lol being picky can be good i guess! knowing what you want is the first step.

I am by no means an expert, but hopefully i am on the way to being one! citrus like to be outdoors in the warmer months, so it could be good if you could put it outside during the warmer months weather permitting.

if you want to grow from seed, it'll be 10years or more i think before you can start thinking about fruit. i also understand that not all seeds will produce fruit, some are sterile, and over 10 years is a long time to wait and see if you have a sterile seed. and if it does fruit, chances are it will taste nothing like the original fruit you got the seed from, and i have heard they rarely taste good when grown from seed.

to my knowledge, most of the flowers on citrus are fragrant, as are the leaves if crushed! in terms of thorns - i have a tahiti lime that is riddled with them, but my two calamondin andmy lemon dont but im not sure if any are thorn-free.

containers limit the size they grow to, but constricting it too much cant be good! the minimal-moderate care issue may be a problem - they need good light, good humidity and extremely careful watering and a close watch on fertilizing. those are basics i have learned in the past couple of weeks on here.

You might be best off buying a young plant from a garden center/nursery as they are likely to be grafted stock, will in all probability flower and fruit, and are already a couple of years old so not so long a wait for fruits.

Like I say, i am no expert, but from what i gather growing from seed is not the easiest or most satisfying way of growing citrus. buy a lemon or a calamondin (little orange fruit) from a nursery - from what i have read and experienced they are the easiest to start on. I did, and I haven't a single regret, I love them. However, i also love growing things from seed, so i have recently planted a few grapefruit seeds. i dont plan to have magnificent plants that flower and bloom prolifically. its just for the joy of growing :)

hope you find what you are looking for :)

dan

Wow, thanks Dan,
I already have a lemon seedling with two thorns underway, but when the leaves are rubbed it does smell wonderful. I read on another thread that most limes come true to fruit so I may start one. Thank you for your advice,
Darren

Calamondin, hands down. Blooms all year long. Fragrant blooms. Fruits like crazy. Grows slowly in a pot. Mine was 3 ft tall and maybe 2 ft wide (max) when I bought it in the Florida Keys 12 years ago. IT may now be 3 1/2 wide and 8 feet tall. Nevere been pruned. Be sure to buy a two light halogen shop light unit for added light and heat inside.

Is the shop light a have to? I am new to the whole citrus thing and in the winter i will have to bring mine inside. So will i need to buy a shop light? Thanks for your help

i was quite concerned about lighting over the winter too. i dont have the knowledge on how to set any lighting up, and this isnt my house so i cant use anything that'll eat up a lot of electricity! bills and everything :( and when i asked in our hardware store about the lighting they looked at me like im trying to grow drugs lol. fair enough i guess, but i didnt look like a druggie! i was in a suit lol.

I have a Meyer (no fruit/bloom) and a calamondin (loaded with fruit and blooms) and I'm wondering about winterizing and lighting. Somebody help please because I would love to see what the calamondin oranges taste are like. I'm not even sure if my Meyer will make it; it has a couple of yellow leaves on it and sparse. I think the pot is too big for it despite the fact that I repotted both of them at the same time. The calamondin just took off! It's luscious and loaded with fruit. Can someone help me with these issues, please.