19 August 2010

orange seed

I have another growing project in mind.
I've been saving these seeds out of the little oranges we eat (frustratingly, I forgot which kind they are. Satsumas? Not tangerines, I know. Something else).
I've read they make a nice little houseplant/tree, even if you won't get any edible oranges from it.
My daughter wants to do more growing experiments, too. We just ate some delicious plums bought at a local market, and she's saving pits to plant.
 I've been reading up on it. To get them started you have to plant them in a pot outside and overwinter it in the elements. Then there's always the likelihood that:

a) they will never germinate
b) you'll get a plum tree but no plums
c) you'll get fruit but it will be inedible, or at best not very tasty

It's just the nature of plum trees, which are usually grafted or hybrids, so a tree grown from the pit won't be true to its parent. There's a very very slim chance it would ever make yummy plums. My kid is not daunted in the least. We are going to grow a plum tree, regardless! (She's very happy with the progress of her apples).

So far we have grown from seed out of fruit we ate: kiwi, avocado, bell pepper and apple. The mango failed. Now we're going to try oranges and plums!

3 comments:

Debi said...

Even if you don't get any edible plums, I bet it will be a cute little tree! I LOVE your daughter's attitude! After all, you definitely won't get a plum tree if you don't at least try, right? :D

Unknown said...

My plumbs are in a baggie full of damp soil in one of the drawers of my refridgerater. There's something else in their too. I have dried lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit and apple seeds. I'll probably start all of these in February or so. I live in Wisconsin. The ONLY time that I had any luck with a mango was before I read up on planting them. I just put the whole seed pod in the dirt. It grew about 6 inches before I moved and it died. I've since removed the pit from the pod and NEVER have gotten one to germinate. Good luck with your plums and oranges. I've had success with citris fruits and apples before. Keep a grownin'. It's fun, good for the earth and a lot easier on your wallet! And, if you can't eat them like Deb said in 2010 you can't have it if you don't try!

Jeane said...

Thanks for the suggestions. I do want to try again. Especially with the mango, and we eat plenty of those!