- 1). Wash the seeds in a sink filled with water and 1 teaspoon of bleach. Do not soak the seeds; simply wash them in the solution, remove them promptly and rinse them. Orange fruits contain chemicals that prevent seeds from germination, and these must be removed before you plant the seed. The bleach also ensures that undesirable fungi or bacteria are removed.
- 2). Place the seeds in a glass of water. If any seeds float to the surface, discard them. Floating seeds are generally not viable. You may also wish to discard any seeds that are unusually undersized.
- 3). Determine if your orange seeds have been exposed to cold. An extended period of time spent in cold temperatures (but not freezing) is necessary for the germination of many types of citrus seeds. If you have taken seeds from a fruit that has been transported a considerable distances, chances are high that it has been stored in a cold location and has already undergone this process. If not, you need to do it yourself. Simply dry off the seeds, wrap them in a paper towel, put them in a plastic bag, and place them in a refrigerator. Three weeks is a sufficient amount of time for seed dormancy.
- 4). Preheat the oven to 180 degrees F. Place the soil in a pan and leave it in the oven (once it has finished preheating) for no longer than 30 minutes. This sterilizes the soil and prevents undesirable microorganisms from replicating. Leaving the soil in the oven for more than 30 minutes, however, alsos kill beneficial organisms.
- 5). Wash the pots (if old) with a solution consisting of 1 part water to 10 parts commercial bleach. This will ensure that no seeds or organisms remain from the soil previously in the pots. If you are using new clay pots, you may skip this step. Simply let them soak in water overnight, and then rinse.
- 6). Soak the seeds for two to three hours, and then plant them 1/2 inch deep into the soil. Plant only one seed per pot. Keep the pot in a warm, sunny location and water the soil frequently enough that it does not dry out. Orange seeds will germinate within four to six weeks, though the process can sometimes can a lot longer.
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