IMHO growing citrus from seed is a fool's errand; but if you want to do it, good luck to you. The only exception I would make is Makrut/Kaffir lime; the best of those and the strongest are grown from seed.

If sprouting the seeds and watching them grow brings you joy Kelley then go for it! I actually sprouted a couple random lemon seeds myself that are currently living on my windowsill :)

However, I did some research on caring for the early stages of seedlings and most sources advised against fertilizing until after they've developed 4-6 true leaves. The very first 2 leaves that sprout receive their food from the seed it came from so they don't need external fertilization. The next set of leaves are the true leaves that will make food from the sunlight rather than receiving it from the original seed, and IMO the seedling is small enough to photosynthesize enough food for itself with just those leaves for now. You may know all this already but if you didn't, I just wanted to lay out the information just incase.

Here's my exploding seedling

After the second set of leaves came out, it is growing very quickly and I didn't add fertilizer! However I did use some old commercial potting soil that has the time release balls.. but that bag was nearly 15 years old lol! Soil still worked like soil though, can't be sure the fertilizer was still valid though. I have a second seedling that is still on its first 2 sprouted leaves. It's growing slow bc a part of the root dried out but has not died yet bc it's still receiving food from the seed and slowly trying to grow its first true leaf. I hope my experiences with my meager two seedlings has helped you in some way.

Oh another thing to note, if they don't have exposure to outside air or at least some light breezes it will become very tall and thin with weaker stem/trunk strength. I have mine right next to an open screened window so it gets plenty of breeze especially during thunderstorms so my seedling looks shorter but it feels very rigid.

Sorry for the long post.. seems like I keep writing long ones. Good luck with your seedlings!

EDIT: as I thought back on it, I can't remember if the tip about waiting for 4-6 true leaves was for transplanting to a larger pot or for fertilizing. Either way, I still think it's ok to hold off fertilizing until it's grown more leaves to the point it depletes nutrition which may be some time from now

Fertilize when there are a total of four leaves (2 cotyledons + 2 true leaves).

Thanks John - I may give the kaffir a try!

kvetchlambkin, thank you for the advice! Your seedling looks fantastic! Mine are almost 2 months old and so small (mostly my fault, but they are enjoying the new mix. They did not appreciate the full sun, but are enjoying the railing on my screened in porch. I watered the ones that have 4+ leaves with a half dose of FP, but will hold off from now on.

Jinnylea, I absolutely love to cook and use many fresh herbs and ingredients (lemon thyme is my fav). I am very interested in the flavor they will provide :)

Thanks, Vladimir! I just wasn't sure if the damage was going to affect the tree later on. I'm going to let them grow and see what happens :)

The stem damage is caused by damp off.

6b Steve

Thanks Vladimir for the clarification! I have so many bookmarks for lemons, seedlings, companion planting etc that it's difficult to find the specific source I read it from.

Ah yeah all that full sun would probably make it hard to control the moisture levels too Kelley. I have a tough time keeping it moist without drowning it. Your seedlings are huge for 2 months! My seedlings are only 1 month old. That big one is quite an exception, he's a real trooper. My second seedling is still on its 2 cotyledon leaves though and only a centimeter tall haha.

Poncirus, I read that damping off can happen from too much moisture and humidity. Your seedlings look really great. Does that ring prevent the extra moisture by limiting the amount of soil in contact with the trunk?

IMO there is only one way to water seedlings; and that is bottom up.... put the pot in a container of water until the water wets the medium from the bottom.

The soil in the white rig is an inch higher than the soil in the container. I water the soil in the container but not in the ring. I also lift my seedling so a half inch of root is showing.

Meiwa · More Info

John's method of watering from underneath is the best way to water. My setup was to difficult to wader from under.
6b Steve

I don't know what I am doing right but I have never had a problem with damp off with any of my 50 plus citrus seedlings that I have started. I mean zero problems. I water from the top and make sure the mix is dry at the very top before watering. I have used seed starting mix and 511.

Also, I use fertilizer at full strength (2 1/2 Tsp Foliage Pro/gal Water) as soon as the true leaves appear.

Ohhhh so that's how the white ring works. That is so creative! I actually bought shoelaces the a couple days ago to create a makeshift wick for the seedlings and wick moisture up from the bottom. The white ring rig looks much neater though!

Vladimir, I water the same way from the top and didn't have problems with damp off from any of the other plants (they were all planted together from when I started them until recently). I used a granular slow release fert that I thought had caused burns when watering caused the granules to come into direct contact with the stems. Our temps have been in the mid nineties with the feel at 100. I have been watering very lightly every day unless the soil is still wet.

Steve, the ring is genius! I may try that when it is time to replant, and on my new key lime seedlings.

Kvetchlambkin, thanks for the words of encouragement - they started off growing fast, then have proceeded to slow way down, so I wasn't sure.

I am using a mix of top soil that has small pine bark (1/8-1/2"), perlite, vermiculite, a little peat, and a little potting soil - plants seem to like it and it drains fairly well. I know this is probably not ideal, but I'm having a hard time finding pine bark fines in my area without having to order some and spend an arm and a leg. I think I will try ordering ProMix in the future.

I am a worrying about where they will all go this winter, as I only have 2 southern facing windows that receive sun and those are reserved for my key lime and eureka trees. I guess grow lights will be on the purchase list.

Again, thank you all for your time and great advice! I know citrus trees can be difficult to grow successfully (I can't keep dill alive!), but the experience has been nothing short of rewarding :)

-Kelley 8a

Vladimir, they apparently enjoyed the FP:

Thanks again for the help, guys!

They are looking great!!! Good luck!

congratulations. great job

It's great to see your seedlings come back surviving! One of my two seedlings died from damping recently, it was one cute baby with very rounded cotyledon leaves. :( It had gotten too dry one day and I overcompensated with too much water from fear of it drying out but I think it was on a fine line of living or dying. I read that it will look fine one day and fallen over the next. But I watched mine try to unsuccessfully hold off the damping off progress over the course of almost a week.The stem looked a bit thin from the dryness but that punch of my newbie paranoia watering to its little roots was the last straw. It was slow to fall over surprisingly. Very enlightening but unfortunately I didn't take photos. Thanks for updating us on your little ones! Seeing your seedlings look revived gives me hope of sprouting some more lemon seeds.

Kvetchlambkin, I should have repotted my Eureka when I first noticed the leaf drop. In the past three days all of the leaves started drooping, so I pulled it up and washed the roots. This is what I found:

I clipped the dead roots off and soaked in a diluted peroxide solution, but the damage was pretty extensive. Repotted in a 5-1-1 mix and placed in the shade. Praying it recovers. I still have 4 strong seedlings if not :/.

Glad yours is doing better! And, I'm sorry to hear about your seedling. Hopefully the other one remains problem free. Take care

-Kelley 8a

Kelly

Your tree should pull through fine. It will take a while for the roots to catchup but then it will put on foliage growth.

6b Steve

Thank you, Steve! I sure hope so!

I wish you luck, Kelley.

Thanks Kelley! My one seedling is doing very well after more leaves grew out.

Your Eureka looks like a fighter. I see a long chunk of white roots and a few other white ones on the side. With a trunk that size and thick roots still leftover, it'll bounce back for sure. It'll just take some time for the new fibrous ones to regrow and put out feeder roots but I have a feeling your tree will do well in its new mix :) Good luck with your seedlings!