Author Topic: Seedlings  (Read 1392 times)

mrtexas

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Seedlings
« on: June 03, 2020, 07:00:09 PM »
A forum member sent me some giant key lime fruit and I'm growing out the seeds. Gave some of them to many friends.
Also growing out Daisy SL(seedless but has the occasional seed) I got from a local grocery.

I give up on giant key lime bud wood. After paying $200+ for
giant key lime and red finger lime bud wood and none of the 40 buds took, seedlings for me. Texas bud wood bureau charges
$150 service fee plus $40 per variety for imported bud wood plus $35 overnight shipping. IMHO finger lime is just a novelty so
I give up on it as it doesn't come true to seed.

One friend noticed his giant key lime seedlings are all mono-embryonic. Mine
seem to be as well but I'm confident they will be true. If not, out just some time.

My latest seedling success is Florida sugar belle. Can't get the bud wood here in Texas
so 6-7 years ago I bought some fruit and grew out seeds. Budded the seedling bud wood to swingle
for fast growth and handed them out to several friends and first fruit was last year on a friend's tree. True
to seed as I remember the flavor/shape from the fruit. This year my seedling on swingle is having it's first fruit.

Not my first time to grow out seedlings. My sunquat seedling fruited the second year. My sour orange
seedling fruited the 3rd year. Most take 5-6 years in the ground but a friend waited 17 years for
a cocktail grapefruit. In pots, all bets are off since the trees must reach a large size to fruit. I say that
but a friend has a marumi kumquat fruiting in a 3 gallon pot after 3 years!

Variety selection here in Texas is becoming limited. Trees must now be grown in expensive screen houses
and only a couple nurseries doing it. This year is the last year to sell off any remaining pre-screen house trees.
So local Houston favorites like golden grapefruit and ujukitsu aren't available any more.


« Last Edit: June 03, 2020, 07:05:24 PM by mrtexas »

Millet

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Re: Seedlings
« Reply #1 on: June 03, 2020, 09:30:17 PM »
Mr. Texas wrote....> Budded the seedling bud wood to swingle
for fast growth and handed them out to several friends<

Phil I'm your friend and I did not get any of the seedlings.

pagnr

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Re: Seedlings
« Reply #2 on: June 04, 2020, 12:02:37 AM »
Giant Key Lime looks interesting, how does the fruit compare taste wise to Key Lime. Is it identical ?.
I was wondering if this var could be propagated from seed, so please update and thanks for the effort.

tve

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Re: Seedlings
« Reply #3 on: July 01, 2020, 01:45:44 AM »
A forum member sent me some giant key lime fruit and I'm growing out the seeds.

What's your method for growing the seeds? I've had good success in germination but then had trouble getting the seedlings to really grow well. Do you seed into those 1 gal pots, or are these already transplants?

brian

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Re: Seedlings
« Reply #4 on: July 02, 2020, 12:13:09 AM »
I have a giant key lime and regular key lime.  They taste the same to me, but then again Bearss/persian limes also taste the same to me. 

pagnr

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Re: Seedlings
« Reply #5 on: July 02, 2020, 11:21:30 PM »
According to UCR, giant key lime is  a "spontaneous autotetraploid selected from seedling population of diploid Key lime".
So the giant size comes from the extra genetic material. Hopefully it breeds true from seed and progeny maintain the tetraploid condition.