Lets start by discussing some specific terms that are used when propagating plants. These are very general terms but it is best to have an understanding of what they mean before starting.

This is the material that is used to make grafts. It is a short section of a thin branch that has several buds on it, this branch segment is called a scion. A bud is located at the base of a leaf, and will be the tissue that enables a plant to grow new branches. When a scion is used it can be grafted as one piece, or each individual bud on the scion can be cut off and grafted.

A plant that is used for the strength and compatibility of its roots and not for its fruit. Specific rootstocks can have drastically different properties to them. They can be used to produce large and healthy trees for orchards and also specific rootstocks can be chosen to produce miniature trees for home gardening. A specific cultivar is grafted onto the rootstock to produce a healthy and productive fruit tree.

A powder or liquid that contains plant hormones that promote cuttings to root. Most also contain a fungicide to help prevent rot. Rooting Hormones allow some plants that cannot root on their own to be rooted and propagated.

A specific variety of plant that has been bred, generally this has complex parentage of different species. For example all Valencia Oranges are the same cultivar. Cultivars are grafted onto a rootstock to produce healthy productive trees. When growing a cultivar, all plants of that cultivar are clones of one another with the same genetics. When a fruit with consistent properties is grown commercially it is generally a cultivar with exceptional properties that is widely grown.

By far the easiest way to propagate citrus is to have someone else do it for you, later in this guide you will see various ways to pick out citrus varieties and how to determine which will be best to grow for your tastes and growing conditions. Once you choose varieties of citrus you might want to grow, you can always check to see if they are available from a local nursery or one that will ship to you.

If you decide to graft citrus there are a number of ways to go about the process, with varying degrees of difficulty and complexity involved. The simplest method is to buy a commercial rootstock that is the correct size and comparable with the citrus you want to grow and to do a Z Graft or a Bud Graft onto this rootstock. You can also choose to grow your own rootstock from seed or to root rootstock scionwood that is offered from the same sources as the budwood you will use for grafting. It is easier to first root the rootstock and to later graft onto it when it has grown to a larger size. The most common method for grafting citrus commercially is to graft a rootstock scionwood and the desired fruit variety at the same time and to root the rootstock as the graft heals. This method is by far the most difficult to do at home, and represents a small time commitment but likely a low success rate.

Much of the information on this page is sourced from fruitmentor. His youtube channel has a wealth of detailed knowledge on grafting citrus and most of the videos on this page are his. Additionally I recommend reading his grafting guide on his website here

In California the only way to acquire graftable material is through the Citrus Clonal Protection Program known as the CCPP. This program has a large collection of different citrus varieties, from historic cultivars, citrus species from the wild, and citrus rootstocks.

The CCPP has two catalogs-

The first collection is public and represents citrus that have had their commercial protections expired, were developed though publicly funded programs, or that are historic varieties and wild species. This collection is the one that is accessible to the backyard gardener, and the one recommended in this guide.

The second collection is that of commercially grown citrus that are still under some kind of protection and are not publicly available. This does not represent all of the commercially grown citrus but instead is mostly made up of new and highly profitable varieties. These citrus cannot be purchased from the CCPP expect by licensed growers. Varieties from this list can sometimes be found to buy at commercial nurseries who have licensed rights to the variety, and will be in a state that is ready to be planted (and far less work than anything listed in this guide).

It is important to note that the protected varieties at the CCPP do not represent citrus that are somehow superior to grow. In most cases the commercial varieties are the ones that are best suited to commercial growing– ones which have high yields, are easy to grow in an orchard setting, have consistent fruit size and shape, can to be transported without bruising and which fruit has a long shelf life. Many of the features are irrelevant to the home grower and the publicly available varieties can often be superior in flavor and quality, but lack many of the traits needed to be grown efficiently in mass and are therefor not used commercially.


Here is a list of the heritage citrus varieties that the CCPP has available

To create an account for the CCPP you can read the disclaimer and click on the accept button and register on this page


Here is a video introduction to the CCPP, with some excellent footage of the clonal program and how they make disease free citrus trees. Note that you no longer need to email the program to set up an account, it can now all be done through their website.

This is the easiest way to do a Z graft and has a high rate of success. You will need a existing rootstock that is well established to do this graft.

This graft is the same as the Z Graft above, but in addition to making the Z Graft, the rootstock will also be a piece of budwood that needs to be rooted. Rooting will also be the same method as rooting citrus budwood as listed above.

The advantage of using this method is that it uses budwood pieces that can be bought together from the CCPP and also that it is done in one step, allowing for everything to be done from just one order from the CCPP.

Air Layering is a way to duplicate an existing citrus tree. This process works especially well on lime trees and relatives. The process is very simple, it involves cutting (wounding) the bark off of a section of green wood- thin new growth stems where the bark is still green in color and are able to easily bend without much resistance or risk of the stems braking. After the bark is cut off part of the xylem below it is scraped and a rooting compound is applied. Then this superficial wound is wrapped in damp soil or sphagnum moss and tightly wrapped in plastic to retain moisture. After one to two months roots will form and the stem can be cut and transplanted.

Example citrus (Shiranui mandarin) ¹⁾