I planted three grapefruit seeds three months ago that have germinated. All three plants have two stems (trunks?). Should one stem be removed from each plant when they are repotted?
Re: planting fruit from seed It a personal choice, as mentioned earlier. However if you choose to have individual plants it's best to separate them when they are young otherwise it would be difficult to do so the longer you wait.
Re: planting fruit from seed Thanks for the advice. What is the best way to separate the plants -- by cutting the seed in half? Would leaving the two stems together have any negative effect later? I have been cultivating cacti for many years, but grapefruit is a new experience! Therefore propagation tips are much appreciated!
Re: planting fruit from seed The seedlings should be ready to be separated once they have acquired one or two sets of true leaves. This can be done by loosening the soil around the roots then gently teasing them apart. This should be possible without any cutting involved. You could let the seedlings grow on together. It just means there'll be two trees (each of which can get quite large) growing in one container both competing for room, nutrients, and light.
Re: planting fruit from seed Again, many thanks for the advice. Two of my plant pairs each have three sets of leaves, while the third pair have two sets of leaves, so I will try separating them. The more trees the better chance of eventual fruiting -- I hope!
Re: planting fruit from seed I live in Bangkok, Thailand, where we are in the middle of the hot season. This year is about the hottest I have experienced in my 45 years of living here (max/min temps of 100-93 F, and humidity of 80-87%). My six grapefruit plants have been doing well up until this week. One is now wilting and two others are showing some small yellow patches on some leaves. I have found no evidence of insect infestation. The plants have been given fertiliser but I am not sure if it is the correct type. Because of the high temperatures, I am keeping the plants out of direct sunlight. The only causes of the above problem that I can think of are: (a) Too much watering -- should the soil be kept relatively dry during periods of high humidity? (b) Incorrect soil -- when I repotted the four biggest plants (including the three affected plants) last month I used a mix of cactus soil and normal plant soil. (The fourth repotted plant is still appears to be fine.) Their growth has slowed noticeably. However, the two smaller plants are still in their original pot with pure cactus soil and are doing well so far. Once again, advice will be much appreciated.
