How to Plant Orange Seeds

Orange trees, whether grown indoors or in your garden, are truly a sight to behold. Not only do they have fragrant leaves, but they also bear fruit when mature. Planting orange seeds is relatively simple, but it may take 7 to 15 years for the tree to produce fruit. If you want a tree that fruits sooner, it’s best to buy a grafted tree from a nursery. However, if you enjoy the process and want to grow an ornamental orange tree indoors or in your yard, planting seeds is an easy and enjoyable task.

Take the seeds from the fruit. Cut the orange in half to extract the seeds inside. Use a spoon or knife to remove the seeds. The trees that grow from these seeds usually produce fruit similar to the parent tree. Therefore, make sure to choose seeds from the variety of orange you prefer. Some varieties, such as navel oranges (yellow oranges) and clementines, are seedless, and you cannot propagate oranges from these varieties.

Select and Rinse the Orange Seeds.

Choose healthy, plump, and intact orange seeds without any blemishes, dents, cracks, discoloration, or other imperfections. Place the seeds in a bowl and pour in clean water. Use a clean towel to wipe the seeds and remove any orange pulp or juice still attached to them.

• Washing the seeds is also crucial for eliminating mold spores and preventing fruit flies.
• You can rinse all the seeds from the orange and then select the largest and healthiest seedlings for planting.

Place cool water in a small bowl. Add the orange seeds into the water and let them soak for about 24 hours. Many seeds germinate better when soaked first, as the soaking process softens the seed coat and encourages sprouting.

• After soaking for 24 hours, remove the seeds from the water and lay them on a clean towel.
• Do not soak the seeds for longer to prevent water from being absorbed too much, which could inhibit germination.

Fertilize and Water as the Seedlings Sprout.

Prepare a larger pot when the orange leaves begin to sprout. After a few weeks, once the seedling has developed a few pairs of leaves and has grown enough, it's time to move it to a larger pot. Choose a pot with a diameter of 20-25 cm, ensuring it has drainage holes at the bottom, and place a layer of gravel at the base before filling it with soil.

• Fill the pot with soil, leaving space at the top. Mix a handful of peat moss with a handful of sand to improve drainage and provide slightly acidic soil. Orange trees prefer soil with a pH between 6.0 and 7.0.
• You can also purchase citrus-specific soil at garden centers.

Transplant the Seedling into the Larger Pot.

Dig a hole approximately 5 cm deep and wide in the center of the new pot. First, add a layer of soil to the bottom of the pot. Gently tap or pat the pot holding the seedling to loosen the soil. While tapping, remove the seedling and its root ball from the original pot and place it in the new one. Fill in around the root ball with fresh soil.

• Water immediately to moisten the soil.

Place the Pot in a Sunlit Area.

Fertilizing the Growing Tree. Orange trees require plenty of nutrients. Feed your tree with a balanced fertilizer like 6-6-6 twice a year. Apply it once in early spring and again in early fall. This is especially important during the first few years, before the tree starts to bear fruit.

• There are specialized fertilizers available for citrus trees that you can find at garden centers.

Transplanting to a Larger Pot or Outdoor Planting Once the Tree Matures. When your orange tree reaches about one year of age, it's time to move it into a 20-30 cm pot. Afterward, repot it every year in March with an even larger pot. If you live in a mild climate, you can plant the tree outside in a sunny spot.

• Typically, orange trees cannot survive temperatures below -4°C, so you cannot plant them outdoors year-round in colder regions.
• Fully grown orange trees can become quite large, so in cold climates, it's best to grow them in a greenhouse or sunroom if possible.