Citrus From Seed:
Joyce from zone 6, Ontario, Canada starts her citrus from seed as follows:
 I've grown tangerines, clementines, pink grapefruit and oranges all from seeds. I chose only the varieties that come true from seeds. My
grapefruit plants are now 3 feet tall after 3 years and all of my plants go outdoors in summer. I've just started propagating Kaffir Lime seeds...yes I'm addicted.
I bought regular grocery store fruit...simple as that. There are only certain citrus that come true from seed. Meyers Lemon, Grapefruit, Tangerine and Pomelo Oranges. But they sprout so
easily for me that I've also grown Jamaica Ugly Fruit, Clementines, and Blood Orange. I soak the fresh seeds for a week changing the water daily. Then sow in regular potting soil
and they sprout for me within 2-4 weeks...some take longer than others. Meyers Lemon grows very fast, the others are slower to grow. My Pink Grapefruit are now 3 years old and range from 2
feet to 1 foot. As fast as the Lemon trees grow I'm always asked for plants so they don't hang around very long. In summer I put them all outdoors and they really take off then! I fertilize them regulary
as I've read that they need fertilizer in the early stages of development to produce a good fruit supply later. The larger the plant the heavier they need fertilizer for fruit production. 10-10-10 is the best.
 When you grow them from seed they will produce a tap root. When the tap root is well established you need to cut the long part off to
encourage the development of auxillary roots. I grow mine in containers, but don't move them up too quickly into large containers. They are just wonderful and each citrus can be indentified by the
smell of the leaves!! I just started growing them by accident actually. My granddaughter was only about a year old and I was always telling her to "spit out
the fruit seeds" into my hand...then I was always planting garden seeds and she loved to help so she insisted we plant her "fruit baby seeds" so we did. Well now
she's 4 and a regular gardener just like me, loves only rarer flowers (wonder who encouraged this...LOL.) and her special veggies that she loves to pick fresh and eat.
I'm going to start heirloom tomatoes because she loves the small fruits so she planted seeds last night, including peas and cucumbers in my flower pots...as
she indicated there was lots of "dirt' for her too. I grow lots of varieties of banana, brugmansia which I'm becoming addicted to, many varieties of datura including
the elusive datura ferox from China (blue). My front garden is completely tropical now and I'm in zone 6, Ontario, Canada.
How long does citrus take to reach the flowering stage?
According to my Ortho book, grafted trees usually begin bearing within 3 to 4 years and
reach full production in 7 to 8 years for standard trees. Seedlings take a bit longer so I would guess 4 to 5 years. Our Meyers lemon that we got from Logee's greenhouse
grows fast and fruits prolifically. I received a Kaffir lime from Glasshouse Works 5 years ago that has never blossomed. I bought a few grafted trees at Lowe's that
produced the first year but I'm sure nursery stock varies greatly by area.
Sources of Supply:
Be sure to check "plants by mail FAQ" to view a company's track record before ordering plants.
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