Hello all, To help germinate my orange seeds faster, I had kept them in a damp paper towel. 2 of them did germinate. One of them germinated really fast and I had planted it first. I planted it in soil and it stopped growing altogether, I am not sure why! I have attached a picture of the seed. I am not sure how to plant it in the soil (at what angle). (I am a beginner). Strangely the other seed germinated well and grew into a plant as well. It seemed pretty quick. But the first seed is still nowhere. Could you please check the picture and let me know if it looks ok? Thanks a lot, Fiona
I had a course in citrus propagation at Arizona State University in the 1960s. Back there, back then the first sentence of the first lecture on the first day was we never propagate from seed except for the ''bitter'' rootstock onto which everything else is grafted. Later in the course we were taught hybridization so the first sentence of the first day was not accurate. However, I suspect that unless you are just doing it for your own amusement you do not want to attempt citrus from seed. BTW, I've no idea what is in the picture.
If you want a pretty house plant which may never produce fruit, from seed is very fun because you get to watch it grow. I would plant that with the root angled downward toward the center of the pot. The seedling will straighten out some if this is done early without any need for wire training (like you would do with a bonsai). Next time, plant them in the dirt with a humidity dome of some sort over the top - I use the top of a plastic bottle until is see a sprout then remove it - as they will do better that way. If you didn't on these 2 that have sprouted, you may want to peel off the shell on the seed and possibly the seed coat. This will actually make them sprout faster and seems to have no ill effects in my experience. -Fen I'm going on year 3 (I think) for two of my meyer lemons, year 2 for most everything else and have a bunch of new kumquat seedlings at the moment. They may never fruit, but once you start planting seeds it becomes an addiction. The same goes with researching ways to help your plants grow better. *Edit* Your plant looks like it has been moist for a long enough time to brown. Brown is not a good color for a seedling nor is the way the seed is light green with very dark tips, so it may or may not survive long - sometimes they do even if the sprouting part dies, but if the root dies it's got no chance at that size.
