Wow...cool. I guess it was determined to live....;-)

Judging on the flatness and single taproot it appears to be monoembryonic.

so don't expect to ever get the same kind of grapefruit even if it ever flowers.

but as mentioned above it will be a pretty houseplant

pip that is interesting. So from this little thing we can already see that this is monoebryonic? To be honest, I haven't the slightest idea whatsoever. There was another seed in there that was smaller and more round. Planted that one too, just for fun. There will be something different coming out?

It's just an educated guess. But usually flat means mono and round (plump) means poly

it's common for some varieties of citrus to have both mono and poly seeds. But it all depends on variety.

what kinds of citrus do you want eventually?

pip what does poly mean? And how to treat after spouting? I might use this to practice grafting.

Polyembryonic seeds contain more than one embryo. One of which, the nucellar embryo, is a clone of the mother tree.

Oh I think I remember. And the clone is always the bigger seedling? Do I find this with all citrus seeds? Later this month I'm gettig some lemon seeds and would love to know what I'm looking for "if" they germinate.

I germinated 11 seeds from a store bought lemon - all were mono (maybe just my luck?). I recently sprouted 4 key lime seeds and one of them is poly. I am currently germinating some Valencia seeds - about half were rounded and the others flat. They are just now breaking ground and I'm curious to see if any will be poly.

great Kelly, please let me know how it goes? I think lemons are always true to type and makes me wonder if they ever would be poly? Maybe I should do this as test also.

Most of the grapefruit in SA originally came from Florida, but is not the same varieties grown commercially in the U.S. anymore.

I have a pummelo which is a variety that originated from the Tambuti estate in Swaziland (a nominally-independant state under the control of SA at the time).

Susanne, I absolutely will. I look forward to your progress as well.

Valencia seedlings:

So far, I have two that are poly. I wish I would have labeled the shape of each seed. I'm sure I will be germinating more. My husband groans (but smiles) every time a new cup of soil finds its way to the kitchen lol.

-Kelley 8a

Malcolm Manners said, regarding grapefruit:

"While it's certainly possible to get a hybrid from a grapefruit seed, the vast majority (95%+??) will come true-to-type. The big exception is 'Thompson' pink, which yields 'Marsh' white seedlings."

So I don't think we can assume that just because that seed is showing one root, that it's not a clone. Nevertheless, a pot-grown grapefruit is going to need to grow from 10 to 14 years before it will even bloom. So whether or not it's a clone is probably a non-issue.

It's quite common to see sprouting grapefruit seeds in tree-ripened fruit that has been hanging on the tree for a while, or fruit that has been stored under warmer conditions for a while.

Dave this brings me to the question about leaf nodes. If I grow this seedling for 15 years (probably not) and cut the tip or air root every tear or too, I would have a grapefruit tree that is manageable is size and still fruiting right?

Sure, you can grow up your tree to say, 7 or 8 feet, then root the top 6" or so of the tip and grow that on to 7 or 8 feet and keep doing this until you see blooms...if you are successful at rooting, that is. Making multiple rootings will slow the whole process down, BUT you will at least eventually have a plant that will bloom at a smaller size.

The above diagram will work provided if each time the distal growth cutting successfully rooted.. In either case it will take a long time. Further to Dave's above post, Burgundy grapefruit (which is not much grown any more) also does not come true from seed,

Dave, I like the diagram and explanation. Can you tell, which citrus is most vigorous from seed?

What do you mean by vigorous? Grows the fastest? Biggest?

tangerine tree from seed after 27 months

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6b Steve

I have no experience in growing seedlings. Just got a clementine seedling and this is growing very fast but still kinda smallish leaves.

Meaning fastest, Dave.