I planted a couple of tangerine seeds atleast 5 years ago and have a healthy plant about 4 1/2 feet high. I've kept it indoors, near a large north facing window. I was wondering what the chances are of it ever blooming? Has anyone ever grown this from seeds (from saving the sees from fruit bought at the grocery store) and had it bloom?
I have a tangerine tree grown from seed as well. It is 10 years old now and just resently went into bloom. Perhaps that is an over statement - it have 4 flowers. I curious to see if this means it will bear fruit. Further, it has been rather unhappy recently - turning yellow and loosing leaves. I am not sure what has caused this. Perhaps someone can offer some advice on what to do with these blooms?
Tangerines (mandarins), usually will begin to bloom in 4-5 years when grown from seed, or will begin to bloom in 1-2 years when grafted, when grown outside in a warm location like southern California or Florida. When grown inside an all year warm (70+F) greenhouse with added light to extend the day length during the winter months, blooming can often occur in 2 - 3 years from seed. However, when grown indoors under low light conditions, and low humidity they can take two to three times longer to bloom, then trees grown outdoors - but they WILL BLOOM. I really do not know why anyone would grow an indoor citrus tree in front of a north window, unless the north window was the only possible location available. My guess for a citrus tree growing indoors next to a low light north window, it could take 7-11 years before it becomes large enough to be mature. Tangerines, in fact all citrus, mature and bloom only after they have grown the required number of nodes. So the better the growing condition, the faster they grow, and the sooner the trees will produce the amount of nodes for maturity. Ainslieg, first congratulation on a great year with Edmonton's hoceky team, I was hoping for them to win the Stanley Cup. This being the first year that your tree has bloomed, you might possibly get a fruit or two. Never let the soil become to dry, when a citrus tree is in bloom, nor keep it to wet, but keep it moist until the bloom sets fruit (10-14 days) - Millet
ainslieg, How tall is your tree that is 10 years old? Mine is between 4 & 5 feet tall. My tree usually gets yellow dropping leaves once a year, when the weather turns colder and the furnace starts to run regularly. Some of the leaves now have darker veins than the surrounding area. I have fertilized it. I don't know what the cause of that is. Millet, thanks for all the info. I know the north window isn't ideal, but my south windows have a roof over a deck just outside, so it isn't very sunny there either.
Thanks Millet for the info about blooms. I have mine on a southwest window, flowercents. I actually trim it regularily because I have to move it every so often and it needs to fit in a car! So it is really only about 3ft tall. I also fertilize it regularily, which seems to keep it happy. I am beginning to think that it has lost leaves due to the heat wave here - i try and keep it moist but it is a challenge at 30oC. I will let you know when (hopefully!) the blooms set to fruit. ps. it was a pity about the Oilers - but we'll be back next year!
Ainslieg, your tree has a big problem. If you keep trimming (pruning) your citrus tree it will NEVER EVER BLOOM or it will only put forth two or three flowers. Like I said above, a citrus tree moves from being a juvenile tree into a mature tree, ONLY AFTER IT HAS REACHED THE REQUIRED NODE COUNT. A node is every place a leaf is attached to a branch. So you can also think of a node as a leaf. When you trim or prune away all the new growth from the tree, in order to keep it smaller, you are removing nodes (leaves), and therefore the tree will NEVER reach the required amount of nodes, and will never mature, thus NEVER produce fruit. IF you ever want fruit, you must stop pruning the tree. Unfortunately, by trimming you have wasted at least 6 years of fruit production. - Millet
Yup, I figured that out from your message. It is a rather unfortunate problem. But I am a student and I live in a tiny apartment and can't exactly afford to have a true tree. Still I was quite excited that I did make it to the right number of nodes. Besides which, I don't really need the fruit - it is the tree that I love.
flowercents and ainslieg, I also started out growing a mandarin and a tangelo from seed. Then I caught the citrus bug and started a collection of cultivated varieties of lemons, limes, and whatever other citrus I could get my hands on. Their flowers give off a nice fragrance and the resulting fruit is a bonus. There's a certain pride and joy that comes from seeing something to fruition. My seed-grown mandarin is 4-5 years old and has yet to bloom.
Junglekeeper, Do you grow all your citrus plants indoors year round? I've thought about buying another citrus plant, or just growing another one from seed. Maybe mine would do better if I put it outside in the summer. I've kept it indoors because I don't want to be bringing bugs inside in the fall. Do you think a store bought plant would do better? ainslieg, we just had a heat wave here too. I try to water mine once a week, but that isn't always enough in summer. I have trouble remembering. I've had to cut a tangerine tree in the past to move it so it would fit in the car. The one I have now was small enough when I last moved, so it hasn't been pruned, except for dead twiggy branches.
flowercents, My trees are grown in an unheated room indoors year-round; outdoors is not an option for me. I think a tree would definitely benefit from time outside but as you've noted the chance of having to deal with pests increases. Also, care has to be taken twice a year to acclimatize a tree to its new environment. It's a trade off. There are advantages to buying a cultivated variety. You end up with a tree that is a clone of the selected variety. Many times this is not the case with a seed-grown tree; you may end up with a hybrid of inferior quality. In addition, a seed-grown tree needs time to mature before it will flower and bear fruit. Depending on the variety this can take upwards of 15 years under normal growing conditions outdoors. The store-bought tree will bear fruit much sooner since mature wood is used in its making. In fact flowers and fruit are often present on store-bought trees. The ones that are grafted onto dwarfing rootstocks have the added advantage of size control which may be a factor for indoor cultivation. Are you anywhere near Vancouver?
Junglekeeper, I may try buying a citrus plant next time. Thanks for your help. I live about a hour from Vancouver, but rarely go there.
How exactly do I start the tangerine seed? I just found this site today. Do I nick the seed and place in a saucer of water for a few days? Or do I plant directly into soil? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I don't remember nicking the seeds. First I stored the seeds in the refrigerator because I collected the seeds in the winter, and then planted them in a pot indoors in the spring.