The Citrus Cocktail Tree is real, it is not a hoax! People are often skeptical when they first hear of the existence of cocktail tree. However, thanks to science, botanists and horticulturists were able to grow different fruits from the same family on a single tree through grafting.The process only works for specific types of fruit that have the same soil, climate, and growing needs. Citrus is ideal for such an application.
Citrus Cocktail Tree
So, how do you grow a cocktail citrus tree? How do you graft citrus trees to make a cocktail tree? Gardeners can now grow Citrus Cocktail Trees in their own backyards by grafting scions or branches of different fruits of the same family, like lemons and limes, onto a single rootstock.
- The first and most important part of growing a fruit cocktail tree citrus is picking a rootstock that is cold hardy, disease resistant and has great root structure. Allow the tree to be established and have five or six main branches before using it as the rootstock for grafting.
- The next step is to get scions or tree limbs that have already borne fruit the previous fruiting season. You can get scions from friends and neighbors or buy them commercially from local nurseries. If you are in Florida, you can look for nurseries that sell cocktail trees, because they are most likely to have the desirable scions you need for grafting.
- Prepare your rootstock and your scions. Use a sharp pruner and make a clean cut off the rootstock. Using a sharp knife, split the rootstock down the middle that is 2 inches deep. For the scion, make sloping cuts to the end of the limb as if you are carving it into a spear. Insert the freshly cut scion into the cut you made on the rootstock then wrap a parafilm around the graft area to repel water and at the same time keep it secure.
To date, the most successful cocktail trees are the Lemon Lime Cocktail tree (Meyer lemon Key Lime cocktail tree) and Cocktail Grapefruit tree (Siamese Sweet pommelo and Frua mandarin).
Citrus Cocktail Tree Care
If you are a new home grower and do not feel comfortable grafting your own citrus fruit cocktail tree, you can get citrus cocktail trees for sale from local nurseries. You can definitely find cocktail Grapefruit trees for sale and cocktail tree lemon lime from citrus nurseries locally or from other citrus tree shipping states like Florida, California and Texas. Once the tree is delivered just follow the simple care steps we have below to ensure your tree will grow healthy and start bearing fruits in no time.
- Watering – Citrus trees, especially those planted in a pot, prefer the periodic deep watering technique over frequent but light doses. Deep watering technique is better for citrus trees as it promotes deeper root growth, thus strengthening the tree.
- Pruning – Cocktail trees should be a well-balanced tree and each grafted part should be equalized in vigor by pruning. The more vigorous growing graft should be pruned regularly, especially while the tree is young and still developing. Keep each graft section confined to grow in its own area to help you easily recognize the fast and slow grower. Also, keep an eye out for and prune away any suckers or shoots that grow below the graft area as it is a growth from the rootstock which we do not want.
- Mulch the area around the tree to help retain the moisture in the soil, curtail pest infestation, and reduce weeds, and add nutrients into the soil.
- Use organic compost or fertilizers to promote fruit growth.