Mutant trees (forum)

John starts with ...
We have a lemon tree that has decided to grow a bunch of small mandarins on it, and an orange tree that has a single lemon (or yellow mandarin/lemon creature) growing on it. We've been here 3 years and this is the first time these trees have behaved this way. Our yard consists of 2 mandarin, 2 orange, 1 lemon and 2 cherry trees. Is this normal behaviour or are our trees weird?!

Time: 28th June 2007 10:57pm

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About the Author John5
Findon SA
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Melissa says...
Did you plant these trees?...if not perhaps it is one of those fruit salad trees or perhaps the previous owner grafted the other citrus onto your lemon
Have a good look for signs of grafting...I am no expert but I don't think a lemon could suddenly sport manderins.

Time: 30th June 2007 7:59am

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About the Author Melissa2
Luddenham
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John says...
Thanks Melissa. No we didnt plant the trees. They were mature fruit bearing trees when we moved in. I have attached one photo of the lemon tree which shows the mandarin looking fruit on it and two photos of the yellow coloured mandarin looking fruit which is growing on the orange tree.
I am no expert either - are there any obvious signs we can look for which would indicate grafting?
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1
Picture: 2
Picture: 3

Time: 30th June 2007 6:41pm

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Melissa says...
Hi ...well the middle one looks like a proper mix (from the picture) but the two outside ones could mean the grafting material has overtaken the "proper" tree...why? because I am pretty sure that I can see Rough old bush lemon (is it all big miss shapened and sort of bumpy also armed with lethal thorns?)....follow the branch in question right down to where it originates and you will know when it comes to a graft ....you can see the difference....the major and original graft is where your stem joins the trunk of the tree if the bush lemon is pushing up from beneath that ...I guess it will be up to you as to how to deal with it normally when smaller you tear the sprout bit off...but now it is so big ...you might have to ask someone who has had to deal with this already.
Good luck!

Time: 1st July 2007 11:23am

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About the Author Melissa2
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John says...
Thanks again. Yep, major major thorns, some approaching 2 inches. I've noticed our other orange tree has a similar growth coming through but no fruit as yet. Someone has obviously been experimenting. Can this harm the orange tree, and are 'rough old bush lemons' edible?
Should be interesting to see how the mandarins on the lemon tree taste.

Time: 1st July 2007 1:13pm

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Correy says...
I suspect that the person who owned the property before you was a keen horticulturalist. What you have is called a multi-graft. They can be a bit more work to keep under control. Here is the information we usually respond with when asked about them.

"It refers to grafting two or three varieties onto the one tree, (for example one lemon, one mandarin, one orange onto the one rootstock). While this is desirable for people with limited space in a small back yard, from a horticultural perspective in our experience, it takes quite a bit of skill to maintain a multigrafted tree as one variety will usually dominate and outgrow the others without careful management. Generally I find that gardeners with the skill to maintain a healthy multigraft, usually also carry the skill to graft the trees themselves. This factor has led us to avoid introducing the line into our nursery. A successful alternative to this if you are short of space is to plant 2 or more varieties at much closer spacing. The benefits of this include the ability to identify which tree is which, they will be much easier to maintain and is generally cheaper than purchasing a multigraft."

Time: 1st July 2007 6:27pm

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About the Author Correy
Woolloongabba
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Jan says...
Hi. The pricing on multigrafts was no cheeper than buying individual trees. It is only cheeper than using multiple pots or garden beds. EG:- a triple multigraft would cost the same as three individual fruit trees of the same variety used in the graft. When cutting back grafted fruit trees NEVER cut below the graft. This might be why you have the bush lemon coming through. Even sometimes when whippersnipping around the trees you may cause some damage and then new shoots will sometimes start to grow from the damaged area. Remember the bottom of the tree is the original root stock and the graft on a new tree is usually made where the first branch offshoots are.

Time: 2nd July 2007 12:16pm

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About the Author Jan5
Bundamba Qld.
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John says...
Thanks everyone. I have a bit more of an understanding of what's going on now. Not so outragiously unusual after all! I guess I'll see what the mandarins taste like, and if no good they'll get the chop. Our mandarins on our real mandarin trees look awesome this year, so no great loss there.
Thanks again.

Time: 2nd July 2007 4:55pm

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