How to grow tangerines at home. How to grow a tangerine from a stone and care for it at home? Growing tangerines in open ground

Growing a tangerine from a stone is a task that even a beginner can handle. Planting seeds, waiting for germination and watching a beautiful tangerine tree with a spherical crown grow is an exciting process. It is grown on the windowsill as an ornamental plant, forming a compact crown. It decorates a winter garden or an insulated loggia. Caring for him is not difficult, and if you have patience and make a little effort, the mandarin will delight you with fragrant fruits.

Choosing seeds

Cultivation of mandarin will be successful if high-quality seed material is used for this.

In order to collect seeds for germination, you need to choose the most ripe tangerine. Brightly colored fruits without damage and spoilage are most suitable. The pulp should be juicy, with no signs of wilting, and the film on the slices is tender, not overdried.

If for food we prefer tangerines without seeds, then for reproduction it is better to have as many of them as possible. In citrus fruits, not all seeds have good germination, so several seeds should be taken at once for germination.

Mandarin can be plucked from a fruiting tree, bought in a store or on the market. For growing at home, the variety does not matter. In mandarin, as well as in other citrus fruits, varietal characteristics of the mother plant are not transmitted when propagated by seeds.

The extracted seeds should be carefully examined and small, deformed and too light compared to others should be discarded.

The seeds should be planted immediately after extraction from the fetus, it is not recommended to dry them.

Preparation for disembarkation

To speed up the germination of mandarin seeds, they must be placed in a warm, moist environment, which is easy to create at home. This will require:

• flat container (plate, container with low sides);
• natural material that absorbs moisture and retains it for a long time;
• spray.

For germination, a paper towel, cotton cloth, gauze is suitable. If there are few seeds, you can use a cotton pad.

An absorbent cloth is placed at the bottom of the container and it is plentifully irrigated with warm water from a spray bottle. The bones are placed on it at a certain distance from each other. Cover with a second layer of cloth, which is also moistened. Excess water from the bottom of the container is carefully drained. The container is placed in a warm place, bright lighting is not needed at this stage.

Further care is to keep the seeds constantly moist.

• It's important not to overdo it. If there is a lot of water at the bottom of the container, then the bones will rot.
• If the fabric dries out, the seeds will not sprout. When dried, the germination of citrus fruits is unlikely.

If it is not possible to constantly control the moisture content of the seeds, the container can be covered with cling film on top. It should make several holes for ventilation. This method is temporary, because air must be supplied to the seeds.

After 3-5 days, the bones will swell and hatch. Only germinated seeds are transplanted.

Soil preparation

You will need any wide bowl in which you can plant several seeds at once. There should be a hole at the bottom to drain excess water.

A drainage layer of expanded clay, pebbles or pieces of foam is laid at the bottom.

Particular attention should be paid to soil preparation. The composition of the soil for citrus fruits should not include peat. Acidic earth depresses the tangerine tree, it slows down in growth and gets sick.

At home, you can prepare the land mixture yourself. Mix:

• 2 parts of garden land;
• 1 part of coarse river sand, which should be pre-washed;
• 1 part compost or manure.

For disinfection, the prepared mixture should be steamed, heated in the oven or spilled with a solution of light pink potassium permanganate.

You can buy ready-made soil. Specialized stores sell special soil for citrus fruits. For planting mandarin, you can use a universal composition with neutral acidity, not lower than 6.0 PH.

Planting seeds

Prepared bowls with soil are sprayed with water, the earth is loosened shallowly and deepenings are made no more than 1 cm.

Sprouted seeds are placed in recesses, the distance between them should be 2-3 cm. Sprinkle with earth on top and spray again.

The bowl is covered with cling film on top, pulling it. A distance of at least 2 cm should remain between the shelter and the soil. Small holes are pierced in the film for ventilation.

Care during this period is to keep the soil moist. It is necessary to ensure that mold does not appear on the surface. If this happens, it is necessary to ventilate, carefully remove the top layer of the earth and spray it with Fitosporin. If necessary, the soil is poured.

Citrus seeds germinate for a long time, from 20 to 35 days, and not together.

Important!
Shelter from the film is removed when the first seedling appears.

The bowl is transferred to a sunny windowsill. It is desirable that the sun illuminates the tangerine in the morning. At home, the best place is the east window, southeast and south. On the south window in the midday heat, the plant is shaded.

Before transplanting, care consists of watering as the soil dries, loosening and spraying. In hot weather, spray several times a day. While wetting the leaves, the sun should not fall on them, otherwise a sunburn is possible.

Transplantation is carried out when 4-5 leaves appear on the seedling.

Transplanting seedlings and further care activities

During transplantation, all seedlings are dug up and culled. For further cultivation, only the strongest and most developed are left, especially if citrus grafting is planned and seedlings will be used for stock.

The bowls should not be too large, the soil is used the same as for seed germination. After transplanting, each seedling is watered, and 15 minutes after watering, a root growth stimulator is added. The appearance of a new leaf means that the plant has taken root.

In the first year, care includes:

• soil moisture control, timely watering with warm water;
• maintaining air humidity - for this you need to regularly spray the foliage, put a container with water near the tree;
• loosening the soil;
• top dressing with complex fertilizer, which is better absorbed in liquid form.

Special care for tangerine trees is needed in winter. They do not tolerate air dried by heating devices. With such a microclimate, a pest such as a spider mite may appear on citrus fruits.

Moisturizing can be increased by placing the bowl on a pallet, on which a thick layer of pebbles is poured. Water should be added to them as they evaporate. A good option for maintaining humidity is an electric humidifier.

Sometimes a tangerine can suddenly drop most of its leaves. This happens if the care is carried out incorrectly or the plant has experienced stress (draft, rearrangement to another place, a sharp change in lighting). After a while, the leaves will grow back. In order to avoid repeated dropping of foliage, you should reconsider your plant care and create more suitable conditions for the mandarin.

Will there be fruit on a tangerine?

Fruiting can be achieved in two ways:

1. grafting a cutting taken from a fruiting mandarin;
2. changing the microclimate in winter. The air temperature should be lowered to 12 ° C, watering should be reduced, but at the same time the soil should not be allowed to dry out. To extend the daylight hours, additional lighting is needed. In the spring, when the air temperature rises to 15-18 ° C, it is likely that the mandarin will bloom.

It is not difficult to grow a tangerine from a stone, it is more difficult to achieve its fruiting. But even without fruits, a tangerine tree is a wonderful decoration for your home that does not require special care.

The tangerine tree, like all its closest relatives - citruses, belongs to the evergreens. This means that it will delight you all year round with amazingly green foliage, and also, if you're lucky, with the sunny color of ripe fruits. It grows remarkably even at home, you just need to create at least minimal comfort for it, which, in turn, is provided with proper care.

In the botanical classification, tangerines belong to the so-called rue family. By the way, it also includes lemons, oranges, grapefruits, kumquats. It is easy to guess what unites all these fruits: bright colors in yellow-red tones, juicy pulp, pleasant and strong aroma. The tangerine tree is perhaps the easiest to adapt to the home microclimate, and is often grown for winter gardens.

How to "tame" a tangerine tree?

Under natural conditions, tangerines are evergreen shrubs, reaching a height of no more than 2-3 meters. With a stretch, they can be called trees. A home-grown tangerine tree is unlikely to exceed 1.5 m. On average, it grows only up to 1-1.2 m. It is easy to notice its striking resemblance to lemon bushes. The difference is only in the shape of the crown: in tangerine trees, it is more “disheveled”.

Mandarin blossoms very beautifully: small snow-white flowers appear on the branches of the tree, collected in small inflorescences-brushes. Each inflorescence has 5-6 flowers. They emit an exquisite and delicate aroma, reminiscent of an expensive perfume. The flowers of the tangerine tree are capable of self-pollination, and this is a big plus in favor of its "domestication".

When the flowering period ends, it is time for the formation of fruits. They have a traditional flattened shape, much less often pear-shaped. There are few bones in them, and sometimes not at all. The peel of the fruit is soft, fleshy, easily separated.

Tangerines ripen faster than all other citrus fruits, which means that they are best suited for cultivation at home. Moreover, the choice must be made in favor of early ripening varieties, and dwarf crops should be selected from them as the most productive.

These are dwarfs in the full sense of the word: in natural conditions they grow only by 0.8-1 m, and in a greenhouse or in a room - only up to 0.4-0.5 m. Miniature and thin leaves of tangerine trees from the Vasya family have light green color, and the flowers stay on the branches for a very long time - sometimes up to 11-12 months. And this, however, does not prevent the trees from bearing fruit already in the first or second year of life. What can they be like in dwarf tangerines? Of course, they are small and light - the weight of one fruit does not exceed 60-70 g. Even after the final ripening, they remain hanging on the branches for a long time, giving the tree a beautiful look.

Some interesting facts about tangerine trees

Wild-growing species of tangerines are now almost nowhere to be found - except in India, which is rightfully assigned the status of their "historical homeland". Indian gardeners began to cultivate tangerine trees in the deepest antiquity - several millennia before the beginning of a new era. And the wonderful sunny fruits came to Europe relatively late - only in the middle of the 19th century, when they were brought to Spain and Portugal by local merchants.

Where did the name "tangerines" come from? There are three versions of this:

the Spaniards could form the word mandarino from the verb "se mondar", which means "easily peeled" and directly says that the skin of these fruits is easily separated from the pulp;

in China, these citrus fruits used to be considered something like a delicacy and were very expensive, which is why they were available only to rich people, who were called tangerines;

Mandarin at one time was called the island of Mauritius, located in the Indian Ocean. Probably, such trees were first discovered here.

Modern India is not among the world's major suppliers of tangerines. Japan and China are leading the way. The main "tangerine republics" of Europe are Spain, Italy and Portugal.

In the Caucasus, tangerines are also grown, and Abkhazia is famous for its special success here. By the way, Abkhazian tangerines are distant "relatives" of Japanese ones.

You can only collect tangerines by hand - this is exactly what all well-known manufacturers do. The fruits are separated from the branches with scissors, and all manipulations are performed with the utmost care. If you accidentally damage the tip of the skin of the fruit, it will quickly deteriorate, and even damage all other tangerines that will be stored next to it.

It is also impossible to pick tangerines from branches with bare hands - they will be unsuitable for long-term storage.

Useful properties of "home-grown" tangerines

Actually, in all its characteristics, home-grown tangerines differ little from ordinary ones. They have the same taste and chemical composition.

The fruits of tangerine trees can be considered as an element of dietary nutrition. Rich in potassium compounds, they are extremely beneficial for the functioning of the heart and have a beneficial effect on the state of the cardiovascular system as a whole. Almost 90% of tangerines consist of water, but they also contain proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vegetable fiber, organic acids, a complex of mono- and disaccharides (glucose, fructose, sucrose) and many vitamins. Tangerines even have some rejuvenating properties, since they contain beta-carotene - a substance that neutralizes the action of free radicals and protects the body from premature aging.

Tangerine peel is saturated with essential oils, which have a wide range of healing properties: promote the breakdown of fats, stimulate metabolic processes, help relieve stress and achieve mental comfort. In folk medicine, there are recipes for tinctures on tangerine peel, which have an expectorant effect in diseases of the respiratory tract.

The pulp of fresh tangerines is as useful as natural tangerine juice. Both stimulate the digestive tract, help to get rid of intestinal disorders, bouts of nausea.

Growing your tangerine tree on a windowsill or on a balcony is for those who suffer from fungal skin diseases: the juice of fresh fruits just picked from a branch will have a truly magical effect on the affected areas of the body - you just need to lubricate these places with them.

"Life plan" for the tangerine tree

The development of any tangerine tree is subject to special patterns. During the year, it enters phases of active growth twice. The first such period usually occurs in March-April, the second - at the end of summer - the beginning of autumn. The first growth is given more importance, although at this time it is usually not necessary to talk about the formation of a good harvest.

A young tree must be allowed to grow stronger and gain strength. To do this, during the first 3-4 years of his life, it is necessary to stop flowering and prevent the formation of fruits. When the tangerine tree is exactly four years old, you can plan a small harvest. But do not try to get a lot of fruits at once - three, four, maximum five pieces for the first time will be quite enough. The fact is that even at this age the branches of the tree are still too thin and vulnerable - they may not withstand a heavy load. And you should not leave too many ovaries on them. The plant may die from exhaustion.

How to determine the amount of fruit that your mature tree is able to bear? Count the number of leaves on the branches. For every 15 leaves, you can leave one ovary - it will become the basis of the future tangerine.

There are no varieties of tangerines intended exclusively for greenhouse or home cultivation: even dwarf varieties grow well in open ground.

For planting at home, these are suitable:

Unshiu, aka seedless mandarin. Evergreen plant with a spherical crown. In nature, it grows to a height of 2-2.5 m, in a room it can reach from 1 to 1.5 m. The branches are drooping, the bark is smooth, the leaves are dark green in color and oval in shape. The flowers are white, grouped in inflorescences of 5 pieces. The fruits are small, rounded, slightly flattened above and below.

Clementine, a hybrid of an ordinary mandarin with a king orange. It is famous for its incredible juiciness and richness of taste. Outwardly, it is not much different from Unshiu. Its peculiarity is that when grown at home, it begins to bear fruit only in the third year of life. The fruits are small, even miniature, but the yield is always extremely high. The tree is unpretentious to environmental conditions, easily tolerates lack of light and low temperatures.

How to grow a tangerine tree from a seed?

When you eat tangerines and find bones in the pulp, the idea of ​​​​planting a seed in the ground and growing a real tree comes as if by itself. Only some take up its implementation, while others begin to doubt its success.

Bones from any fruit are suitable for planting - the very ones that are bought in stores. Unfortunately, not every bone is able to give life to a healthy plant, and you can’t immediately determine this. Therefore, for planting, it is logical to select 7-10 tangerine seeds at once. Their germination at home may not be so simple.

Where to begin? It is necessary to create a humid microclimate for the seeds by moistening a piece of gauze or cotton cloth with water and placing grain between its layers. The fabric will dry out as the water evaporates and need to be moistened regularly. Tangerine seeds will swell and sprout after a few days. The germination process can take from 3-4 days to 2 weeks.

As soon as the mandarin seeds show signs of life, they can be placed in a box of earth or a flower pot. Ideally, you need to stock up in advance with special soil for citrus fruits - it is sold in flower shops. But it is not forbidden to prepare the soil mixture for the future tangerine tree with your own hands. For its basis, leaf and sod land is usually taken in equal parts, and compost and manure humus can be used as additives. Only here peat should absolutely not be here - it is detrimental to citrus plants.

Do not rely on planted mandarin seeds to sprout immediately. Neither on the second, nor on the third, nor even on the fifth or sixth day after landing, you will not see them. The optimal time for the appearance of the first green sprouts is 2.5-3 weeks. Sometimes they hatch in general only after a month. Still, the birth of a new life is not an easy process, and you need to be patient. And at the initial stage of its development, a tangerine tree cannot grow quickly. Provide him with the necessary care (see information below in the text of the article), competent watering, maintain a comfortable temperature for the plant in the room, and everything will work out as it should. First, young green sprouts will hatch, then they will gradually gain strength and one day turn into mature fruit-bearing trees.

Tangerine tree from the store: bought, and then what?

If you want to have a luxurious tangerine tree at home, but at the same time there is absolutely no desire to bother with seed germination, you can go to the flower shops in your city. It is quite possible to buy or order a citrus plant in a pot there. But it is curious that it is tangerine trees that are most often found on sale in the cold season - in autumn or winter. In the warm season, finding them in the assortment is simply unrealistic - such is the specificity.

When you bring a tangerine tree home, do not try to create a "tropical" climate for it right away - it does not need heat. Domestic varieties of dwarf tangerines can withstand even sub-zero temperatures, up to 10 degrees below zero.

But sunlight is a very important factor for the full development of indoor mandarin. This plant is very photophilous - ideally, it needs intense lighting for half a day (12 hours).

Irrigation mode and indoor humidity level are two more parameters that are relevant for the development of a tangerine tree at home. Citruses are generally moisture-loving, but an excess of moisture for them, as well as for many other plants, is fatal. In summer, they try to provide abundant watering to the tangerine tree (but do not flood it), in winter, moisten the soil in the pot occasionally, but make sure that it does not dry out. If the air in the room is dry, then the foliage is sprayed every day from a spray bottle with boiled water.

It may happen that the pot in which the tangerine tree was bought, after a while, will be too cramped for him. Sooner or later, it will be necessary to "relocate" the plant to a larger container. The best time to transplant a tangerine is the last weeks of winter or the beginning of spring.

You do not need to buy the largest pot that you can find in the store for transplanting a tangerine tree. The diameter of the new container should be only 3-5 cm larger than the previous one. The plant is taken out of the old pot along with a clod of earth, which is held by its roots. Such a transplant is called "transshipment": the bush, as it were, "rolls over" from its old pot along with the ground, and its root system is not subjected to mechanical damage. In a new container, a tangerine tree is placed along with an old soil lump and sprinkled with fresh soil mixture.

After transplanting, the tangerine tree will take several weeks to adapt to the new pot, and only then can it enter the phase of active growth. As a rule, such phases occur in spring and summer and are repeated annually. During these periods, the tree's need for nutrients increases, so it is periodically necessary to feed it with organic and mineral fertilizers. A good home fertilizer for him can be used (that is, already used for its intended purpose) tea brewing. It is measured in small portions (1-1.5 tablespoons), laid out in a pot with a plant and mixed with the top soil layer.

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The tangerine tree, in its popularity among flower growers, is only slightly inferior to lemon laurels. And this is not surprising: its bright fruits are pleasing to the eye, and the delicate aroma has a healing effect, improving mood and giving cheerfulness. Tangerine trees decorate window sills for many years - the main thing is to properly care for them. Moreover, it is not so difficult - the mandarin is not capricious.

A tangerine tree can be grown from a seed at home. For this, seeds are selected from the tangerines you like. In order for shoots to appear for sure, it is better to plant at least 10 pieces.

The bones are pre-soaked for several days. For this purpose, they are wrapped in damp gauze and placed in a warm place. The main thing is that the gauze does not dry out. After a few days, the seeds will swell.

As soon as sprouts appear, the seeds can be planted. Stores sell special soil for citrus fruits. But you can make an earthen mixture yourself.

Soil for tangerine trees:

• Sod - 3 parts;
• Earth -1 part;
• Humus -1 part;
• Some sand or clay.

Expanded clay is placed at the bottom of the pot, then the prepared soil mixture is poured. Seeds are planted to a depth of 5 cm. The earth is well moistened and the pot is placed in a bright place. But hatched sprouts must be protected from direct sunlight in the first weeks. Otherwise they will dry out.

It is worth knowing that trees grown from seeds will not produce cultivated juicy fruits themselves. In order to get tasty tangerines, a shoot from a cultivated fruit-bearing plant will need to be grafted to the tree.

Video instruction for growing mandarin from the stone

Lighting and location

Mandarin is a southern plant, therefore it loves light and warmth. For him, it is worth choosing windows facing south, southeast, southwest. It is important that the location is well lit.

However, direct sunlight, especially in the summer heat, is not very fond of mandarin. They can cause leaf burns. If the tree overheats under the rays, then chlorosis may begin - the plants will begin to wither and lose strength. Therefore, on too sunny days, the south window is covered with a gauze curtain. In the summer, you can take the tree out onto the balcony. In a private house, he is even taken out into the street. However, in this case, the transfer is carried out gradually - first the pot is placed in the shade. When he gets used to the new conditions, he is taken out to the site. If you immediately put the pot under the rays of the sun, the tangerine may start to hurt.

In autumn and winter, mandarin must be artificially illuminated. To do this, lamps are placed on the windowsill and turned on during the day. Without this, the mandarin can start to hurt.

Temperature regime

Mandarin does not like the cold. The optimum air temperature for it in summer is +20 degrees, in winter - + 12-14. Buds and ovaries on a tree appear only at a temperature of + 16-18 degrees. If the room is always colder, then the tangerine will not bloom and the grower will wait in vain for bright fruits.

Humidity

In nature, tangerines live in a humid subtropical climate. Therefore, for a comfortable existence, they must be constantly sprayed with water from a spray bottle. And you have to do this several times a day. In winter, you will have to spray the tree more often, as the central heating dries the air a lot. But in no case should you spray the tangerine with cold tap water. It must be warmed up to room temperature.

Additionally, a bowl of water can be placed near the plant. Also, water can be poured into the pan on which the pot with the plant stands. In dry air, the tangerine tree is affected by pests - scale insects and spider mites.

Watering

In summer, the plant is watered often and plentifully. In winter, it is enough to water it 2 times a week. The soil in the pot should not dry out completely - the fact that the time has come for watering is indicated by the drying of the topsoil.

A simple experiment can tell if it's time to water. It is enough to take a pinch of earth in your fingers and squeeze. If it crumbles - it's time to go for a watering can.

Don't use tap water. The chlorine and other compounds contained in it alkalize the earth and cause chlorosis, in which spots appear on the leaves. Does not give a positive result and pre-boiling tap water. Firstly, it complicates care, and secondly, harmful elements still remain in the water. Some flower growers advise using hot water supplied centrally for irrigation. It is less chlorinated and has greater softness. First, it must be cooled and defended for 24 hours. However, this procedure is advised to be done with any water for watering a tangerine tree.

In winter, water for irrigation is heated to + 30-35 degrees. Otherwise, you can supercool the roots of the plant and it will wither. In summer, the water naturally heats up during settling.

Extra care

Every month, a mandarin needs to have a bath. At the same time, the earth in a pot must be protected with an impenetrable film. The leaves of the tree are washed with soapy water. This will help protect the plant from pests.

Important: so that soapy water, running down the trunk, does not soak the ground, it is bandaged with a bandage.

Nutrition

Trees need to be fertilized periodically. For the first time in a year it is done in April. Further, until winter, mandarin is fed every two weeks. This is done so that the tree develops well, buds and bears fruit. Summer dressings prevent the bitterness of the fruit. In winter, it is not necessary to feed the plant.

For top dressing, use any complex fertilizers that are sold in stores. There are special top dressings for citrus fruits.

You can enhance fruiting with the help of the so-called fish soup. 200g of small fresh fish are boiled in 2 liters of water for 30 minutes. The strained broth is cooled and added to complex fertilizer.

pruning

Pruning allows not only to form a beautiful crown, but also accelerates the onset of the fruiting period. All weak branches must be removed. The apical shoots are periodically pinched. Then the tree begins to bush, the crown becomes more dense and beautiful.

In young trees in the first years of flowering, it is necessary to pinch off part of the buds. This will preserve the vitality of the plants. Otherwise, they can become depleted and bear fruit poorly. The fewer flowers there are, the larger and more beautiful the fruits will be.

Transfer

The plant is transplanted once a year in the first years of life. Then, when the fruiting period begins, the trees are transplanted every 2-3 years. Do this before the plant grows. The ideal time is March. If time is missed, it is better to skip deadlines. A transplant not carried out on time can lead to the fact that the tree will be sick for a long time or even die. If there is room in the pot, sometimes it is enough to replace the topsoil and drainage.

Pest control

The fact that the mandarin was struck by a tick is indicated by white dots on the underside of the leaves and twisted leaves, in which cobwebs can be seen. To destroy it, you can use garlic tinctures, tobacco dust, laundry soap.

1 tablespoon of dust is infused in a glass of boiling water for 6 hours, then mixed with 10 g of soap. The plant is sprayed with this solution. It is enough to carry out 3 procedures every 6 days.

To prepare garlic tincture, the head of garlic is crushed and insisted in a glass of boiling water for 2 days. Further, they act in exactly the same way.

When the scale insect is damaged, brownish spots-growths appear along the veins on the leaves. They fight with a shield with the help of such a solution:

• 1 tsp machine oil;
• 2 tbsp. l washing powder;
• 40 g of laundry soap;
• 1 glass of water.

This solution should not fall on the soil. It is applied to leaves and branches. After 4 aces, it is washed off under the shower. The tree is treated 3 times every 6 days.

With good care, a tangerine tree will bear the first fruits in the third year and will then produce up to 50 tasty and juicy tangerines. It's not that hard to take care of it. The main thing is that it should be regular and constant. And then the tangerine tree will surely reward with beauty and harvest.

Recently, growing exotic fruit plants on the windowsill has become a kind of "fashion trend" among both professional flower growers and lovers of this exciting activity. Citrus crops are far from the last place in flower collections, and most often the most favorite tropical pet is mandarin. This popularity is explained simply: the fruits of the tangerine tree are associated by many with the winter holidays, the aroma of the Christmas tree and New Year's miracles, so for many a cute pet on the window is the mood of the most beloved and long-awaited holiday.

Mandarin is very unpretentious in care, and growing it at home from an ordinary bone is not difficult at all. You can also involve younger family members in this exciting process. At the first planting experience, it is recommended to pay attention to some features of mandarin farming.

Selection and preparation of planting material

For growing homemade tangerine tree suitable bones from the usual purchased fruit, the main thing is that it be well ripened. Since the loss of seedlings is possible at any stage of the process, several seeds should be taken for planting at once. Seeds extracted from the pulp immediately before sowing can be placed immediately in the ground. If the seeds have had time to lie down and dry, they will need pre-soaking. To do this, tangerine seeds are wrapped in several layers of wet gauze and placed on a saucer for 10–12 hours, after which they are planted in the ground. Hydrogel can be used as a modern alternative to gauze. When using it, the seeds are placed in the middle layers of the granules, where the optimum moisture level is maintained.

The soaking procedure can be extended until the seeds germinate, and with the appearance of the first roots, transfer to the prepared substrate. In this case, the saucer with soaked seeds should be covered with glass or film, which will speed up the emergence of sprouts. It is necessary to periodically add water to the greenhouse, preventing the seed from drying out.

Landing rules

The best soil for a tangerine tree, which is very demanding on soil composition, will be special mix for citrus fruits from a flower shop. A self-prepared substrate should consist of sand, soddy and leafy soil, mixed in a ratio of 1: 3: 1, with the addition of a small amount of wood ash and rotted organic matter. It is allowed to sow seeds in a common container, however, planting in a separate pot will avoid the first transplant procedure, which mandarin, like all citrus fruits, endures quite painfully. Sowing works are carried out in the following sequence:

• A small drainage layer is laid at the bottom of the planting tank, after which the peat mixture is poured and moistened abundantly.
• Prepared seeds are planted at a depth of 1-2 cm.
• The container with crops is covered with polyethylene and left in a dark place at a temperature of + 23 ... + 25 ° C until germination, maintaining constant soil moisture.
• With the advent of seedlings (after 4–5 weeks), the crops are taken out into the light and the shelter is removed from them.

At the stage of formation of the 3rd–4th leaf, young plants grown in a common container dive into separate containers. The further development of seedlings depends on the correct conditions for their maintenance.

Features of care

Caring for a tangerine tree is easy. For a comfortable well-being of the plant in its content, it is recommended to adhere to the following rules:

• It is desirable to have a tropical pet on the windowsills of the south and southeast sides. To ensure uniform illumination of the crown, the pot must be regularly turned towards the light. But! A tangerine can react to a sudden change in location or too frequent turns of the pot with a sudden drop of leaves.
• Watering mandarin should be moderate, avoiding both drying out and waterlogging of the earthy coma. For irrigation, it is recommended to use melt or rain water. In the case of using tap water, it must be defended for at least a day. In the heat, the tree needs frequent watering.
• Every day the pet should spray with distilled water room temperature, and every 7-10 days arrange a warm shower for him with a soapy treatment of the crown. This procedure helps prevent possible infections and pest attacks. To avoid soap getting into the soil, it is recommended to cover the soil surface with polyethylene.
• From the beginning of June to the end of August, the plant good to keep outdoors. The "summer" place for a mandarin should be sunny, protected from rain and drafts, which have an extremely negative effect on the well-being of the tree.
• In winter mandarin requires special conditions of detention - a cool, bright room with an air temperature of +2 to +10 ° C.
• For plant nutrition, it is recommended to use complex fertilizers for citrus crops with high nitrogen content. Feed every 2 weeks throughout the spring-summer period. With the onset of autumn, feeding is stopped.
• As the tangerine tree grows needs to be transplanted into a larger container. Since the mandarin does not like transplantation, it should not be abused. The indication for the procedure are the roots, "sticking out" of the drainage holes of the pot. It is recommended to replant a tree using the transshipment method without disturbing the earthen coma.v
• The small bitter-tasting fruits of mandarin grown from the stone are unsuitable for food, therefore, if you wish, you can improve the taste characteristics of the future harvest. by vaccination. As a scion, a branch is taken from a varietal fruit-bearing plant, the qualities of which will subsequently be inherited by a home tree.

crown formation

By the time of the first flowering (after 3-5 years), the tangerine tree should have a well-formed spherical crown. They begin to shape the crown in the second year of life. To do this, at a height of 17–22 cm, the main trunk is shortened, after which all single branches are removed, leaving 4–5 healthy branched shoots. A year later, re-pruning is carried out, shortening and pinching the side branches, which contributes to better tillering and fixing the shape of the crown. Subsequently, the procedure is cosmetic and rejuvenating in nature - old, weak and improperly growing branches are removed. In order not to harm the plant during pruning, the following recommendations should be followed during pruning:

• The pruning procedure should be carried out before flowering or at its end. The first method allows you to stimulate the growth of the tree, the second contributes to the formation of new buds.
• Sick, old shoots, as well as shoots with slight branching, are to be pruned.
• Branches with fruit ovaries cannot be cut.
• When carrying out the procedure, you should use sharp garden shears or a well-sharpened knife.
• Places of cuts must be treated with garden pitch, tree resin or other antiseptics.

Pruning, carried out in accordance with all the rules, allows you to give the crown of a homemade tangerine a neat shape and contributes to the formation of young shoots.

Possible problems

In the process of growing homemade mandarin, it is necessary to monitor the health of the green pet. A few yellowed and discarded leaves are not a reason to panic, however, a sudden “leaf fall” is most likely the result of a violation of agricultural technology, which should be eliminated as soon as possible. The most common causes of leaf shedding are:

• incorrectly selected irrigation mode;
• excessively high level of soil acidity;
• a large number of old uncut shoots;
• a sharp temperature drop;
• lack of light;
• high concentration of fertilizers.

With the rapid elimination of the adverse factors listed above, the mandarin will return to normal life.

Proper care, attention and care make it possible to grow an elegant tropical tree from a small seed that can decorate a house and fill it with a fresh citrus scent.

Everyone who has seen homemade tangerines with friends dreams that they also have a citrus tree with fragrant flowers at home. Many are stopped by the fear that there is not enough strength and knowledge to properly care for such an exotic pet.

Indeed, some citrus indoor plants require specific growing conditions, but not mandarin, caring for it is quite simple: it is unpretentious and hardy to live on ordinary windowsills of Russian apartments. Everyone can grow a tangerine from a seedling purchased at a flower shop, since this is already a grafted fruit-bearing tree.

If you cannot afford to allocate money from the household budget to buy a plant, then you can grow a tangerine at home on your own. To do this, you need to have only a few seeds taken from ordinary fruits.

Homemade citrus fruits: decorative mandarin

A few years will pass, and you will be full of pride from a slender tree with very beautiful shiny leaves. Citrus aroma will spread throughout the apartment, which will give your home extra coziness and comfort.

The tangerine tree is from the rue family of spherical shape, the leaves are evergreen, they are replaced every four years, the flowers are white, smelling good.

This citrus tree propagates by seeds or vegetatively. Most often, many at home have indoor tangerines grown from seeds. But this is only an ornamental indoor plant that improves the interior of the apartment, but it does not bear fruit at all or has very small inedible fruits.

On farms, fruit citrus fruits are always obtained by grafting in order to get delicious fruits. You will have to do a similar operation if you decide to enjoy juicy vitamins. If you just want to try your hand at growing citrus plants on your own, then you will absolutely succeed.

Make room for them on the south side, if you have poisonous plants, then they are not the best neighbors for indoor citrus fruits, move them to another windowsill.

How to grow a tangerine at home from an ordinary bone

seed soaking

Everyone who has experienced growing seedlings from seeds knows that they must swell. We take a few tangerine seeds and soak them in gauze for several days. There should not be too much water, let the fabric be slightly damp, and you will simply add water as needed.

If your plans are to have only one homemade tangerine, still let it be 10-15 seeds: not everyone will germinate, some will die from diseases, and someone will die “the death of the brave” when you try to plant the plant yourself for the first time.

There is no desire to deal with gauze - a hydrogel sold in specialized stores will help you. Professional landscaping, ordinary amateur gardeners use it whenever possible, as it is an excellent protection for plants from the heat.

Hydrogel is akin to drip irrigation, but in our case it will not be added to the soil, but will serve instead of gauze, as it retains moisture excellently. The bones must be kept in the middle of the gel so that they do not dry out.

Landing in the ground

The hatched seeds are transplanted into a pot or a regular seedling box. Some do not wait until the bones swell, but immediately plant them in the ground. The sprout appears a little later, but it looks no worse than the one that grew from the soaked seed.

What soil is required to get a tangerine at home? Do not use peat: often sour, quick-drying, not having special nutritional properties. It is found in almost all mixtures sold in stores, so you will have to prepare the soil for growing citrus fruits yourself:

• sod land - 3 parts;
• leaf ground - 1 part;
• rotted cow dung - 1 part;
• sand - 1 part;
• a small amount of clay.

For the townspeople, such manipulations are unrealistic, so try to buy neutral, nutritious "Rose" or "Biohumus" soil. According to reviews on the Internet, it is well suited for citrus cultivation. In extreme cases, you can take ordinary earth and mix with a small amount of ash, superphosphate and organic fertilizer.

At the bottom of the pot, do not forget to put expanded clay or pebbles for drainage. When will the first leaves appear? Citrus houses begin to grow actively three weeks after planting.

Indoor citrus fruits: care, nutrition, protection

As soon as the first sprouts appeared, they should be fed every two weeks with mineral and organic fertilizers.

It is great that there are special fertilizers for the care of citrus plants on sale. First, the tree is watered, and then fertilizer occurs.

Such a houseplant should be transplanted in the spring every year, trying to keep the whole earth around the roots. When the tangerine tree at home reaches eight years, the transplant is done in a year.

Mandarin loves the sun, a window on the south side is an ideal place for him, but so that in winter the temperature does not fall below 14 degrees. Every week, indoor tangerine should be sprayed, high humidity is vital for it, so let there always be dishes with water next to the pot.

In summer, a tangerine tree should be watered several times a day very abundantly, in winter - up to three times a week as the soil dries with water at room temperature. Active feeding of fruit citrus occurs from April to September, from which the fruits will grow sweeter.

Many young indoor citrus fruits die from pests that are practically invisible to humans: red spider mites, citrus whiteflies, scale insects.

If you look closely, you can see that the plant is entwined with the smallest cobweb, which is detrimental to it. Review seedlings regularly to detect problems early.

There are preparations "Aktellik", "Fitoverm", designed to thoroughly wash all the sheets from above and below with their solution. Follow the attached instructions, spraying is not effective, so only washing, which is repeated several times a week later.

How to grow a fruiting tangerine

Mandarin from the stone in nature begins to bear fruit after 4-5 years. This will be the so-called wild game, which has tasteless fruits. Mandarin grafting is an acceleration of fruiting, obtaining appetizing fruits. It is done during the period of sap flow: April, early May, August. In other months, success is not possible, a good result also depends on quick, accurate actions during inoculation in a clean environment.

What should be prepared for grafting a tangerine tree:

• rootstock - this is your plant grown from seed, with a trunk no thinner than 6 mm (like a pencil, approximately);
• scion - a fresh stalk or eye, taken from a fruiting citrus, from a branch no older than two years;
• garden pitch;
• elastic band;
• budding grafting knife.

On the stem of the stock at a height of 10 cm, an incision is made in the shape of the letter T: horizontal - 1 cm, vertical - 2-4 cm. The graft is prepared: spikes, leaf blades are removed. A kidney with a small layer of wood is carefully cut off and inserted into the incision. The place of "operation" is carefully wrapped with tape. The plant after grafting is placed under a jar or plastic bag to create the necessary humidity and microclimate.

Only in a month it will become clear whether the budding has turned out or not. Let there be several experimental samples, since it will no longer be possible to redo it - the period of sap flow has passed. It is best to start the experiments in the spring, if there is no success, repeat at the end of the summer.

As you saw that the bud has sprouted, the sprout is accustomed to the air outside the jar. The ventilation gradually increases, the winding is removed. A month later, when the new shoot is already growing well: the stem of the stock is carefully cut with a knife obliquely 3 mm higher from the base of the shoot and covered with garden pitch. A stick is installed in a pot to teach a tangerine tree to grow vertically at home. That's all! Good luck to you, do not forget to water, fertilize and spray your citrus tree.