How to grow a tangerine from a stone at home?

In flower shops, you can often see a tangerine tree covered with fruits and shiny green leaves on sale. Such exoticism is not cheap, so not everyone can afford it. But you shouldn't be upset. The citrus tree can be grown from seed at home. To do this, you need to study the basic rules for planting it and recommendations for care. And even beginner flower growers will be able to admire an exotic pet on their windowsill.

Citrus home tree - decorative mandarin

Mandarin belongs to the Rutaceae family. The plant is distinguished by evergreen leaves that change every four years, and amazingly smelling white flowers.

Tangerines breed vegetatively or by seed... At home, citrus fruits are most often grown from seeds. However, the result is an ornamental bush that is unable to bear fruit.

In greenhouses, fruit plants are obtained by grafting. Therefore, if you want to feast on juicy fruits, then an exotic pet will need to be vaccinated. But first of all, you will need to germinate a bone, and free up space on the lightest windowsill.

How to grow a tangerine - step by step tips

Raising an exotic pet is an interesting activity. Therefore, the whole family can start growing a tangerine tree.

Preparing the soil

Citrus fruits do not like sour dry earth. The soil mixture for them should not contain peat. The stores sell soils, which must include peat. therefore it is better to prepare the mixture yourself... It should include:

• leaf land - 2 parts;
• humus - 2 parts;
• sand - 1 part.

The result should be a light earth that allows air and water to pass through. If there is no way to prepare such a soil, then in specialized stores you can buy a special mixture for citrus fruits or for roses.

How to germinate a mandarin seed?

In order to get a positive result when germinating planting material, it is recommended to stock up on a few bones. In this case, the probability of obtaining seedlings will be greater.

The seeds will need to be selected from ripe tangerines without rot and damage... Before planting in the ground, they need to be allowed to swell and hatch. To do this, you can choose one of the proposed options:

1. Moisten a napkin or gauze with water and wrap the bones in it. The planting material will swell over several days. It is necessary to ensure that the gauze is wet at all times.
2. You can use a special hydrogel, among which constant moisture will be provided to the bones. You can buy such a gel at flower shops.

But how to plant a mandarin if there is no time or opportunity to soak the planting material? Bones can be planted in the ground without hatching. In this case, the sprouts will simply appear later.

Planting seeds in the ground

Seeds hatching first are planted in seedling boxes or separate disposable small cups. At the bottom of the container, you need to put drainage in the form of expanded clay, perlite, nuts, shards or pebbles.

In the prepared soil, seeds are sown to a depth of 4 cm, and sprinkled with earth on top. The seedling containers are covered with glass or cellophane and placed in a warm place.The result will be a greenhouse effect, and the seedlings will sprout quickly and amicably.

After the seeds hatch, it will be tedious to rearrange them in a bright place, shaded from direct sunlight. The temperature in the room where the seedlings of citrus plants grow should be at least + 20C. Do not forget to moisten the earth in time.

When the seedlings grow up and get stronger, they can be transplanted into pots, the volume of which should be about 4 liters. It is better to transplant using the transshipment method so as not to damage the roots. In this case, young bushes will quickly take root in a new place.

Features of caring for a citrus tree

Mandarin loves the sun, so you need to choose a bright place for it, preferably on the southern windowsill. However, care must be taken that the midday rays do not burn the leaves of the bush.

At home, when caring for an exotic pet, you need observe the following rules:

1. Water and spray the plant regularly, since high humidity is vital for citrus fruits. You need to water it with water that has been settled for at least three days. Watering should be regular and abundant. The increased air humidity can be provided by spraying. It would also be nice to humidify the air around the plant with a pallet with wet expanded clay, peat or moss, placed near the pot with tangerine.
2. A young plant must be transplanted into larger pots every spring. This should be done without damaging the integrity of the soil around the root system. A plant that has reached the age of eight requires a transplant every two years.
3. Two weeks after the first shoots appear, you need to start feeding them. To date, there are special fertilizers for citrus fruits on sale, which are recommended for use. Top dressing should be done only after watering. It is better not to water the dry soil with a solution with fertilizer, since you can burn the roots.

Protecting mandarin from pests

Citrus pets often get sick at home, and then die from pests... Exotic pets suffer the most from attacks:

• scabbards;
• citrus whitefly;
• spider mite;
• aphids.

These pests, invisible at first glance, feed on the sap of the plant. As a result, the bush is depleted, the leaves fall off, and the tree dies.

Young plants should be examined from time to time. And, having seen the smallest cobweb or the pests themselves, you need to urgently take action:

1. You need to rinse the bush well in the shower. Spider mites are very afraid of water.
2. At home, it is better to use folk remedies in the form of an infusion of onion peels or garlic. Treatment with "green soap" also helps.
3. A heavily infected plant requires the use of chemicals, which include Fitoverm and Aktelik.

Occasionally, flies can be seen around the pet, which live in wet ground. Their larvae could already be in the purchased soil, or appeared from constant waterlogging of the soil... When such flies appear, the soil must be loosened, dried, and sprinkled with the "Thunder-2" preparation.

How to plant mandarin at home?

In order for a grown tree to bear fruit, one cannot do without vaccination. The best time for her is August, April and early May.

To vaccinate an exotic pet, you need to prepare:

1. The rootstock is a tangerine tree grown from a bone, the trunk of which must be at least 6 mm in diameter.
2. Graft - a fresh eye or stalk cut off from a fruiting citrus bush. The branch of the plant from which the scion will be taken should be no older than two years. A high-quality mandarin cut can be purchased at a flower shop or greenhouse.
3. Grafting grafting knife.
4. Elastic band.
5. Garden var.

After everything is prepared, you can start getting vaccinated.

1. First of all, an incision is made on the stock in the form of the letter T. It should be located at a height of 10 cm, and have a vertical length of 2-4 cm, and horizontally - 1 cm.
2. Leaf blades and thorns are removed from the scion, and it is carefully inserted into the incision.
3. The joint is wrapped with tape.
4. The bush is closed on top with a plastic bag or jar.
5. About a month after the bud germinates, the plant needs to be ventilated daily.
6. The airing time is gradually increased. After another month, the stem of the stock is cut obliquely. This must be done 3 cm above the shoot. The cut is processed with garden pitch.

Now your tree is grafted, and soon, with proper care and cultivation, it will begin to bear fruit.

As you can see from the instructions, planting and growing a fruiting exotic tree in your home is not so difficult. The main thing, have patience and clearly follow all recommendations. As a result, the tangerine bush grown from the bone will add coziness, comfort and pleasant aroma to the home environment.

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Caring for a tangerine tree at home

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