Help with Lemon/Lime trees

Planted Lemon and Limes seeds obtained from the Groc Store about 5 yrs ago, so I don't know the varieties. They are planted in 25 gal pots and are about 4 ft high not including the pot. Both are healthy and green and growing. They are outside year round expect when it drops below freezing (moved into the garage with a heater) until it warms back up when the get rolled back outside. Problem is they have never bloomed or produced.
Am I spinning my wheels or will they ever bloom and produce.fruit. Anyone have any info would be appreciated.

I hate to be the one to say this, but many lemons and other fruits you buy at gorcer's seed are infertile. This is most likely due to many of them being Hybridized now days. If it hasn't produced in a long amount of time and you seem to be doing everything you need to, then it is most likely just going to be a pretty tree and not a producer.

NOTE: SOME seed you can derrive from grocery store veggies & fruit DO PRODUCE, so don't let this keep you from continuing to experiment in growing from such seed.

Another Thing: When you sow a seed from a Hybridized plant you DO NOT get the plant you derrived the seed from, you get one of the original plants that were used to create the Hybrid.

I planted seeds from an orange-skinned lime that I got from a friend. Seeded them last February. Germinated in about 10 days.....got many seedlings....reduced to 4 small trees, very vigorous...has not produce fruit yet but looking forward to it. I always thought that if the mother plant is a hybrid and sterile that it wouldn't produce seed or seed with low viable....also some crosses I thought could produce a better variety than the mother plant. You can never tell what the off-spring will be, especially if you don't know the parents...so go for it.

Give the trees another year or two. A friend gave me a small tangerine seedling in 1997. I planted it at the corner of the house, not expecting much, figuring the winter freezes would likely finish it off. In '02 and '03 it bloomed (wonderful fragrance!). Right now it is LOADED with fruit. I've harvested more than fifty from it and I think there are that many still there. The recent freeze seems to have only sweetened the fruit.

I was not trying to burst anyone's bubbles, I called my mother-in-law who is a Master Gardener in Texas and she told me that about my own seed I'd sown that didn't produce.

I do hope your babies produce for you, I am hoping that others are right and that it is just a slow process for your trees.

We knew you were just reporting the facts, TexasJewel. Strangebob's young trees may or may not be productive down the road. So much of gardening is experimental - we wouldn't have so many choices now if gardeners along the way hadn't taken some chances that might have seemed hopeless at the time. Patience sometimes - not always - pays off.

True, you ought to see the things I have grown from seed that everyone told me would be hopeless.
And then again other seed I took months to germinate that went belly up, despite dirty hands and a worried brow. lol

Thanks for all of the advise. The trees look so good, I'll wait to see if they eventually do anything before I give up.

Strangebob,

I have some Meyer lemons that my sister sent me from California off of her tree so I know nothing has been done to them. If you would like one for the seeds I would be glad to send one.

I have not used any so maybe I had better see if there are seeds in them. LOL wouldn't that be funny to send it and not a seed. I was going to try a tree from them also. The Meyer lemons are wonderful.

Jeanette

You're right, Jnette. The Meyer is a wonderful lemon. They're milder in flavor (not quite sweet, but almost) with larger fruit and they are the most cold tolerant. The fruits can be "stored" on the tree for a long time after ripening. I have so many on my little tree that I've been freezing the juice in ice cube trays. I also freeze and store zest. Tangerines are also cold tolerant and can be grown sometimes in zone 7 with protection. Also calamondins are very cold tolerant. The fruits are small but the rind is sweet - you can eat it all. They are delightful when candied.

Well, Bob has 5 years invested in his trees so I don't blame him for not wanting to give up on them. I wonder if they bloomed??? I don't remember him saying. Yup, I just looked and he said they bloomed. I'll bet they needed a pollinator. I wonder if the Meyers would be the same way.

Think I will send him one of my lemons if I can find a good box. It wouldn't take up much room for a while and not only that it might be a pollinator for his. WOO HOO !!!

Gotta see if his addy is in Dave's exchange. gotta go, Jeanette

StrangeBob, your addy isn't in the exchange. Jeanette

Maybe he wants to be left alone with his strange lemon.

Wanted to add a note about pollination. When my meyer lemon (purchased as a plant) bloomed inside for the first time, it didn't get any fruit. The next winter, I hand-pollinated by swabbing a soft little brush from flower to flower, and I got so many lemons I had to pick most of the baby fruit off (way too much for my tiny tree). So maybe it doesn't need a pollinator in the sense of needing another plant, maybe it needs a pollinator in the sense of needing an insect or a helpful human. :-)

Jill

Guess what, I just re-read his original post and they have not bloomed. Now what??? Well, he hasn't been on for a while so I think we better leave him alone. Jeanette

You're right, critterologist. My Meyer lemon is the only lemon tree in the whole neighborhood. It's inground where the beautful fragrant blossoms attract bees, wasps and butterflies. It has a heavy fruit crop every season.

What I found strange is that my sister in California said she couldn't give her lemons away. She gets so many that she usually ends up throwing them out. Isn't that too bad?

I think I use more lemons in Hollendaze sauce than most people use in a year. We love it on broccoli. ttyl, Jeanette

It is sad, but I know what she means. I lived in southern California for many years, and every house in my neighborhood had lemons. They weren't all Meyers, but there was lots of Vitamin C available! (I also had oranges, tangerines and grapefruit.) Freezing the juice means I don't need to waste any. There is a dwarf form of Meyer that can be grown indoors and hand-pollinated as critterologist did.

Hi you guys, and StrangeBob if you are out there. I just "juiced" about 10 lemons and got almost a quart of juice. I also got around 50 seeds. If I had StrangeBob's addy I would send him some seeds. He wouldn't even have to take a lemon.

Glad you told me about freezing it Yuska. I will have to do that. It definitly is not going to go to waste.

Criterologist, I do that with my tomatoes every year. When they start blooming I just go around each plant , one after the other, and I stick my finger in every blossom.

Jeanette

I am so embarrassed!! I forgot to offer any of you seeds. I guess I just assumed you all had your own trees. But if not, LMK Jeanette

I have done some research into the subject of "patio citrus" propogation, and what i have read is that if you grow a citrus from seed, then it will take years and years to produce fruit, if ever. I mean around 10 years or so. But that was in relation to dwarf or patio citrus, like calamondin, meyer, key lime, the houseplant types. Its something about the difference fruiting wood and non fruiting wood. My reason for research is that i want to have attractive potted trees that produce fruit, but every one i have been able to find for sale is expensive and ugly.
does anyone have have any expertise in grafting fruit trees? all that i have found is rooted branches, and i might like to try to graft fruitwood onto some roots. im also gonna try a meyer lemon from seeds, so we will see.

Pakinjak,

Do you have seeds? I just juiced a bunch of Meyer lemons and saved the seeds . These lemons were direct from my sister's tree so I know they have not had anything done to them.

If you would like some I would be glad to send some if you send me your address through the email.

Jeanette

Jnette, sent ya an email.

Will the seeds produce a true meyer lemon, or will they be different? Ive been told that the seeds of a lot of citrus wont be the same as the mother plant.

Boy Kevin,

You got me there. Don't know. Sent you email. Jeanette

One thing about seed grown citrus is that the trees produced are juvenile. According to a large local grower here, it can take 6 to 15 years for the seed grown tree to become mature and bear fruit. They also said that "most" varieties would come true from seed. The seed grown trees are supposedly hardier but they grow taller and more upright so the fruit is harder to reach. I have a seed grown grapefruit in the back yard here and it is 5 years old and 15 feet high plus it has fierce looking spikes on it. No blossoms yet but I'm keeping it anyway cuz Ya never know!

Well, are you going anywhere? Look at StrangeBob who started this thread. He has 5 years invested in his from a grocery store lemon. It doesn't bloom. He has it in a 25 gal. pot, it is 4 ft high. Do they do anything to the produce before being sent to the buyer?

In other words, do they nuke them or anything to sterilize the seeds? Now I guess I am getting weird.

Good Luck, Jeanette

They Pick'em, pack 'em and ship them. The grove is also open to pick your own customers in season. Most retailers wash and polish the citrus to make it more attractive but it is not nuked or cooked or sterilized. The seed grown tree I have is from a seed of an old tree which belongs to the guy I bought this home from. That tree is a pink marsh grapefruit which bears delicious fruit which is why I used the seed from that particular fruit. When my tree went so tall and had the spikes I went over to the growers and asked about seed grown trees and was informed as posted above . All of their citrus except a small stand of older Duncan grapefruit are grafted because grafted trees reliably start to produce in 4-5 years and are, of course, true to type.

Well, I screwed up again. Kikisdad I wrote and forgot to hit send. I asked if they can't be pruned to grow so they are easier to harvest. I have seen apple grower's orchards in Washington State, where they have pruned the trees so the limbs with the produce are growing hanging down so it is easier to pick. Each year they prune the suckers that have grown shooting out of the top.

Also, I saw on the food channel the other tday Alton Brown was making a lemon pie using the Meyers. He said the Meyer is a cross with a tangarine. And is a self-pollinator.

Jeanette

btw, StrangeBob, got your message. Will send you some seeds, hopefully tomorrow. I have a dentist appointment.

I suppose the tree could be pruned to keep it shorter but it really just exhibits a different growth habit than the typical grafted trees show. Any way I grew it more to see what would happen than to yield fruit because by driving 3 miles I can get all the grapefruit I want from the source tree for free. At the worst I have a pretty green tree in my yard and I learned something. As for the Meyer lemons, if they are a cross then the likelihood of coming true is diminished but maybe not eliminated for StrangeBob's tree.

one caveat of some interest: we recently had 2 hard freezes and the seed grown tree didn't even flinch with no protection at all.

Pakinjak and StrangeBob did you guys get the lemon seeds I sent you? The computer quit taking any posts I think. Maybe this will bump it up. Jeanette

Yes, Jnette, I got your seeds, and thank you. I planted them immediately. But, my wife surprised me with a meyer lemon tree order from TamsTrees for valentines day. Plants are our custom...

Though we do live in new england, and it will probably be june before it can be shipped.

PS- I think one seed may have sprouted... I will keep you updated.

Wasn't that nice!!! That tree will produce a lot faster than those seeds I sent you. You know, I did a crazy thing. I peeled one of the seeds. I will have to plant it and see if it sprouts any faster.

Yours sprouted real fast didn't it. Great! Happy Valentine! Jeanette

Planted Lemon and Limes seeds obtained from the Groc Store about 5 yrs ago, so I don't know the varieties.

Chances are they will be true to their variety, but without knowing the variety you planted it would be impossible to say for sure. Even if they're not chances are you'll still get something you can use and the blossoms will still smell wonderful.

Whatever they were as others have noted it may be another two years or more before they flower and fruit for the first time. That's just the nature of seedling citrus. Sounds like you're doing all the right things so keep on doing them and be patient a while longer. Eventually they'll reward you.

.....Alan.

Well, Everyone,.... Thanks for all the help. I did get the seeds from Jnette and have them planted in the greenhouse. Thanks. I now have the Lemon & Lime trees back outside for the season and hope they at least bloom this year. Its a real chore rolling these things in & out of the garage all winter; they are to big to fit in my small greenhouse. Anyway, Will keep you posted. Keeping my fingers crossed. Thanks for all your help and comments.

Strangebob SC

kikisdad
That is very interesting that you are growing pink grapefruit trees outside in zone 5a! I had no clue they would grow outside so far north. Need to get me one too!!! Is it possible that there are any of those pink marsh grapefruit seedlings growing in that orchard that you have access to, that would like a new home? Where is Apalachin, in relation to Providence or Saratoga area. ~ Suzi :)

Kikisdad, If there are such seedlings Suzi and I would both love to have one. LOL

Jeanette