Not really surprising. What Four Winds is telling you is correct. If I were a grower, I would not want to put out an inferior product that did not do well for my customer. I would then be faced with many returns, and poor customer service. These "cocktail" trees really do not do so well. Usually, one of the grafts will eventually predominate and overtake the other grafts. You're better off getting 3 small dwarf or semi-dwarf varieties of what you want. Every grower I have talked with has said the same thing to me. I will say that "same hole" planting however, will work well if you're limited in space. Dave Wilson Nurseries has a nice explanation on how to do this. I plan on doing this down on the south part of my lot with my apple and cherry trees, as I am limited for sunny space. I plan on planting them in a row, about 4' apart, and they will be on drips, composted, will plant with micorrhizae, and mulched as well as regularly fertilized to help with the nutrient demand in such a small place. You're going to get far better results buying a single variety tree and keep it small to fit your space, than a multi-grafted tree that will just not perform very well for you.

Patty S.

Here is a link that might be useful: DWN Backkyard Orchard Culture Guide

Hmm, if so, I'll just punt on the Valencias, grow a Mexi-lime in a 10 gal pot and put in a mango instead. I'm building the bed right now, I'm guessing it's 100 gallons or so of soil when filled, so I really only wanted one tree trunk. Maybe I'll put off the tree until next year and just try melons there when I'm done, this spot is full sun all day in summer.

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dicot your planting site looks like very large container to me. Is the base a solid concrete? Al

It is just a big container, but there's excellent drainage, that's why I didn't pull the massive paving blocks. The back juncture at the wall has a 1/2" gap that drains to the trailer park's parking lot on the back and my cinder blocks are mortared top-to-bottom, but not side-to-side. I was so happy with how it's worked in the other section of the backyard that I'm repeating the pattern, but going 3 blocks high instead of 2, like this corner has.

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I think I'll eventually have to turn that corner "L" shape into a square to support both tangerines, but no complaints so far.