Mandarin tree care. Mandarin at home: growing from seeds. Indoor tangerine care
- one of the most favorite delicacies on New Year's Eve. The aroma of citrus uplifts the mood, gives the body a lot of beneficial trace elements and pleases with a pleasant, sweet taste. It is possible to grow a "home" tangerine. Moreover, it's simple. The plant will decorate the interior of the room, freshen the air with delicate floral and citrus notes.
citrus tree small size specially bred for growing in greenhouses, winter gardens and rooms. beautiful ornamental plant can not only brighten up the atmosphere of the room, but also bear fruit. The process of growing a mandarin is very interesting, and what pride comes after the first taste of a sweet fruit grown on your own! Growing conditions, planting and caring for citrus - all this can be found in useful material for the grower.
Mandarin in the wild originally grew in China. In nature, it reaches a height of 4 to 5 m and grows as a lush tree. Citrus leaves are bright green, juicy and glossy. Interestingly, the plant changes its crown only once every four years. The plant blooms with white inflorescences in May. Mandarin begins to bear fruit at 4-5 years of age. Fruits - rounded, slightly flattened in the center, bright orange or yellow color, ripen in October. The peel is easily removed, thin or compacted, depending on the variety and type.
The tangerine tree belongs to the mulberry family and has many species and varieties.
The house plant belongs to the group called "satsumy". It is customary to grow them indoors. This is a frost-resistant tree, reaching a height of no more than 2 m. It begins to bear fruit at 3-4 years of age, the fruits are sweet or moderately sweet, depending on the variety in this group. Many gardeners grow tangerines from seeds they get from store-bought fruits. But such seeds are not able to produce sweet and tasty fruits in the future. Fruits from the store are tangerines from the "tangerine" or "noble" group, which are not grown at home, they need a full-fledged climate and a lot of space.
For growing mandarin at home, it is advisable to find satsum seed and a variety intended for indoor cultivation. So you don't have to bother with grafting tangerine or a noble species planted and grown from a "shop" bone. Having understood the intricacies of citrus, you can decide which tangerine to grow at home.
Whatever type of tangerine the gardener chooses to grow, you need to observe the conditions under which the plant will feel comfortable. For successful development, you need to choose a good place and provide the tangerine with lighting, humidity and pick up.
Lighting and air temperature:
- Citrus fruits love bright areas, where there is a lot of diffused sunlight. Twelve hour daylight necessary condition for the tangerine.
- At home, choose windows facing south side. bones can also be on the windowsill, and protect already grown sprouts from sunburn- put the flowerpot a little further from the window.
- IN winter time watch the distance from the radiators. Do not expose the tangerine to dry air and currents emanating from batteries. It is more expedient to choose a place against the wall of the room, not far from the window, but at a sufficient distance from the radiators. Lighting plays an important role in growing a plant, you should not ignore it.
- The air temperature in the room should not fall below 15° in winter and below 18° in summer. Varieties of the "satsumy", "tangerines" and "noble" groups can withstand temperature drops up to -7 °.
Citrus is very fond of nutritious soils rich in trace elements. Moreover, one mixture is needed for the seeds, and another when transplanting adult plants.
The main condition is good drainage and nutritional value of the soil.
For seeds and their germination, a substrate is prepared from soddy soil, sand, humus and leaf soil. Ratio 2:1:1:1. You can not add peat to the soil, it acidifies the soil. For a tree aged one year or more, a substrate is prepared from turf, humus, sand, clay and leaf ground. Ratio 3:1:1:1:1. If there is no clay available, it's okay. This is not a mandatory component of the substrate. Having properly prepared the soil, you can safely plant seeds or transplant an already matured tree.
It is very important to provide the plant with sufficient air humidity. This condition is quite difficult to implement at home, especially if the heating system is equipped with conventional radiators. Experienced growers put containers of water next to pots with tangerines, and in winter they put wet towels on the batteries. A prerequisite is a regular sprinkling procedure - this will maintain high humidity air and will not let the citrus dry out. As often as possible, you just need to spray water into the air in the room where the tangerine is located.
Tangerine from the bone: planting rules
Mandarin pits are the most common type of plant. It can always be obtained from a purchased fruit or purchased at a garden store. Rarely buy seedlings. The process of growing an exotic fruit from a seed is very interesting. It is always pleasant to realize that the resulting fruit was grown "from scratch" - from the seed.
Bone planting:
- The existing seed material must first be prepared. To do this, the bones are placed for several days in wet gauze. should swell and peck a little. So they will rise faster, in 3-4 weeks, and not in the prescribed 5-6. Mandarin grows for a long time. So please be patient from the start.
- Lay a layer of drainage in a flowerpot or any other container. Expanded clay, broken brick or pebbles can act as it.
- Then the pot is filled with the substrate for young plants (see above).
- Plant the stone shallowly - to a depth of 1-2 cm.
- Cover the container with foil to create a greenhouse climate.
- Dishes with seeds can be placed on the windowsill.
The air temperature must be at least 15°. The soil must be periodically moistened, but not flooded. Remove the condensate from the film so that the young sprouts are not affected by the fungus. Initially, the bones soaked in gauze will sprout in 3-4 weeks.
Plant care is simple and requires minimum effort associated mainly with irrigation and fertilization. Mandarin will not cause trouble if all growing conditions were initially observed and provided.
- IN summer time citrus should be watered and sprinkled frequently. It is impossible to allow overdrying of an earthen coma.
- Make sure the soil is evenly moist, but not waterlogged.
- For use only separated, warm water. You can't take it straight from the tap. All the precipitation that is always present in the water will settle in the soil. This adversely affects the health of the plant and the nutritional value of the soil.
- Sprinkling procedures are also carried out with warm, settled water. In the hot season, the plant is sprayed 1-2 times a day so that after that no direct sunlight.
- In winter, watering and sprinkling are reduced by 2-3 times.
- Top dressing:
- In the spring, it is necessary to introduce and into the soil. The first feeding is carried out after 5-6 full-fledged leaves have formed on the sprout. It is better to give preference to mineral complexes for citrus fruits. Well-rotted humus is introduced from organics.
- Feeding is reduced in autumn.
- In winter, it is better to refrain from them.
It is important to fertilize before - May-June and before fruit ripening - September. Always follow the measure and adhere to the gardener's golden rule: fertilizers with nitrogen compounds are applied in spring, and closer to autumn with phosphorus-potassium compounds.
Every year, in the spring, a young tree needs to be transplanted into a larger pot.
After 8 years of life, the mandarin is transplanted once every 2-3 years. Method - transshipment of an earthen coma. The fresh substrate is distributed in a circle, in a free space along the diameter of the pot. Young plants should be moved from one flowerpot to another with extreme care, as the mandarin root system is very fragile. Many gardeners do young tree so that the fruits are sweet and tasty. However, if the variety and group are chosen correctly, this procedure is not needed. Basically, it is provided if the bones were taken from a purchased fruit of an unknown variety and group.
At home, mandarin is more often affected spider mite ik, scale insect or mealy worm. Pests are removed with a cotton swab, and the plant is treated with either vegetable solutions or insecticides of chemical origin. Solutions can be prepared from soap shavings as well. As for chemicals, "Fitoverm" or "Aktellika" will help here. Remember that the use of chemistry is justified in case of severe damage to the plant, which rarely happens at home.
Pests attack tangerines more often when the room is hot and there is low humidity.
In case of incorrect leaves of the tree become stained and fall off. Therefore, it is very important to water the citrus in a timely manner, but not to swamp the soil. Otherwise, the mandarin no longer has enemies and diseases.
It is easy to grow indoor tangerine at home if the rules are followed, the tree has enough light and moisture. For 3-4 years of the life of the exotic, the first tasty fruits will appear - the pride of the plant breeder. Good luck growing your tangerine!
More information can be found in the video:
For top dressing, you can use both dry additives and soluble ones. There is a root and foliar citrus fertilizer. Both of these methods are quite important and useful for the mandarin. At the same time, phosphorus and nitrogen are often used during root nutrition. And for foliar (which, by the way, is best combined with spraying), copper, manganese, boron, iron, magnesium and zinc are used. All these ingredients should be used with the following dosage: blue vitriol- a dose of not more than 250 mg / l, potassium permanganate - approximately 200-300 mg / l, boric acid- 200-250 mg / l, iron sulfate - no more than 3 g / l, magnesium (or magnesium sulfate) - 10 g / l and zinc oxide - 5-7 g / l.
How often should this citrus be fertilized? Fresh soil on average nourishes the plant for about 3 months. But there are various subtleties. If you fertilize with not completely rotted manure, then it is worth adding nitrogen-containing elements. But it is worth remembering that the plant must receive all the necessary components, since the lack of one element cannot be replaced by an excess of any other component. With this condition, it is worth using not individual components, but mixtures. The list of required components includes: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, iron, oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, calcium, magnesium and others.
You need to feed the tangerine, focusing not only on the indicated tips on the packages, but also on the condition of the plant itself.
Phosphorus fertilizer. There are several ways to phosphorus feed a plant. The first most convenient is to sprinkle the surface of the earth with superphosphate and then loosen the soil and sprinkle the phosphate with earth. The next method of such feeding is to mix superphosphate with a manure mixture and apply it to the ground. And the most difficult is mixing phosphate with water. It is difficult because superphosphate is practically insoluble in water. Therefore, per liter of water, you need to take 50 g of superphosphate, boil this solution for about 30 minutes, and then drain and dilute it 10 times with water.
nitrogen fertilizer. Nitrogen minerals can be fed, for example, with saltpeter (0.5%): 2-3 tablespoons per 15 liters of water. You can also feed with a mixture of ammonium nitrate and potassium soda. Dissolve 1-2 tablespoons of ammonium nitrate and 1 tablespoon of salt in 10 liters of water. It is best to initially mix saltpeter and salt in a liter of water and then pour it into the rest of the water.
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Calcium supplement. This is a fairly simple way to fertilize a tangerine. For calcium, it is best to take already used lime or plaster. It is best to apply these substances under the roots of the plant, in the soil.
Fertilizer organic matter. This fertilizer is a natural substance, namely manure. Initially, manure must be filled with water and left for 5-10 days so that it ferments. After that, it must be diluted with water. If this is cow dung, then you need to dilute it 10-15 times, if bird droppings, then 15-20 times. Then, 2-3 g of superphosphate and 1-3 g of viburnum salt should be added to the finished slurry. You can also feed it with non-stray manure. Manure is used to accelerate the growth of citrus. Organic fertilizer is used in summer. Also in summer, slurry is best combined with nitrogen-potassium fertilizer. At the same time, nitrogen with potassium is applied every 10 days, and slurry 5 days after nitrogen. If you use only manure, then you need to do this 1-2 times a month.
It is important to remember that you need to feed the plant depending on the season and weather conditions. Active fertilization begins in March and ends around September. In winter, plants can be fertilized once a month, and if it saturates the soil well, then until January you can not feed the plant at all. It is necessary to make various substances only in moist soil.
To saturate the soil with various useful substances they also use tincture of tea or shag, castor oil, solution iron sulphate. Also sprinkled with rust and horn shavings.
It was mentioned above in the article that it is necessary to nourish the soil and the plant not only according to the schedule or depending on the season, but it is also extremely important to focus on the state of the citrus itself. In this case, you need to pay attention to the age of the plant. So on young leaves, the manifestations of poisoning or deficiency will be one, and on adults and old ones - completely different.
How to understand what a young plant lacks
If there is not enough iron, then on the leaves of the mandarin (regardless of the color of the leaf itself), the network of veins will stand out brightly. It will be a bright green color, especially the central vein. With a lack of iron, plant growth will be halted.
Manganese deficiency manifests itself in a similar way. The veins will also be bright green, but the tissue between them will turn yellow, and then completely turn into dead.
Sulfur. Starting with the veins, the entire leaf becomes either pale green or pale yellow. It will not become completely yellow, but a certain yellowness will appear. The absence of sulfur does not lead to tissue death.
Lack of calcium. The lack of this substance is more dangerous for the plant. In the absence of calcium, the mandarin leaf first becomes discolored, and then the upper edge begins to curl down. Further, the top and edges of the leaf begin to die off, which can lead to leaf fall.
Boron deficiency leads to various modifications of foliage. Particularly noticeable factors are the deformation of the sheet plate and different kind color changes, usually at the top of the leaf.
If the citrus lacks copper, then the plant begins to fade. The leaf becomes an unnatural dark green color. And the shape of the sheet becomes not symmetrical. The central vein may also change, it becomes arched. And resinous smudges may appear on the fruits.
An adult plant may lack completely different elements.
How to grow a gorgeous citrus tree?
Lack of substances in old tangerines
Nitrogen. With chlorosis, a yellowish-green speck appears on the plant, which eventually spreads to the entire leaf. And the runs are getting shorter.
No phosphorus. In this case, the sheet remains green, but ceases to be glossy. What is also remarkable is that young foxes become very narrow. Also, flowering is weak and as a result - low yields and a thick peel for tangerines. And the fruits become sour.
If there is a lack of zinc, then the leaves become paler and the veins brighter. At the same time, they shrink.
Poisoning or overabundance of elements
Poisoning is possible with any of the elements: nitrogen, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, manganese, boron, etc.
For the normal existence of the plant and for it to give good harvest, while the taste of tangerines was balanced, it is necessary to carry out proper care for the plants.
Nutrient for citrus trees
And a little about the secrets of the Author
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Many people grow tangerines at home not only for fruit, but also because of the beautiful flowering of the tree and the pleasant aroma of flowers.
For some representatives of citrus fruits, a very difficult care, and special conditions for its successful growth. Mandarin is not one of them. It is quite unpretentious and hardy plant.
There are two ways to grow citrus:
1. Buy a seedling of a fruit-bearing tree in a flower shop.
2. Self-grow from a stone obtained from purchased fruits.
Decorative tangerines
tangerine tree belongs to the rue family, the foliage is evergreen, the leaf cover changes every few years, the flowers are white with a pleasant aroma.
People who have indoor tangerines prefer to grow them themselves from seeds. But in this case will only grow decorative look which will look nice in general interior. Trees may either not bear fruit at all, or produce small tasteless fruits.
Gardeners always graft citrus fruits for a tasty harvest. At home, you can do the same if you really want to get your own tangerines.
The place for the plant is best taken in the south room, where there is most of the sunlight. In the presence of poisonous plants, they will need to be moved to another room, because tangerines do not like such a neighborhood.
Basics of growing ornamental mandarin
First of all, you need to take a few tangerine seeds and soak them in a damp cloth for several days. A large amount of moisture should be avoided, the fabric should be slightly damp, and as it dries, it is enough to add water.
Even if you want to grow one tree, then you need to take 8-12 seeds for insurance. Some may not germinate, some will die from possible diseases, some will not survive the grafting process if one is carried out.
How to plant in the ground
Peat is not suitable for tangerines, such soil often turns sour, almost does not hold moisture, and there is no nutrients. To create citrus ideal conditions it is best to prepare the earth mixture with your own hands:
1. three parts - soddy soil.
2. one part - sheet soil.
3. One part is organic fertilizer.
4. one part - river sand.
5. a small piece of clay.
If it is not possible to make the earth on your own, then it is recommended to purchase soil with a neutral composition in the store or add ash and organic fertilizers to ordinary soil.
The bottom of the container that will be used for planting should be placed with pebbles to improve drainage or expanded clay.
Caring for decorative mandarin
After the first sprouts appear, it is necessary to introduce organic and mineral supplement, this should be done every 14 days. Fertilizers should be applied after watering the plants.
Transplant citrus Recommended once a year spring period, while you need to try to save the layer of earth that has stuck to root system. Upon reaching the age of eight, the tree will need to be transplanted once every couple of years.
Mandarins need sunlight, so the best place for the plant will be placing it on the windowsill in the south room. During the winter months, keep an eye on temperature regime, it should not go down +15. Citrus needs weekly spraying, it is a moisture-loving species. You can put a bowl of water next to it.
In hot summer days tangerines need to be watered: morning, afternoon and evening, in the winter months, as the earth in the pot dries out.
Pest control
Red spider mite, citrus whitefly, scale insects - pests of which are very difficult to see, but their presence can lead to the death of young citrus fruits.
It is necessary to carefully examine the plants for the possible presence of a tiny web in order to begin treatment at the first sign.
The stores sell special preparations for pest control. Solutions need to rinse all the leaves on both sides. The procedure must be repeated several times, every 7 days.
And vegetatively. For planting, you can take seeds from any fruit. Remove them and immediately plant them in a fertile substrate consisting of leaf humus and sand with the addition of a small amount of oily clay. Seedlings appear quite quickly and after a few years become quite lush bushes.
Flowering and fruiting on a mandarin grown in this way comes very late. The process can be accelerated by grafting the plant.
The vegetative propagation method is quite laborious, but by propagating in this way, you will get fruits much faster in 2-4 years. Make air layers. To do this, select a suitable branch and remove the bark about 2 cm wide from it. Tie this place with wet moss and moisten it periodically as it dries, the substrate should always be wet. After a while, roots should appear at the layering. Cut off a twig and plant in a pot with light soil.
How to care for a tangerine
Tangerines, unlike other citrus fruits, are quite unpretentious and require minimal care, but in order to achieve flowering and fruiting from them, you need to create a plant certain conditions.
Light tangerine needs bright, but diffused. Place the pot in an east or west window. On sunny days, shade from direct rays.
The plant is moisture-loving. in spring and summer period it must be watered 1-2 times a day with soft water room temperature. In winter, watering should be slightly reduced, but the soil should always be moist, you should not allow the earthen clod to dry out, as the tangerine can shed foliage. Spray the plant regularly, especially if the air in the room is very dry.
To achieve the required humidity, pour expanded clay into the pallet and moisten it. As it dries, pour some water into the pan.
During the period of active growth, during budding and fruiting, feed the plants with organic and mineral fertilizers. Use complex fertilizers for citrus fruits, and as an organic matter - cow dung slurry (in a ratio of 1:10).
Plant transplant
Young bushes need to be transplanted annually, and adult plants once every 3 years. Best time for this - spring, at this time the mandarin begins a period of active growth, so the plant will tolerate the procedure very well.
Put a layer of drainage on the bottom of the pot. It can be broken brick, crushed stone or expanded clay. Then pour in a nutritious but light citrus substrate. Remove the plant from the old pot, shake off the soil and wash the roots in warm water. Sick and rotten, remove and plant the tangerine in fresh soil.
adults large plants transplanting is quite problematic, but you can get by with replacing the top layer of soil in the container. Remove about 5 cm of old soil and pour in fresh substrate. Lightly compact it and water the plant with warm water.
Spectacular potted culture - indoor tangerine - fell in love with many flower growers not only for their bright fragrant fruits that ripen on New Year's Eve, but also for white flowers exuding surprisingly tender, incredibly tender flowers during flowering. pleasant aroma. Some cultivars of mandarin are able to bloom all year round. Look at the photo how beautiful the tree looks in the interior of the room. Mandarin is easy to grow and care for, it can be planted and propagated without difficulty even at home. See for yourself.
Biological characteristics and common varieties
Mandarin (Citrus reticulate) is classified as extensive. Culture is a tree or shrub, reaching 5 m in nature. Of all citrus tangerine- This is the most winter-hardy and productive plant. It is able to withstand a short-term drop in temperature to -12-15 degrees. Tangerine trees begin to bear fruit in the second year of planting. Its flowers are slightly smaller than lemon ones, but have a more piercing, strong aroma. IN room conditions plants are usually grown dwarf varieties not exceeding 40-50 cm.
Among the common varieties, the following can be noted:
- Tangerine Georgian seedless(Unshiu) - the most common in room culture due to large fruits having a thin peel and juicy sweet pulp. It practically does not form seeds.
- Mandarin Georgian angustifolia- the plant produces smaller fruits. The rind is slightly thicker than that of the Unshiu fruit. The pulp is sweet, fine-grained and very juicy.
- Mandarin Kovano-Wase- high-yielding, early ripe variety. Gives a lot of fruit even in a home culture. Able to bear fruit in the first year of planting.
Planting indoor tangerine
Cultivation of tangerine trees began in Ancient China, where orange-yellow fruits were available only to the rich - tangerines. Where, perhaps, the name of the culture came from. Nowadays, dwarf tangerine plants, already with bright fruits already on the branches, can be easily purchased at many flower shops.
After purchase, the plant is recommended to be transplanted into a fresh, suitable citrus substrate with an acidity of pH 5.5-7.0. The soil can also be made independently by mixing leafy, soddy soil, manure humus and river sand in a ratio of 1: 1: 1: 0.5. Take a transplant pot only 2-3 cm larger than the previous one - this will stimulate the tangerine to grow.
Features of growing and caring for mandarin
Indoor tangerine trees are very photophilous. They are recommended to be placed no further than 1 m from the window of the east or south side.
Attention! Citrus fruits (and mandarin is no exception) easily get used to the light on the one hand, so sharp turns and rearrangements from one window sill to another are contraindicated for a tangerine tree. This causes a violation of the metabolism of nutrients in the leaves, which leads to abundant leaf fall, and in some cases even to the death of the entire plant.
For development and optimal growth, mandarin will need a temperature of + 16-20 degrees in the spring and summer and + 12-15 in winter. In summer and during flowering, carefully monitor the temperature indicators near the plant, as overheating threatens to wither the flowers and fruits.
Pay special attention to the leaf mass: carry out regular spraying and cleaning of leaf plates. The flowering and yield of mandarin directly depend on the condition and number of leaves. Watch the soil moisture in the pot: it should not dry out completely. Water only with warm, purified or settled water.
Important! All citrus fruits are excellent air purifiers, as they saturate it big amount phytoncides.
top dressing
Fertilizing an adult fruit-bearing tangerine tree begins in the summer and continues until the end of September. give preference organic fertilizers- infused and diluted in a ratio of 1:10 cow dung. In the spring, before flowering, mandarin can be fed 2-3 times with a complex fertilizer for citrus fruits.
reproduction
Indoor tangerine can be propagated in two ways:
- rooting of the apical cutting;
Cuttings are carried out at the beginning of summer. For rooting, root-stimulating agents are used, since the cuttings do not give roots well.
Vaccination is more effective and successful. Own-rooted cuttings of lemon or seedlings of any citrus fruits are used as a stock.
Common diseases and pests
Most often, the plant is exposed to late blight, gray rot and scab. For prevention, regular spraying with systemic fungicides is recommended.
From pests to tangerine trees great harm cause scale insects, aphids, spider mites and thrips. To combat them, special natural or chemical insecticides are used.
How to grow tangerine at home: video
Growing mandarin: photo
