Exotic plants can become a real decoration for your home. Of course, growing them on your own from seeds is not at all easy, but you can purchase an already grown seedling of such a tree or flower and simply organize proper balanced care for it. Thus, home-grown citrus fruits are extremely popular among lovers: tangerines and oranges, as well as laurels, etc. And growing them in an ordinary apartment is not so difficult. Today we will talk about how to care for a homemade tangerine in a pot.

So, indoor tangerine is a representative of the Rutaceae family, an evergreen plant that grows successfully in greenhouses and various winter gardens. Although this tree can reach quite large sizes, it can be grown on a windowsill. In addition, you can now find dwarf and low-growing tangerines on sale, the height of which does not exceed sixty centimeters - one meter.

How to care for tangerine at home?

Optimal lighting

In order for this exotic tree to feel good, readers of Popular About Health need to provide it with the right lighting - good enough, but with a minimum amount of direct rays of sun. If the plant feels a lack of light, it may practically not bloom, and if there is a strong lack of lighting, its leaves will become pale, the shoots will begin to stretch and weaken. So it is best to place a pot with a plant on the windowsill of an eastern or south-eastern window; when growing on the south side, it is advisable to provide shading for the indoor pet from direct rays of the sun. In the hot season, it is quite possible to take the tree outside, but you should gradually accustom it to open space.

In cold weather, it is extremely important to place the pot of tangerine in the most illuminated place, and it is better to even provide it with additional lighting.

Optimal temperature indicators

It is best to grow indoor tangerine in the summer at temperatures from twenty to twenty-five degrees. At the budding stage, as well as during the flowering period, it is advisable to slightly reduce the temperature - to twenty degrees or even slightly lower. At higher temperatures, the tree may drop flowers or buds. In cold weather, in order to organize a period of short rest for your pet, it is worth lowering the temperature to five to ten degrees. If the tree has the opportunity to rest during the winter, it will bloom and bear fruit much better.

How to properly water a homemade tangerine?

Indoor tangerines at home are quite resistant to a lack of life-giving moisture. They successfully tolerate a lack of watering, and in severe drought they can only shed their leaves. Quite often, such plants suffer from excess moisture, which can lead to the development of fungal diseases.

So you should water the tree only after the soil in the pot has dried out somewhat. It is advisable to carry out this manipulation in the first half of the day. When temperatures drop (in winter), watering is reduced, performing it only to maintain life.

Humidity

Despite their drought resistance, indoor tangerines really do not like dry air. Therefore, they should be sprayed systematically. If there is a lack of environmental humidity, plants may suffer from spider mites. But during the flowering period, it is extremely important to ensure that droplets of water do not fall on the tangerine flowers.

Top dressing

In order for exotic trees to look attractive and remain healthy, they must be fed. After all, the soil in the pot is depleted quite quickly. For fertilizing it is worth using soluble fertilizers; they can be used for both watering and spraying, but in the second case the concentration should be very weak. As fertilizers, you can use any complex mixtures that contain the main particles needed by plants, they are represented by phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium.

Tangerines are fed starting from March and ending in September, once every two weeks. In autumn, it is worth carrying out such manipulations less often - once a month.
Experienced flower growers also recommend feeding indoor tangerines with organic fertilizers. In this case, it is necessary to dilute well-infused cow manure, maintaining a ratio of 1:10.

Transfer

Young trees need to be replanted annually, and adults - at intervals of two years. For replanting, it is best to purchase special soil intended for citrus fruits. It is advisable to move the plant into a pot whose diameter is no more than five centimeters larger than before. The organization of a sufficiently good drainage layer in the new container also plays an extremely important role.

The best time to transplant a tangerine is early spring, when the active growing season is just beginning. A couple of days before this procedure, you should stop using fertilizers. Fertilizing is not carried out within two weeks after transplantation. At the end of this procedure, you need to water the tree, and after half an hour, add soil (if necessary) and water again.

Additional Information

In order to get a lush tree in a pot in a home flower garden, the indoor mandarin needs to pinch out the branches. It is also worth periodically removing dried leaves, elongated branches and excess flowers. For every fifteen leaves you should leave no more than one ovary. And when bearing fruit, the branches must be tied to a support so that they do not break.

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What is it - indoor tangerine?

Indoor tangerine is an exotic plant. And probably every house has flowers on the windowsill, but for lovers of the exotic, simple aloe or violet may not seem enough. In this case, think about a plant such as indoor tangerine. First of all, it should be said that this plant belongs to the citrus genus and is on a par with grapefruits, lemons, oranges, and limes. Indoor tangerine is an evergreen plant of the Rutaceae class. Why is this exotic plant? The thing is that its appearance is very specific: indoor tangerine grows in the form of a shrub or tree that can reach a height of five meters. Of course, this feature of the development and growth of the tangerine tree will repel many from the desire to purchase the plant, but today breeders have provided for this feature. Many people are interested in the question of how to make a tree fruitful and whether it is possible to eat fruits grown with one’s own hands. Most often, stores sell indoor tangerines already hung with fruits. It is not difficult to achieve fruit set at home.

Indoor tangerine grows as a shrub or tree that can reach 5 meters.

What is an indoor tangerine?

If you are planning to place a tangerine tree on your windowsill or balcony at home, then pay attention to low-growing or dwarf varieties that do not exceed a height of 1 meter. Of course, for the owner of greenhouses or private houses it will not be a problem to purchase a real tangerine tree. Otherwise, due to lack of space, you will have to constantly trim off excess branches and adjust the size of the plant. You don't need artificial pollination. But it is still not recommended to eat hanging fruits, because this result is obtained through the use of all kinds of fertilizers and fertilizers for the plant. Although even a non-blooming tangerine without colorful fruits can attract you with its beautiful leathery corrugated leaves that remain green all year round. In this case, the survival rate of the plant will immediately increase several times. You need to take a cutting you like that has at least two leaves, dip it in the rooting agent and plant it in prepared moist soil.

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About the history of indoor tangerine

Indoor tangerine is not very demanding on moisture; frequent watering can lead to the development of various diseases.

If we talk about the popularity of this tree, it is second only to indoor lemon in first place. If you believe the assumptions, then the tangerine tree comes from China or Japan. For many years this plant grew in the gardens of China, and was brought to Europe only closer to the 19th century. After this, indoor tangerines became extremely popular, because they were distinguished by their early fruitfulness and productivity. In addition, unlike the lemon tree, tangerine fruits have a sweet taste and completely lack seeds.

So, you bought a houseplant you liked and brought it home. Now you need to choose the right place for the further growth of the tangerine and create the necessary climatic conditions for it. After this, the planted sprout needs to be covered with half a plastic bottle or film on top, and it is important to leave a few holes in the homemade greenhouse for ventilation.

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What is indoor tangerine?

This tree lives in an ordinary flower pot and has a very impressive appearance. First of all, this indoor plant owes its popularity to its bright fruits, which look very appetizing and decorate the tree for several months. Decorative tangerines attract gardeners during the flowering period: soft white flowers bloom on the branches of the dwarf tree, which have a wonderful aroma. There are varieties that begin to bloom in spring and continue to delight the owner all year round. In addition, experienced gardeners love to experiment and grow decorative tangerines using the bonsai technique, resulting in a whole work of art from an ordinary plant.

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Caring for decorative tangerines at home

The optimal temperature for growth and development of indoor tangerine is 20-25 degrees.

There are standards that are accepted for both real and ornamental plant varieties. For example, both need good lighting and a moderate amount of direct sunlight. If there is insufficient light, the plant will begin to wither and noticeably slow down its growth and development. A sign of an incorrectly selected place for indoor tangerine is the absence of flowers or poor flowering. You can notice the malaise of the plant by the leaves, which change their rich green color to a faded one, and new tangerine shoots have a sickly appearance. The optimal place for indoor tangerine is considered to be southern, south-eastern and eastern windows, while in the summer the plant must be protected from strong direct rays. In the summer, many housewives take the decorative tangerine to the balcony, where the plant will do just as well provided there is moderate lighting and temperature.

As for winter time, during this period try to choose the most illuminated place in the apartment for your indoor flower, while direct sunlight with short daylight hours will not harm the tangerine, but will only contribute to its development. Of course, not every day in winter there is sunshine, so flower growers recommend using artificial lighting as a regular phytobulb. But it is necessary to prepare the decorative tangerine for such a procedure gradually, otherwise, if after a cloudy day you place the plant under a lamp for a long period, it may shed its leaves due to a sharp change in the length of daylight hours.

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Watering indoor tangerine

Indoor mandarin is demanding on lighting. In winter, artificial lighting is required.

Another important condition for keeping decorative tangerines is soil moisture. This indoor plant has adopted from its wild relatives such a feature as tolerance to dry periods. If the period without watering lasts for a long time, then in extreme cases the tangerine will shed some of its leaves in order to retain moisture in the roots and reduce the area of ​​evaporation. Therefore, the biggest mistake when growing indoor tangerines is over-watering. This can cause not only the loss of the beautiful appearance of the plant, but also the development of all kinds of diseases.

To determine the exact amount of liquid you will need to water a tangerine, consider the following characteristics of the plant:

• size of tree or shrub;
• the size of the pot in which the tangerine is planted;
• room temperature;
• lighting intensity;
• season.

Most of all, an adult plant needs moisture, which has a large number of leaves, grows in a large container, and the temperature is constantly above twenty degrees. It is recommended to water indoor tangerine in the first half of the day: it is at this time that it becomes more active. If the room temperature has dropped significantly, it is recommended to stop watering for several days until the soil is completely dry and the moisture has evaporated.

But not only the roots of the plant must receive moisture, the leaves must be sprayed regularly: in dry air, the decorative tangerine can wither and wither, and the risk of the plant becoming infected with spider mites also greatly increases. But during the flowering period, when watering, make sure that the water does not fall directly on the flowers.

Growing indoor citrus trees at home is, although troublesome, but worthwhile. By growing a tangerine tree on a windowsill, you get not only a fragrant and colorful plant, but also tasty, healthy fruits. You are required to plant correctly and provide the plant with competent and timely care.

Mandarin looks great as an ornamental plant

Features of citrus

Mandarin belongs to plants of the Rutaceae family. Homeland of growth - China. Today, citrus is grown in many tropical countries - Israel, Turkey, Africa, Thailand, Spain.

The evergreen tree reaches 2-4 m in height. The leaves are dense, leathery, with a glossy surface, dark green in color. The leaf blade is lanceolate in shape with a pointed end.

Citrus blossoms in early spring and lasts throughout the growing season. Mandarin flowers are snow-white, small, formed singly or in groups of several pieces.

The shoots are smooth, erect, dark green. The crown is medium dense, oval or spherical in shape.

The fruits, with thick orange skin, are in no way inferior in taste to industrially grown citrus fruits.

At home, a dwarf species is grown, the maximum height of which is 1-1.3 m.

Indoor varieties

There are several varieties of tangerine tree for home cultivation.

1. Winshiu. A seedless hybrid form, in the wild it reaches 2-3 m in height, in apartment conditions - from 0.8 to 1.3 m. It is a frost-resistant crop, characterized by early ripening and productivity. At home, tangerine blooms profusely with small white flowers. The first fruits are born at the age of 3-4 years.
2. Kovano-Vase. This dwarf mandarin begins to bear fruit in its second year. A low-growing plant with a compact crown at home reaches 40-70 cm in height, so it is grown in a pot on the windowsill. Blooms profusely with snow-white flowers. Citrus variety Kovano-Vase is valued for its long flowering, which lasts throughout the year. Indoor tangerine produces juicy, orange fruits that are well preserved on the tree and may not fall off for several months.

Secrets of growing

To achieve high decorativeness and high-quality fruiting, the plant should be provided with growth conditions that are as close as possible to natural growing conditions.

Selection of soil mixture

For the tangerine tree, which is grown primarily in tropical climates, it is necessary to select a balanced soil composition. In a specialized store you can purchase ready-made soil mixture for indoor tangerines. You can also prepare it yourself by mixing several ingredients:

• turf soil - 2 parts;
• leaf soil - 1 part;
• rotted manure - 1 part;
• river sand - 1 part.

In such nutritious and loose soil, the plant takes root well and grows intensively.

Preparation of material

To grow a full-fledged tangerine tree at home, you will need a ripe fruit seed. The seed is removed from the pulp, washed and wrapped in damp gauze. The tissue is irrigated daily with warm water to prevent the seed from drying out.

First, the seed should swell, then hatch and produce a small sprout. This is a sign that it is time to plant it in the ground.

The best option for planting tangerines is a 3-liter clay pot.

Landing Features

It is better to plant an ornamental plant in a pot made of natural material - ceramics or clay. The container is filled with a nutrient mixture, the recipe for which is described above. Then they make a small depression - 2-3 cm and lower the bone into the hole with the sprout facing up. Afterwards, the seed is buried and generously sprayed with a spray bottle.

Rules of care

After planting, tangerines at home require careful care, especially in the first years of life. Indoor citrus does not require much cost or effort, so even a novice gardener can grow it.

Lighting

This is one of the main conditions for caring for tangerines at home. Tropical crops require good and continuous daylight throughout the year. Therefore, a tub or flowerpot with a tree is placed on a south, southwest or southeast window sill.

Homemade tangerine reacts poorly to sudden temperature changes and does not tolerate drafts. Under such conditions, the plant sheds its leaves en masse and may die.

With the onset of warm spring days, the plant can be placed on a balcony or loggia; in the summer, it can be placed outside, where there is protection from the scorching sun.

Temperature

For tangerine at home, a certain temperature regime is required - from +16 to +18 °C. Then the plant begins to bloom and bear fruit successfully.

In summer, indoor tangerines easily tolerate heat and temperature rises up to +40 °C.

In the winter season, the plant is given the opportunity to rest - it is moved to a room with a temperature no higher than 14 °C. In such conditions, the growth and flowering of citrus is suspended until spring.

Humidity

The basis for caring for tangerines at home is optimizing the humidity level - at the level of 65-70%. To ensure high humidity, you should regularly irrigate the tree, place trays with water or containers with moistened expanded clay next to the pot.

Watering

In winter, settled water at room temperature should be used for indoor tangerine plants. Water the tree no more than once every two weeks. In spring and summer, the frequency of watering is increased and moisture is produced as the earthen clod dries out.

Indoor tangerine does not react well to overwatering, so the plant should be watered in small doses. The water flowing into the pan should be poured out to prevent the appearance of mold in the lower layer of soil and rotting of the roots.

The citrus plant responds well to showers with warm water. Washing of foliage is carried out once a month. Before irrigation, the soil is covered with polyethylene. Additionally, the plant is sprayed with warm water every day from a spray bottle.

Feeding

For tangerines at home, care includes regular fertilization. Citrus requires organic and mineral fertilizers, which are applied to well-moistened soil. Slurry or ready-made complex fertilizers for citrus fruits are suitable as food.

Feed the tree throughout the growing season no more than once every two weeks. In winter, feeding the plants is stopped, because during this period the resting phase begins.

To enhance fruiting, the tree can be fed with fish soup. 200 g of fish products are poured with two liters of water and boiled for half an hour. Then cool, filter and water the soil around the tree trunk. This fertilizing is applied in combination with the preparation “Mandarin”. Suitable for plants with a height of at least 1 m.

The Unshiu variety bears fruit at home in the 3rd year of life

Transfer

As the decorative tangerine grows at home, it should be regularly replanted into a new container 2-3 cm larger in diameter than the previous one. Transplantation is carried out by transferring an earthen clod with the addition of fresh nutritious soil mixture.

The first transplant procedure is carried out 3-4 years after planting, once a year. Adult plants are not disturbed; they only periodically replace the surface layer with a new nutritional composition.

Trimming and pinching

The pinching procedure stimulates fruiting and the growth of young shoots. Pinching is done in early spring, shortening the apical shoots by a third of their length.

Growing at home, a tangerine in a pot can bloom endlessly without entering the fruiting phase. To stimulate this process, you should remove some of the flower buds and fruit ovaries, which take strength and energy from the tree. This procedure is carried out on the basis that there should be at least 15 leaves per 1 fruit.

Reproduction methods

You can get a houseplant in several ways:

• seeds;
• cuttings;
• layering;
• vaccination.

Seed cultivation is used if you do not have your own specimens at home. Propagation by layering is suitable for old trees. Cuttings are used only for some varieties of indoor tangerines in order to obtain a varietal fruit-bearing plant. The grafting is suitable for those who already have a sprouted tangerine sprout and any other citrus on which it can be grafted.

Tree grafting

Indoor tangerine can grow and develop for a long time at home without bearing fruit. To speed up the process of formation of fruit ovaries, gardeners carry out the grafting procedure.

Before grafting, the tree is watered abundantly to speed up the process of sap flow in the shoots. This way the bark will move away from the trunk better. For grafting, a well-ripened shoot with several vegetative buds is used. All foliage is removed to prevent the process of moisture evaporation and drying out of the branch. The optimal grafting height on a tree is 7-10 cm from the soil level. The bark in this area should be healthy, smooth, without buds or leaves.

A T-shaped incision is made in this area with a sharp knife. The bark at the incision sites is lifted and a prepared cutting or bud with a heel is inserted into it so that the bud remains on the surface. The raised bark on the rootstock is pressed tightly and wrapped with insulating tape. After the kidney has taken root, the tape is removed.

You can understand that the grafting of a tangerine tree was successful after three weeks - at the grafting site the petiole should turn yellow and fall off. If it has dried out and remained in place, the grafting procedure should be repeated.

After successful budding, after about 3-4 weeks, it is necessary to trim the apical shoots on the rootstock, and also remove the insulating tape. Pruning of shoots is carried out in two stages - first, the branch is shortened 10 cm above the eye, then after its germination - at a distance from the thorn up from it.

Subsequently, after vaccination, home care for tangerines is the same as for adult specimens.

Diseases and pests

If affected in winter, the use of pesticides is not recommended. For spider mites, folk infusions and solutions based on garlic, tobacco dust, soap and ash are used.

In the fight against scale insects or false scale insects, water-oil emulsions are very helpful.

To prevent diseases and pests, it is necessary to carry out regular treatments of the crown - with a weakly concentrated solution of potassium permanganate at least once a month.

Difficulties in growing

Many gardeners, especially beginners, do not know how to care for tangerines at home, as a result of which it is not always possible to grow a strong, beautiful and fruit-bearing tree.

Conclusion

Growing an indoor tangerine on a windowsill is not difficult. The main thing is to plant the plant correctly and on time and select high-quality planting material for cultivation. With proper home care, tangerines will regularly bloom, bear fruit and delight with their beauty.

Among the countless varieties and hybrids of sweet peppers, there are those, such as the Ramiro pepper, whose popularity is literally worldwide. And if most vegetables on supermarket shelves are nameless, and it is almost impossible to find out about their variety, then the name of this pepper “Ramiro” will certainly be on the packaging. And, as my experience has shown, this pepper is worth letting other gardeners know about it. In connection with which this article was written.

Autumn is the most mushroom time. It is no longer hot, and heavy dew falls in the mornings. Since the earth is still warm, and foliage has already attacked from above, creating a completely special microclimate in the ground layer, the mushrooms are very comfortable. Mushroom pickers are also comfortable at this time, especially in the mornings when it is cooler. It's time for both to meet. And, if you haven’t introduced yourself to each other, get to know each other. In this article I will introduce you to exotic, little-known and not always edible mushrooms that look like coral.

If you are a busy person, but at the same time not devoid of romance, if you have your own plot and are endowed with aesthetic taste, then explore the opportunity to purchase this wonderful ornamental shrub - karyopteris, or Nutwing. He is also “wing-hazel”, “blue fog” and “blue beard”. It truly fully combines unpretentiousness and beauty. Karyopteris reaches its peak of decorativeness in late summer and autumn. It is at this time that it blooms.

Pepper ajvar - vegetable caviar or thick vegetable sauce made from bell peppers with eggplants. The peppers for this recipe are baked for quite a long time, then they are also stewed. Onions, tomatoes, and eggplants are added to ajvar. To store eggs for the winter, they are sterilized. This Balkan recipe is not for those who like to make preparations quickly, undercooked and underbaked - not about ajvar. In general, we approach the matter in detail. For the sauce, we choose the ripest and meatiest vegetables on the market.

Despite the simple names (“sticky” or “indoor maple”) and the status of a modern substitute for indoor hibiscus, abutilons are far from the simplest plants. They grow well, bloom profusely and provide a healthy look of greenery only in optimal conditions. On thin leaves, any deviations from comfortable lighting or temperatures and disturbances in care quickly appear. To reveal the beauty of abutilons in rooms, it is worth finding the ideal place for them.

Zucchini fritters with Parmesan and mushrooms - a delicious recipe with photos of available products. Ordinary zucchini pancakes can be easily turned into a non-boring dish by adding a few savory ingredients to the dough. During the squash season, pamper your family with vegetable pancakes with wild mushrooms; it is not only very tasty, but also filling. Zucchini is a universal vegetable, it is suitable for stuffing, for preparations, for main courses, and even for sweets there are delicious recipes - compotes and jam are made from zucchini.

The idea of ​​growing vegetables on the grass, under the grass and in the grass is scary at first, until you become imbued with the naturalness of the process: in nature, this is exactly how everything happens. With the obligatory participation of all soil living creatures: from bacteria and fungi to moles and toads. Each of them contributes. Traditional tillage with digging, loosening, fertilizing, and fighting all those we consider pests destroys the biocenoses that have been created over centuries. In addition, it requires a lot of labor and resources.

What to do instead of a lawn? So that all this beauty does not turn yellow, does not get sick and at the same time looks like a lawn... I hope that the smart and quick-witted reader is already smiling. After all, the answer suggests itself - if you do nothing, nothing will happen. Of course, there are several solutions that can be used, and with their help, you can reduce the area of ​​​​the lawn, and therefore reduce the labor intensity of caring for it. I propose to consider alternative options and discuss their pros and cons.

Tomato sauce with onions and sweet peppers - thick, aromatic, with pieces of vegetables. The sauce cooks quickly and is thick because this recipe contains pectin. Make such preparations at the end of summer or autumn, when the vegetables have ripened in the sun in the garden beds. Bright, red tomatoes will make equally bright homemade ketchup. This sauce is a ready-made dressing for spaghetti, and you can also simply spread it on bread - very tasty. For better preservation, you can add a little vinegar.

This year I often observed a picture: among the luxurious green crown of trees and shrubs, here and there, like candles, the bleached tops of shoots “burn.” This is chlorosis. Most of us know about chlorosis from school biology lessons. I remember that this is a lack of iron... But chlorosis is an ambiguous concept. And lightening of foliage does not always mean a lack of iron. What is chlorosis, what our plants lack during chlorosis and how to help them, we will tell you in the article.

Korean vegetables for the winter - delicious Korean salad with tomatoes and cucumbers. The salad is sweet and sour, spicy and slightly spicy because it is prepared with Korean carrot seasoning. Be sure to prepare a few jars for the winter; in cold winter, this healthy and aromatic snack will come in handy. You can use overripe cucumbers for the recipe; it is better to harvest vegetables in late summer or early autumn, when they are ripe in the open ground under the sun.

Autumn for me means dahlias. Mine begin to bloom as early as June, and all summer the neighbors peek at me over the fence, reminding them that I promised them a few tubers or seeds by the fall. In September, a tart note appears in the aroma of these flowers, hinting at the approaching cold. This means it’s time to start preparing the plants for the long, cold winter. In this article I will share my secrets of autumn care for perennial dahlias and preparing them for winter storage.

To date, through the efforts of breeders, according to various sources, from seven to ten thousand (!) varieties of cultivated apple trees have been bred. But despite their enormous diversity, in private gardens, as a rule, only a couple of popular and beloved varieties grow. Apple trees are large trees with a spreading crown, and you cannot grow many of them in one area. What if you try to grow columnar varieties of this crop? In this article I will tell you exactly about these varieties of apple trees.

Pinjur - Balkan-style eggplant caviar with sweet peppers, onions and tomatoes. A distinctive feature of the dish is that the eggplants and peppers are first baked, then peeled and simmered for a long time in a roasting pan or in a thick-bottomed pan, adding the rest of the vegetables specified in the recipe. The caviar turns out to be very thick, with a bright, rich taste. In my opinion, this cooking method is the best known. Although it is more troublesome, the result compensates for the labor costs.

Mandarin- an evergreen plant that belongs to the Rutov family. The specific Latin name of the mandarin is Citrus reticulate. Like orange, lemon, lime, and grapefruit, it belongs to the Citrus genus. The life form of this plant is interesting - it can be a shrub or a tree, reaching a height of 5 meters.

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Indoor tangerine
Like other representatives of the Citrus genus, tangerines have long been grown in greenhouses, conservatories, and winter gardens. Despite its size, tangerines can be grown at home on a balcony or windowsill. Currently, breeders have developed many varieties of dwarf and low-growing tangerines for home cultivation, the maximum height of which is 0.6-1.1 m. An indoor tangerine may not be a dwarf variety, then the plant needs to be heavily pruned and shaped.

Indoor tangerine is a very impressive potted plant.. And not only because of the bright, fragrant and appetizing orange fruits that can last for several months. Sometimes a plant gives pleasure only by its flowering, because the delicate white flowers of tangerine exude an amazing aroma. In some varieties, flowering begins in the spring and can continue all year round. Indoor tangerine, grown as a bonsai, is a real work of art.

Fruits of indoor tangerine set without artificial pollination, usually ripen at the end of the year. Often an indoor tangerine in a pot is bought in a store with fruits already hanging on it. Despite the fact that they are very appetizing, you should not eat them. Indeed, to achieve such a high decorative effect, plants receive high doses of fertilizers. The tangerine has beautiful leathery and corrugated leaves.

Popular tangerine varieties for growing at home
Unshiu is a Japanese variety, the most unpretentious, it begins to bear fruit in 3-4 years, in indoor conditions it grows to 0.8-1.5 m. It branches well. It blooms profusely in spring, producing fruits in late October-November. Pear-shaped fruits lack seeds.
Kowano-Wase, Micha-Wase, Miyagawa-Wase - dwarf tangerines Vasya group - suitable for growing on a windowsill, height 40-80 cm. Orange-yellow fruits ripen for the first time in the second year of cultivation, flowering is abundant. Like all dwarf varieties, they do not require crown formation.
Shiva-Mikan is an early compact fast-growing variety. The fruits are small, no more than 30 g
Murcott- the fruits of this compact tangerine variety are very sweet, ripen in summer, and taste very sweet, which is why the name of the variety is translated as “honey.”
Clementine- a hybrid of tangerine and orange, bears fruit at home in the second year. One adult domestic tree produces up to 50 medium-sized, flattened orange-red fruits per year, very fragrant, with shiny skin. Plants of this variety with numerous seeds are called Montreals.

Mandarin care at home
Lighting mandarin at home
The first step in successfully growing indoor tangerine is choosing a place for the plant and its proper lighting.
Indoor tangerines, as well as those grown in open ground, need good lighting with some direct sunlight. When there is insufficient light, the plant slows down its growth, throws out a small number of flowers or does not bloom at all. With a strong lack of light, the leaves of indoor tangerines become faded, new shoots become elongated, thin and painful in appearance. Therefore, it is better to grow the plant on eastern, south-eastern and southern windows, shading them from direct midday rays. In summer, the plant can be taken out to the balcony, gradually accustoming it to the street.
In winter, when daylight hours are short, indoor tangerines should be placed in the brightest place with direct sunlight. But sometimes this is not enough: artificial lighting is needed. For this purpose, an ordinary phytolamp is suitable, which can be screwed into a chandelier or table lamp. It is necessary to transfer the plant to additional lighting gradually. With a sharp change in daylight hours, it can shed its leaves.

Content temperature
The optimal temperature for indoor tangerine in the summer is + 20-25 oC. During the period of budding and flowering, so that the flowers do not fall off, it is better to keep the plant at a temperature slightly below + 20 ° C. In winter, to ensure a relative period of rest, tangerine is kept at + 5 -10 °C. A plant that has rested over the winter will bloom and bear fruit better.

How to water and spray tangerines at home
The indoor mandarin, like its wild ancestors, is adapted to withstand dry periods. In extreme cases, the plant will shed its leaves to reduce the amount of liquid that evaporates. A common problem when growing tangerines at home is excessive watering, which leads to the development of fungal diseases.
The amount of water for watering indoor tangerines depends on several factors:
- size of the plant;
- the size of the container in which the tangerine grows;
- ambient temperature;
- length of daylight hours and lighting intensity.
The larger the leaf surface of indoor tangerine, the stronger the evaporation, and the more it needs watering. Temperature also affects the rate of evaporation: the higher it is, the more moisture the plant loses. The length of daylight directly affects the amount of moisture that evaporates. Stomata - formations on the underside of land plants that serve for gas exchange, open during daylight hours.
Watering indoor tangerines should be done in the first half of the day, when the plant has activated its life processes. When the temperature drops, watering is reduced, even stopping for several days during the period when the room temperature is only +12-15 oC. In this case, the tangerine is watered with a small amount of water only to maintain vital functions.
Mandarin at home needs regular spraying of leaves. Very dry air has a bad effect on the plant and is often a prerequisite for its infection with spider mites. If an indoor tangerine is blooming, then you need to make sure that water does not get on its flowers.

How to feed tangerines at home
Full care of tangerines at home is not possible without additional mineral and organic nutrition. The soil in the pot is quickly depleted and washed away when watering, and recreational processes practically do not occur in it, unlike soil in nature.
For fertilizing, you can use soluble or dry fertilizers. In the spring, as daylight hours increase, fertilizing for indoor tangerines is increased. It is in the early spring that vegetative and generative buds begin to develop intensively; at this time, the plant requires additional nutrients.
At home, tangerines are fertilized like all other indoor plants, that is, in the first half of the day. The ambient temperature should be at least + 18-19 degrees.
Soluble fertilizers are often used for fertilizing. You can water the plant with them, and spray its leaves in a weaker concentration. To feed indoor tangerines, any complex mineral fertilizer containing phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium - the main elements necessary for plants - is suitable.
Fertilizers should be dissolved in soft or settled water at room temperature. The main thing is not to increase the dose. If the instructions say: 1 capful of product per 1 liter of water, do not think that 2 capfuls will make the solution more useful. This will lead to the opposite effect - a chemical burn or toxic poisoning of the plant.
You need to feed tangerines at home during the period of intensive growth (from March to September) 2 times a week. Possibly less often, but not more often.
Dry fertilizers, which are applied to the soil and gradually dissolve, releasing microelements to the soil, must be applied even more carefully. Their advantage is that by adding them in the spring you can forget about fertilizing for a long time. However, they can be quickly used by the plant, and it will be difficult to guess about it. Adding an additional dose of fertilizer will lead to the above-mentioned overdose.
To grow tangerines, organic fertilizers are also needed. To do this, you can dilute infused cow manure in a ratio of 1/10. The best option would be to use organic fertilizer in combination with mineral fertilizers for soil feeding.

Additional care for tangerines at home
To form a lush tangerine tree, pinch the tops of its branches.
Caring for tangerines at home also involves removing dried leaves or elongated branches.
On young flowering plants, the flowers are partially removed so as not to deplete them and to allow several fruits to ripen. For 15-20 leaves of an adult plant, you can leave one ovary. The fewer fruits remain on the tangerine, the larger they will be.
The fruiting branches of indoor mandarin are tied and tied to a support, otherwise they may break due to the weight of the fruit and the plant will not have an attractive appearance.

Diseases and pests
Mandarins at home can be affected by scale insects, red spider mites and mealybugs. Spraying the plant with a soap solution will help against scale insects (2 tbsp. L of liquid soap, you can use “Fary”, per 3 L of water). It is better to remove pests by hand first. After leaving the solution on the leaves for half an hour, it is washed off with warm water. In case of spider mite infestation, the pest is collected manually, then the leaves and twigs are wiped with a cotton swab moistened with cold water or alcohol, then sprayed with a two-day infusion of garlic or onion (crush 200 g and add warm boiled water). Removing the pest with a cotton swab and spraying it with garlic infusion 3 times (once every 7 days), or rubbing it with a cotton swab soaked in alcohol (can be replaced with calendula tincture) will also help against mealybugs. In case of persistent damage by any pest, they resort to potent chemicals, which are used according to the instructions.
If watered incorrectly, tangerine leaves become stained and fall off. To prevent or eliminate the problem, follow the rules for watering citrus plants.

Replanting a tangerine at home
Proper care of tangerines at home involves replanting the plant. Usually a transplant is carried out if the plant, in our case the indoor tangerine, is cramped in the pot. As a rule, young indoor tangerine plants are replanted annually, plants older than 7 years - once every 2 years. For replanting, use a special soil mixture for citrus fruits or make it yourself from turf soil (50%) and leaf soil, humus and sand, taken in equal parts.
To transplant an indoor tangerine, choose a pot with a diameter of 5 - 8 cm larger than the previous one. You cannot plant a small plant immediately in a large pot: this often leads to rotting of the roots. In addition, it is neither aesthetically pleasing nor practical.
Mandarin at home, as in nature, prefers a light substrate with weak acidity. It is necessary to put drainage at the bottom of the container for replanting - this is the prevention of stagnation of water and root rot. For drainage you can use: expanded clay, small stones, fragments of ceramic dishes, pieces of foam plastic.
Indoor tangerines cannot be replanted while the plant is flowering. It is better to do this in the spring at the beginning of the plant’s awakening from a relative period of dormancy.
You cannot feed the plant 2-3 days before replanting, and also use fertilizers for 12-14 days after replanting.
After transplanting, the indoor tangerine is lightly watered so that the soil settles. After 30-40 minutes, if necessary, add the substrate to the pot and water it again.

Reproduction of indoor tangerine
Mandarins can be propagated at home in two ways:
- vegetative (rooting of branches);
- generative (growing from seed).
To root cuttings, it is better to use a rooting agent - the survival rate will be 3-4 times higher. To do this, cuttings with 2-3 leaves are dipped in a rooting agent and planted in moist soil, covered with film or a cut plastic bottle on top, making sure to leave holes in them for ventilation. Cuttings take root within several months.
Growing tangerines at home from seeds is the longest method of propagation, especially since some varieties produce almost no seeds. In addition, indoor mandarin grown using this method will need grafting, otherwise it will not bloom. For a rootstock, indoor lemon or grapefruit grown at home from a grain are better suited.
Since both methods of propagating indoor tangerines take too much time, more often amateur gardeners buy already grafted indoor tangerine in shops.