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Orange tree seed care. Orange tree. Conditions necessary for successfully growing oranges in an apartment

False times, beginners or experienced gardeners see a beautiful orange tree in a store and wonder how to grow an orange in a pot at home.

Orange is a fairly delicate tree for our apartments. But still, it can be grown hardened and adapted to apartment conditions.

Planting a seed

Planting a seed can be done at any time of the year. But it is better to do this in the spring. In spring, the plant develops in a more illuminated space and longer daylight hours. Not directly from the veins, but before planting, choose well ripe and large fruits orange Select the bones from them, make sure they are round and large. Flat and small ones simply won’t sprout.

Place the seeds in a damp cloth and place in a container, a yogurt cup works well. Cover the glass with a plastic bag. It will work out small greenhouse Place it in a warm place where the temperature is between 18-22 degrees. heat. Keep the cloth moist after 2 days, do not forget to ventilate your greenhouse

Transplanting sprouts

In 3-5 weeks the first orange shoots will appear. When the sprouts reach a height of 1-2 cm, transplant them into the ground into pots with a diameter of 7-9 cm. To do this, pour a little expanded clay onto the bottom of the pot, and special soil for citrus fruits on top. Such soil can be easily purchased in specialized stores.

You can also prepare this soil mixture yourself. Take leaf soil, coarse river sand, humus and turf soil in a ratio of 1:1:1:3 parts. It is not recommended to use pure peat.

Place the pots in a bright place (but not in direct sunlight). When transplanting, do not dig the sprouts too deep into the ground. Optimal depth-1.5 cm. Handle the sprouts carefully, they are very delicate. Therefore, surround the sides of the sprouts with soil to prevent them from drying out and breaking.

Young plants need to be constantly watered and sprayed with clean, settled water (or filtered with a filter for cleaning tap water). Plants respond very well to watering with water infused and mineralized with shungite. The larger the tree becomes, the more water he will need it.

After the first 4-6 leaves appear, the plant needs to be transplanted into a larger container with a diameter of 9-11 cm.

Use the transshipment method. Save the old earthen ball and plant the sprout with it. At this stage you should not create ideal conditions for sprouts. They must harden and adapt themselves. The strongest survives. Choose the strongest sprouts. They will be the ideal residents of your apartment.

Formation of the crown of an orange tree

When your orange tree reaches a height of 20 cm, you need to pinch off a few leaves (two or three) at the top. This will give rise to the development of lateral lateral branches. They are considered second order branches. If you cut off branches of the second order, they will give rise to the development of branches of the third order, etc. This is how the crown is formed according to your desire. We must strive to have many 5th order branches appear on the bush in a few years. It is on these branches that orange fruits are formed.

Optimal growth conditions

Monitor air humidity. It is advisable to place a container of water or an indoor fountain next to the pots with orange tree sprouts. Optimal temperature air 22 degrees. heat.

Flowering and fruiting

While the plant is young, it is advisable to remove the first buds. The tree can bear fruit in 8-10 years. If you want to get delicious fruits faster, graft a branch onto an overgrown tree already a fruit-bearing tree. Instead of grafting, you can do ringing (squeezing branches with wire or removing the bark on a branch in the form of a ring). In this case, your orange tree will bear fruit within 4 years.

To speed up fruiting, you can use the method cold winters. To do this, you need to take the orange out into the cold (air temperature 2-5 degrees Celsius for 3 months), do not fertilize it and water it from time to time. In this state, the orange tree can tolerate almost complete shade. In the spring it is necessary to restore the previous normal temperature regime for a plant. Repeat cold wintering for 2-3 years.

Orange tree pests

Plant mites, scale insects, thrips and aphids can cause trouble for the plant. Therefore, to prevent pest damage, it is advisable to treat the tree with an insecticide 2 times a year.

Don't forget about fertilizer. It is necessary to fertilize 2-3 times a month from March to November with liquid fertilizer “For citrus fruits”. Old tea leaves, which are buried in the ground, are also suitable for these purposes.

In general, the orange tree is a dry-resistant plant, does not tolerate waterlogging of the soil, and does not have a pronounced dormant period. For all year round The orange tree blooms and bears fruit at the same time.

Mature citrus plants are not cheap. It is tempting to grow an exotic tree with colorful fruits from an easily accessible seed that usually ends up in the trash. But a lot of questions arise: are the seeds from store-bought oranges suitable for growing or will they not produce fruit? How to plant correctly, how difficult is it?

Growing an orange from a seed is really not the easiest thing; the plant is quite capricious and delicate, so from the first days of planting it will be necessary to create conditions that are pleasant for it.

In addition, among all indoor citrus fruits, orange is less popular than others - its fruits are too large and, accordingly, the trees are huge in size. As a rule, lemons, tangerines, tangerines, and clementines are grown.


Seed selection and planting

Any seeds will do, but you should choose the sweetest, thin-skinned, well-ripened fruit. Wash the seeds and plant them in a container. Soil: either a ready-made soil mixture for citrus fruits, or a mixture of 1 part sand (river, not construction sand, please note that in children's sandboxes it is construction, sticky sand, it is not suitable), 1 part peat (peat is sold separately in any store) and 2 parts pine or turf soil. Very good drainage is required.

The soil is moistened, the seeds are planted to a depth of 2 cm. The container is covered with glass and placed in a bright place.

Watch the humidity! The container should be regularly ventilated and well watered, even spilled.

The sprouts will appear in 2 weeks, from which you should choose the strongest and healthiest. Plant the best seedlings in separate pots.

Now it will take a year for the plant to get stronger.

Caring for young orange trees

It is not much different from caring for, in fact, all indoor citrus fruits are very similar. You should:

  1. Protect the plant from direct scorching sun, while the plant requires a sunny place.
  2. Ensure even temperature.
  3. Avoid drafts.
  4. Illumination in winter.
  5. In order for the tree to be even, with evenly developed branches and crown, you should regularly turn the pot, every day - no more than a quarter of a circle.
  6. Be sure to form a crown, pinch the tips of branches of the 4th-5th order by 1-2 cm.
  7. Frequent spraying is necessary, washing in the shower is the best prevention of diseases or pests that often affect plants standing in dry apartment air.
  8. It is worth watering the soil periodically weak solution Potassium permanganate is both a fertilizer and a prevention of infectious root diseases.
  9. Feeding is very important, you can read about it in detail here or here.

Fruits from homemade orange

From a seedling grown from a seed, fruits will appear only after 8-10 years!

Therefore, if you grow an orange tree not for sporting interest, but for the sake of its fruit, it must be grafted. Cuttings can be purchased from nurseries or directly from collectors. You can bring a twig from the resort - it can be stored for about a month in the refrigerator (vegetable compartment) or about a week in the room (the tip, of course, should be wrapped in damp gauze).

It is not necessary to do the vaccination yourself; it is very widely practiced. next way: the rootstock is brought to the collector and for a small fee they receive both the cutting and the graft itself.

Young plants are grafted, aged from six months to 3 years. The younger the plant, the better, but you should still look at the condition of the seedling.

It should be borne in mind that future fruiting depends on the quality of the rootstock, so frail, undeveloped trees are not suitable for grafting.

The grafted tree will bloom within 2-3 years, but the timing depends quite heavily on the variety.

Interesting: oranges are grafted onto seedlings grown from the seeds of not only oranges, but also lemons, grapefruits, and oranges.

Grafting technique

If you want to vaccinate yourself, then this technique can be mastered.

General rules:

  1. It's worth practicing on unnecessary branches.
  2. Everything is done quickly, accurately, confidently.
  3. Tools (regular, but preferably a special grafting knife) must be extremely sharp.
  4. It is desirable that the rootstock and scion have the same thickness.

If the diameter of the scion and rootstock are the same, use copulation method. Simply put, two branches are connected by cuts. The cuts should be smooth, clear, and ideal alignment of the cambium layers should be achieved. A more reliable method is copulation with a tongue. The vaccination site is wrapped insulating tape, the plant is placed under the bag, creating something like a mini-greenhouse. The place for the plant needs to be warm and bright. The bag is removed after a few weeks, the grafting site is inspected, if blackness is not visible, they wait another couple of weeks, and then the tape is removed - the grafting was successful. If the instruments are sharp and everything is done carefully, then the survival rate after grafting is 98%.

Grafted orange may start in the same year, but such flowers should be removed and the plant allowed to grow stronger. True flowering occurs in 2-3 years. Oranges are self-pollinating plants, so you don’t have to work with a bee. Care should be taken that the temperature is not too high; above 27 °C the pollen becomes sterile and then beautiful tree, covered with orange fruits, will remain only in dreams. If ovaries have formed, you should carefully assess how many of them indoor orange"will pull." There should be about 20 leaves per fruit, otherwise there is a very high probability that the fruits will fall off before they are ripe. The fruits ripen for a long time - from 8 to 10 months - however, this is precisely what provides the plant with almost year-round decorativeness.

About vaccination on video

Orange varieties

In rooms, unlike plants open ground, you can find not many types and varieties of orange. The classic varieties are described below:

  1. Citrus aurantium (bitter orange)– a low tree or bush, the flowers are large and fragrant. The fruits are very beautiful, but the taste is not the best: sour with strong bitterness.
  2. Washington Navel- perhaps the most famous variety. It is characterized by early ripening, the fruits are large, tasty, unusual shape(with a “navel”). It should be taken into account that this is a popular open ground variety, the plant will not be small, it is a large tree with a spreading crown - of course, this plant is better suited for a greenhouse. It is better to grow dwarf analogues of the variety in rooms.
  3. Hamlin– very tasty, sweet, juicy fruits with shiny thin skin, spherical in shape. Industrial and indoor variety.
  4. Pear-shaped wren– the fruits are larger than those of Hamlin, the peculiarity is the reddish tint of the pulp, the taste is sweet and sour with unusual wine tones, the juice from such fruits turns slightly pink. The plant is more compact than the two varieties described above.
  5. Firstborn– Soviet variety, fruits 200 grams (like Washington Navel), juicy, sweet and sour, oval.
  6. Pavlovsky– by analogy with the lemon variety of the same name, a very popular variety for rooms. The plant is low, up to 1 meter, beautifully formed, and bears fruit well.
  7. Trovita Orange- another popular indoor variety, along with Pavlovsky (these two varieties can be called leaders) - it bears fruit very abundantly and feels good in rooms.

Growing an orange tree at home is quite difficult. An inexperienced gardener is unlikely to cope with such a task, especially if his goal is to obtain a fruit-bearing plant. However, with some effort and taking into account the recommendations given in this article, it is quite possible to achieve success. If you have never “welcome” citrus fruits into your home, try first using a store-bought orange tree. If the experiment is successful, you can begin trying to enrich your garden with a plant grown from a seed.

What kind of orange is grown at home?

Of the citrus fruits intended specifically for indoor growing, three are especially popular:

  1. Pavlovsk orange. He is not tall - a meter maximum. Quite fruitful; additional specimens can be obtained by ordinary cuttings. However, the fruits take a long time to ripen, up to nine months, during which the tree requires increased attention and careful care.
  2. Gamlin. It will be taller - up to one and a half meters. The fruits are juicy, sweet and sour, and contain few seeds. The harvest should be expected late in the fall.
  3. Washington Navel. The most favorite orange tree among home gardeners. Can grow up to two meters; below one mature plant can not be. An additional bonus is that it smells charming during flowering, and the hair can bear fruit from the age of three. The fruits are quite large, up to a third of a kilogram.

It is advised not to buy a fruit-bearing orange tree: if you change your residence, it may stop bearing fruit for a couple of years. Let it agree to “feed” you when it settles in.

How to choose the right place

In order for your home orange tree to agree to stay with you, you must first place it in a place that fully meets the needs of the plant. You need light - plenty, but not too bright. The east and south sides are suitable if the tree does not stand close to the window. You can determine the required distance by the condition of the leaves. If the leaves begin to stretch and corrugate, you need to move them closer without waiting for them to fall. If they start to turn yellow, you should move them a little further (although this rarely happens). Additional care should be to periodically rotate the pot so that the orange tree is exposed to the light on different sides, and the crown is formed harmoniously. And in the summer it would be nice to take it out into the garden or onto the balcony.

Temperature

You also need to be careful with heat. If the temperature drops below 5 degrees, the orange tree may die. At high levels (25 and above), it will begin to grow actively, but will not even think about bearing fruit. It is advisable to maintain it in the range of 15-18 degrees. If the ovaries have already appeared, vigilance can be relaxed, just do not allow them to dry out. The southern tree will cope on its own.

Careful watering

In principle, the orange tree (photo) loves water. So in hot weather you need to water and spray it daily. Water for these purposes must not only be settled, but also warm. However, heating it is not recommended. It is better to place it next to the pot ahead of time so that it is at air temperature at the time of watering. When it gets cold and in winter, spraying stops, and watering is done every other day or two. With the volume of water it’s like this: let less rather than more. The leaves that have curled from water starvation will straighten out, but the roots that have rotted from stagnant water cannot be saved.

A beautiful crown is not only for aesthetics

Since you have already understood the basic rules of how to grow an orange tree, now you need to figure out how to get it to bear fruit. And for this, the plant must have a formed crown suitable for reproduction. If you don’t do this, you can get a harvest only in a decade. Branches of the fifth order bear fruit. Therefore, in the spring, branches longer than 10 centimeters are pinched and the lower leaves are torn off. This way you will get a branched tree with a uniform crown.

Such manipulations are carried out in the spring. Actions should be performed above the kidney, so that it is outside. Special attention is given to shoots that are weakened, very elongated and growing inside the crown. And if the orange tree has grown greatly, above a third of a meter, with weak development of the side branches, the top is also mercilessly pruned.

Transfer

The rule of replanting indoor plants annually does not apply to an orange tree. It should be relocated about once every three years. Young specimens can be replanted after two, but not more often. This is done by transshipment without chopping off the roots. Particular attention is paid to drainage - its layer should be thick enough. And the movement must occur before the orange tree (photo) blooms. Moreover, this process is unacceptable when it is already “feeding” the fruits.

Stimulation of fruiting

In order for an orange tree at home to bring you a harvest, you will have to devote extra time to it. Without care on your part, its fruits will be small and bitter. There are two ways to improve their quality:

  1. graft. If there is another tree that has already produced fruit, small identical pieces are carefully cut out from the bark of both and exchange places. To prevent the damaged area from rotting, it is wrapped in cellophane. The operation is quite dangerous for plants. If you are afraid of not being able to cope, call a professional for help;
  2. wintering in extreme conditions. Fruiting will begin somewhat later than with grafting, but much faster than without it. The orange tree is taken out into the cold (not excessively, so as not to freeze), and watering and fertilizing are stopped. In such harsh circumstances, it must withstand at least a month. In the spring he is again surrounded by care. Already in the third year after hardening it will produce flowers.

If the capricious one nevertheless deigns to bloom, it can be pollinated - with an ordinary brush. However, if there are a lot of flowers and the extra ones are plucked, then the fruits will appear without pollination.

The bone will come in handy!

If you are suspicious of the specimens offered in flower shops, you can try growing an orange tree from a seed. To do this, you should go to the nearest supermarket and buy a ripe, richly colored fruit. Its seeds cannot be stored after eating; they must be planted immediately. A clay pot is taken for the future tree. Since it is not a fact that the selected seed will sprout, several should be placed in the container at once. In case of increased success, the trees can be planted into separate “apartments” later. The land is purchased specially for citrus fruits - or it is assembled independently, from medium-sized sand, humus, leaf soil and turf - three parts are taken, all other components one at a time. The seed from which an orange tree should grow is immersed in the soil about two centimeters, after which the surface is sprayed with water, and the pot is covered with glass or wrapped in polyethylene. For a week, the container is placed in darkness and warmth, and then moved to the windowsill (again, warm). Until the sprouts appear, the shelter is not removed.

Citrus sinensis) - a species of flowering plants of the class Dicotyledonous, order Sapindaceae, family Rutaceae, genus Citrus. The orange is a cultivated hybrid form, most likely developed through crossbreeding and pomelo.

The orange got its name from the Dutch word appelsien or the German Apfelsine, which translates as “from China”, “ Chinese apple”.

Orange - description and characteristics. How do oranges grow?

The orange plant is quite powerful evergreen tree, the height of which depends on the variety: vigorous varieties of orange grow up to 12 m in height, dwarf forms have a height of about 4-6 m, trees for indoor cultivation reach 2-2.5 m in height. The most compact orange trees grow up to 60-80 cm.


The orange tree is distinguished by a dense dense crown of a round or pyramidal shape, and thorns up to 8-10 cm long often grow on its shoots. The leaves of the orange are dark green, dense, oval in shape with a sharp tip, growing up to 15 cm in length with a width of about 10 cm The edge of the leaf may be wavy, and at the very surface of the leaf there are special glands containing aromatic oil. One leaf lives for about 2 years, and on an orange tree old and young leaves grow simultaneously, performing different functions. Young orange leaves are responsible for photosynthesis, with their help the tree breathes, while old leaves are a reservoir for nutrients. The period of intensive leaf shedding (about 25%) occurs in February and March; the orange tree loses another quarter of its old leaves during the year.

Roots

Orange roots, unlike others fruit trees, do not have root hairs necessary to absorb moisture and nutrition from the soil. But on the roots there are special capsules with colonies of special soil fungi that form mycorrhiza with orange roots. The orange supplies the fungi with amino acids and carbohydrates, and in return receives moisture and minerals, which mushrooms provide in a form that is easily digestible for the plant. The overgrown mycelium of mushrooms does not tolerate drought, low soil temperatures and exposure of the roots on which they grow, so oranges are very demanding of moisture and heat and suffer greatly when transplanted without a clod of soil.

Flowers

Orange has large bisexual flowers of white or pink color, up to 5 cm in diameter, solitary or growing in inflorescences of 6 pieces. Flower buds are being laid in early spring, flowers can remain in the bud stage for about a month, then open at a temperature of 16-18 degrees and bloom for about 2-3 days.

Fruit

The fruit of an orange is called an orange. It is round or oval shape and has a structure typical of other types of citrus fruits. Such a fruit, which comes from the superior ovary, is called hesperidium (one of the varieties of berry-shaped fruit). Thus, the orange fruit is a fruit and a berry.

The orange pulp consists of 9-13 separable segments, covered with a thin film. Each lobule contains many sacs filled with juice, which are formed from the inner epidermis of the carpels.

The taste of orange pulp can be sweet, sweet and sour or bitter.

Some fruits do not produce seeds, but most oranges still contain multi-embryo seeds, arranged in a segment one above the other.

Peel

Smooth or porous orange peel has a thickness of up to 5 mm, its upper layer, flavedo (zest), contains many round glands filled essential oil. The white spongy layer covering the inside of the peel is called albedo. Thanks to its loose structure, the orange pulp comes off the skin quite easily. Depending on the variety and stage of ripeness, the orange peel makes up from 17 to 42% of the total weight of the fruit. Orange peel color can be greenish, pale yellow, bright orange and orange-red.

Ripening time

Orange is a remontant plant, capable of repeated flowering and fruit set, so an orange tree can simultaneously contain buds, flowers and fruits at different stages of ripeness. The ripening of oranges lasts about 8-9 months, and ripened fruits can remain on the branches for a long time, and in the spring they turn green again, and by autumn they acquire a characteristic Orange color. The seeds of fruits that ripen over 2 seasons are of higher quality, but the pulp loses its taste and beneficial features.

How long does an orange grow?

The orange tree grows quickly ( annual growth is about 40-50 cm) and begins to bear fruit 8-12 years after planting. Life cycle The lifespan of an orange tree is about 75 years, although individual specimens live up to 100-150 years and produce about 38 thousand fruits in a harvest year.

The homeland of the orange is Southeast Asia (China); in the 16th century, the exotic fruit came to Europe, and then to Africa and the USA. Nowadays, orange is widely cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. climatic zones, and the leaders in fruit exports are Brazil, China and the USA. Spain, Italy, India, Pakistan, Argentina, Morocco, Syria, Greece, Egypt and Iran are slightly behind.

Types and varieties of oranges, photos and names

According to the speed of ripening, orange varieties are divided into:

  • Early;
  • Mid-early;
  • Late.

Depending on the size, shape, taste, color of the fruit and pulp, orange varieties are divided into 2 main groups:

  1. Light oranges (with orange pulp);
    • Ordinary (oval) oranges;
    • Navel oranges;
  2. King oranges (with reddish flesh).

A more detailed description of this classification is given below.

Ordinary or oval oranges- extensive group high-yielding varieties, which are distinguished by their round or oval fruit shape and tasty, sweet and sour pulp, bright yellow color containing many seeds. The oranges are medium to large in size and have a thin, pale orange or yellow peel that is well adhered to the flesh. The most famous varieties of ordinary oranges:

  • Hamlin- an early ripening variety of oranges with small or average size fruits of a round or slightly flattened shape and thin, smooth yellow skin. Grown mainly in Brazil and the USA, it has excellent transportability and is stored for a long time, and is actively used in indoor floriculture;
  • Verna– a late variety of oranges of Spanish origin, with medium-sized or medium-sized fruits with few seeds, elongated shape, containing sweet, tasty pulp;
  • Salustiana- a late-ripening variety of oranges of high economic importance in Spain and Morocco. The fruits are characterized by an oval-spherical or slightly flattened shape and a yellow-orange color of a thin, easily peeled peel. The juicy slices are seedless and have a sweet, buttery flavor.

Navel oranges (Navel)- a group of varieties on the trees of which thorns do not grow, and the fruits have a characteristic mastoid outgrowth-umbilicus at the top, a reduced second fruit. Navel oranges are the largest, the average fruit weight is about 200-250 g, and individual specimens weigh up to 600 g. Distinctive feature Most varieties also have a rough, easily peeled peel and exceptional consumer qualities: juicy, orange pulp, sweet taste with slight sourness and a refined citrus aroma. The most popular varieties of navel oranges:

  • Washington Navel– a variety of bright orange oranges of international importance economic importance, known since the 17th century, as well as one of the few oranges that successfully bear fruit in the conditions of Transcaucasia. Medium and large orange fruits have a round or slightly elongated shape and weigh from 170 to 300 g. The pulp of oranges is bright orange, sweet with a slight sourness and a small number of seeds. Washington Navel orange is one of the popular varieties for home cultivation;
  • Navel Late– a late variety of oranges, very similar to the Washington Navel variety, but distinguished by more delicate pulp and increased shelf life;
  • Thomson Navelnavel) - a variety of round or oval oranges with a characteristic small navel and relatively thin, light orange skin with small pores. The pulp of the fruit, compared to Washington Navel, is more fibrous and not as juicy;
  • Navelina– most early variety small and medium oranges with a small navel. The round or ovoid fruits have a thin, finely porous orange peel and loose, sweet pulp.
  • Of particular note is the variety of oranges Kara-Kara (Cara Cara navel)orange), which is a mutation of the Washington Navel variety and was found in Venezuela in 1976. Kara-Kara inherited most of the characteristics of the original variety: navel, orange color of easily separated peel and exceptional taste of juicy pulp. But its main difference is its ruby-colored flesh, comparable to the color of the darkest grapefruits. Interesting feature variety is the ability to produce a certain number of variegated shoots, on which striped fruits subsequently develop.

Blood orange, king orange or wren orange- this is a group of varieties that contain anthocyanins, pigments that give the fruits and their pulp a blood-red color. Blood orange also has a name Sicilian orange, since the first plantings appeared in Sicily. The king orange is a natural mutation of the common orange. Trees of this varietal group are distinguished by long ripening periods, low growth and an elongated crown. Blood orange fruits are characterized by a round, slightly ribbed shape and a hard-to-separate peel of brown, red or dark orange color. The pulp of the king is distinguished by its red, orange, burgundy or red-striped color, and the fruits are especially valued for their exquisite sweet and sour taste and excellent aroma. According to historians, blood oranges have been grown in Sicily since the 9th-10th centuries. They are currently cultivated throughout Italy, Spain, Morocco and the US states of Florida and California.

There are 3 main varieties of blood oranges:

  • Moro orange (Moro) - a fairly young variety, bred in early XIX century in Sicily in the province of Syracuse. The skin of the blood orange is orange or reddish-orange in color, and the flesh is orange with bloody streaks, bright crimson or almost black. The diameter of the fruit is from 5 to 8 cm. Weight is 170-210 grams. Moro oranges have a strong citrus aroma with a hint of or forest berries and a bitter aftertaste.

  • Sanguinello orange

native to Spain, similar to the Moro orange and cultivated in the Northern Hemisphere. Blood orange fruits are distinguished by an orange peel with a reddish tint, sweet red pulp with red spots, which contains a few seeds. The fruits ripen from February to March.

  • Tarocco orange

It is considered one of the most popular Italian varieties and is believed to be the product of a natural mutation of the Sanguinello orange. Tarocco oranges are medium in size, have a thin orange-red peel and do not have a pronounced red pigmentation of the flesh, which is why they are called “half-breeds”. Thanks to their juiciness, sweet taste, absence of seeds and high content of vitamin C, Tarocco blood oranges are considered one of the most sought-after varieties in the world. Cultivated on fertile soils in the vicinity of Mount Etna.

Orange hybrids, photos and names

Crossing the orange with other types of citrus fruits has given rise to a number of interesting hybrid forms.

Citroncirus webberi)

a hybrid of sweet orange and Poncirus trifolia, the purpose of which was to develop a cold-resistant orange. Citrange tolerates air temperatures down to -10 degrees, but its fruits have a bitter taste. Citrange is commonly used in making drinks, marmalade or jam.

Citroncirus Citrangequat)

A hybrid of citrange and kumquat, it is a compact tree, sometimes with small thorns, producing round or oval fruits with an elongated neck. It is eaten fresh or used to make marmalade and lemonade.

one of the types of citranquat, a hybrid of orange, margarita kumquat and trifoliate poncirus. The fruits are yellow or yellow-orange in color, medium in size, oval or pear-shaped. The peel is thin and bitter, the pulp with a small number of seeds, when unripe is very sour, when fully ripe it becomes quite edible.

Clementine ( Citrus clementina)

a hybrid of mandarin and orange blossom. The fruits of the hybrid are visually similar to tangerines, but differ in their harder skin, rich sweet taste and juicy pulp. The second variety of clementine is a hybrid of mandarin and bitter Seville orange, bred in Algeria in 1902. The fruits are small, orange, with a hard skin.

Clementines are usually divided into three types:

  • Corsican clementine - its fruits are medium in size, covered with an orange-red peel, the pulp is fragrant, there are no seeds in it;
  • Spanish Clementine can have both small and larger fruits with bright orange pulp with a sour taste. The fruit contains from two to ten seeds;
  • Montreal clementine – rare view citrus with sour fruits containing 10-12 seeds.

Santina (eng.Suntina)

hybrid of clementine and orlando. The bright orange fruits are medium to large in size, with a thin skin, and have a sweet taste and strong aroma. The ripening period is from late November to March.

Tangor (eng.Tangor, temple orange)

the result of crossing a sweet orange and a tangerine. The fruits are medium or large, can reach 15 cm in diameter. The shape of the fruit is slightly flattened, the peel is of medium thickness, porous, yellow or deep orange. The presence of seeds depends on the variety of tangor. The flesh of tangors is very aromatic, orange, and has a sour or sweet-sour taste.

Ellendale (eng.Ellendale tangor)

citrus hybrid, a variety of tangor obtained by crossing tangerine, mandarin and orange. Citrus is native to Australia. The fruits are medium to large in size, juicy, with a reddish-orange rind and very sweet, fragrant dark orange pulp. The peel is thin, smooth, and easy to clean. Seeds may vary in number or be absent altogether.

Orangelo (eng.Orangelo) or chironha (Spanish)Chironja)

supposedly considered a natural hybrid of grapefruit and orange. The fruit is native to Puerto Rico. The fruits are large, the size of a grapefruit, and have a slightly elongated or pear-shaped shape. When ripe, the peel is bright yellow, thin and smooth, and quite easily separated from the pulp. There are few seeds. The pulp is orange-orange, tender, juicy. The taste is sweeter, similar to orange and lacks the bitterness of grapefruit.

Agli fruit or agli (eng.Ugli fruit)

It is the result of crossing a tangerine, a grapefruit (or pomelo) and an orange. Agli fruits grow in Jamaica; they are not very beautiful in appearance due to their rough and wrinkled skin. The diameter of the fruit is from 10 to 15 cm. The color of the fruit varies from green to yellow-green and orange. Despite some unattractiveness, the pulp of the agli fruit is very tasty and has a grapefruit note. The fruiting period is from December to April.

Grapefruit (Citrus paradisi )

According to scientists, it is a natural hybrid of orange and pomelo. The fruits are large, with a diameter of 10 to 15 cm, with juicy sweet and sour pulp with a slight bitterness. The color of the pulp, depending on the variety, can be almost white, light pink, yellow or reddish. The peel is yellow or reddish.

Meyer lemon (Citrus meyeri )

presumably the result of hybridization with an orange or tangerine. The large fruits are round in shape; when ripe, the peel acquires a yellow-orange hue. The pulp is dark yellow, juicy and not as sour as a regular lemon, and contains seeds.

Natsudaidai (Natsumikan, Amanatsu) (eng.Amanatsu, natsumikan)

a natural hybrid of orange and pomelo (or grapefruit). The plant was first discovered in Japan in the 17th century. The fruit has a fairly thick yellow-orange peel; it is eaten fresh, but its juicy pulp tastes quite sour. The fruit contains many seeds.

Few true amateur gardeners have not at least once tried to grow citrus on their own. The seed sprouted, but things didn’t go further than that. It is quite possible to grow an exotic orange from a seed and get a fruit-bearing tree at home.

But this fruit requires special attention and proper care, because he is quite whimsical. The taste of orange citrus fruits grown at home in a pot cannot be compared with purchased ones, but true lovers indoor plants it doesn't stop.

Varieties of orange

Oranges are divided into two large groups: sour (bitter) and sweet varieties. There are three types that are most often found on sale in our country.

Sweet. Chinese or Portuguese fruit. The most common and sought after variety.

Sour. Usually these are hybrids of tangerine and pomelo. They have a sour-bitter taste. These fruits are often called bitter oranges.

Bergamot. Hybrid of citron and bitter orange. It has a pronounced sour-bitter taste. All oranges are equally healthy and tasty. They contain a huge amount of vitamins, amino acids and microelements.

Washington Navile. Sweet and sour fruits with thick porous skin. Many people are mistaken in believing that the birthplace of this variety is the USA. In fact, this variety comes from Brazil. Its fruits are practically seedless.

Valencia. A variety of Spanish oranges. They are distinguished by a thin peel of a bright orange color with red splashes. The flesh is the same color. These oranges have a pleasant sweet taste.

Blonde Commun.Variety from Sicily. For a long time was the most popular in his homeland, but in last years gave the palm to the two previous varieties. It has many seeds and grows well from them.

Oval. The name accurately describes the shape of the fruit. The taste of this variety is almost no different from Valencia.

Toropko. Another early ripening Sicilian variety. The fruit picking season lasts from November to January. These oranges not only have a pleasant taste and exquisite aroma. However, the fruits are popular not only because of their excellent taste, but also because of the unusual blood-red color of the pulp.

How to prepare an orange seed for planting

The orange seed is covered with a rather dense, hard peel, which, on the one hand, protects the sprout from all kinds of damage, and on the other, prevents its germination. If the seed dries out, it is very difficult to get it to hatch, so only fresh seeds are used for planting.

Orange seeds:


Planting an orange at home

Since in countries where oranges grow naturally, the trees generously receive both heat and light, you can provide the seedlings with the longest possible daylight hours by planting the seeds at the end of winter or in March. But even in this case, young orange trees respond well to extending daylight hours with the help of special lamps.

A clay pot with a diameter of about 10 centimeters is perfect for this:

How to care for an orange at home

To grow an orange at home, you need to carefully care for it.

Firstly, timely watering. To find out when a tree needs watering, take a wooden stick and tap it on the plastic pot where the orange grows. If you hear a dull crackling sound, it means the plant needs to be watered. Typically, oranges require the most abundant watering in summer and spring - to grow an orange at home, water it in the morning and evening during these periods.

Secondly, maintaining humidity levels. Moisture conservation is achieved primarily by applying organic fertilizers. Orange loves high humidity air, so once every 1-2 days spray the plant with a spray bottle or place a humidifier next to it. Every three weeks, give the plant a shower by covering the ground with cellophane.

Thirdly, feeding. Specialized stores have a large assortment mixtures for feeding orange trees. The only thing worth paying attention to is that the mixture should contain only organic matter(as a last resort, the vast majority of ingredients should be of organic origin).

Transplanting an orange at home

Due to the peculiarities of the root system, oranges do not tolerate replanting well, especially if the earthen ball is damaged; it is replanted only by transshipment, and if the roots do not fill the entire space of the container, the top and bottom layers of soil are simply replaced.

Fruiting trees are transferred once every two to three years, young, intensively growing ones - annually, into a pot with a diameter 1-2 cm larger than the previous one. They are replanted in the spring before growth begins; this kind of work should not be done during flowering, fruit ripening, or at rest. When planting, make sure that the root collar is not buried.

The soil mixture recommended for young specimens consists of turf, leaf soil, humus and sand in a ratio of 2:1:1:1; for mature trees, the proportion of turf soil increases (3:1:1:1) and a small amount of clay is added.

Forming and trimming the crown of an orange at home

If you don't prune regularly, oranges usually don't bloom. Moreover, the crown of such a plant has an unattractive appearance. A blossoming orange must go through all stages of formation: flowers are formed only on branches of a certain age and order. In other words, if the crown is not formed and the tree grows unpruned, the plant will not bloom. Active crown formation occurs before the tree reaches 3 years of age. U young plant You should leave a few of the strongest shoots of the first order, shortening them to 20 cm in length, and cut off all the rest. Branches of the second order are shortened to the same length, and the third and fourth order involve cutting only 5 cm. That's all, the formation of the crown is almost complete. All you have to do is remove weak shoots at the beginning of each next year, gradually giving the orange crown the required form and proper appearance.

Propagation of homemade orange by cuttings

For cuttings, choose stems with a diameter of 4-5 mm and a length of about 10 cm. The cut should be made under the bud from below, and above the bud from above. On the cutting you need to leave 3-4 live buds and 2-3 leaves. For greater effect, the cuttings should be treated with a root growth stimulator and placed 1/2 of the length in water for 3 days. For rooting cuttings homemade orange plant them in boxes or pots with soil consisting of a mixture of humus, coarse sand and flower earth in equal parts. Plant the cuttings in a compacted substrate to a depth of 3-4 cm. Initially, the branch has no roots, this does not allow the plant to receive enough moisture from the soil, so the orange tree requires daily spraying of the leaves with water. The soil should be well moistened, but do not allow it to become sour. The optimal temperature for rooting is + 20+25 degrees. Final rooting occurs after 30-45 days. Then the home orange tree can be transplanted into a separate small pot.

Latest articles about gardening

Why do orange leaves turn yellow and fall off?

Sudden temperature change. This happens if a plant is brought from the street into warm room. In such a situation, everything must be done to preserve natural humidity for an orange and he stood in a place that receives diffused light.

Failure to follow watering rules. This crop does not tolerate severe drying of the soil, as well as its waterlogging. In summer, the plant needs to be watered once a day with warm water. In addition, the plant must be provided high humidity air, so it needs to be sprayed additionally. In winter, the plant needs to be watered only a couple of times a week, preventing the soil from drying out.

Lots of fertilizers. Oranges need to be fertilized, but it is important to follow some rules. Signing the plant should occur no more than once a week. To do this, use special fertilizers indicated for citrus fruits - superphosphates, organic salts, ammonium sulfate and potassium.

Homemade orange diseases

This crop can be affected by many types of fungi and viruses, but the most dangerous disease, and at the same time the most common, is gummosis, also known as gum disease.

With this disease, areas of the orange tree’s bark die off, from which a sticky golden-yellow liquid—gum—is released. This disease appears due to various fungi that settle at the root collar and layers of wood. The appearance can be caused by deep planting, insufficient drainage, mechanical damage. To fight, you must first get rid of external cause, and then, with a small affected volume, the wound is cleaned to a healthy layer of tissue. Afterwards they are disinfected and covered with garden varnish. If the plant is seriously affected, it is better to burn it. Among other things, oranges can suffer from fungal infections such as warts and anthracnose. These diseases are treated with fungicides. If the plant is affected viral diseases, such as Tristetsa, the best way out is to destroy him. Proper care of the crop will reduce the likelihood of orange diseases.