Kumquat seeds?

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mannye

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Oct 10, 2012
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Anyone know where to get good sweet kumquat seeds?


Sent from my galafreyan transdimensional communicator 100 years from now. G
 
All over my neighborhood :|

You want them for growing, or are they used for something else?
 
? Now I am curious. What else are they for? Some strange ritual I haven't heard of? I want them for growing. I walked past a tree in New Orleans back in April and was amazed at how delicious that sucker was.


Sent from my galafreyan transdimensional communicator 100 years from now. G
 
For some reason, people seem to thinks that you plant a seed to grow a tree with fruit. In real life, most trees (especially fruit trees) are highly hybridized which means when you plant a seed, you could get hundreds of different types of plants (within the species of course). If you plant a Valencia orange you could get a pomelo, sour orange, mandarin, or really crappy Valencia orange, or a good one, you don't know.
What you want is a cutting grafted onto good rootstock, it is sure to be true to the parent plant, and I will fruit much sooner. Uh oh, baby crying! I'll be back (Austrian accent!)


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For some reason, people seem to thinks that you plant a seed to grow a tree with fruit. In real life, most trees (especially fruit trees) are highly hybridized which means when you plant a seed, you could get hundreds of different types of plants (within the species of course). If you plant a Valencia orange you could get a pomelo, sour orange, mandarin, or really crappy Valencia orange, or a good one, you don't know.
What you want is a cutting grafted onto good rootstock, it is sure to be true to the parent plant, and I will fruit much sooner. Uh oh, baby crying! I'll be back (Austrian accent!)

I think this is worded oddly.

Many citrus and avocado are hybrids - yes - they are a cross between two distinct types. Thus the tree that results is a hybrid that neither parent was. If two hybrids cross (or if it self-pollinates) you are incredibly unlikely to get the same tasting orange - this is correct for sure. However, you are not going to get the original parents, either - you're going to get something that probably hasn't existed before, and is unlikely to be any better (and likely to be worse) than the plant you're wanting to grow!

Additionally - you are also correct - almost all fruit trees that you buy are grafted to root stocks. I find this isn't a huge issue for those of us who want an orange tree, but it is an issue for agriculture where saving 5% of your plants is actually going to be a HUGE gain over the years. It is 95% likely your plant will be fine if you don't have it grafted to root stock - but in agriculture its a cheap enough option that it pays off to have EVERYTHING grafted.

To the OP:
I read this and I thought you wanted seeds that tasted sweet. Suddenly I thought I was missing out - You can eat kumquat seeds?! And they are sweet?!

If you want some, I have PLENTY growing around here, I'd be happy to mail them if you pay shipping. (Of course, read above, think about whether you'd rather just buy some hybrids you know are going to be good).
 
For some reason, people seem to thinks that you plant a seed to grow a tree with fruit. In real life, most trees (especially fruit trees) are highly hybridized which means when you plant a seed, you could get hundreds of different types of plants (within the species of course). If you plant a Valencia orange you could get a pomelo, sour orange, mandarin, or really crappy Valencia orange, or a good one, you don't know.
What you want is a cutting grafted onto good rootstock, it is sure to be true to the parent plant, and I will fruit much sooner. Uh oh, baby crying! I'll be back (Austrian accent!)


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Huh, I didn't mean to post twice.
You can get original parents for hybrids, but it is as rare as getting the same tree as the seed producer. I was attempting a "glycolysis makes pyruvate" approach, neglecting the exchanges between glycogenesis, glycogenolysis, pentose-phosphate pathways, etc.. Even for home growers I always recommend grafted because the expense is easily justifiable (if those trees work better grafted; lychee, don't bother; mango, do you want to wait three years or twelve?).


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So... bottom line... no seeds for old men.... ?

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What they are saying is that with many fruit plants that are hybridized or even natural is that they can vary tremendously from plant to plant. The seeds from a very tasty apple may produce progeny that is more like crabapples. Most fruit that you eat is a clone/cutting of a unique plant that was selected from a planting of 1000's or 10'000's of plants, using only the most tasty, hardy, disease resistant examples.
 
So you don't want some local seeds? I'm confused with all these inside jokes.

Yeah I did but then they told me about that thing where the seeds don't make a plant that makes good fruit.

Looks like the correct question is "where do I find a grafted kumquat tree?"


Sent from my galafreyan transdimensional communicator 100 years from now. G
 
I just read that 90% of commercial kumquats in California aren't F1 hybrids, meaning the seeds aren't necessarily going to be inferior.
 
From Wikipedia:
Kumquats do not grow well from seeds and so are vegetatively propagated, using rootstock of another citrus fruit.[4]

Try Citrofortunella microcarpa, the calamondin or calamansi. Grows true from seeds.