How to determine whether citrus regrowth is rootstock?

erikc

I had bought a potted ippolito-blood orange and it was doing well for awhile repotted, new soil, fertiliser, sun, water, but it slowly died or so I thought but I gave it more seasol anyway before leaving a week ago. But on returning from overseas I noticed it has green shoots from the base. Is this root stock and worthless? Or is it potential regrowth? I think the main trunk looks still alive but the branches look dead (brittle, lifeless brown), I have not cut them to see if they are green inside but last week I assumed the tree was beyond saving.

It has a bend at the base but it is not clear to me that it is rootstock.

MitchellMc

Hi @erikc,

Unfortunately, it appears that your blood orange has perished. Since the shoot is coming from down low, below the graft line, it's almost guaranteed to be rootstock sprouting. Rootstock growth tends to appear in this area when the grafted part of the tree (the desirable fruiting variety) struggles or dies off. While rootstock shoots can grow vigorously, they typically don't produce the same fruit as the grafted variety and are often considered less desirable.

Given that the main trunk looks alive, but the branches appear brittle and lifeless, there’s a chance that the rootstock is surviving while the grafted top has died off. If you want to save the tree, you could try cutting back the dead branches to see if there is any green growth inside the trunk. If the trunk is still healthy, you might be able to nurse it back to life by encouraging the remaining part of the tree to regrow, but if it’s only the rootstock that’s showing new growth, it might be best to discard it in favour of starting fresh with a new grafted tree.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell