@ Millet and others, need help with new tree from seeds.

Discussion in 'Citrus' started by MeyerNewb, Sep 15, 2009.

  1. MeyerNewb

    MeyerNewb Member

    Messages:
    3
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Alaska
    I came by several months ago with advice on a Meyer Lemon tree which I was going to keep on my dining room table for my daughter to watch grow and be rewarded with patience.

    I contacted a seller through Amazon, Cliffton's Nursery through email and waited three months without a response and the project got put on the back burner.

    I live in Alaska, and our first snow begins in like a month, so I wanted to get the tree shipped up here before it got too cold to protect the tree. I put in an order for a Mandarin Orange tree (my wife decided on oranges instead of lemons to eat raw) and received a phone call then an email from Clifftons today that says they wanted $45 to ship a $30 (one gallon) tree to Fairbanks... instead of the 3.99 I was told by the website, or the $16 that Amazon said... which I obviously declined. (Shipping through USPS is NOT that different in prices when shipping to Alaska, it is a myth. And a VERY major annoyance to people who live here.)

    Anyhow, due to the shipping issues it looks like I am going to have to grow a tree from a seed as I cant get a seller to ship anything up here for a fair price.

    So, my question is, what kind of sweet/tasty citrus can I grow from a seed and keep it solely indoors under artificial light half of the year? With a bit natural light the other half if needed?

    this is a pretty specialized thing, if I cant grow citrus I am going to be kinda disappointed... I may move to trying to grow a Japanese red maple, or Cherry Blossom tree and keeping them trimmed very short semi-bonsai style... but I would much prefer Citrus.

    Any help or guidance would be appreciated... thank you.
     
  2. Millet

    Millet Well-Known Member 10 Years

    Messages:
    1,698
    Likes Received:
    5
    Location:
    Denver,Colorado USA
    I think it is unreasonable to expect any business to ship a citrus tree to Fairbanks for $3.99. Actually, $45.00 seem quite reasonable to me for a larger tree. Anyway, to answer your question. If you grow a citrus tree from seed in Alaska it will take 10 to 15 years before the tree will begin to flower and produce fruit. Further, if you wish to keep the tree as a small table top tree, the tree will constantly need to be pruned in order to kept small. Unfortunately, a citrus tree that is continually pruned will NEVER ever fruit. What you need is either to purchase a mature grafted tree, and pay the price, or a small tree that was started from a mature rooted cutting that was taken from a tree that was already mature and fruiting. A rooted mature cutting could begin to flower and fruit in just a couple years, all it would require is to get a little growth. However, you still cannot continue to prune the tree if you wish fruit. You can order a small 2 to 4 inch mature citrus tree grown from a cutting from Logees Nursery. Being a small tree, it will be easy to ship to Alaska, and the shipping charges should be inexpensive. Logees web site is listed below. Telephone them and ask for Byron. Byron is the owner, and he should be able to help you. Good luck. - Millet (1,218-)

    http://www.logees.com/products.asp?dept=166
     
  3. jake007

    jake007 Member

    Messages:
    17
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    sunshine coast australia
    you can grow a citrus from seeds but most likely it will be bad fruit and will take ages but you could still grow it and make it into bonsai or you could ask a friend air layer one of his branches to produce another tree to be held inside in a bigger pots were you can still prune it but not as much so it can fruit link air layering bonsai [URL="http://www.bonsaiforbeginners.com/Air-layering-bonsai.html"
     
  4. Millet

    Millet Well-Known Member 10 Years

    Messages:
    1,698
    Likes Received:
    5
    Location:
    Denver,Colorado USA
    Actually, almost all sweet oranges, true grapefruit, lemons, limes, pure mandarins (other than King and Clementine) most all tangelos, hybrid tangerines and tangors (except Temple) produce true from seed. In other words, when you plant a citrus seed the tree will be exactly like the mother tree, and the fruit that eventually will be produced will be GOOD tasting, and identical to the fruit you took the seed from. The main draw back when propagating from seed, is the long period of time required for the seedling tree to reach maturity and begin to fruit. Below are the normal time periods from seed to fruit.

    Orange - 8 to 10 years.
    Mandarins - 5 years.
    Key Limes - 2 to 3 years
    Grapefruit 12-20 years

    In Alaska, with the extra short days during winter, these times could be longer. Because many citrus seed have multiple embryos, a citrus seed can produce multiple seedlings. - Millet (1,213-)
    .
     
  5. jake007

    jake007 Member

    Messages:
    17
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    sunshine coast australia
    yep that is true millet but there is a fare few none true citrus trees.
     
  6. Millet

    Millet Well-Known Member 10 Years

    Messages:
    1,698
    Likes Received:
    5
    Location:
    Denver,Colorado USA
    Other than the exceptions written above, all commercial citrus varieties that are commonly sold in the supermarkets, from which customers plant the seeds, all store purchased fruit should come true from seed. There is always a slim chance that a zygote could possibly survive, but almost all zygotes are normally crowded out by the nucellar embryos and are killed. - Millet (1,213-)
     
  7. jake007

    jake007 Member

    Messages:
    17
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    sunshine coast australia
    thanks millet for telling those trees that can be started from seed i never realised there were so many i new there were som but not that much thanks.
     

Share This Page