Dekopon is interesting and the one I had was very good . I did check for seeds. That being said Dekopon will have to prove it is better than Xie Shan to me in a taste test. It may happen but Xie Shan is going to be tough to beat consistently IMHO ! Xie Shan is the best that I have ever tasted and it was a young Xie Shan ! Tom

I must agree with Tom. Xie Shan is the best citrus I have eaten to date.. I got my first Xie Shan tree from Mr. Texas years ago grafted upon Flying Dragon. - Millet

Several cases of Dekopon just showed up at our local independent grocer here in Redding and today my wife came home with a bag of four of them ($4 a pound). She loved them and I liked them. The sweetness was borderline too much for me, but it was still a rich sweetness, not insipid. I think if given the choice I would have picked this particular fruit a bit earlier.

Anyway the very first fruit we tasted also had a large juicy seed! It went right into a makeshift pot and will hopefully germinate into something other than a doomed albino. Soon I will hopefully be able to say I **have** a Dekopon, and at a bargain price to boot. Of course as soon as a CA nursery offers them I will go out and buy a grafted tree!!

Here's fruit #2 and the seed from fruit #1.

Has it ever been substantiated that Dekopon seeds even come true from seed. Evidently the the tree only produces zygote seed, and very few of them. - Millet

True to seed, Millet. It is polyembryonic, and definitely will send up clones, so watch for the first and strongest seedling. That should be your clone. Verified this with UCR.

Patty, thank you for the information. Here in Colorado I have never seen any of the fruit for sale anywhere. - Millet

Well, don't feel badly, Millet. I have to drive a fair distance myself, to buy them. They are only being released to a very restricted marketplace right now. Each year they expand a bit, but there simply are not that many growers growing the Dekopon right now. This is only their 2nd or 3rd season on the market.

This is the first year I've seen them where I am.

Mine came from Fresh Market speciality market grocery store. Not sure where they are and are not located across US. Tom

Check Whole Foods, Ive found them there last year and this year.

I picked up 5 fruits from Houston Central market last weekend. The last one had a single seed, so looks like, it is my turn to try growing Dekopon from a seed! Of course, by the time it starts bearing fruits (if it, by a miracle, germinates and won't die in next 6-9 years, or nothing will eat it), we may possibly have Sumo plants available from Home Depot or Walmart. Anyway, the seed is soaking overnight and will go to a pot tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Many of the Dekopon seed seem to germinate as albinos. Past citrus research has shown that citrus seed treated with a mercury compound prevented albinism in citrus seed. When I was a teenager, we used to shine coins to a silver polish with mercury. - Millet

I know this is repetitive but at least in Florida you can buy Dekopon at Home Depot.

Hopefully they will be available in other states soon.

Millet, we have many similar experiences. We also used mercury to shine silver coins many years ago. Early 1960's in junior high school I think . If memory is correct after about a day the mercury would leave the silver more dull than before. Tom