Tangerine care. How to care for a tangerine tree so that you can harvest sunny fruits on your own windowsill. Transplanting a tangerine tree without the risk of injury

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.

The evergreen tangerine tree has become a frequent guest of home greenhouses and winter gardens. Even in ordinary apartments you can find miniature citrus plants, because they not only delight the gardener’s eye with their greenery, but also give several dozen fragrant fruits every year. True, it is not easy to achieve a thick crown and abundant fruiting; there are special rules for watering, fertilizing and pruning that are necessary for a tangerine tree when caring for it at home. Certain difficulties in growing indoor citrus fruits can cause some trouble for the grower.

Growing a seedling from a seed

There is nothing easier than buying a ready-made grafted seedling from a fruit nursery or from an online gardening store. Most often, trees are sold with a closed root system: directly in pots or in a clod of earth, packed in a bag. In the second case, transplantation into a container will be required.

But for gardeners, growing a citrus tree from the seed of a ripe fruit is much more economical. In addition, many people get mental satisfaction from growing plants from scratch, although it takes much longer.

For germination, you need to select several seeds from ripe, juicy, sweet fruits to increase the chances of success. Tangerine seeds have good germination. As is the case with the seeds of many crops, it is advisable not to immediately place the seeds in the ground, but to soak them first. To do this, they are placed between 2-3 layers of clean gauze and placed on a saucer. The gauze needs to be moistened as it dries for several days until the bones swell. As soon as the first shoots hatch, it’s time to plant the plants in the ground. If it is not possible to wait several days, then the bones are soaked for 2–3 hours in water with the addition of a few drops of Epin (a growth stimulant).

A bag of soil for citrus trees can be purchased in specialty stores. If there is no such thing nearby, then prepare the soil yourself by mixing leaf soil, rotted manure and turf soil. River sand can be added to this mixture. It is not recommended to add clay or peat to the substrate. Drainage (expanded clay, coarse gravel) and a soil mixture are poured into the bottom of a clean pot, container or other container. The seeds are planted to a depth of 5–6 cm. It is important to choose a place for the pot that is well lit, but without direct sunlight, so that the young sprout does not get burned. Under favorable conditions, the sprout will emerge from the ground in 2.5–3 weeks. From this moment, you can begin feeding the future tree with organic or mineral fertilizers, since beneficial substances are quite quickly washed out of the ground during watering.

Caring for indoor tangerine

Lighting

It is recommended to choose a brightly lit room as a permanent place for the pot, because without sufficient light, the decorative tangerine will not grow large and will be painful. It would seem that the easiest way is to place the container on the windowsill of the south side of the house, but this can lead to leaf burns. A more acceptable option would be to choose the southeast or east side. If the south side is the only possible option for installing a pot of tangerine, then on spring and summer days the plant will need shading. But in winter, on the contrary, the southern window sill is a good place for a seedling. When daylight hours shorten in winter, it is necessary to turn on additional lighting - special phytolamps.

Temperature and humidity

The best temperature regime for tangerine seedlings is +15+18 °C in the warm season, and about +12 °C in winter. In hotter weather, the tree begins to bear fruit worse - it blooms poorly, and weakly forms buds and ovaries. Air humidity is very important for tangerines: on hot, dry days in summer, as well as on winter days when central heating dries out the air, it is necessary to spray the tree frequently, sometimes up to three times a day. You can place a bowl of water or another air humidifier on the windowsill (imitation of a waterfall, fountain, stream). Too dry air often provokes the appearance of pests such as mites, scale insects and others. During flowering, the tree should be sprayed carefully. To avoid moisture getting on the buds and flowers, it is better to replace spraying with regular wiping of the leaves.

Hardening. In order for the plant to become stronger, it should be hardened, that is, helped to adapt to changes in temperature and lighting. To do this, in the spring during the day, you need to take the seedling out to the balcony or closed veranda for a short time (or at least open the window).

Watering

Indoor tangerine needs frequent watering. On particularly hot days you will have to water it 2-3 times a day. In winter, if the temperature is kept fairly low and the air is well humidified, watering twice a week will be sufficient. It is recommended to first pour water for irrigation into bottles or other containers so that it can settle and warm up to room temperature.

A tangerine tree will not die due to a short-term lack of moisture, since it will shed all or part of the leaves to reduce water loss. Fresh greenery will not grow on “bald” branches; it will appear only on new branches, so everyone tries to avoid unexpected leaf fall. But frequent overwatering of the tree with water is no less dangerous - fungal diseases can develop.

Transplantation and fertilizing

Growing and caring for a young tangerine seedling involves annual replanting into a larger container. The root system of the tree grows very quickly, entwining a lump of earth over its entire surface. Replanting involves changing the drainage layer and adding soil mass. If, having pulled out a tree with a lump of earth, it becomes clear that there was enough space for roots to grow in the pot, then you can replace the drainage layer, insert the tree back with the same lump of earth and add only a surface layer of soil. Annual transplantation is carried out before March, before the start of the growing season. The root collar should not go deep during transplantation; it should be ensured at the same level relative to the soil surface.

The entire growing season, from April to September, the seedling needs feeding. Every week it needs to be fertilized with mineral or organic fertilizers, you can alternate them. This is especially necessary for mature trees that grow in cramped pots, without replanting or renewing the soil.

So, one week you can water it with a solution of liquid mullein, and a week later - with a ready-made complex fertilizer “for citrus trees”, purchased in a store. The finished composition must necessarily include nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. Before fertilizing, which is recommended to be done in the first half of the day, the soil should be watered. The temperature of the nutrient solution must be at least +20 °C. The recommended recipe for preparing the fertilizer should be strictly followed.

The rule here is: it’s better not to top up than to overfill. Excess fertilizer, its excessive concentration, leads to burns of leaves or stems and even death of the tree.

Caring for an adult plant

Let's look at how to care for an adult tangerine tree at home. Many of the above rules for caring for tangerine seedlings also apply to a grown plant. But as the tree grows, the need for periodic pruning of branches and pinching the tops of shoots is added.

Like all other trees, it is advisable to remove dried leaves, twigs, and downward shoots from tangerines. But these measures will not help to form a compact tree with a thick and lush green crown. They try to grow the home tangerine as a dwarf plant, so the crown is formed like a bonsai tree. To do this, the growing tips of the shoots are pinched (removed) at the desired length. For example, you can pinch the top of each sprout after 5 leaves appear. The so-called tops - shoots growing from the root - greatly harm the growth of the tree and the formation of a beautiful crown. They need to be removed.

Advice. In the first years of fruiting, in order to avoid unnecessary stress on the plant, florists recommend pinching the flowers of the tangerine tree. By leaving only a few flowers on the trunk, you can achieve large, fragrant fruits without depleting the plant.

An adult tangerine tree in a pot also needs to be replanted. Unlike young seedlings, it is enough to replant a fruiting tree after 2-3 years. During the procedure, the drainage and surface layer of soil must be replaced and the required amount of soil added. It is advisable to disturb the earthen lump as little as possible.

When setting fruit, the tree trunk and fruit-bearing branches must be tied to a support to avoid them breaking off.

Reproduction of home tangerine

The most economical way to get a tangerine tree seedling is to grow it from a seed. But if there is already a tree, and the grower wants to get offspring from it, then he chooses one of the following methods:

Layerings. From an adult plant, select a branch with a thickness of at least 4 mm and a length sufficient to bend the branch and pin it to the ground (preferably in a separate, nearby pot). The branch is not separated from the bush, but is buried in the ground, with the top of the branch protruding to the surface of the soil. The digging area must be kept moist by adding a root-forming agent to the water several times. The branch is separated from the mother plant only when the cuttings form good new roots.
Air layering. The cuttings take root “in weight”. An adult shoot is cut in a circle, cutting off the bark 1 cm wide. The wound is treated with “Heteroauxin” or “Kornevin”, wrapped with sphagnum moss and transparent polyethylene (loosely, in the form of a cone). This “pupa” must be kept constantly moist until roots begin to form (this may take several months). When the roots become clearly visible through the polyethylene, the rooted branch is cut off and planted in a separate pot. It is advisable to create greenhouse conditions for the young seedling for the first time by covering the pot with a transparent lid or bag.

Pest Control

Even when providing tangerines with proper care at home, flower growers sometimes encounter problems such as pests. The most common are the following:

Whiteflies;
Scale insects;
Red spider mites.

All of them are capable of causing irreparable harm to the plant, therefore, when pests are detected or at the slightest suspicion of their appearance, you need to wipe the leaves or spray the entire tree with special preparations, for example, Actellik or Fitoverm. It is important to use insecticidal and acaricidal preparations in strict accordance with the instructions for use!

Among the representatives of the Rutov family, one of the popular fruits is the tangerine. In Latin, the name of this evergreen plant is Citrus reticulate. Mandarin belongs to the group of citrus fruits, which also includes such well-known fruits as orange, lemon, grapefruit, etc. During its development, the plant can take on different shapes - a bush or a tree with a height of 5 m.

Indoor tangerine

In recent years, growing tangerines in artificial conditions has become widespread, using devices such as greenhouses, conservatories and winter gardens. If you wish, you can grow this evergreen plant at home on your balcony or windowsill. Today, a large number of varieties of dwarf and low-growing tangerines have been created, which are ideal for these purposes, because when they reach the full phase of vegetative development, they have a height of no more than 0.6-1.1 m. If tangerines of ordinary varieties are grown at home, then in relation it requires pruning and shaping of the bush.

A tangerine grown in a pot can please any owner. Moreover, this is manifested not only in the formation of bright, appetizing orange fruits, which can remain on the plant for several months. Many owners note the beautiful flowering of tangerine, because when the branches of the plant are covered with white flowers, they begin to emit amazing aroma. There are certain varieties of tangerines that begin to bloom from spring until late autumn. A true masterpiece is the tangerine, grown using the bonsai technique.

One of the advantages of indoor tangerine is that artificial pollination is not required for the formation of its fruits. The moment of their ripening occurs, as a rule, at the end of the year. If you don’t want to wait that long, you can buy an already mature plant in a pot with fruits. Although they look very appetizing, it is not recommended to use them for food. Still, such tangerines are largely decorative, because to grow them, fertilizers are added to the soil in large quantities. Gives additional attractiveness to the plant leathery and corrugated leaves.

Varieties for growing at home

Before growing tangerine at home, you must first decide on a suitable variety.

Mandarin: home care

In order for home-grown tangerines to give you tasty and beautiful fruits, you need to properly find a place for it and take care of creating optimal lighting.

Lighting

The presence of good lighting is one of the determining conditions that must be met regardless of the growing conditions of the tangerine. Tangerines grow best when exposed to a small amount of direct sunlight. If the plant does not have enough lighting, this will affect its growth, the number of flowers formed will be small, and in some cases the plant will not be able to enter the flowering phase at all.

Also, a lack of lighting affects the leaves, which take on a faded appearance; the emerging shoots begin to thin out, acquiring painful condition. For this reason, it is advisable to choose windows facing the east, southeast or south as a place to grow tangerines. At the same time, he needs to provide artificial shade from the midday sun. With the onset of summer, the decorative tangerine can be placed on the balcony for a while, helping it adapt to natural conditions.

The tangerine tree is cared for somewhat differently in winter, when the length of daylight hours is reduced. For plants, it is necessary to choose the most illuminated area, which receives direct sunlight. However, this does not always provide sufficient lighting. In this case, you have to use artificial lighting. You can make up for the lack of lighting with a regular phytolamp, which is connected to a chandelier or table lamp. You should start adding light to the plants little by little. If the duration of daylight hours is immediately increased sharply, this can lead to plants shedding leaves.

Content temperature

For normal growth, decorative tangerines must be provided with temperatures in the range plus 20-25 degrees Celsius. When the tangerine enters the flowering phase, it is advisable to maintain the temperature at a level of up to 20 degrees to avoid the flowers falling off. In winter, plants need to create conditions for less active growth, so the optimal temperature for it will be in the range of 5-10 degrees. This regime allows the plant to accumulate enough strength over the winter to actively enter the flowering and fruiting phase with the onset of spring.

How to water and spray tangerines at home?

A tangerine tree grown on a windowsill has the ability, borrowed from its wild ancestors, to withstand long periods of drought. If the plant does not receive moisture for too long, this will lead to shedding of leaves, which will reduce the volume of evaporated liquid. Owners who decide to grow indoor tangerines have great difficulties with watering. It is necessary to choose the right water consumption rate, since with high humidity there is a danger of developing fungal diseases.

To correctly calculate the volume of water for watering a tangerine tree, the following factors must be taken into account:

plant size;
volume of container used for growing tangerine;
ambient temperature;
length of daylight and lighting intensity.

As the leaf surface of a houseplant increases, amount of moisture evaporated Therefore, such plants need to be provided with moisture in a larger volume. In addition, the rate of evaporation depends on the ambient temperature: as it increases, plants begin to release more moisture. Also, the volume of liquid evaporated depends on the length of daylight hours. Throughout the day, the tangerine tree has open stomata, which are formations located below the ground part, which are necessary for gas exchange.

The most suitable time for watering indoor plants is the first half of the day, since this is the time of day when plant activity peaks. Particular attention should be paid to the ambient temperature: as it decreases, the frequency of watering is reduced. In some cases, it is enough to water the tangerine once every few days if the temperature remains stable. within + 12… +15 degrees Celsius. In such conditions, plants only need a small amount of moisture to maintain their vital functions.

One of the recommended procedures that has a positive effect on the development of the tangerine tree is spraying the leaves. In conditions of low air humidity, the tangerine begins to feel uncomfortable, which may result in the risk of the plant becoming infected with spider mites. Therefore, during flowering, it is necessary to avoid getting moisture on the flowers.

How to feed tangerines at home?

In order for the tangerine tree not only to grow well, but also to bear fruit, it requires care, which includes the application of mineral and organic fertilizers. Since a container of soil, which contains an extremely small amount of useful elements, is used for cultivation, all these elements are washed away when watering. Good food for tangerines can be: soluble or dry fertilizers.

You can start feeding indoor plants already in the first days of spring, when the length of daylight hours begins to increase. Moreover, the first portions should be small, which must be increased over time. This point needs to be given special attention, since it is in early spring that the active development of vegetative and generative buds occurs.

For their normal formation, the tangerine tree needs to be provided with additional nutrients. When growing plants indoors, fertilizers are applied according to the same scheme as for other indoor plants. Mandarin oranges should be fed in the first half of the day. The recommended ambient temperature for this procedure is no higher than + 18… +19 degrees.

Conclusion

Mandarin is an exotic plant for our country, but many owners have long learned to grow it at home. Many people are attracted to these evergreen plants not only by their orange-red fruits, but also fragrant aroma, which comes from flowers. Growing decorative tangerine indoors is not as difficult a task as it might seem at first glance. The main thing that needs to be taken care of is to create optimal conditions for normal growth and development. With proper care, very soon the tangerine will delight you with bright and beautiful fruits.

- one of the most favorite treats on New Year's Eve. The aroma of citrus lifts your spirits, gives the body many beneficial microelements and delights with a pleasant, sweet taste. It is possible to grow a “homemade” tangerine. Moreover, it's simple. The plant will decorate the interior of the room and refresh the air with delicate floral and citrus notes.

A small citrus tree was specially bred for growing in greenhouses, winter gardens and rooms. A beautiful ornamental plant can not only brighten up the decor of a room, but also bear fruit. The process of growing a tangerine is very interesting, and what pride appears after the first taste of a sweet fruit grown independently! Growing conditions, planting and caring for citrus - all this can be found in useful material for the grower.

Mandarin orange originally grew wild in China. In nature, it reaches a height of 4 to 5 m and grows as a lush tree. Citrus leaves are bright green, juicy and glossy. Interestingly, the plant changes its crown only once every four years. The plant blooms with white inflorescences in May. Tangerine begins to bear fruit at 4-5 years of age. The fruits are round in shape, slightly flattened in the center, bright orange or yellow in color, ripen in October. The peel is easily removed, thin or compacted, depending on the variety and type.

The tangerine tree belongs to the mulberry family and has many species and varieties.

The house plant belongs to the group called "satsumas". They are usually grown indoors. This is a frost-resistant tree, reaching a height of no more than 2 m. It begins to bear fruit at 3-4 years of age, the fruits are sweet or moderately sweet, depending on the variety in this group. Many gardeners grow tangerines from seeds they get from store-bought fruit. But such seeds are not able to produce sweet and tasty fruits in the future. Fruits from the store are tangerines from the “tangerine” or “noble” group, which cannot be grown at home; they need a good climate and a lot of space.

To grow tangerines at home, it is advisable to find seed material from the satsum group and a variety intended for growing indoors. This way you won’t have to bother with grafting tangerine or a noble species planted and grown from a “store-bought” seed. Having understood the intricacies of citrus, you can decide which tangerine to grow at home.

Whatever type of tangerine the gardener chooses to grow, it is necessary to comply with the conditions under which the plant will feel comfortable. For successful development, you need to choose a good place and provide the tangerine with lighting, humidity and select.

Lighting and air temperature:

Citrus fruits love bright areas with a lot of diffused sunlight. Twelve-hour daylight is a necessary condition for a tangerine.
At home, choose windows facing south. You can also place the seeds on the windowsill, and protect the already grown sprouts from sunburn - place the pot a little away from the window.
In winter, keep your distance from radiators. Do not expose the tangerine to dry air or currents coming from batteries. It is more advisable to choose a place near the wall of the room, not far from the window, but at a sufficient distance from the radiators. Lighting plays an important role in growing a plant; it should not be ignored.
The air temperature in the room should not fall below 15° in winter and below 18° in summer. Varieties of the "satsuma", "tangerine" and "noble" group can withstand temperature changes down to -7°.

Citrus loves nutritious soils rich in microelements. Moreover, for seeds you need one mixture, and when transplanting adult plants - another.

The main condition is good drainage and nutritional content of the soil.

For seeds and their germination, a substrate is prepared from turf soil, sand, humus and leaf soil. Ratio 2:1:1:1. Peat cannot be added to the soil; it acidifies the soil. For a tree aged one year or more, a substrate is prepared from turf, humus, sand, clay and leaf soil. Ratio 3:1:1:1:1. If there is no clay available, no problem. This is not a mandatory component of the substrate. Having properly prepared the soil, you can safely plant seeds or replant an already mature tree.

It is very important to provide the plant with sufficient air humidity. This condition is quite difficult to implement at home, especially if the heating system is equipped with conventional radiators. Experienced plant growers place containers of water next to pots of tangerines, and in winter they place wet towels on the radiators. A prerequisite is a regular sprinkling procedure - this will maintain high air humidity and prevent the citrus from drying out. As often as possible, you just need to spray water into the air in the room where the tangerine is located.

Mandarin from the seed: planting rules

Tangerine seeds are the most common plant method. You can always get it from purchased fruit or purchase it at a garden store. Seedlings are bought less often. The process of growing an exotic fruit from a seed is very interesting. It's always nice to know that the resulting fruit was grown "from scratch" - from a seed.

Planting the seed:

The available seed material must first be prepared. To do this, the bones are placed in damp gauze for several days. should swell and hatch a little. This way they will sprout faster, in 3-4 weeks, and not in the prescribed 5-6. Mandarin takes a long time to grow. Therefore, be patient from the very beginning.
Place a drainage layer in a flowerpot or any other container. It can be expanded clay, broken brick or pebbles.
Then the pot is filled with substrate for young plants (see above).
Plant the seed shallowly - to a depth of 1-2 cm.
Cover the container with film to create a greenhouse climate.
The container with seeds can be placed on the windowsill.

The air temperature must be at least 15°. The soil must be periodically moistened, but not flooded. Remove condensation from the film so that the young sprouts are not affected by the fungus. Initially, the seeds soaked in gauze will sprout in 3-4 weeks.

Caring for the plant is simple and requires minimal effort, mainly associated with watering and fertilizing. Mandarin will not cause any trouble if all growing conditions were initially met and provided.

In the summer, citrus should be watered and sprinkled frequently. The earthen clod must not be allowed to dry out.
Make sure the soil is evenly moistened but not waterlogged.
Use only settled, warm water. You can’t take it straight from the tap. All sediments that are invariably present in the water will settle in the soil. This adversely affects the health of the plant and the nutritional value of the soil.
Sprinkling procedures are also carried out with warm, settled water. In the hot season, the plant is sprayed 1-2 times a day so that direct sunlight does not fall on the leaves.
In winter, watering and sprinkling are reduced by 2-3 times.
Feeding:
In spring, it is necessary to add and to the soil. The first feeding is carried out after 5-6 full-fledged leaves have formed on the sprout. It is better to give preference to mineral complexes for citrus fruits. Well-rotted humus is added from organic matter.
In autumn, fertilizing is reduced.
In winter it is better to avoid them.

It is important to apply fertilizer before - May-June and before the fruits ripen - September. Always observe moderation and adhere to the gardener’s golden rule: in the spring, apply fertilizers with nitrogen compounds, and closer to autumn with phosphorus-potassium compounds.

Every year, in the spring, the young tree needs to be transplanted into a larger pot.

After 8 years of life, the tangerine is replanted once every 2-3 years. The method is transshipment of an earthen clod. Fresh substrate is distributed in a circle into a free space along the diameter of the pot. Young plants should be moved from one flowerpot to another with extreme caution, since the tangerine root system is very fragile. Many gardeners give it to a young tree so that the fruits are sweet and tasty. However, if the variety and group are selected correctly, this procedure is not necessary. Basically, it is provided if the seeds were taken from a purchased fruit of an unknown variety and group.

At home, tangerines are more often affected by spider mites, scale insects or mealy worms. Pests are removed with cotton wool, and the plant is treated either with plant solutions or with insecticides of chemical origin. Solutions can be prepared from soap shavings, as well. As for chemicals, “Fitoverm” or “Aktellika” will help here. Remember that the use of chemicals is justified in case of severe damage to the plant, which rarely happens at home.

Pests attack tangerines more often when the room is hot and there is low air humidity.

If done incorrectly, the leaves of the tree become stained and fall off. Therefore, it is very important to water the citrus tree in a timely manner, but not to waterlog the soil. Otherwise, the mandarin no longer has enemies or diseases.

Growing an indoor tangerine at home is easy if you follow the rules and the tree has enough light and moisture. At the 3-4th year of life of the exotic, the first tasty fruits will appear - the pride of the grower. Good luck growing your tangerine!

More information can be found in the video:

Many people probably associate the word “tangerine” with anticipation and a feeling of celebration. However, this is not only one of the most festive fruits. Of all the tropical fruits, tangerine is second only to lemon in popularity, and its limited natural growing area (Transcaucasia, the Black Sea coast, Abkhazia and the Sochi region are considered the northernmost areas of distribution of this crop) makes it one of the most desirable citrus fruits in any home. With all this, tangerine is used in cooking, in the food industry, and in medicine.

It is not surprising that with such demand, many people seek to grow it at home. And it must be said that they have all the possibilities for this: there are special varieties of tangerines that can be grown in winter gardens, greenhouses, greenhouses or in an ordinary room. Depending on growing conditions, they can reach a height of one and a half or two to three meters. This tangerine is called “decorative” or home, indoor.

Varieties of decorative tangerine

Due to the appearance of its fruits, dense dark green leaves and the aroma of flowering, the indoor tangerine is recognized as a very spectacular plant, and if it is also grown as a bonsai, then without exaggeration it can be called a work of art. The most popular are the following varieties and groups:

Unshiu. It is considered the most unpretentious, early-fruiting, fast-growing and productive variety of all available. It branches well, has a spreading crown, thornless branches and wide leathery leaves. In indoor conditions it grows to a maximum of one and a half meters, and bears fruit already in the third or fourth year. Flowering time is spring, the beginning of fruiting is the end of October/November. The fruits are small, yellowish-orange in color, thin-barked, pear-shaped, without seeds.
Wase is a group of low-growing, low-growing varieties, in which three varieties are distinguished: Kowano, Mikha, Miyagawa. Next to these names, the general name of the entire group is usually indicated with a hyphen, so they look like this: Kowano-Wase, Mikha-Wase, Miyagawa-Wase. They reach a height of 40-80 cm, so they are very convenient to grow on a regular windowsill. Flowering is abundant, fruiting begins in the second year of cultivation, the fruits have a rich orange-yellow color.
Shiva-Mikan. An early compact fast-growing small-fruited variety weighing no more than 30 grams. and with large, fleshy, dark green foliage.
Murcott. A rare compact variety whose fruits are distinguished by their extraordinary sweetness. Ripening time is summer.

The following varieties of decorative tangerine are also known: Tangier, Robinson, Tardivo di Chiakulli.

There are also hybrids of tangerine and some other citrus fruits. For example, Clementine is a very popular hybrid of tangerine and orange. At home, it begins to bear fruit depending on the height it has reached. Fruiting is abundant: one mature tree can produce up to fifty medium-sized orange-red, slightly flattened fruits with a good aroma and shiny skin. In addition to this hybrid, Ellendale, Tangor, Minneola, Tangelo, Santin and Agli are also known.

In many varieties, fruiting directly depends on the height of the plant. The dependency is:

With a height of 20 cm, tangerine begins to bear fruit after 60 months.
At 21 - 30 cm - in four years.
At 31 - 40 cm - in three years.
At 41 - 50 cm - in two years.
At 51 - 75 cm - in a year and a half.
From 76 cm to 1 meter - in the second year after the start of cultivation.

General principles for growing ornamental tangerines

Purchasing any variety of decorative tangerine is not difficult: this can be done both on the Internet and in specialized stores. However, you should not buy a plant with already existing fruits: no matter how appetizing they may look, they should not be eaten because of the too much fertilizer that such a plant receives. The best way to get a tasty and edible ornamental tangerine is to grow it yourself.

The key to successfully growing this plant is the right choice of place - well-lit, with a small amount of direct sunlight. Insufficient lighting leads to slower plant growth, the formation of a small number of flowers, or a complete cessation of flowering; a severe lack of light causes fading of the leaves, thinning and elongation of new shoots and their painful appearance. Therefore, the best place for decorative tangerine is considered to be southern, south-eastern and eastern windows, shaded from the sun by an ordinary gauze curtain attached to the frame. If the windows are not shaded, the leaves may get burned, the crown and roots may overheat, and as a result the plant may develop chlorosis.

In summer, the decorative tangerine can be placed on the balcony, veranda or garden, but it should be protected from the wind. In winter, it should be placed in the most illuminated place (if it is a window, then it should be well insulated beforehand) with direct rays of the sun and artificial lighting, for which they use a regular phytolight bulb or special fluorescent lamps. The tangerine should be switched to additional lighting gradually, otherwise, with a sharp change in daylight hours, it may shed its leaves.

The next factor influencing the growth of decorative tangerines is temperature. In summer it should reach +20-25, but during budding and flowering (for some varieties it can last almost all year round), it is better to keep it at +16-18 so that the color does not fall off. In winter, like other indoor plants, it needs a dormant temperature - that is, approximately +5-10. Under such conditions, it will rest over the winter and will bloom and bear fruit better.

The problem of watering should be solved very carefully and carefully. In its unpretentiousness and ability to tolerate drought, the decorative tangerine is no different from its relatives growing in nature, so it should be watered moderately, depending on the drying of the top layer of soil, so as not to cause the development of fungal diseases and at the same time to prevent the soil from drying out completely. coma. The frequency of watering depends on:

The size of the plant, especially its leaves (the larger their surface, the more moisture evaporates and the more the plant needs watering).
The size of the container in which it grows.
Room temperatures.
Length of daylight and lighting intensity.

Determining the frequency of watering is easy: you just need to take a pinch of soil in a container and squeeze it. If it sticks together, then there is no need to water, but if it crumbles, then watering is necessary. It is advisable to check the soil in this way every day, especially in the summer, so that the earth ball does not dry out. Water for irrigation should be chosen carefully - for example, it is not recommended to use rainwater, since it contains too many impurities harmful to citrus fruits. Before using water, it should be allowed to stand, left in an open container at room temperature for at least one day, and only then water the tree with it.

The plant is usually watered before noon, when it “woke up” and its life processes became more active. As the temperature drops, the frequency of watering should be reduced until it stops for several days if the temperature drops to +12-15. In this case, it should be watered only in such a volume as to maintain vital activity. Some experts advise at this time to heat the water intended for irrigation to a temperature of +30-35. In summer there is no need to heat the water; just leave it on a sunny windowsill for a while.

In addition to watering, you should also spray the leaves with a spray bottle. This procedure is especially important in the summer. It kills several birds with one stone: it prevents the tangerine from becoming infected with spider mites, creates the humidity it needs, and washes away household dust from branches and leaves. In general, the level of humidity should be controlled in the same way as watering, and to better provide it, you can place a bowl of water next to the plant. The frequency of spraying is at least once a day, but if it is carried out during flowering, you need to make sure that water does not get on the flowers. About once a month, it is advisable to treat the tangerine crown with cotton wool and soap suds to prevent the appearance of pests. It is best to do this in the bathroom, covering the substrate with plastic wrap and tying the plant trunk at the bottom so that soapy water does not get into the substrate and is absorbed into the fabric.

Another element of successfully growing a plant is feeding it. This is all the more important at home, since the soil in the container is quickly depleted and washed away, and almost no recreational processes occur in it. Fertilizer application is best done according to this principle:

Use only soluble or dry fertilizers.
Apply fertilizing only before noon at a temperature of at least +18-19.
The frequency of application is no more than once every two weeks, and then only during growth (i.e., from March to September). The rest of the time, medications can be administered even less frequently.

If soluble fertilizers are used, then they must be dissolved in soft or settled water at room temperature strictly according to the instructions, without in any case increasing the dosage. Top dressing is oil, which, as you know, cannot spoil the porridge: even with a slight overdose, a burn or poisoning of the tree is possible. Dry fertilizers should be applied even more carefully, keeping in mind one of their features. The fact is that the spring application of dry fertilizer will allow you to forget about fertilizing for a long time, but it is quite difficult to guess that the fertilizer was used by the tangerine. An additional contribution will lead to its poisoning.

To what has been said, it only remains to add that the best option for the plant is a complex nitrogen-, phosphorus- and potassium-containing preparation. In low concentrations, you can even spray the leaves with it. It is also acceptable to use organic matter such as infused cow manure diluted in a ratio of 1 to 10 or organic matter in combination with a mineral agent. You only need to feed the plant the next day after watering, so as not to burn the root system. It is also practiced to feed decorative tangerines with fish soup prepared according to this recipe: 200 gr. fish waste or small unsalted fish should be boiled in two liters of water for half an hour, then dilute the solution with cold water and strain through cheesecloth. This soup is used once a month along with complex fertilizer to feed adult plants at least one meter high. According to experts, this enhances their fruiting. Regular drunken tea is also used as fertilizer.

Finally, another element of growing decorative tangerines is:

Pinching the tops of its branches.
Removing dried leaves and elongated, improperly growing branches.
Removing some of the flowers on a young plant so as not to deplete it and to allow several fruits to ripen. The fewer fruits grow on it, the larger they will be, so the most optimal ratio of ovary to leaves is 1 ovary per 15-20 leaves.
Tying the fruiting branches of a plant to some kind of support so that they do not break under their weight.

What is wrong with the decorative tangerine?

Like many other plants, especially those growing in a climate that is not very favorable for them, the decorative tangerine is susceptible to some diseases. It is most often affected by:

Shield.
Red spider mite.
Mealybug.
Leaf spotting followed by leaf drop.

If the pest infestation of a tangerine is protracted and persistent, then to cure it they resort to potent chemicals, but their use within an apartment can lead to unpleasant consequences, so it is better not to bring the situation to such a level. If the initial stage of the disease is recorded, you can get by with improvised means. For example, scale insects can be removed by spraying with a soap solution diluted in 3 liters. water 2 tbsp. l. liquid soap or “Fary”, before cleaning off the insects. The solution should remain on the plant for about half an hour, after which it is washed off with warm water. Water-oil emulsion is also very effective: 1 tsp. machine oil is stirred in a glass of warm water, 40 g is added to it. household soap and 2 tbsp. l. washing powder. All this should be applied with a cotton-gauze swab, left for three to four hours, and then rinsed off in the shower so that the drug does not get into the ground. Before processing, the soil should be covered with a film, and the trunk should be tied at the bottom with a bandage - this will help prevent the product used from getting into it. Treatment frequency is three times with an interval of six days.

How to fight spider mites:

It is collected by hand.
Wipe the leaves and branches with a cotton swab dipped in cold water or alcohol.
Spray three times with a two-day strained infusion of crushed garlic or onion (no more than 200 grams), poured with warm boiled water, with an interval of six days. You can also use a mixture of soap and tobacco dust according to this recipe: pour 1 tbsp. l. dust with boiling water, leave for six days, add 10 g. household soap and spray the “patient” three times with a six-day interval between treatments.

You can also remove the scale insects manually, and then spray the plant with garlic infusion three times (once a week), or wipe its parts with a cotton swab soaked in alcohol or calendula infusion.

Well, to avoid leaf spotting and falling off, you just need to follow the watering rules, because it is their violation that causes spots to appear.

Transplantation and propagation of decorative tangerine

If the plant is properly cared for, then over time it becomes cramped in the “cradle” container, and the need arises to replant it. Young plants are replanted annually, but if the roots have not yet entwined the earthen ball, it is better to refrain from replanting - just change the drainage and top layer of soil. If the plant is three years old, it is replanted once every three to four years, while a seven-year-old plant requires replanting once every two years. No replanting should be carried out during flowering, otherwise the tree will simply die. When replanting, use a ready-made soil mixture for citrus fruits or form it yourself using the following calculation: 50% (3 parts) turf soil, the remaining 50% - equal parts of leaf soil, humus, river sand and a small amount of fatty clay. Sometimes it is recommended to add a little ash to this mixture. For young tangerines, the same soil composition is recommended, only without clay, and instead of three parts of turf soil, two parts are usually taken. The resulting substrate should be light and slightly acidic.

To prevent stagnation of water and the appearance of root rot, before laying the soil at the bottom of the container, be sure to place drainage three to five centimeters thick in the form of expanded clay, small stones, pieces of foam plastic, or even fragments of ceramic dishes and charcoal. The pot into which the tangerine will be transplanted should be 5-8 cm larger in diameter than the previous one. It is not recommended to immediately plant the plant in a large container: it is impractical, unaesthetic and can lead to rotting of the roots. Therefore, if you want your tangerine to please you for as long as possible, you cannot do without regular replanting.

The best time to replant a tangerine is the beginning of spring, when it comes out of dormancy. It is recommended to refrain from applying fertilizers, stopping feeding two to three days before transplanting and resuming them only two weeks after the plant finds a new home.

The process itself is no different from replanting any other indoor plant, except that immediately after replanting it should be lightly watered, after 30-40 minutes, if necessary, add the substrate and water again. Some experts advise using a slightly pink solution of potassium permanganate when watering a transplanted plant for the first time, after which the plant can be placed on the windowsill so that the surface of the leaves is directed towards the light.

Decorative tangerines can be propagated by rooting branches or growing from seeds. In the first case, the use of a rooting agent will increase the survival rate several times. It is used like this: a cutting with two or three leaves is dipped in a rooting agent and, planted in moist soil, covered with film or a cut plastic bottle with holes for ventilation. And although in some sources you can find the statement that decorative tangerines are practically impossible to take cuttings at home, many amateur gardeners, from their own experience, claim that with the use of a rooting agent, cuttings take root within a few months.

The second case is not suitable for every variety of decorative tangerine. For example, they will not be able to propagate unshiu because it is a seedless variety. In addition, a plant grown in this way will need to be grafted with indoor lemon, orange or grapefruit grown from a grain, otherwise it will not bloom.

Some amateurs claim that there is a third way to propagate this plant - by air layering.

Conclusion

The main advantage of the decorative tangerine is not only a piece of exoticism in a city apartment or in the countryside, but also the almost year-round availability of tasty and edible fruits in your diet, the purchase of which will no longer be necessary. And the appearance of this beautiful plant will certainly decorate not only your home, but also your life.