8 Fruit Trees You Can Grow From the Seeds and Pits of Your Own Fruit

According to the US Department of Agriculture, all adults should eat about 1.5 to 2.5 cups of fruit daily. Although today it’s easy to buy all the products you need in a nearby supermarket, it’s still much healthier to grow the plants yourself.

Bright Side made a list of 8 fruit trees you can easily grow from the seeds or pits of your own picked fruit, right on your balcony or in your garden.

8. Tangerines

Mandarin trees grow from seeds, and it can take a couple of years for them to be mature and fully grown to eat. It’s important to save a few seeds and place them in storage after washing it. A fresh seed will most likely grow before an older one. Keeping it warm, moist, and protected from pests in your garden is also key to making it grow properly.

Tangerines are evergreen plants that grow about 10-15 feet tall. If you want to grow a tangerine tree yourself, you should take into account the following tips:

• Place the trees in a well-lit spot but not in direct sunlight. Use well-draining soil and water it often, but don’t make it too soggy.
• It’s better to use seeds from fresh fruit as they are more viable, and plant them in spring or early summer.

When the seedling is large enough, repot it into a larger container with some fresh potting mix.

Seed-grown tangerines may take anywhere from 4 to 7 years to flower and fruit. Flowering usually occurs in spring, with fruit forming in the summer and ripening by early autumn.

7. Lemons

Lemons are such beautiful looking plants and they can be easily grown from the seed. Just make sure to wash the seed to get rid of the slimy coating. It’s crucial to do this when planting your seed, since the gel coating has sugars in it, and it can make your seed rot.

You can easily grow lemons from fruit seeds by putting them directly into the soil and following these simple rules:

• Plant at least 5-10 seeds at one time in case some of them don’t sprout. It’s better to choose plump-looking seeds from a fresh lemon.
• Don’t forget that lemon trees love water, so keep the soil damp by watering it about 2-3 times a week.
• Lemon seedlings will require 10-14 hours of sunlight, while full-grown trees need at least 8 hours.
• If you can see roots through the drainage holes in a pot, it’s time to replant the tree into a bigger container.

It may take about 5 years for the tree to produce fruit, and in some cases, you’ll have to wait up to 15 years.

6. Avocados

Before planting an avocado seed into the soil, you should prepare the seedling. To do this, take 3-4 toothpicks and use them to suspend the pit (broad-end down) over a glass of water. The water should cover about an inch of the seed. Put the glass in a warm place avoiding direct sunlight for about 2-6 weeks until the roots appear.

Try to determine the “bottom” (where the roots will be growing) and the “top” (where the sprout will grow) of the avocado pit. It’s important to put the bottom part in water. When your tree is about 15 cm long, cut it a bit down to 8 cm, because this will make it grow even more. As soon as it reaches 15 cm again, put it in humus soil in a 25 cm pot, so that the top part of the seed is exposed.

• When planting the seedling, make sure that the seed is half exposed to the air.
• It’s better to plant your tree during the period of March to June.
• Avocado trees do best with moderate humidity and need to be watered 2-3 times a week.

It may take anywhere from 5 to 13 years before the tree is mature enough to produce fruit. Don’t be afraid when you see a lot of flowers falling from the tree, it’s a natural process.

5. Pears

Yet another homesteading process, pear trees are originally from Central Asia. It is interesting because they are related to apples and you can raise them in a similar manner. However, they are much easier to grow since they are less likely to be bombarded with insects and diseases.

To make the process of germination easier, it’s better to stratify your pear seeds first. For this purpose, put your seeds into a plastic bag with moist peat moss. Place the bag in a refrigerator and store it there for 60-90 days. After that, put the seeds in a glass of warm water for 2 days. Then you can plant them in soil following these recommendations:

• Pear trees need well-drained soil and at least 6 hours of sunlight. Remember that the more light a plant gets, the more water it needs.
• Water the plant at least once a week, it’s better to do it in the morning or in the evening.

It may take at least 3 or at most, 10 years for your tree to bear fruit. Pick the pears when they start changing color while they are still hard, they will finish ripening afterward.

4. Apples

If you want to grow a fruit tree from your seeds, keep in mind that the type of apple tree you’ll end up with might not be the same as the seed you planted. Also, don’t forget that your tree will grow to its full height unless you choose a dwarf type of tree. Here are some tips to increase your chances of success:

• Collect 2 different kinds of seeds if you want your tree to bear fruit. Place them in a sealable plastic bag on a moist paper towel. Then keep the bag in a refrigerator for 70-80 days.
• Plant the sprouts in the early spring after the last frost.
• Put the pot, with your seeds, on a windowsill so that it has enough access to sunlight.
• While an apple tree is short, it should be watered every 10-12 days. As it grows, you can start watering it less frequently.

Trees planted from seeds may take anywhere from 8 to 10 years to produce fruit.

3. Plums

Growing fruit seeds, like plums, can be very beautiful in your backyard, and they’re also very healthy and delicious. It is important to grow them in the early spring or mid-summer so you can avoid any kinds of infections. It’s advisable to not grow them in the fall, as winter injury and infections can happen.

Growing a plum tree will need some preliminary preparations from your side. First, place a plum pit on a windowsill for several days to dry, and then use a nutcracker to get the seed. After that, take a glass of water and put your seeds inside for a night. Then take a canning jar filled with compost, place the seeds inside and seal it. Put the jar into a refrigerator for 6-8 weeks until the roots appear.

• Plant sprouts in the potting mixture that contains 2 parts soil and one part compost.
• Plum trees need at least 6 hours of direct sunlight daily.
• During the germination period, keep the soil slightly moist but not too soggy.

Your plum tree should start bearing fruit in 3-5 years.

2. Cherries

The 2 types of cherries include sweet and acid. Sweet cherries can be eaten fresh and are very yummy, generally grown as small trees. On the other hand, acid cherries are great for cooking and they grow the best in a little shade. Colorful in appearance, they are settlers in all garden sizes, including small pots and containers.

To be able to bear fruit, cherry pits need to go through a stratification period. For this purpose, put the dry pits into an airtight plastic container and store them in the refrigerator for 10 weeks. When the sprouts are ready, plant them in soil while keeping in mind the following recommendations:

• Cherries need plenty of sunlight and good air circulation. They prefer fertile, sandy soil with excellent drainage.
• Keep the soil slightly moist and water it whenever it feels dry.

You’ll have to wait for about 7-10 years to taste your home-grown fruit.

1. Peaches

To stratify your peach pits, wrap them in a damp paper towel and place them in the refrigerator for 8 weeks. After that, you can plant them in the soil.

• To ease the process of stratification, get seeds out of the pits and place each seed into a separate plastic bag. Also, it’s better to plant more than one seed at a time as many of them may not survive their first year.
• The soil should be deep, sandy, and range from a loam to a clay loam. Remember that poor drainage in the soil can kill the root system of growing peach trees.
• Keep the soil moist but not wet, otherwise, rot will set in. Your trees will also need a lot of sunlight.

It may take about 3-5 years for your tree to produce fruit.

Have you ever tried to grow any fruit trees from a seed or a pit? Share your experience in the comments!

Please note: This article was updated in September 2022 to correct source material and factual inaccuracies.

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