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My observations from growing various citrus from seed

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nanapublicbgosh Jan 29, 2021

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This has been my up to date observations of growing various citrus seeds and what to expect from the seedling to sapling phases. I became interested in growing from seed when i realized that store bought plants were not taking shock that well and were not as vigorous as i would like. The major downside to growing from seed is fruit expectation time and variations from the varieties we know and love. Citrus genetics and pedigree are a complicated topic that i will not get into at this time. The seeds mentioned will be in order of my favorite to least favorite. 

The easiest citrus to grow from seed is calamondin by far. they have nearly a hundred percent germination and make vigorous plants. They flower prolifically, have an ideal height for a housplant, can take a decent amount of stress, and are all around a great choice. However they lack in fruit quality, and are not resistant to disease or cold. 

My favorite mature tree i have grown is from a meyer lemon. The seeds are not as easy to get to sapling stage however if you get one to that stage, the plant will amaze you with its huge blooms, prolific nature, and fast growth. 

Seeds gotten from florida shipped navel oranges or grapefruits can have great rates of germination compared to store bought fruit seeds. I noticed that the rotten fruit was always full of seeds from the florida shipped navel oranges. They germinate well, but only one seed will be found in every ten oranges or so. 

Seeds gotten from blood oranges of the moro variety are definatley worth trying to germinate. Although the seedlings will be the weakest of of the ones I have mentioned thus far, at least it is fairly common to find a seed in a moro blood orange. You will need to get many seeds however to a get a plant that is worth carrying into the sapling stage. 

Lemon seeds have a high rate of success however low desirability in my opinion for a plant as they are not able to be eaten out of hand like a meyer lemon can. 

Nagami Kumquat seeds are pretty easy to germinate but it has been difficult getting them from seedling to sapling stage. It is possible but not as desirable as the ones mentioned above. 

Seeds gotten from a store bought mandarin will be the weakest seeds and will have a very low germination rate.

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Darko Savic

Darko Savic4 years ago

HI nanapublicbgosh, thank you for sharing your great work. For a while, I tried to grow citruses indoors, but an infestation of scales put an end to it. I couldn't get rid of it and I didn't feel like spraying my house with industrial pesticides:) Do you know of a citrus that would be winter hardy in Europe?

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nanapublicbgosh4 years ago

Darko Savic if you know how to graft, poncirus trifoliata is a great root stock for the coldest of climates. poncirus trifoliata can also hybridize so there is potential there. the coldest hardy would be either thekumquat,  satsuma mandarin or the meyer lemon. stan mckensie has some resources for sub zero climates but i dont know if he ships to europe. the thomasville citrangequat is the best hybrid i know of and can withstand 5 degrees ferenheit or negative 10 celsius 

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Darko Savic

Darko Savic4 years ago

nanapublicbgosh Thank you kindly. I will look into those and give grafting a try. I protect the roots of hardy bananas with bales of hay over winter. This should work for the poncirus trifoliata. I've also considered building big protective cylinders that could be placed over non-hardy trees over winter but gave up on the idea because the trees would outgrow them soon enough.

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Povilas S

Povilas S4 years ago

Hi nanapublicbgosh. Very useful observations, thanks for sharing:) I'm interested in growing edible plants from seeds obtained from bought fruits/vegetables, so good to know some experience-based information:)

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nanapublicbgosh4 years ago

Povilas S check out virginiafruitgrower on youtube he haas done much more in depth research on this topic than me from a single person and has an awesome private collection. 
in addition, a man by the name of stan mckensie has some hybrids between the citrus and poncirus trifoliata that are useful to have if you want to take this path to the next level. 
stan Mckensie has a websie by the same name and all these hybrids were developed in the early 1900s. he sells them for very afordable prices and does a great job with shipping. 

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