Content

• Steps

The orange trees planted indoors or in the yard are beautiful. Not only leaves with a pleasant aroma, but mature orange trees also bear fruit. Planting orange seeds is fairly easy, but an orange tree grown from the seed can take 7 to 15 years to bear fruit. If you want a quick-bearing orange tree, it's best to buy a grafted orange tree from a nursery. But if you want to have a fun experience and plant orange trees as an ornamental indoors or in the yard, then planting orange seeds is an easy and enjoyable job.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Collect and wash orange seeds

1. 

   Remove the seeds from the fruit. Cut the orange in half to get the seeds inside. Use a spoon or knife to remove the seeds. Orange trees often grow up to bear fruit like the mother tree. Make sure to choose the seeds of the orange variety you like.
   • Some oranges varieties like navel (yellow oranges) and clementine have no seeds, and you cannot propagate oranges this way.

2. 

   
   
   Select and wash the seeds. Choose healthy, intact and plump seeds that have no spots, no dents or cracks, no discolouration or other defects. Pour the seeds into the bowl and pour in clean water. Wipe the seeds with a clean cloth and remove any oranges and any remaining orange juice.
   • Washing the seeds is also important for removing mold spores and preventing fruit flies.
   • You can wash and sow all the seeds of the orange, then choose the largest and healthiest sprouts to plant.

3. 

   
   
   Soak the seeds. Cool water in a small bowl. Pour the seeds into the water and soak for about 24 hours. Many seeds are better able to germinate if soaked first, as soaking softens the seed coat and stimulates the seed to germinate.
   • After soaking for 24 hours, filter the seeds out of the water and place them on a clean towel.
   • Do not soak the seeds for longer than this time to avoid water soaking in the seeds, preventing the plant from sprouting.
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Part 2 of 3: Sowing seeds

1. 

   
   
   Sow the seeds in the prepared pot or in the ground. Choose a planting pot about 10 cm wide with drainage holes on the bottom or find a good spot in your yard to sow the seeds. If you want to sow the seed directly into the ground, dig a small hole and place the seed in it. If you are planting seeds in a pot, spread a thin layer of gravel on the bottom of the pot to increase drainage and fill it with soil.Use your finger to poke a hole about 1.3 cm deep in the center of the pot. Put the seeds in the hole and cover with soil.
   • Once you have placed the seeds in the pot, place it in direct sunlight every day.

2. 

   Fertilize and water when the plants sprout. A light fertilizer like tea tree fertilizer will be beneficial for the newly grown seedling. Add a moderate amount of tea fertilizer to moisten the soil. Do it every two weeks. Water in water once a week; otherwise, the soil will dry out.
   • If the soil dries out frequently, the orange tree will not survive.
   • As the seedlings develop, they will begin to grow taller and bear leaves.
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Part 3 of 3: Repotting the seedlings

1. 

   Prepare a larger pot as the orange leaves begin to grow. After a few weeks, when the seedling has a few pairs of leaves and is large enough, you need to switch the seedling to another larger pot. You can use a 20 to 25 cm diameter pot, make sure there is a drain on the bottom, and spread a layer of gravel on the bottom of the pot before filling it with soil.
   • Fill the pot with soil. Mix a handful of peat moss and a handful of sand to increase drainage and mild acidity in the soil. Orange trees like soil with a pH between 6.0 and 7.0.
   • You can also find citrus soil at a garden center.

2. 

   Plant the seedlings in larger pots. Dig a hole in the center of the pot about 5 cm deep and 5 cm wide. First, pour a new layer of soil on the bottom of the pot. Then twist or tap the pot where the seedling is being planted to loosen the soil. While patting, pour out soil and root pots and plant new pots. Fill the root ball with new soil after placing the seedlings in the pot.
   • Water immediately to moisten the soil.

3. 

   Place the potted plant in the sun. Move the plant to a place with plenty of direct sunlight. The location near a south or southeast window is great, but it's even better to put it in a greenhouse or solarium.
   • In warm climates, you can take the pot outdoors in spring and summer, but be sure to avoid strong winds.

4. 

   Provide plenty of water for the plant. Orange trees love to be watered regularly. During the warm spring and summer months, water should be watered once a week. In rainy areas, you only need to water as needed to ensure moisture is maintained in the soil.
   • During the winter months, you should let the surface of the soil partially dry before watering.

5. 

   Apply fertilizer to growing plants. Orange trees need a lot of nutrients. Add nutrients to your plant with a balanced fertilizer like 6-6-6 twice a year. Fertilize once in early spring and once in early autumn. This is especially important in the early years, before the tree starts bearing fruit.
   • There are citrus-specific fertilizers that you can find at a garden center.

6. 

   Replace larger pots or plant them outdoors as they grow. When the orange tree is about 1 year old, convert it to a 20-30 cm pot, then repot a larger annual plant in March. Or, if you live in a climate that's relatively warm year round, you can plant it in a sunny location outdoors.
   • Orange trees generally cannot survive temperatures lower than -4 degrees C, so you cannot plant oranges year-round outdoors in cold regions.
   • A fully-grown orange tree can be quite large, so if you live in a cold climate, keep it in a greenhouse or solarium if possible.
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