Please make sure that your friend ordered the scions from CCPP before you proceed.

Please see the link below for a video tutorial on citrus bark grafting. If you have any questions I will be happy to help.

Best regards,
Dan Willey

Here is a link that might be useful: Grafting Citrus

Regarding where to cut, I would suggest going low. It seems that many people suggest the use of a "nurse limb" when grafting citrus, but I have found that it is not needed. The graft will grow fine without a "nurse limb". If the graft does not take there will be plenty of growth below the cut that can be used for subsequent attempts.

Regarding the grafting of a key lime to an orange rootstock, you may want to reconsider. Nurseries typically graft limes onto lemon rootstocks and I am sure that is for good reason. If you proceed with the lime on the orange, do not be surprised if it results in a long-term incompatibility.

If I were going to the trouble of top working an unwanted old navel tree, I would choose a more exotic variety to graft on top. Bearss limes are readily available in stores and not expensive. There is not much of a quality difference between a home-grown lime and a store-bought lime. I have a Bearss lime that came with my house and I am currently in the process of top working it to some more interesting varieties that cannot be found in stores.

There are so many great varieties available to you from CCPP that you could graft onto your tree that are so very delicious, but unavailable in stores. I would suggest one of those instead; it would also be more likely to be compatible with your rootstock. Perhaps an avana tardivo di Ciaculli mandarin, a Maltese blood orange, or a California Rojo pigmented navel instead?

Best regards,
Dan Willey

Here is a link that might be useful: California Rojo

Dan - I have no idea what CCPP is? Citrus Clonal Protection Program? That's what I found when I googled. I just took some cuttings from a friends tree - is that not kosher? Can I order scions through them? Guess I'll check out their website

I will look at your video link - THANKS...and by the way this came as a 4-in-1 citrus tree and I was down to the Navel and the lime, but the lime branch that was on it died. It had the most aggressive Lemon branch on it, and I wanted Lime over Lemon (plus it was growing way too fast) so I chopped the Lemon....which would also lead me to believe it might have been some kind of lemon rootstock on this tree?X?X?!!

And when you say "going low" are you advocating cutting the tree down to like a 1 foot trunk where it is rootstock and grafting onto that?

Thanks for your help, Dan - you seem to know your stuff....now if you have any mango questions..... :)

MangoPup

PS - I thought the Bearss Lime was/is pretty good.....am I shooting low?

Gosh Dan, now I understand! I thought only Florida had the citrus greening disease, but it's all over here too!

Yikes.....OK......I'm on board with the order of scions now....

THANKS - MDog

With the Bearss lime the bigger issue is wood pocket disease; it is genetic and unless you get budwood certified free of wood pocket, it is perhaps a bigger risk than HLB (greening).

From Julia Morton's book:

"Many sweet orange and grapefruit trees have been successfully topworked to the Tahiti lime. "

Why not try top working it? You have nothing to lose.