Another Young Seedling Flowering

[850FL]

Got a very young orange or tangerine seedling, about 3-4 inches tall, with a bloom about to open up. Somewhere between the age of 12-20 months.. was semi-neglected (grown in mostly sand and rarely fertilized..). Will post a picture later. Anyone else encountered this in citrus? (I assume this phenomenon could be more common in lemons and limes, how about the rest of citrus?)

[Millet]

The early flowering phenomenon happens from time to time with seedling grapefruit. After the first bloom it is 8 to 10 years before the second bloom appears.

[850FL]

Are we talking about the single fertilized embryo from the grapefruit seedling that may flower early, or the ‘clonal’ embryos? (Since their seeds are polyembryonic)
Any idea why grapefruits do this anyway, since they routinely take longer to flower from seed than other citrus species (although they may have more vigor and larger ultimate tree size..)

[Millet]

850FL, I am not sure which embryo.  This topic has come up on this forum before.  If you look good enough on this forum there are several post and pictures of a early flowering grapefruit.

[W.]

I had a pomelo seedling flower at about four months old last spring. It was probably about six inches in height. It did not hold the fruit and spent the rest of the summer looking rather sickly and not growing much. It is half the size of its siblings now. If I see another seedling try and fruit that young and small, I will stop it before it has a chance to fully bloom. There is no advantage that I can see to a citrus which is that precocious. I would rather it try and bloom when it is two or three years old and could possibly hold a fruit or two.

[850FL]

Found ANOTHER doin the same. Its opening up its flower a bit earlier than the first
Judging by the smell of crushed leaves, they are tangerines or oranges, perhaps hybrids