Growing dried citrus seeds

General Discussions
1

A discussion from the seed swap page (US) was about seed saving tropicals. The general consensus for citrus seems to be that it must be planted fresh, and that if the seeds dry out or get cold they won’t germinate.

I tend to make up my own mind through testing rather than accepting what I’m told, even by experts.

I have always dried citrus seeds. I have 10 in the refrigerator from last year’s lemon harvest from my Meyer lemon.

I pulled 5 seeds and opened them. The two tiny seeds were dead, which was expected. The others looked healthy.

20250211_162704
20250211_1627043060×4080 373 KB

I soaked them overnight and planted the remaining three in the same pot.

I will put half of the remaining seeds (5) in the freezer and plant them when I think about it.

Maybe there are other processes in play, but it seems to me that seeds that can’t endure adverse conditions would ensure over time that the species dies out.

(As a side note, I found a single seed in a seedless mandarin and I’ll be planting that as well)

4 Likes
2

This is interesting and helpful.

If you see good germination that is great information to have. If you have a reduced germination rate compared to seeds that are not allowed to dry out then that is a trait we could potentially select for in citrus.

2 Likes
3

The last 5 are in a plastic bag, without removing the shell as I did with the soil planted batch.

20250217_152743
20250217_1527431920×2560 123 KB

4

Two of the five have sprouted so far. One I think wasn’t viable in the first place (long slender seed) but the remaining two are still firm. So 40% emergence to this point after 1 month.

The potted group hasn’t emerged yet, but they may have dried out. I forgot to water them.

I will give these seeds more time, then start the batch I put in the freezer.