What Do You Do to Plant an Orange Seed?
When you open a fresh, juicy orange and pop out the seeds before you eat the sweet fruit, consider saving the seeds to start your own orange tree. While it doesn't take much to get it planted, the growing of the orange tree takes a little more effort. Starting an orange tree from seed is especially rewarding, especially if you love the process and the anticipation of seeing what kind of plant will come of the small seed. Does this Spark an idea?
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Soaking
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Select several seeds from the meat of a ripe orange. Choose seeds that are full in their seed coat and not shriveled. Place them in a container of water to soak for 24 hours at room temperature to soften the seed coat and enable easier germination.
Fill plant pots.
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Fill several plant pots with a drainage hole on the bottom with a mixture of equal part potting soil, sand and mushroom soil or compost. Allow enough room so that each seed will have 2 inches of space on the sides and 6 inches of depth. Water the planting mixture and allow the soil to settle and the excess moisture to drain out. Leave an inch of space at the top of the containers.
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Bury the Seeds.
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Plant the soaked seeds on the surface of the prepared damp soil, spaced 2 inches apart. Cover them with 5/8 inch of ordinary sand, so the tender sprout will be able to push up through the mix to the sunlight.
Give Them Time
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Set the containers in a warm area in full sunlight to wait for the seeds to germinate, or for about three to four weeks. Cover the container with a plastic bag to keep a humid environment around the seeds until they sprout. Remove the bag and plant the orange seedlings in a more permanent place to grow. Expect the seedling to grow into a juvenile tree within a couple of years and a fruit-bearing tree in seven years.
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References
- Photo Credit orange slices image by timur1970 from Fotolia.com
