Pink Grapefruit

Grown from seeds out of a pink grapefruit bought in a supermarket last November. One year old and a flower has just come into bloom on my little 7" forest with another bud on the way.

I wish I could post the scent that comes from just one flower, really heady and sweet, typical of all citrus.

Compost was 50%loam, 40% organics and 10% old crushed mortar (not cement) put through a 6mm sieve. Seeds were just stuck in a pot about 20mm deep, kept watered and left to get on with it on a windowsill overwinter. Early summer they went into an unheated greenhouse but are back indoors for winter again. From 7 seeds I have 8 seedlings. One seed didn't germinate but 3 of the remaining 6 have been polyembrionic with two seedlings produced on each.

I'm going to have to repot them into separate pots though as I think the compost is a bit tired now (slight touch of yellowing on the leaves) and they will also be fighting for space.

 

They look lovely, I am very envious. What does the mortar do? I finally got round to planting mine last week, was wandering if they will rot over winter or germinate. Mine are in home compost with grit, and covered with clingfilm as my windowsill is chilly. What do you think of their chances?

 

Hi Liz, thanks for the compliment on my 'Asda'!.

I was actually looking for crushed (not ground) limestone grit to help out with normally acid soil and compost but I couldn't get any so I just munched up some old wall mortar with a hammer and added it in the mix. It seems to make a great base, good gritty structure, retains moisture but is free draining. It all started 'cos I read somewhere that citrus like a neutral to slightly alkaline soil. My lavender seedlings also seem very comfortable in it *See Edit


Citrus like a moist (not wet) soil and will rot if their roots get waterlogged so there is a 1" layer of gravel in the bottom of the pot and also gravel in its dish to keep the pot off any standing water. Give them as much sunlight as possible during winter but soft or dappled shade in summer (think orange grove!). Germination temperature is officially 20C to 25C but mine were no where near that.

The other method of germination is to immerse the seeds in water, changing regularly until they first sprout then pot them up. I've a small orange on the go done that way that I started in July, it has 4 pairs of leaves and is 3" tall (I call that one 'Sainsbury' :D ). A friend also gave me a fruit off a calamondin, it had 3 seeds but they didn't come to anything :(

I've not fed mine at all yet but they are supposed to like a little balanced PKN (Phosphorous, Potasium, Nitrogen) feed in winter with a higer Nitrogen content in summer during strong growth. They also are prone to mineral deficiency (yellowing or leaf drop) so I reckon a bit of 100 year old wall won't do any harm :D

I would just go ahead with yours and see what happens, germination and shooting can be slow so be patient, hopefully they will 'show' by Christmas but could be longer. They are fairly easy to grow and there's always seeds available so its simple enough to try again. For best results seeds should be fresh and not allowed to dry out and I would remove the clingfilm the minute they apear to let the air circulate (I didn't use it at all).

I was really amazed to see the buds start to develop after such a short time as I've also read that citrus from seed can take years to bear fruit (obviouly I wouldn't let a 7" seedling bear a 1/2lb fruit :D but I'm interested to see if it sets). I 'inherited' an unknown citrus (possibly lemon) that's over 3 years old, it's about 18" tall but no sign of buds yet. It grows outside during summer and lives in the greenhouse for winter. Although evergreen it seems to shed all its leaves in spring as the new ones apear and growth starts.

I tend to work on the 'bung it in and see what happens' principle and I don't molley coddle things as I want strong plants that will survive a bit of cold or drought - I do provide shelter from bitter easterly winds though. It's also a challenge to see what will grow here without re-creating Mediterranian conditions. Citrus are relatively hardy but don't expect edible fruit in the UK.

*Edit: Citrus actually prefer slightly acid soil and a ph of 6.5 is generally recommended - thought I better clarify that.

[ 15. November 2005, 06:57 PM: Message edited by: frogesque ]

 

I've grown a few from seed over the years, grapefruit, orange etc. but mine have never flowered, some I kept for over 10yrs till I gave up on them. So I think you've done really well to get flowers this early.
Might have another go myself now.

 

Out of the citrus plants grapefruit is the one that will often flower as a small plant, grown them all myself and have had a good few seedling grapefruits flower