How to plant tangerine sprouts. How to grow tangerine at home

Shops and markets sell small tangerine trees ready for planting. Some of them have gained color or even bear fruit, but the cost of such specimens cannot be called cheap. If you don't want to overpay a few thousand for a new pet, try growing a tangerine tree yourself.

Of all citrus fruits, tangerines are considered the most unpretentious. In order to germinate a seed, you do not have to create special conditions, it is enough to provide it with a nutrient medium and water it regularly. There are still some rules for growing this plant, but they are not too complicated.

Features of the growth of mandarin

Knowing the characteristics of a tangerine tree will help you carefully consider your care and maintenance strategy, which means ensuring a quality life for the plant.

How to plant a tangerine from a stone

After you buy a citrus fruit from the store, check it for seeds. As a rule, from five fruits you can collect the right amount of material for planting. Take 10-15 seeds, so many are needed, because not all will sprout, some will turn out to be weak, while others may suffer from the inept actions of a novice gardener. It is better to insure yourself in case of failure in advance.

1. Seeds will require soaking before planting. You do not need to put them in water, moisten cheesecloth and place the seeds in it. The fabric should be damp, but it should not leak. As it dries, you just need to moisten the gauze. It will be necessary to keep future seedlings in this form until the first shoots appear.
2. Move the seeds to the ground. Landing is carried out in a mixture of turf and leafy soil. Peat soil is not suitable, as it dries quickly and does not have sufficient nutritional value. Prepare the mixture by mixing yourself:

• three parts of sod land;
• one part of leafy land;
• one part of compost;
• one part of sand;
• one half of the clay.

If it is not possible to get all the components of the mixture, find a neutral nutrient soil in the store.

1. Do not forget about drainage, small expanded clay is suitable for this.
2. A box of seeds can be covered with a film, so it will be warmer. An impromptu greenhouse must be ventilated daily. Do not forget about regular watering, otherwise all worries will be in vain.
3. After three weeks, the first shoots should appear. After that, you need to remove the film and ensure sufficient watering.

Mandarin does not like drafts, install boxes, and then a tub with a tree so that the coolness of windows and doors does not get them.

Caring for tangerine from the stone

So, you were able to get tangerine seedlings, which means you have a long way to grow a tree from a still defenseless baby. In order not to destroy a young plant, you will have to carefully follow the tips for caring for it.

• In a flower shop, purchase a mineral fertilizer recommended for citrus trees. It will be required to bring it into the ground every two weeks, after moistening the earthen clod. It is not worth fertilizing dry land, this is fraught with an uneven distribution of nutrients.
• Every spring, the young plant will need to be transplanted into a larger pot. You can skip the annual soil replacement only after eight years. From this moment, the tree is changed the soil and the pot in a year.
• A pot with seedlings, and then a tub with a tree, is installed near the south window. The abundance of sun, moisture and warm air is a vital necessity for the tangerine tree. Insufficiently humidified air can be fed with an open dish of water, place it under the crown of a tree

In general, caring for a tangerine will not bring much trouble, the main thing is to observe moderation and do not forget about feeding the plant. To correct the shortcomings of care, just carefully observe the condition of the tree after various manipulations. Once you can identify the pattern of his reactions to your actions, adjust the care to take them into account and you will grow a strong and beautiful tangerine tree.

Does the tangerine bear fruit from the stone

Many productive trees bear fruit when grown in tubs, but their fruits are not always edible. Mandarin is a happy exception, it has edible fruits that have full-fledged taste properties. Their only difference is the size, small fruits are obtained from a miniature tree.

Five years after the appearance of tender seedlings, after the tree gets stronger, covered with thin bark and spreads branches, fragrant flowers will appear. After a while, they self-pollinate, form ovaries and begin to form miniature fruits. The mandarin, which was grown from the seed, bears fruit, takes root well and pleases the owners with its beauty for a long time. He does not need a break in the winter, so a spectacular crown crowns him all year round.

Store-bought tangerines are hybrids, so to get delicious fruits you need to graft a twig from a fruit-bearing tree. This is done during the spring sap flow, which occurs from April to May. Not all scions will take root, so several are made, preferably at least three.

For vaccination you will need:

• your plant, grown from a seed to a trunk no thinner than a pencil;
• fresh stalk from an adult fruiting varietal mandarin;
• garden var - a special mixture for filling wounds on trees;
• elastic band;
• grafting knife.

The vaccination is done at a height of ten centimeters from the ground, for this a T-shaped incision is made in the selected place. A prepared kidney from a cutting with a part of the bark is inserted into it. The scion site is wrapped with tape, and the plant is covered with a jar or polyethylene. In order for the procedure to be successful, you need to create a suitable microclimate: warm, humid, calm. The results of the manipulations will be known a month after the removal of the jar. In another month, the branch will become strong, grow well and be ready for the next procedure. During this period, you need to cut the tree ten centimeters above the graft, and direct the new branch up, placing a support under it. This completes the vaccination procedure, it remains to wait for the results.

To make future fruits sweet, you need to choose the right top dressing and fertilize the plant regularly. The peculiarity of the right fertilizer is that it sugars the tangerines, making their taste rich.

• Provide the plant with plenty of soft sunlight. During the fruiting period, direct sunlight should not fall on the plant, so push the pot to the back of the room or protect the plant with tulle.
• The temperature suitable for keeping mandarin is from 15 to 18 degrees. Do not let it fall below 12, the plant will die.
• Keep the air moist by spraying the leaves twice a day.
• Watering should be done with water at room temperature, cold watering will harm the plant
• Before fruiting, the tangerine is transplanted every year, as soon as it begins to bear fruit, you can perform the procedure every two to three years.
• Water for irrigation should be defended in a place protected from sunlight.
• When preparing top dressing, in no case increase the recommended dose, most often such experiments lead to chemical burns of the root system.
• Highlight the mandarin with a phytolamp, this will benefit both the plant and its fruits.
• When watering, you can not fill the tree, this will increase the risk of disease.
• You can prevent most diseases with a solution of potassium permanganate, disinfect the soil and equipment with it.

Recently, growing exotic fruit plants on the windowsill has become a kind of “fashion trend” both among professional flower growers and among lovers of this fascinating 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, therefore, 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 seedlings may be lost 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, so if you want to improve the taste characteristics of the future harvest, you can 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 the home 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.

It is not difficult to grow a tangerine from a stone - it is unpretentious and hardy. Therefore, even a person far from floriculture will cope with such a task.

Where to find tangerine seeds

Seeds are extracted from a store-bought tangerine. The main thing is that the fruit has a marketable appearance and there are no signs of decay. The bone itself should also be examined, it should not have signs of damage, deformation. Even if there is a desire to grow only one tree, you should still stock up on a dozen seeds. Later this will allow:

• select the largest, most beautiful sprouts for further cultivation;
• without fear for the result, vaccinate in order to obtain fruits. Grafting cuttings is an operation that requires precision, often the first time it does not give the desired result.

It is better to have a stock of several seedlings.

How to prepare the bones for planting

The resulting seeds can be planted in two ways:

1. Without additional processing of the bones - immediately after the removal from the tangerine, they are sent to the ground;
2. After soaking. To do this, the bones are wrapped in a damp cloth for several days. The main thing is that the fabric does not dry out. If there is no time, desire to control humidity, then the seeds can be filled with water. It is believed that it is unnecessary to do this, but practice shows that the result will be almost one hundred percent shoot.

Any of the above seed preparation methods will allow you to grow a tangerine from a stone, but when soaked, the sprouts will appear earlier. For example, if an untreated seed germinates on average in a month, then a treated seed will germinate a week faster. Soaking does not provide any other benefits. If you want to reduce the wait even more, then after soaking, you should carefully cut off the protective peel on the pointed end of the seed and remove it from the stone. This will speed up the process by a few more days.

When to plant mandarin

The optimal planting time is January-February. Reason: it will take about 30 days to germinate, and after it, the sprouts adapt for about two weeks, and only then does active growth begin. That is, tangerines will be ready to develop by the end of March, just at this time the daylight hours allow them to do this in the best conditions. But this parameter is not the most important, if you want to plant a bone at some other time, then this can be done. In the latter case, the only drawback will be not the fastest growth.

Soil for planting mandarin

If there is a desire to grow a healthy mandarin from a bone, then it is necessary to create appropriate conditions for it. That is, just planting seeds in the ground, under some kind of flower, is not worth it. For a normal shoot and cultivation of a tree, you will need to fulfill the following two conditions:

1. Provide the tangerine with the necessary size capacity;
2. Provide the plant with the necessary quality soil.

What should be the capacity

The stone should be planted in a small container. Even egg trays or 100-gram plastic cups will do. Reason: citrus fruits need a lot of moisture, but if it is not processed by the roots, putrefactive processes will begin. This mandarin does not like, so he will die. That is, in a small container it is much easier for a sprout to create optimal conditions. In addition, a small layer of loose soil will allow the roots to breathe more actively, which means they can perform their function more efficiently.

As the tree grows, it will be necessary to provide large containers. So in the first year it is desirable to perform 3 transshipments. Please note, not transfers, but transshipments. That is, the tree should be moved with a clod of earth stuck to the roots. This allows you to immediately get used to new conditions and develop at a rapid pace. The first transshipment is carried out after the young tree has four leaves.

Further, in the first year of a mandarin's life, the pot change procedure is performed after the roots fill the entire old container. In the future, transshipment is carried out once a year, it should be completed before the beginning of March.

In all cases, the diameter of the new pot should exceed the old one by 1-2 cm. An adult tree from 8 years old can be moved every 2 years, the new container should exceed the old one by 4-6 cm. In the latter case, if desired, the citrus grower can replace transshipment with change of topsoil.

Mandarin will be better if the pot is plastic. In summer, the material of the container does not play a significant role, and in winter, plastic will not reduce the temperature of the soil, as clay pots do. This will help grow a healthy, hardy mandarin from the stone.

What should be the soil

Even residents of large cities should be prepared for the fact that they will have to prepare the soil themselves, and not buy it. Reason: Mandarin needs a neutral soil, the pH of which should be in the range of 6.5-7. That is, the composition should not contain peat, which makes the earth acidic, and almost all manufacturers use it for their soil mixtures.

Therefore, for a suitable substrate, you should go to parks and forests. Finding the right soil is easy. It is enough to find an area under deciduous trees where leaves are not harvested. Immediately below them there will be a rotted layer of soil, which is perfect for growing tangerines. 4 parts of such forest land should account for 1 part of river sand, it should be cleaned of large particles of debris, washed.

If you additionally manage to find well-rotted humus, then it will be even better, since it provides the tangerine with additional nutrition, and for a long time. In this case, 2 parts of forest land should be mixed with 2 parts of humus and 1 part of river sand.

If it is not possible to prepare your own mixture, then you should buy soil for roses. Its acidity is minimal, which will provide the mandarin with satisfactory conditions for development.

How to plant a bone

The seeds go deep into the ground by 1-4 cm. Next, you need to water it, cover the container with glass or cellophane and put it in a warm, dark place. This will provide the necessary conditions for germination. As it dries, watering is repeated. After germination, the container is moved to the windowsill.

Cellophane, glass should be removed immediately after the appearance of the sprout, as the tangerine will quickly get used to the humidity and will need to be accustomed to drier air.

This citrus comes from warm regions, so the optimum temperature for its development is between 20-25°C. At temperatures below 17°C growth stops.

How to water a tangerine

Mandarin in natural conditions never lacks moisture, so the soil should always be moist. But the plant cannot be flooded - this will lead to putrefactive processes, if they are not stopped in time, the plant will die.

During the active growing season (April-September), mandarin should be watered daily, in hot weather even several times a day. In winter, watering is carried out 2-3 times a week, as the earth dries up. It is also impossible to let the soil dry out, since the roots are covered with a large number of beneficial bacteria, which ensure the saturation of the tangerine with beneficial substances. If they die, the tree will almost certainly suffer the same fate.

You should always remember that mandarin loves not only watering, but also spraying. It should be carried out as often as possible - several times a day all year round.

How much light does a plant need

The optimal length of daylight hours for a mandarin is about 12 hours. That is, in winter, additional illumination with the help of specialized lamps is desirable. If there is no desire to spend money, then it is quite possible to do without lighting - the tangerine adapts to such conditions. But in this case, it is better to make a cellophane greenhouse without one wall and place it close to the window. The temperature inside will be cooler, the tree will become less active, and the need for light will be low.

Plant nutrition

In the first year, it is quite possible not to feed the tangerine, since with frequent transshipment with fresh soil, all the necessary nutrients will be supplied. In the future, specialized fertilizers are used, they cannot be replaced with universal ones, since there is almost always chlorine there, which citrus fruits cannot stand. You can use an infusion of cow, horse manure, which is diluted in a ratio of 1:10 with settled water.

What is more important decorative qualities or fruits

The young tangerine is grown exclusively as an ornamental tree. The owner must decide what to do:

1. Go on and on just enjoy the grown tangerine. For this, apart from the usual care, nothing needs to be done;
2. Get fruits. To do this, you should graft a petiole from a fruit-bearing tree to a grown mandarin. A wild tree does not bear fruit, even if it blooms, the fruits will be tiny and inedible. You can vaccinate when the trunk or the desired branches reach a thickness of more than 6 mm. In this case, the tree should not be younger than 1.5-2 years. It is interesting that you can graft any varieties of mandarin and even lemon, orange. It is possible to get the first fruits when the tree is 5-6 years old.

That's all you need to know to grow a tangerine at home from an ordinary seed.

Most of our children, and often we ourselves, adults, began our acquaintance with botany with a tangerine. Orange, fragrant, with bright slices and inconspicuous seeds, it led us to the question: is it possible to grow such a miracle on our own? And if this question overtook us not far from the pot of earth, even if it was already occupied by some kind of plant, the seeds immediately went into the soil. And after a while, the already forgotten experiment turned into a difficult task: how to care for and get fruits from your own tangerine in home-grown conditions? In the article we will talk about this.

Mandarin tree (Citrus reticulata). © Team D Content:

Mandarin from the bone - we analyze the difficulties

Before deciding to grow a tangerine from a stone, you need to think: how much are you ready to work hard to achieve a result, and what exactly do you want from the tree you grow - just decorative or also fruits? Are you ready to wait? Mandarin from the stone grows quite slowly. Are you willing to experiment? In order for the plant to bloom, it will take more than one year, and it is not uncommon for a tangerine to not bloom at all, then you will need to help it.

In addition, if a mandarin grown from a stone gives fruits, they are not similar to those from which the seed was taken (in order for the variety to repeat, it is necessary to propagate it vegetatively - by cuttings, grafting). However, what happens, in any case, pleasantly surprises!

Planting a tangerine

What seeds to plant?

For planting a tangerine, it is best to take seeds from the numerous hybrids offered for sale today. They sprout faster, bloom earlier, in most cases produce edible fruits and are easier to graft. It is very simple to distinguish them from real tangerines: real ones do not have seeds in their fruits, or there are very few of them, and hybrids are always with seeds.

Selected seeds should not be thin, as if withered, deformed or with a blackened tip. It is good that there are at least five tangerine seeds, since not all will germinate, and if the plants are planned for grafting, then at least ten, because grafting is not always successful.

Sprouted from seeds mandarin. © Jerry Coleby-William

We prepare the earth and select a pot

The next task is to prepare the substrate. It should not contain peat, as the mandarin does not like acidic soil. Therefore, the substrate is either bought in a store, marked pH = 6.5-7 (neutral soil), or made independently by mixing two parts of well-rotted humus, two parts of forest land (from under deciduous trees) and one part of sifted river sand. If there is no humus, you can just take non-acidic soil and sand.

Now you need to choose a container for landing. The first pots for young tangerines are quite capable of becoming plastic cups with a volume of 200 ml, bowls, at least 7-9 cm deep (always with a drainage hole) or small pots.

Planting mandarin seeds

For all citrus fruits, there is a single rule: the faster the seed from the fruit gets into the soil, the higher its germination. Therefore, after eating a tangerine, you do not need to dry its bones, you must immediately place them in the ground, digging them to a depth of 4 cm.

If, for some reason, the tangerine seeds could not be planted immediately, then, in order to slightly speed up the germination process, they are recommended to be soaked for several days. At the same time, the dishes in which they will lie should be flat, the cloth should be damp, but not flooded with water, the place should be warm, but not in the sun. So that the rag in which the tangerine bones are wrapped does not dry out, the saucer can be placed in a plastic bag, slightly cover it, but do not tie it.

A hatched tangerine from a seed. © Guilherme Silva

From seeding to seedlings

It is impossible to say in advance how long it will take for a seed to germinate and sprout. In some cases, it is 15 days, but more often - about a month. In any case, before germination, it is important to monitor soil moisture and air temperature, which should not fall below +20 ° C and exceed +25 ° C. At the same time, it is not recommended to place pots in a mini greenhouse, tangerines sprout so well, and plants grown in greenhouse conditions will then need to be accustomed to room conditions.

Transplanting mandarin seedlings

If the mandarin seeds are not planted in separate pots, but all together in a bowl, when four leaves appear (it is believed that citrus fruits do not have cotyledon leaves), it is time to transplant them into separate cups. From the resulting seedlings, the most powerful are selected, and the weak and deformed ones are discarded, obtaining plants that are stronger and more capable of growth and development.

Sometimes it happens that two sprouts grow from one mandarin seed (in citrus fruits, seeds are multi-germinated). In this case, you can do two things: either pinch a weaker plant, or plant the sprouts in different pots - usually each of them has its own root system.

The next mandarin transplant should be focused on root development: as soon as the roots occupy the entire volume of the cup, the plant is transferred to a larger pot. But immediately planting a seedling in a large amount of land is highly discouraged, because in this case waterlogging of the soil often occurs, which significantly depresses the plant.

Young mandarin trees are transplanted annually. Fruiting - once every 2-3 years, increasing the diameter of the pot not by 1, but by 4-6 cm. When planting, it is important to make sure not to deepen the root neck.

Old plants and large specimens of mandarin are not transplanted, but every few years they carefully remove the top layer of soil in a pot, replacing it with a new, fertile one.

Seedling tangerine. © George Shuklin

Formation of the tangerine

Mandarin - one of those plants that often have to be formed. The first pinching (if he has not started branching himself) is done when the seedling reaches a height of 30-40 cm. This technique causes the tree to start up side shoots of the first order. But this is not enough for flowering, because mandarin bears fruit only on branches of the 4th-5th order. Therefore, pinching is continued, removing the tips of all shoots after 4-5 leaves, as well as weak shoots and those that grow inside the crown. In general, the formation takes 3-4 years.

But to force branches of the first order, you can go the other way - to reject the shoots with the help of fixation. This method is more time consuming, but quite interesting. For its implementation, one end of the wire is fixed on a twig, and the other is fixed with a hairpin at the edge of the pot so that the formed mandarin shoot leans closer to a parallel position with respect to the ground.

Mandarin tree (Citrus reticulata). © petrmok29

Mandarin care at home

Care for tangerine trees varies somewhat depending on their age and purpose. If the specimen is young (up to 5 years old) or grown solely for the sake of green foliage, it needs regular watering (the soil must be kept moist, but not flooded), spraying (quite frequent) and a lot of light (with shading in the summer from the bright midday sun and illuminated in winter days).

In warm months, the tree can be taken out into the air (gradually accustoming) to a place protected from the wind. Once a month, it is useful for a mandarin to arrange a warm shower.

Like other citrus fruits, mandarin tends to turn the leaves towards the main light source. Therefore, for a more uniform formation of the crown, it can be rotated around its axis. But this should be done no more than 10 ° C at a time and no more than once every two weeks, because citrus fruits do not like rearrangements and may react negatively to them.

If the tangerine began to bloom, then, in addition to the usual care, it needs a period of winter dormancy, at a temperature of +10..12 ° C with more rare watering (it is necessary to allow the earth to dry out a little), a gradual increase in temperatures in the spring and the optimal temperature regime for the formation buds (within +16..18 °C). As well as moderate heat in summer - no higher than +25 ° C (at higher temperatures, flowers can crumble) and careful spraying (water should not fall on the flowers).

Since tangerines sing for about 6 months, many people have a question: should I give the tree a rest in winter or illuminate it with a lamp so that the fruits ripen? Answer: arrange. Even at +10..12 °C, tangerines slowly ripen.

Top dressing mandarin

Small tangerines are not fed, they are simply transferred to a larger pot. But older plants need to start fertilizing from the beginning of spring growth until autumn. This must be done with a special fertilizer for citrus fruits or mullein infusion (1:10 with water) every two weeks. Suitable for top dressing and chicken manure (tincture 1:20 diluted at the rate of 1:20 with water).

If the tree is planned for transplantation, mandarin feeding is stopped at least three days before this event. After transshipment, they return to fertilizers no earlier than 2 weeks later. In winter, tangerines do not feed.

First fruiting of tangerines

Mandarin, grown from the stone, enters fruiting in the 5th-6th year. Its fruits do not exactly repeat the taste of the mother variety and may differ from it in size, sweetness, aroma, but not only in the direction of deterioration of these qualities (as is commonly believed), but also in the direction of improvement (here - as lucky).

At the same time, the first fruiting does not yet fully reveal all the characteristics of the plant obtained from the seed. Therefore, if the tangerine has blossomed and set fruits, it needs to provide the most attractive conditions so that the tree can prove itself during repeated fruiting.

How to make a tangerine bloom?

Well, if the tangerine blooms by itself. And if not? In this case, he can be encouraged to do so. It is necessary to take a copper wire and wrap it tightly around the base of the tangerine trunk so that it is pressed into the bark. This will disrupt the sap flow process and force the plant to “think” about offspring - to bloom. After six months, the wire must be removed, and the wounded place should be treated with garden pitch - it will recover quickly enough.

However, the method will not work if the mandarin has not formed a crown and has not had a dormant period. Therefore, before starting the experiment, it is necessary to help the tree grow branches of the 4th and 5th order and go through a cold winter.

Mandarin graft

Another way to get fruit from a tangerine seedling is to graft it. To do this, it is necessary to grow a stock (tangerine from a stone) to the thickness of a trunk with a diameter of a simple pencil (about 6 mm) and find a scion - a small segment of a shoot taken from a varietal mandarin, or rather, a kidney (eye) with a leaf petiole.

At a height of 7 cm from the soil on the rootstock bark, make a cut in the shape of the letter “T” with a very sharp, preferably with a special budding knife, so as not to cut through the wood. The length of the cut should be about 2.5 cm, the upper jumper (the cap of the letter “T”) about 1 cm. Insert the cut mandarin bud (with the leaf petiole) into the bent ends of the bark (carefully push them away with a knife) and press the bark back. Treat everything with garden pitch and wrap it tightly with blue electrical tape, leaving the petiole out. Place the grafted plant in the greenhouse from the bag.

If the mandarin vaccination is successful, the bud will take root within three weeks, the petiole of the leaf will turn yellow and easily fall off. If the vaccination is not successful, the petiole will turn black.

In case of luck, the greenhouse begins to be ventilated little by little, gradually increasing the time of the sessions. A month after the appearance of a shoot from a new bud, the stem of the mandarin rootstock is cut with a pruner at a height of at least 5 mm from the grafting site, obliquely. The bandage is removed. The cut is treated with garden pitch.

Mandarin care during flowering / fruiting

In the phase of flowering and fruiting, mandarin needs more phosphorus and potash fertilizers than nitrogen. Watering should be regular, but not excessive. When the plant blooms, it must continue to be sprayed, but in such a way that water does not fall on the flowers.

In most cases, mandarin sheds extra flowers and ovaries, independently adjusting the load. If this does not happen, he needs to be helped by removing extra flowers and tangerines, leaving one fruit on the plant for every 15-20 leaves.

If ripening tangerines burst, then the plant is watered irregularly, or experiences an excess of nitrogen. In order for the mandarin to lay flower buds, he definitely needs winter rest.

Mandarin pests

It has been noticed that, grown from the stone, mandarin is much more resistant to environmental influences and pests than those that can be bought in the store. But, unfortunately, he also has malicious enemies. Most of them are afraid of ultraviolet light and high humidity, so maintaining good plant conditions is also a prevention against them. Who is it? Spider mites, scale insects, mealybugs, and also aphids.

Mandarin tree (Citrus reticulata). © Achievable Gardens

spider mite

With a size of only 0.3-0.6 mm, it is practically invisible to the human eye. But you can calculate it by the presence of small light dots on the underside of the leaves of the plant and the presence of the thinnest cobweb. If a tick is found, the fight against it should be immediate.

The first thing to start with is to thoroughly wash the plant with warm running water using laundry soap. Then it is necessary to spray the tangerine with Fitoverm, Intavir, Aktelik or other insecticide several times at intervals (7-10 days).

Shchitovka

It is a convex oval plate with a size of only 4 mm. The main sign of its presence is a sticky syrup-like coating that appears on the leaves of the plant. If the pest is not destroyed, the tree is quickly depleted and dries up.

You can try to cope with the scab by treating the tangerine with a soapy solution with the addition of kerosene: for 1 liter of water, 5 g of soap and 10 g of kerosene. Spray up to twice a week.

But treatments are more effective (from 3 to 5 times with an interval of 15 days) with insecticides Aktara, Fitoverm or others, which can always be found on sale. However, after such treatment, the fruits from the tree cannot be eaten and it is necessary to change the top layer of earth in a pot.

Mealybug

It is quite simple to detect it: the pest resembles a white fluffy coating scattered over the plant in the form of small dots, 3 to 6 mm in diameter. You can fight the worm manually, painstakingly collecting individuals, with the help of insecticides - Karbofos, Decis, Intavir or infusion of soap and garlic (2 cloves of garlic per 0.5 l of boiling water insist 4 hours).

Aphid

Almost everyone is familiar with this pest: from 1 to 3 mm long, light green in color, multiplies rapidly, lives in colonies. The harmfulness of aphids lies in the fact that it sucks juices from young shoots and leaves of mandarin, deforming them and depleting the plant.

In the fight against it, repeated (at intervals of 5-7 days) washing the plant with a solution of laundry soap, spraying with infusion of garlic (1 head of finely chopped garlic per glass of water, leave for 2 days), infusion of tobacco (40 g per 1 liter of water).

Problems when growing mandarin

Yellowing and falling leaves

This problem can have various causes. It is important not to rush, carefully analyze the condition of the plant and make the correct diagnosis. In adult tangerines, the leaves may turn yellow and fall off due to their old age. But at the same time, the tree itself looks healthy and develops normally.

The general lightening of the foliage may indicate insufficient lighting of the plants. In this case, care must be taken to rearrange the tangerine closer to the light, or arrange artificial lighting for it.

Dropping tangerine leaves can begin due to too dry air (in the absence of regular spraying, especially during the heating season), improper transplantation (when the root collar is deepened, choosing too large a pot), drafts. If one of these reasons is found, they simply need to be eliminated.

The drying and falling of the lower leaves of the mandarin, despite the fact that the leaf begins to dry from the tip, is associated with regular waterlogging of the soil. This phenomenon occurs either as a result of excessive care, or because the pot is too large in relation to the seedling. In any case, the plant must be transplanted into an appropriate pot with fresh, loose (breathable) soil, after removing rotten roots.

If yellowing began from the bottom of the crown and spreads to the top, this indicates a lack of nitrogen. In this case, the mandarin must be fed with nitrogen fertilizers.

The light yellow color of young mandarin leaves, gradually passing to old leaves, indicates chlorosis (lack of iron). This is where iron chelation can help.

Mandarin leaves fall for no apparent reason - perhaps the plant lacks potassium. In this case, it must be fed with potassium nitrate.

Blooming tangerine tree. © Chris.urs-o

It is important to know that young tangerines often produce rather long spines - nothing needs to be done with them!

In winter, citrus fruits, growing foliage, often form larger leaf plates than in spring and summer.

In order to distinguish a mandarin seedling from a lemon seedling, you need to smell their leaves - they smell like citrus in a lemon, and a light aroma of fresh herbs in a mandarin. Older plants are easy to distinguish by the petioles of the leaves - the lemon has a simple petiole, the mandarin has a narrow long lionfish.

Most often, people get acquainted with botany, starting with tangerines - orange, fragrant, with bright slices and nondescript bones. Of course, each of us would like to grow this wonderful fruit with our own hands at home.
Therefore, when eating a tangerine, we most often bury its bone in a pot of soil where a home plant grows. But few people know how to organize the right care in order to grow a homemade bone tangerine from A to Z, and get a good harvest.

Growing mandarin from the stone

Before deciding to growing mandarin from seed, think about the fact that you have to work hard to achieve positive results. And also decide why you will grow a tangerine tree - as an ornamental, or to produce fruits.

Also, get ready for a long wait, as growing a tangerine from a stone is a rather lengthy process that will continue for more than one year. And will you be ready for if the tree does not bloom at all?

How to grow a tangerine from a stone on your own.

You must understand that if you grow a tangerine tree from a stone, it can bear fruit, but they will not at all be similar to those from the seed of which it grew, because in order to preserve the variety, plants propagate vegetatively - this is cuttings or grafting.

The right choice of seeds

Mandarin is best grown from the seed of any of the many hybrids that are sold in markets and supermarkets. They sprout faster, bloom earlier, are easier to graft, and most often produce edible fruit. A real tangerine is easy to distinguish from a hybrid - it has no seeds in its fruits.

Try to select seeds for planting so that they do not include:

1. Thin;
2. Withered;
3. deformed;
4. With blackened ends.

How to properly prepare the soil for planting

After preparing the seeds, you need to prepare a substrate that should not contain peat, since tangerines do not like acidic soil. You can buy the soil in the store, finding the mark pH = 6.5 - 7 on the package (which corresponds to neutral soil), or cook it yourself.

Soil preparation for planting.

The recipe for preparing the soil is simple - well-rotted humus is mixed in the amount of two parts with two parts of forest land dug up under deciduous trees, and one part of sifted river sand. In the absence of humus, mix non-acidic soil with sand.

Choosing a pot for growing mandarin

There is nothing difficult in choosing a container for growing tangerine. As the first pots in which young tangerines will grow, you can use plastic 200-ml cups, bowls, the depth of which is 7-9 cm, or use small flower pots. Every container needs drainage holes.

All citrus fruits obey the same rule: the earlier the seed from the fruit enters the soil, the more likely it is to germinate. As soon as you have eaten a tangerine, do not dry its bones, but place them in the soil - dig 4 cm deep.

Germination of mandarin seeds.

But it is not always possible to immediately dig tangerine bones into the ground, so to speed up the germination process, soak them for several days. To do this, choose a flat dish, and use a damp cloth, rather than soaking the seeds in water.

Place the bowl with the seeds in a warm place, but make sure they are out of direct sunlight. Do not let the fabric in which the bones are wrapped dry out. You can put the saucer with the seeds in a plastic bag, but leave it open so that air enters it.

How to grow a tangerine from a seed.

No one can know how long the seed will germinate and sprout. It can be 15 days, but most often it takes about a month from sowing to germination. During this time, make sure that the soil is sufficiently moist and that the air temperature is between + 20°C and + 25°C.

At this time, do not put the pots in mini-greenhouses, because tangerines already have sufficient germination, and if you grow them in greenhouses, then you will need to accustom them to room conditions, which can be problematic.

How to transplant a tangerine seedling

You can plant tangerine seeds not separately in pots, but in one bowl. Then, after the appearance of four leaves, they can be transplanted into separate cups. After examining the resulting seedlings, choose larger and stronger ones, because the use of weak and deformed sprouts is not advisable. The result is strong plants that will grow and develop normally.

It may turn out that one tangerine seed will give two sprouts. Then either:

1. Pin the weaker sprout.
2. Plant both sprouts in different pots (they should have separate root systems).

You have seen the first transfer. To carry out the second transplant, it is necessary to focus on the development of the roots: when they no longer fit in cups, the tangerine is transplanted into a larger pot along with a clod of earth.

It is not advisable to plant seedlings immediately in large pots, since waterlogging of the soil may occur, which adversely affects the plant.

It is recommended to replant young tangerine trees every year. If they are fruitful, they do not need to be transplanted more than once every 2-3 years. At the same time, it is necessary to increase the diameters of the pots by 4-6 cm. When transplanting plants, make sure that their root collar does not deepen.

How a tangerine is formed

Tangerines are plants that require frequent shaping. If the tree does not begin to branch on its own, you need to do the first pinching when the seedling grows to 30-40 cm. Thanks to pinching, the tree lets out side shoots of the first order.

But they are not enough for the plant to bloom - fruiting mandarin possible only on branches of 4-5 orders. This means that pinching continues - you need to remove the ends of the shoots after 4-5 leaves, rid the plants of weak shoots and those that grow inside the crown. The formation of the tree continues for 3-4 years.

The appearance of flowers and fruits of mandarin.

In order for the branches of the first order to branch, reject the shoots using fixation for this. This interesting method is more time consuming, and is done as follows: the wire is fixed at one end to a twig, and the other end is fixed with a hairpin on the edge of the pot so that the mandarin shoot that you form leans parallel to the soil.

We grow mandarin with our own hands

Tangerine trees of various ages and destinations require special care. If the tree is young (not older than five years), or it is grown not to produce fruits, but as a beautiful green ornamental plant, it must:

1. Water regularly (the soil should be constantly moist, but it is not allowed to flood it).
2. Spray often.
3. Provide sufficient lighting, but shade on hot summer days from the bright rays of the midday sun, and highlight on short winter days.
4. When it is warm outside, the trees are taken out into the fresh air for gradual accustoming to outdoor conditions, but the place where they are installed must be protected from the wind.
5. Once a month they give tangerines a warm shower.

A blooming tangerine requires not only normal care, but also a period of winter dormancy:

1. The air temperature in the room should be +10 +12°C.
2. Watering more rarely than usual, so that the soil dries out slightly.

A gradual increase in temperature in spring is also ensured, it is necessary to create an optimal temperature regime in order for buds to form (+16-+18°C). In the summer heat, moderate warmth is provided to the plants - the air temperature should not rise above + 25 ° C, since higher temperatures can cause the flowers to fall off. must be carried out carefully - drops of water should not fall on the flowers.

Rules for growing mandarin from the stone.

Like other citrus plants, tangerines turn their leaves towards the light. Therefore, in order to evenly form the crown, the tree is periodically rotated. However, this is done a maximum of 10° at a time, no more than once every couple of weeks, as citrus fruits do not like rearrangements and react negatively to this.

The process of reaching ripeness by tangerines lasts almost half a year, so it is necessary to arrange a winter rest for the trees by placing them in a room with a temperature of + 10- + 12 ° C, at which they will slowly ripen.

How to feed a tangerine

Small tangerine trees do not need to be fed, as they are transferred to large pots. Older trees are fertilized, starting from their spring growth and ending in autumn.

To do this, use a special fertilizer for citrus fruits or an infusion of mullein in water (proportion 1:10). The frequency of feeding is once every two weeks. You can fertilize the soil with chicken manure, while the 1:20 tincture is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:20.

If you are planning to transplant a tangerine, do not feed it for three days before transplanting and two weeks after transplanting. In winter, you do not need to feed tangerines.

Features of fruiting mandarin

The fruiting of the mandarin, which is grown from the stone, occurs in the 5-6th year. At the same time, the fruits do not have the taste of the mother variety, they may differ from it in size, sweetness, aroma, but not necessarily a deterioration in the listed qualities. Perhaps their improvement.

How to increase the yield of mandarin grown at home.

At the first fruiting, all the characteristics of the plants are not disclosed. Therefore, when the tangerine tree has blossomed and fruits have begun on it, be sure to provide it with the most suitable conditions for the manifestation of its properties during repeated fruiting.

What to do in order for the mandarin to bloom

A tangerine tree grown from seed may bloom on its own, but if this does not happen, it needs stimulation.

Take copper wire, wrap it around the base of the tree trunk so that it is pressed into the bark. This will disrupt the process of sap flow in the plant, and it will “think” that it is time to bloom. The wire should remain on the trunk for six months, after which it is removed by treating the wounded area with garden pitch, which quickly restores the bark.

But if the mandarin does not have a formed crown and was not in a dormant period, this method will not be able to make the plant bloom. In this case, before the experiment, help the tree grow branches of 4-5 orders and ensure its cold wintering.

We plant tangerine

To enjoy the fruits of the mandarin, it is necessary to graft the trees. To do this, grow a stock (tangerine obtained from a stone), the thickness of the trunk of which should have a diameter of a simple pencil (6 mm), and look for a scion in the form of a small segment of a shoot taken from a varietal mandarin (that is, a kidney or eye with a leaf petiole is taken).

At a distance of 7 cm from the soil on the rootstock bark, using a very sharp, and best of all, a special calibration knife, make an incision with the letter "T" so as not to completely cut through the wood. The incision is made about 2.5 cm long, and the length of the upper jumper (the letters "T") is about 1 cm.

Carefully bend the ends of the bark with a knife and insert a cut bud of a varietal mandarin with a leaf petiole into them, and then press the skin back into place. Then the grafting site is treated with garden pitch and wrapped tightly with blue electrical tape - only the petiole remains outside. Make a greenhouse out of the package, in which you place the grafted tangerine.

With a successful vaccination, the kidney takes root in three weeks, and the petiole of the leaf turns yellow and disappears. If grafting fails, the petiole turns black.

If the vaccination is successful, the greenhouse is gradually ventilated so that the plant gets used to the fresh air. A month after the appearance of a shoot from a new kidney, it is necessary to cut off, using a sharp pruner, the stem of the stock at a minimum height of 5 mm from the grafting site. The cut should be oblique. The bandage is removed, and using a garden pitch, you need to process the cut.

Mandarin care during flowering and fruiting

When a tangerine tree blooms and bears fruit, it needs:

1. Phosphorus and potassium fertilizers.
2. Regular, but not excessive watering.
3. After the tangerine blooms, it is sprayed so that water does not get on the flowers.

Most often, tangerine independently sheds extra flowers and ovaries - it regulates the load itself. When he does not do this, he needs help - to remove extra flowers and tangerines, leaving one fruit for 15-20 leaves.

If you water the mandarin irregularly or with an excess of nitrogen, the fruits begin to burst.

To lay flower buds, a tangerine tree needs to ensure winter peace.

What pests and diseases can harm a tangerine

A do-it-yourself tangerine tree grown from a seed is much more stable than store-bought specimens in relation to external factors and pests. But it can also be "attacked" by the worst enemies, most of which do not tolerate ultraviolet rays and high humidity, therefore, subject to proper plant conditions, you apply preventive measures against pests.

Mandarin can be damaged by the following pests:

spider mite- has a body size of 0.3-0.6 mm, so it is almost impossible to notice it with the naked eye. However, if you see small light dots and the thinnest cobweb on the underside of the leaves of plants, then they are affected by this pest.

Having found, immediately join the fight with him. first, thoroughly wash each leaf of the plant using warm running water and laundry soap.

After that, spray the tangerine tree several times with insecticides (you can use fitoverm, intavir, actelik and others). The interval between treatments is 7-10 days.

Spraying tangerine for pest control.

Shchitovka- has the form of convex oval plates, the size of which does not exceed 4 mm. Its main signs are the release of a sticky syrup-like coating that appears on the leaves of plants. The pest must be destroyed in a timely manner, otherwise the tree will quickly deplete and dry out.

First, you need to treat the tangerine with a soapy solution, adding kerosene to it: dilute 5 grams of soap and 10 grams of kerosene in 1 liter of water. Spray twice a week.

If such treatment is not effective, you can apply insecticides (actara, fitoverm or others) - they should be treated 3-5 times, the interval between them is 15 days. Unfortunately, with such processing, the fruits become unsuitable for human consumption, in addition, the topsoil will have to be replaced.

mealy worm- it looks like a white fluffy coating scattered over the affected plants, small dots, the diameter of which is 3-6 mm. Scarlet:

1. Harvested by hand;
2. Plants are treated with insecticides (karbofos, decis, intavir);
3. Use an infusion of soap;
4. Use an infusion of garlic: finely chop 2 cloves and pour half a liter of boiling water. After it has been infused for 4 hours, it can be used for processing.

Aphid- everyone knows. It has a length of 1-3 mm, the color is light green. Aphids are able to multiply rapidly and form colonies. Swarms of aphids suck the juices from young plants, deform them and deplete them.

You can fight aphids with:

1. Repeated (interval 5-7 days) washing all parts of the plant with a solution of water and laundry soap.
2. Spraying with infusion of garlic (finely chop 1 head of garlic and place in a glass of water. Leave for 2 days).
3. Spraying with infusion of tobacco (tobacco in the amount of 40 grams insist in 1 liter of water).

Problems when growing tangerines at home

The most common problem is that tangerine foliage turns yellow and falls off. This can happen for various reasons. The main thing is to analyze the condition of the plants without haste in order to find out the correct cause.

Mature tangerine trees sometimes begin to shed yellowed leaves due to their old age. But, despite this, the tree seems healthy and continues to develop normally.

Foliage may lighten due to insufficient lighting of the tangerine. Move the tree closer to the light or take care of organizing artificial lighting.

Mandarin can drop foliage if:

1. The air is excessively dry (this happens if the tree is not sprayed regularly. The problem is especially acute during the heating season).
2. The transplant was carried out incorrectly (they buried the root collar, or they chose too large a pot).
3. Drafts in the room.

It is enough to eliminate the discovered causes for the tree to recover.

What problems can arise when growing mandarin at home?

If the soil is regularly waterlogged, the lower leaves of the tangerine begin to dry out and fall off, with the leaves drying from the tip. This happens when the plant is over-groomed or transplanted into a pot that is too large. Transplant the tree into an appropriately sized pot with fresh, loose and breathable soil (rotten roots must be removed from the soil).

When yellowing starts from the bottom of the crown, spreading upward, the plant is deficient in nitrogen. To solve the problem, feed the mandarin with nitrogen fertilizer.

If the young leaves of a tangerine tree have acquired a light yellow color, which gradually turns to old leaves, then the plant is prone to chlorosis (iron deficiency). Treat the plant with iron chelate.

If the leaves from the tree began to fall off, but there is no apparent reason - maybe the plant suffers from a lack of potassium - feed it with potassium nitrate.

You need to know that:

1. Young trees often produce long spines - do not do anything with them.
2. In winter, citrus fruits grow foliage, forming large leaf blades, compared to spring and summer leaves.
3. A tangerine seedling differs from a lemon one in that lemon leaves have a citrus smell, and tangerine ones smell like a light aroma of fresh herbs.
4. Older plants differ in leaf petioles - it has simple petioles, and mandarin has narrow long lionfish.