch vertical cut with a grafting knife in the area that you are going to graft. Make another 1 ½ inch cut crossing the bottom of the line so that you have a cut that looks like an upside down "T."

4. Cut the scion wood with a horizontal cut across the bud stick ¾ inch above the bud. Make another cut ¾ inch below the cut that meets up with the horizontal cut. Remove the wood that contains the bud by lifting it with the leaf petiole to avoid contamination.

5. Peel the bark back on the upside down "T" cut. Slide the bud inside the cut. Push the bud down at the top of the "T" toward the bottom so that it remains firmly in place. The bud needs to be positioned so that it grows in the same direction as the branch.

6. Wrap the graft with budding tape. Stretch it tightly and firmly. The bud and leaf petiole will peek out from behind the graft, but nothing else needs to show through.

7. Remove the wrap after three to four weeks. The bud will turn into a shoot if you have a successful graft.

References

• Integration of Tree Crops Into Farming Systems Project: Manuals: Budding and Grafting
• California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom: Citrus Fruits
• The University of California: Budding and Grafting Citrus and Avocados in the Home Garden