Not necessarily true, nerdish. I have not actually heard that. Commercial growers will often grow citrus in large blocks, to reduce the number of seeds produced by cross pollination. Have no idea what Halo mandarin is, that is not a cultivar I am familiar with. Do not let citrus seeds dry out. They should be planted shortly after removing from the fruit. You can carefully remove the outer casing if you want, to speed up sprouting. I would start in well draining soil. Potting soil might be a bit dense. You can use seed starting potting mix, then move to a better draining mix as the seedling grows larger.

Patty S.

I strongly suggest ordering a grafted plant from a reputable nursery. Get a mandarin orange, as they are the ones you so desperately love. Of course it'll be about a year before you can get fruit even from a three year tree, but in the long run it will be worth the effort and money! And it will taste way better than those store bought halos, which IS possible.
A graft is two plants surgically connected, one acts as roots, the other flower and fruit! Reasons for this are productivity, disease resistance, cold hardiness.
Best of luck.

Nerdish, they are not "Halos". This is a marketing term for some current cultivar ripening at this time. Halo is not a cultivar :-) Like the term, "Cutie", which is also not a cultivar, but actually one of 3 possible cultivars, depending on the time of year. Probably Clementines, If they're pretty small, they could be the Seedless Kishu. If they have a few seeds, then they most likely are Clementines. Also, mandarins are not oranges. Oranges are oranges. Mandarins are mandarins :-) Two different types of citrus. Just like a lime isn't a lemon. You can try growing from seed, just know it can take many years before the seedling will produce fruit.

Patty S.

Hehehe a mandarin, the Orange one.. (;

Cuties was originally a brand name used by Paramount Citrus AND Sun Pacific. Paramount's are now called Halos. Sun Pacific, who developed the idea, are continued as Cuties after the split of the joint marketing effort.

I assume everything is still the same.

Clementines early.

? mid season.

W. Murcott Afourer late. Being replaced by naturally seedless Tango version.

Commercial fruit seeds so yes they will

I have sprouted seeds taken directly from the fruit and placed between a couple of damp/wet paper towels covered with a plastic plate to prevent drying of the paper towel. Once the seeds sprout, transfer to potting media. If the fruit has been ripening for an extended time, some seeds may germinate in the fruit. My experience is with Ponderosa lemons. The calamondin I planted from seed might mature enough some day for my theoretical great, great, grandkids to get some fruit :>)

I love the little halos or whatever they are called. I planted two seeds in a small pot of potting soil and gave up on them growing. So I put a jade plant in the same soil and next thing I knew I had two little sprouts. It has to be the halos because there was nothing else put in the soil. Will these grow to be full fruit producing trees or am I wasting my tome?

its impossible to know without waiting about 7-10 years.

The only sterile seeds are ones from out of the country or possibly state if they are going from one citrus state to another that have been irradiated. But even then I doubt they've been irradiated that bad

Just realized this is a year old thread

I planted 2 seeds frim a Halo in my potted plant and they are both thriving

Can I ask why? Really what's the point? A seed that can take 5-10 years to grow will cost more money than a grafted plant that will start making fruit in a year or two. Light alone plus fertilizer and soil. Not worth the time.

now if it was a rare plant you can't buy like how dekopon was until recently then I would understand.

I think its the idea of nurturing something to life.I have three little two foot "Halo " trees from two winters ago.I know its an old post but Im wondering if she had any luck ?

Surely if a plant is sterile it cant produce seed

I think most seeds will sprout unless something kills it like radiation, heat, cold or desiccation. I have depokon seedlings because I can't get budwood. The CCPP for budwood distribution is backlogged. I tried growing Orri (a patented mandarin from Israel) seeds but they never sprouted so something killed them. Van

I just got 1 to sprout after putting the seed in the fridge for 1 week then planted in a seedling tray with grow lights

All the Halo's I have gotten do not have seeds. Does anyone know where to buy a grafter Halo Plant? CraigSS@live.com

i got a 2 seeds from a halo ans gurneys have orange trees and minatures

Andew, this thread was begun 7 years ago. As has been said, 'Halo' is a trademark name for marketing numerous varieties of mandarin that come in during different times of the year. It could be a Clementine; it could be a Murcott or a Tango.

I would suspect that the original poster probably doesn't even have fruit from the seedling yet. Most mandarins can take 7 to 12 years from seed.

Also, I would not trust Gurneys for citrus. They don't use the actual variety names and that is really suspicious.