The Germination of Lemon Seeds

Lemon seeds germinate in a a few days to a week if they're scarified.

Lemon seeds are encased in a tough seed coat that protects it from cool soil temperatures, insects that have made their way into the lemon, and soil-borne disease until it is ready to germinate. The time it takes for lemon seeds to germinate depends on temperature, soil quality, the state of the seed coat and the quality of the lemon seed itself.

Time

Lemon seeds may start to germinate while still inside the ripe lemon. Others take a few weeks to break the top of the soil. Scarified seeds -- seeds with the seed coat scratched, cut or removed completely -- may germinate in as little as two days.

Temperature and Light

Lemon seeds do not germinate in cold temperatures; it is a tropical to subtropical tree. Most will germinate in temperatures between 70 and 80 F. Likewise, they germinate in sun to partial shade, so two to three hours per day of direct sunlight helps encourage germination. The roots do not develop in sunlight, so if they are germinated on paper towels for later transplant, for example, the roots should be covered or otherwise sheltered from direct sunlight.

Moisture

Lightly damp soil or paper towels keep the lemon seed moist enough to soften the seed coat and support seedling development. Too much moisture can encourage fungus or deprive the seed of much-needed oxygen, and the seedling will "drown." Light soil with composted organic matter works well to provide this balanced, wet-sponge moisture level for germinating lemon seeds.

Considerations

While you may get a lemon tree from your lemon seed, it will not be identical to the parent lemon tree unless it is an heirloom lemon variety. Lemons sold in the supermarket are hybrid fruits bred for a certain combination of traits, and the next generation will not necessarily have these traits. Some catalogs sell seeds that will produce predictable lemon trees, but it will take several years before the first fruit sets.

References

• "Citrus Nurseries and Planting Techniques"; Bernard Aubert et al.; 1998
• "A History of the Vegetable Kingdom"; William Rhind; 1957
• Mostly Maths: Lemon Seed Germination