How Do I Prepare Orange Seeds for Planting?
To collect and prepare your orange seeds, you’ll need:
- Two or more ripe, firm juicy oranges from the kind of tree you want to grow.
- Sharp paring knife.
- Bowl of clean water.
- Mesh strainer.
- Two clean, heavy-duty paper towels.
- Two plastic foldover sandwich bags.
- Slice the oranges in half lengthwise.
- Cut each half into four segments.
- Pop the seeds from the segments with the knife tip
- Swish the seeds in the water to remove the pulp.
- Rinse them in the mesh strainer.
- Refill the bowl with clean water and soak the seeds overnight.
- Fold the two paper towels in half three times.
- Lift the top folds and spray the towels lightly with water.
- Spread half the seeds beneath the top fold of each towel.
- Replace the folds, slide the towels into the sandwich bags and close the bags.
Expert gardener’s tip: Subtropical orange trees only grow in USDA plant hardiness zones 9 through 11. They’ll indoors elsewhere, but don’t count on them fruiting.
How Do I Germinate the Orange Seeds?
Keep the plastic bags between 70°F and 75°F (21.1°C to 23.9°C). Check daily and spray to keep the towels damp. When white radicles emerge, it’s potting time.
How Do I Pot the Sprouted Seeds?
Fill 4-inch pots with sterilized seedling mix and add water until it runs out the drainage holes. Poke a ½-inch deep hole in the center of each pot, place a seed in radicles down and cover with mix.
What Next?
Move the pots to a warm spot in filtered sun. Mist daily to keep the mix damp. When a seedling gets three sets of true leaves, move it to a 10-inch pot of citrus potting soil.
Water to keep the soil damp but never saturated. Fertilize every other month with organic, slow-release 5-2-6 fertilizer applied at the label’s recommended rate.
When the nights are consistently above 60°F (15.5°C), put the seedlings outdoors with morning sun. Bring them inside before the nights drop below 50°F (10°C).
When they’re big enough, transplant them to their permanent location in early fall.
