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Gardener who planted orange tree seeds in 2005 ended 15 year wait for fruit (RAW)

Video Credit: SWNS STUDIO - Duration: 00:59s - Published
Gardener who planted orange tree seeds in 2005 ended 15 year wait for fruit (RAW)

Gardener who planted orange tree seeds in 2005 ended 15 year wait for fruit (RAW)

A British gardener who planted orange seeds 15 years ago was delighted when the finally bore fruit -- outside in his freezing back garden in February.

Alan Alford, 52, planted two orange trees in his backyard in 2012 after nurturing them in his greenhouse for years.

They grew to 6ft in the little back garden of his semi-detached rented home - but never bore any fruit.

So he was baffled when he looked out of his kitchen window on a cold morning earlier this month - and spotted THREE oranges hanging from a branch.

Oranges typically grow in tropical climates and usually need a minimum temperature of 10c.

The UK has just endured the sixth warmest January since 1984 with an average temperature of 5.6c.

Novice grower Alan said he won't move house for as long as the trees are alive after waiting 15 years to grow three oranges.

Father-of-five Alan, from Hamble-le-Rice, Southampton, said: "Each year I have hoped they would fruit but they never have.

"I have kept them alive for 15 years and have cared for them for a long time.

"I looked out of the window last week and spotted three oranges.

They are just turning orange from green.

"We are in the middle of winter and it is out of season for growing oranges.

"I was very shocked.

It is a miracle.

Not only have they survived the cold winter they are growing oranges.

It's incredible.

"After growing them for 15 years I am very proud.

They have actually given me fruit and it feels amazing." Former scrapyard worker Alan decided to start growing orange trees from scratch as a project with his daughters Erica, now 25 and Sarah, now 24.

He bought the seeds from a garden centre and began the growing process in his airing cupboard at home.

He moved them into pots and kept them inside during the winter, and outside in summer.

He moved them to a greenhouse before eventually planting them into the soil in 2012, when he moved to his current home.

Each and every year he prayed the plants outside his two-bed semi would bear fruit, but they never have.

Then out of nowhere - and months before the growing season - the trees produced their first ever pieces of fruit in early February.

Single Alan, who also has three sons, said: "I started growing them for my children.

"It has been something for us to have in common and we have looked after the plants together.

"I planted them in the ground when I moved to the house I live at now.

They have survived every winter but have never grown any fruit.

"I've always followed guides on growing oranges but they have never given me any.

I started to think they never would." Alan, who also grows avocados and apples, said he plans to eat the oranges when they ripen.

Orange trees will normally flower in May and fruits tend to be ready for harvest during the summer in the UK.

The trees can tolerate temperatures as low as 4c but growers are advised to cover them with a thick layer of fleece to protect them from potentially lethal frost.

Experts at The Citrus Centre, in Pulborough, Sussex, said orange trees are know to fruit during winter in the UK - but only if kept in the right conditions.

The trees must be kept frost-free in sheltered gardens and ideally in full exposure to the sun for as long as possible.

After waiting more a decade and a half for his beloved trees to produce fruit, Alan said he will refuse to move house for as long as the trees are alive for.

Uprooting orange trees poses a huge risk for growers and can kill the plants.

Alan said: "I don't want to move house at all now.

They will keep me here for as long as they are alive.

"If I uproot them they will die.

I have waited all this time and I want to do everything I can to keep them going.

"I will refuse to move house whilst they are still alive.

"I feel very proud.

It has taken a long time but it is worth it."

A British gardener who planted orange seeds 15 years ago was delighted when the finally bore fruit -- outside in his freezing back garden in February.

Alan Alford, 52, planted two orange trees in his backyard in 2012 after nurturing them in his greenhouse for years.

They grew to 6ft in the little back garden of his semi-detached rented home - but never bore any fruit.

So he was baffled when he looked out of his kitchen window on a cold morning earlier this month - and spotted THREE oranges hanging from a branch.

Oranges typically grow in tropical climates and usually need a minimum temperature of 10c.

The UK has just endured the sixth warmest January since 1984 with an average temperature of 5.6c.

Novice grower Alan said he won't move house for as long as the trees are alive after waiting 15 years to grow three oranges.

Father-of-five Alan, from Hamble-le-Rice, Southampton, said: "Each year I have hoped they would fruit but they never have.

"I have kept them alive for 15 years and have cared for them for a long time.

"I looked out of the window last week and spotted three oranges.

They are just turning orange from green.

"We are in the middle of winter and it is out of season for growing oranges.

"I was very shocked.

It is a miracle.

Not only have they survived the cold winter they are growing oranges.

It's incredible.

"After growing them for 15 years I am very proud.

They have actually given me fruit and it feels amazing." Former scrapyard worker Alan decided to start growing orange trees from scratch as a project with his daughters Erica, now 25 and Sarah, now 24.

He bought the seeds from a garden centre and began the growing process in his airing cupboard at home.

He moved them into pots and kept them inside during the winter, and outside in summer.

He moved them to a greenhouse before eventually planting them into the soil in 2012, when he moved to his current home.

Each and every year he prayed the plants outside his two-bed semi would bear fruit, but they never have.

Then out of nowhere - and months before the growing season - the trees produced their first ever pieces of fruit in early February.

Single Alan, who also has three sons, said: "I started growing them for my children.

"It has been something for us to have in common and we have looked after the plants together.

"I planted them in the ground when I moved to the house I live at now.

They have survived every winter but have never grown any fruit.

"I've always followed guides on growing oranges but they have never given me any.

I started to think they never would." Alan, who also grows avocados and apples, said he plans to eat the oranges when they ripen.

Orange trees will normally flower in May and fruits tend to be ready for harvest during the summer in the UK.

The trees can tolerate temperatures as low as 4c but growers are advised to cover them with a thick layer of fleece to protect them from potentially lethal frost.

Experts at The Citrus Centre, in Pulborough, Sussex, said orange trees are know to fruit during winter in the UK - but only if kept in the right conditions.

The trees must be kept frost-free in sheltered gardens and ideally in full exposure to the sun for as long as possible.

After waiting more a decade and a half for his beloved trees to produce fruit, Alan said he will refuse to move house for as long as the trees are alive for.

Uprooting orange trees poses a huge risk for growers and can kill the plants.

Alan said: "I don't want to move house at all now.

They will keep me here for as long as they are alive.

"If I uproot them they will die.

I have waited all this time and I want to do everything I can to keep them going.

"I will refuse to move house whilst they are still alive.

"I feel very proud.

It has taken a long time but it is worth it."




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