I wait till the seedlings are close to 15 mm's tall. I placed my seeds in a closed container and put it in my heating duct. The seeds came up in less than a week. I put all 7 of my plants in 16 OZ drink cups and put them under the yellow bucket light seen in the picture. As they grow add the white bucket, then stilts. I use a 13 watt daylight CFL's

For Ideas click for access to all my citrus picture and see what may work in your situation.

Steve

Here is a link that might be useful: http://s1094.photobucket.com/user/wreristhechimney/library/?view=recent&page=1

Last year I planted key lime seeds right from the fruit into a four inch terracotta pot and placed it right under the lights for twelve hours a day. I warmed them from the bottom using a candle warmer and only watered from the bottom to keep them from getting damping off disease. I figured I had lots of seeds so the strongest plants were going to be the ones that survived my conditions. Now my plants didnâÂÂt grow as fast as SteveâÂÂs but I wasnâÂÂt in as much of a hurry and today the one plant I kept is still growing under the same lights though in a bigger pot. Jack

May as well set your lights up now so that the developing seedlings have light right away. Set lights to about 4 inches above soil. Of course that would be for fluorescents. But you didn't say what type of lights you have. You don't want to fry them.

If you are using 1000-watt metal halide, for example, you'd want the light at least 5 feet away I would think.

I would set timer to 12 to 14 hours.

Thanks! Also, one more thing. Do I cover the trays to keep the humidity up, or do I leave them uncovered with a fan to prevent damping off? I have read both instructions and they seem incompatible. o_O?

I have found that damp-off usually happens after the initial sprouting. I have never lost a tree less than 2 inches tall. I loose more tree seeds to dry out so I cover until about 5/8 inch tall. My goal is to get the tree up in size the first 2 years while they are small enough to fit in buckets and grow boxes. After that they are too big to go under custom light set ups.

Steve

I left mine uncovered with a fan and they did just fine. I watered from the bottom for the first couple of months, but I started the seeds in November when it was cooler.
Edit: I didn't use a fan until the sprouts were a month old and then only for a short time. Sorry for the confusion, Jack

This post was edited by jrl1265 on Fri, Dec 5, 14 at 19:43

I was getting small amounts of mold starting, so I removed them and switched over to the fan. Now I am worried about them drying out, so I alternate between fan and cover. This is kind of driving me batty. Nothing sprouted yet.

I haven't sprouted citrus but have many other kinds of plants. I'm sure it's the same. Use sterile potting mix and boil/cool your water for extra protection from loss to mold. Plant in small cups and cover with something with vent holes like plastic. No light until they sprout then use lights. Start off with a cheap cfl then move on to a t5, t8, metal halide or high pressure sodium light. A good rule of thumb for lights is 10-50 watts per square foot. I like 30 to 50 but 10 is fine for plants that are going outdoor for at least half the year.

I have 30 watts per square foot for my 3 year old plants of hps lights.

I usually keep pots covered with half soda bottle, or in a baggy until germination. This method keeps the soil uniformly moist (not too much water though, or seeds will rot!).

Then as they sprout, I gradually let in air by opening baggy. I would not put a fan on them, unless you have a very humid environment. The fan would risk drying out the medium too quickly. Steady and even moisture is critical at this stage.

Honestly citrus seeds are about the easiest seeds to grow. I'm sure you'll be fine.

Every day I check for sprouts.

OK got some sprouts! Not many...but I'll take what I can get.

Is it safe to use Agri-Fos at this stage to protect against damping off?

Sorry to bump - anyone know about agri-fos and seedlings?

Here's a copy of the Agri-fos label.
It's quite a long read, but it should give you your answer.

Here is a link that might be useful: Agri-fos label

Thanks. Label talks about mature citrus, and damping-off for other kinds of seeds.

Doesn't mention citrus seeds or seedlings at all. Was hoping to find someone here on the citrus forum with direct citrus experience.

It will work for citrus seeds. They don't mention citrus seeds because no one grows citrus or any other Fruit trees from seed. everyone gets grafted trees. The product is a damp-off prevent er.

Steve

That makes sense. They can only legally put on the label what they tested for and citrus seeds are such a small market it wouldn't be financially feasible to test them. But if it works for other seeds it probably would be fine for citrus seeds.

Here's a look at the tray (well, one of the trays). A few have sprouted and are getting tall...the tallest prob 1.5 inches.

The taproot (?) is out. Should I move this to a larger container?, I have some 12oz cups ready.

This is the point when damp-off is the biggest problem. Once they reach 1 foot they will be almost free of damp-off. At 6 inches the risk is significantly reduced and once they go outside they will be pretty safe. I used bottomless gallon food tins set on top of garden dirt so the excess water didn't stagnate on the pot bottom. You could do this in winter by placing your container on top of a much larger container filled with dirt. Speed of growth is very important. The faster the better. All my trees got the bucket light as seen below.

Steve

Check the link below for other lighting examples

Here is a link that might be useful: http://s1094.photobucket.com/user/wreristhechimney/sunshine2013/story

This post was edited by poncirusguy on Mon, Dec 15, 14 at 13:23

Yes move it to a deeper container. Deep is more important than wide

Steve - when, if at all, did any kind of fertilizer get introduced?

After the 3rd leaf set and the 4th was just starting. Make sure you water from under. don't get the stem wet. I also lifted my tree up so that a 1/2 inch of the root was showing just below the trunk. Roots don't get damp off and a 1/2 inch is high enough to Protect the trunk from damage.

Steve

Drat!

They're all dying. Too much light? Damping off? Too much or too little water?

This is very disappointing but I guess expected in the sense that I have never been able to make this work. I was hoping for at least ONE of each kind to survive.

This guy was healthy with well-formed green leaves and now it's wilting and brown. The other healthy ones have started their decline as well. Wish I could save them somehow!

Looks dry to me baby citrus grow wetter than older especially if u start them in seed pods. Have to slowly taper off water.
Trace