Mandarin calamondin care at home. Citrofortunella calamondin or indoor tangerine care at home reproduction

Calamondin is an ornamental tree obtained from crossing a kumquat (Fortunella) and a common tangerine. House tangerine is the “folk” name of the hybrid, citrofortunella is the scientific name.

The tree has a compact size - the height reaches a meter. The leaves are dark green, glossy. The flowers are small, white, and exude a pleasant aroma.

Is it possible to eat calamondin fruits?

In place of the flowers, small yellow and bright orange ones appear. They are edible, but taste sour, more like lemons, and have many seeds.

Even novice gardeners can grow decorative tangerines. It has a bright appearance, pleasant citrus aroma, is quite easy to care for, which makes it very popular.

The homeland of the homemade tangerine is southeast Asia. In order for the fruits to appear, you need to provide plenty of heat and light. If you do everything correctly, fruiting will last all year round. Flowering begins at 3-4 years of age.

Calamondin after purchase

Due to its exoticism, pleasant aroma and the presence of fruit, calamondin can be a pleasant gift. If you were gifted with such a tree or you decided to purchase it yourself, rest assured: it cannot be called capricious, so caring for the plant will not be difficult.

Adaptation

In the first two weeks after citrofortunella appears in your home, it must be sprayed daily, ensure good lighting. The soil also needs to be moistened. It is recommended to replant the plant after 2 weeks.

Having moved from the store to your home, indoor tangerine begins to adapt to new conditions. In the first days, its leaves may fall off. In this case, you need to increase the humidity by simply covering the tree with a plastic bag. Do not forget to ventilate daily.

The flower shop often introduces capsules with growth stimulants that ensure active vegetation and flowering, but this may be incompatible with the conditions of the house/apartment - perhaps the tree will begin to wither before our eyes. An emergency transplant will help here.

Transfer

2 weeks after purchase, indoor tangerine is a must. You need to replant it in a slightly larger pot with new soil. If you find rotten roots, be sure to trim off the damaged areas. In general, you should try not to damage the roots, otherwise the plant may die: it is better to carefully handle the tree without disturbing the integrity of the earthen coma.

Overheating of the roots should be avoided: plant immediately in a white pot or wrap the container with a sheet of paper; it is not recommended to immediately place it in a sunny place. When replanting, it is better to preserve the earthen ball as much as possible, adding only a new layer of soil on top, removing a little of the old one.

How to care for calamondin at home

Selecting a location

A place for citrofortunella should be chosen with good diffused lighting. Will do sunny side at home (eastern or western), so that the plant does not suffer from burns, enough light penetration through a transparent curtain. In winter, the tangerine will lack natural light. The pot should be placed on the north side and artificial lighting should be used. From proper lighting fruiting depends.

Air temperature and humidity

The air temperature should be moderate. Comfortable for calamondin in summer temperature regime no higher than 25° C, in winter – about 18° C. A decrease in temperature in winter corresponds to the living conditions of the tree in nature, which will contribute abundant flowering and subsequent fruiting.

Spray calamondin foliage regularly. Water as soon as it dries upper layer soil by about 0.5 cm. Irrigation water straight from the tap with a high concentration of harmful impurities is detrimental to the plant. You need to water with warm boiled or filtered water.

In winter, the dryness of the air increases, the number of sprayings needs to be increased so that the beautiful crown does not dry out, but reduce watering.

Crown formation and pruning

The beautiful round shape of the crown is promoted by daily turning the pot with the plant literally a few millimeters clockwise. Immediately rude to unwrap tangerine tree The opposite side should not be facing the light, this can greatly harm it.

The tree will need timely and regular pruning:

To form a beautiful spherical shape, you need a stem (part of the trunk from the ground surface to the crown) about 25 cm long.
Start forming with skeletal branches (the largest, making up the skeleton of the crown), reaching the fourth-order branches.
You need to start the procedure in February, level it until the summer, and in the summer cut off only the extra protruding branches.

Calamondin bonsai

To form an indoor tangerine, you need to leave a few branches on one central trunk, and cut and pinch the rest so that they do not grow further.
The trunk can be beautifully bent using available materials: you can tie ropes to the branches and secure them at the base of the pot, as if pulling them down.
You can use thick wire for the same purposes: winding it around the branches and trunk, carefully making bends in the desired direction.
When the trunk and branches become woody and take the desired shape, the auxiliary devices are removed.

Top dressing

Like other plants, during the flowering period, calamondin needs additional minerals and useful material. During the period March-September, fertilizers need to be applied every 1-1.5 weeks. The rest of the time, monthly feeding is sufficient. Feeding mixtures can be purchased at any gardening store. “Humus for citrus fruits” is especially popular; you can use compositions intended for indoor flowering plants.

Planned replanting of home tangerine

Young citrofortunellas are replanted every spring; adult specimens only need to be disturbed every 2-3 years.

You will need a large pot because root system The tangerine develops well and the tree can reach quite large sizes.
The root collar should be placed at the same level as it was before transplantation.
The earthen lump should not be greatly destroyed.
Be sure to arrange drainage at the bottom of the pot; its layer should be about 3 cm. Next, lay the soil mixture from turf land, manure and sand in a ratio of 2:1:1.
Carefully transfer the tree from the old pot to the new one, adding soil to the sides and lightly pressing it with your hands.
Pour a small amount of water, be sure to drain the excess from the pan.

The tree does not need to be replanted for 1.5 months after replanting, because new soil quite rich in essential substances.

Reproduction of Calomondin

Calomondin can be propagated in the following ways:

Vaccination.
Growing from seed.
Cuttings.

Any method of reproduction is complex and requires a lot of effort.

An orange seedling with strong roots that is not afraid of drought is suitable for the scion.

Growing citrofortunella from seed

seeds in a pot are considered the most in a simple way, but in order for them to hatch, the soil must be regularly fertilized with special compounds that promote growth (growth stimulants). It is better to plant one seed at a time in separate cups, be sure to provide drainage: make holes in the bottom if there are none.
The germination process takes a long time; while the seeds germinate, it is better to cover them with a bag and ventilate them daily.
When the seeds germinate, the bag is removed.
You need to water regularly, but without fanaticism: excess moisture can cause the death of plants.

Cuttings from homemade tangerine

The task is not the easiest, but perhaps the most suitable for novice gardeners. Propagation by cuttings has its own nuances.

You need to choose apical stalk with large internodes and developed leaves.
Carefully cut the cuttings, keep them for several hours, or even a day, in a special root formation stimulator (zircon or root).
The cutting must be placed in the soil up to the level of the petiole of the lower leaf.
For supporting high humidity cover the top with a trimmed jar plastic bottle or in a transparent bag.
You will need to ventilate daily for 30 minutes.
It is better to water through a tray.
At proper care in a month the cuttings will take root.

Diseases and pests of calamondin

This indoor crop can be susceptible to diseases such as anthracnose, gommosis, and sooty fungus.

Anthracnose

In which the leaves become covered yellow spots, which leads to the death of some parts of the plant. If calamondin is not treated in time with a solution of copper sulfate ( copper sulfate), then a complete shedding of leaves will occur.

Sooty fungus

Appears as a black film covering leaves and shoots. The affected areas must be cleaned of plaque mechanically (wipe with a damp sponge). Be sure to treat with an infusion of ash, a solution of colloidal sulfur, or a special preparation - Fitosporin.

Gommoz

Complete yellowing of foliage, fruits become covered brown spots and lose theirs taste qualities. All affected parts must be cut out, and the “wounds” should be treated with copper sulfate or Bordeaux mixture.

Pests

Indoor tangerine: aphids, spider mite, false scale insect, scale insect, whitefly. In the initial stages, pests can be defeated by regular rinsing. warm water, but in advanced cases It is necessary to use insecticides with repeated repetition of treatment.

Calamondin sheds leaves What to do?

From drafts, lack of lighting, high temperature and dry air, calamondin can shed its leaves.

You need to detect a lack of care and eliminate it, then the plant will recover:

Move the plant away from windows and open doors.
Place a humidifier nearby.
Support room temperature without sudden changes.
Provide additional lighting with phytolamps if the room is dark.
Make an urgent transplant, checking the condition of the roots (if you regularly watered the plant, it may be affected by rot). Remove all affected areas, treat the plant with a fungicide (for example, phytosporin).

Calamondin species Citrofortunella microcarpa

The indoor mandarin itself was bred as a hybrid of the large varietal diversity does not have. Breeders have created only a few varieties that have bright foliage And various shapes fruits

Most popular varieties found in flower shops:

Variegated - the edges of the leaves have a border in the form of an uneven strip of whitish tint.
Tiger - leaves are framed by a thin stripe of golden color.

Home tangerine in interior design

Calamondins are good in the full-size version, but they can also be shaped like a bonsai.

The fruits are suitable for consumption. Interestingly, the citrus pulp itself is sour, and the skin is sweetish. You can add the dried peel to tea.

Citrofortunella or calamondin is a recently emerged plant that has already gained popularity all over the world. This plant species is a hybrid that belongs to the Rutaceae family.

Citrofortunella (calamondin) is a recently emerged hybrid that has gained popularity all over the world.

Calamondin is a tree that appeared thanks to the work of scientists who were not afraid to cross the citrus mandarin and the oriental fruit kumquat (fortunella). The result is very bright and miniature fruits, which cannot but arouse the interest of buyers and connoisseurs of exotic things. This plant will look spectacular in every home.

Is it really possible to not only admire the fruits of citrofortunella, but also eat them, or is this plant just a bright decorative element?

Citrofortunella fruits

Is it possible to eat calamondin? Definitely small and appetizing “calamondines” will be edible. If your plant doesn't yet bear fruit, you have every chance of growing your own organic fruit.

Calamondin citrus fruits can be considered safe if you grew them yourself, caring for them properly, without adding unknown fertilizers and without spraying the fruits with chemical liquids for better results. appearance and attractiveness.

It is extremely undesirable and even dangerous to try the fruits of a plant purchased in a store.

There are several tips for obtaining fruits that are safe to eat:

the plant must be fertilized exclusively with environmentally friendly additives, which should only be purchased in specialized stores;
It is not recommended to eat fruits from the store;
do not use any spraying of fruits, this may have a detrimental effect on the quality of future fruits.

To enjoy the new and interesting taste of this exotic miracle, all you need is a little patience. With proper care, calamondin will give you fruits whose taste characteristics cannot be compared with anything else.

Harvesting correctly

Rules for successful harvesting:

The fruits should be picked when they are greenish-orange and should never be allowed to become overripe.
Fruits should be cut exclusively with scissors or pruners.
Carefully remove the fruit, being careful not to damage the thin and delicate skin.

Freshly cut fruits can be stored very well in refrigeration chamber at temperatures from +8 to +10 degrees.

Storage and chemical properties

The citrofortunella plant tolerates all types of temperatures quite well (from quite hot and even to sub-zero). Orange berries are considered ripe; splashes of green are acceptable. Amazing and chemical composition: proteins (0.88%), fats (2.45%), and, of course, carbohydrates (3.29%). There are also components such as ash substances, calcium, phosphorus and iron.

Research has also established that calamondin contains a large number of vitamin C. One hundred grams of squeezed juice contains 31.6 mg of vitamin, and the peel contains up to 173.8 mg. The juice also contained the equivalent of 5.6% ascorbic acid, while the pulp contained no more than 2.9%.

Applications of calamondin fruits

There are many ways to prepare dishes using calamondin. This bright fruit can be used as an exceptionally sweet raw material for making a variety of jams, marmalades, candied fruits, preserves, marshmallows, etc.

Calamondin will be a good complement to the taste of meat dishes. Chefs all over the world are experimenting with meat, proving that in the process of cooking meat you can use not only regular vegetables, but also fruits, citrus fruits and even chocolate.

Citrofortunella fruits are actively used in cooking

There are various recipes for preparing alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks with the addition of the juice of our aforementioned wonderful fruit. Cooks also add dried calamondin to some savory seasonings.

This citrus has its place not only in cooking, but also in cosmetology and medicine. A very rich and nutritious oil is obtained from its fruits. If you use fresh juice to rub into your scalp, after a while you will notice that your hair has become more elastic and looks healthy.

Calamondin or an extract from its fruits can be used as a component of skin care products, especially for teenage skin.

Citrofortunella - affordable exotic

Progress does not stand still, and breeders continue to delight with new and interesting views plants that are not only beautiful, but also very useful.

The selection will surprise us more than once with bright, interesting and non-standard solutions. After all, without experiments there would be no current and future discoveries that will bring many new, interesting, slightly outlandish plants. It’s so interesting and exciting to find and try something completely new.

Soon you won’t have to travel to any country to buy an unusual vegetable or fruit. Thanks to the work and enterprise of scientists, growing exotic fruit-bearing trees will be available to everyone.

Having citrofortunella at home is not only beautiful, but also useful.

The tree will become a worthy element in your interior and will amaze you and your loved ones with its taste. And an undoubted bonus for your family will be that calamondin is rich in vitamins and those elements that are so necessary for the human body.

Calamondin is exotic fruit, obtained by crossing a mandarin with a fortunella, so it also has another name - citrofortunella.

Sometimes it is called indoor tangerine, golden orange. Calamondin belongs to the Rutaceae family, widespread and popular in Southeast Asia.

General information

Citrus calamondin is an evergreen small tree about 1 m high with bright yellow-orange edible fruits. In its usual habitat, the height of the tree can reach 5 meters. Many amateur gardeners would like to see this beautiful plant in their greenhouse.

Caring for calamondin does not require much time or expense. This plant propagates by seeds and cuttings. Since calamondin is considered a houseplant, it tolerates winter well. ordinary apartment, greenhouse. When kept at home, it bears fruit for a long time. IN summer period Kalamandin feels great on the balcony.

The beginning of the flowering period of citrofortunella occurs, as a rule, at the end of spring and continues throughout the summer; the flowers have the shape of graceful white stars with pleasant aroma. The flowering process can be observed even in the presence of fruits.

To ensure guaranteed fruiting of the golden mandarin, it is better to pollinate the flowers manually using a soft brush. Fruits can form even on small plants, tree height 25cm.

The fruits have a bitter-sour taste and aromatic smell, they contain many seeds, and the peel tastes sweet.

Calamondin care at home

Most often, imported calamondins are available for sale, grown under special conditions using special technologies.

The roots may contain capsules with special hormones. If, after purchasing a citrus tree in a store, its leaves begin to fall off, you need to immediately start replanting it. Inspect the roots, remove rotting roots, transplant into a new pot.

There is no need to be upset if calamondin sheds its leaves, the plant can still be saved. You just need to remove individual branches and cut off all the fruits, as they take away the strength of the plant.

Spray with nutrient solution daily and apply prophylactic agents to protect indoor plants from diseases and pests. Soon the citrus calamondin will again delight with young shoots.

Any indoor plant requires constant attention. Regular care management of calamondin involves not only certain types of feeding, watering, transplanting and propagation, but also maintaining a certain temperature, humidity, and lighting.

The plant has difficulty adapting to new living conditions. The microclimate of a flower shop is usually different from that at home. Therefore, sometimes after purchasing calamondin and moving it into a house or apartment, leaves fall off.

To eliminate this unfavorable factor and increase humidity to 95-100%, the plant must be dressed plastic bag, securing it to the trunk. The bag is opened daily for ventilation.

The room in which the citrofortunella is located should be sufficiently warm and bright; in winter, you can additionally use a lamp. In summer, it is necessary to protect the plant from direct sunlight.

To avoid flowers falling off during flowering and fruiting, calamondins should not be actively moved, rotated, or rearranged. To form a symmetrical crown, the tree must be rotated very carefully and literally by 1 mm per day.

Despite the fact that citrofortunella heat-loving plant(optimum temperature +18 +20°C) wintering must be cold in order for the plant to bear fruit.

IN winter period the air temperature in the room should be maintained from +12 to +15°C, although it can withstand a significant drop in temperature down to +4 degrees. In hot weather, watering should be plentiful and moderate in the cool period.

Fertilizer for calamondin

To feed calamondin, you can use any complex fertilizer with microelements for citrus fruits. Since the plant bears fruit constantly, therefore, fertilizing must be applied throughout the year.

Liquid outside is considered the most effective. root feeding. In order not to spoil the surface of the leaves, it is better to spray the nutrient solution under them.

Calamondin diseases and pests

Calamondin, like any vegetation, needs protection from pests. Its main pests are scale insects and false scale insects, spider mites, whiteflies, and aphids. If they are detected, the plant must be treated using a drug designed to destroy this type of pest.

The treatment is repeated several times (2-3 times) at the interval specified in the instructions for the drug. Then covering the citrus calamondin plastic film, in a package, place it on the windowsill away from direct sunlight.

It must be remembered that both when treating a plant from diseases and pests, and when spraying it with a nutrient solution, it has to be moved from one place to another.

Therefore, based on personal experience, flower growers recommend making a small landmark (mark) on the flowerpot in order to remember the constant position of the pot on the windowsill. After necessary procedures the plant returns to its usual place, and the flowerpot is positioned towards the light according to the marked mark.

Transplanting calamondin

It is best to replant citrofortunella in a pot large sizes, because, despite the small tree, calamondin has a large and branched root system.

The following mixture is used as planting soil (2 parts turf soil + 1 part rotted manure + 1 part sand). The plant is not fertilized for a month, since this planting mixture contains sufficient quantity nutritional elements.

Calamondin propagation by cuttings

The reproduction process is long and complex. It will take many years to grow calamondin from seeds and get the first fruits.

Planting material from cuttings is rooted in a loose substrate in greenhouse conditions with mandatory lower heating. Optimal temperature for the appearance of roots +23 + 25 ᵒС, therefore it is preferable to carry out cuttings of a plant at the beginning of summer, when the air is warmed up to the required temperature and there is sufficient daylight hours. Even if these conditions are met, not all cuttings take root. At this stage, the use of phytohormones is recommended.

Calamondin domestica - origin . Cultural hybrid.

Description. Calamondin or citrofortunella are perennial evergreen trees up to 3 - 6 m high with erect, densely branched stems bearing many oval, glossy, dark green leaves 4 - 7 cm long. When damaged, the leaves emit a pleasant citrus aroma. Flowers and fruits appear already on plants of the second year of life. The flowers are fragrant, white, star-shaped, with 5 petals, single or 2 - 3, appearing at the tips of the branches in summer. After flowering, round or slightly flattened green fruits with a very thin skin, 2.5 - 5 cm in diameter, are formed, which become bright when ripe. Orange color. The ripening process lasts a very long time - up to 1 year and the plant can be decorated with flowers and ripe fruits at the same time. If you are not in a hurry to remove the fruits from the tree, it will look very attractive.

Height. 90 - 120 cm.

1. Calamondin - home care

1.1.Transplant

Young plants are replanted annually in the spring, adults - every couple of years. Calamondins do not like small pots, when the root system is cramped - the plants do not bloom. For large adult specimens, change the top layer of soil every year.

1.2.How to care for calamondin

As new growth begins in the spring, prune to maintain a neat, compact shape and produce a profusely branching plant. Some varieties require pollination in order to bear fruit. Use a small, dry, clean brush for this. Take the plant outside, if possible in spring and summer, and place it in a well-lit place protected from the wind.

For the onset of fruiting and simply the harmonious development of a citrus tree, it is very important to correctly form the crown of the plant. The first pinching of rooted cuttings or plants obtained from seeds is carried out when they reach a height of 20 cm. Shoots extending from the main trunk of the tree are called shoots of the first order - they are pinched when they reach a length of about 20 cm. This procedure, like the others , it makes sense to carry out this when the branches are still soft - this way you can simply pinch them off and the plant won’t even notice it. In the place where shoots of the 1st order were pinched, a fork usually appears from shoots of the 3rd order - they are shortened when they also reach a length of 20 cm. Accordingly, branches of the 4th order will form at their tops - they are left already about 10 cm long. The first flowering will occur on shoots of 4th and 5th orders.

Trim old and diseased branches in a timely manner - all work should be carried out only with sharp, sterile pruning shears and, if necessary, sprinkle the cut areas with crushed activated carbon. Do not place plants near heating systems - they will react in the fall with abundant leaf fall. Leaves will periodically fall off throughout the year - this is a normal process, because each leaf lives for about 2 years. If at the end of winter - beginning of spring the plants greatly expose their branches and shed a large number of leaves, lower the temperature or use artificial lighting to extend daylight hours.

1.3.When it blooms

Flowers appear most abundantly in spring, but are present in smaller quantities on the plant throughout the year.

1.4. Reproduction of calamondin

They are quite easily grown from seeds, which are sown in spring in moist, nutritious and loose soil. Stem cuttings about 10 cm long, rooting occurs without any difficulties within 6 - 8 weeks. Young plants are covered with a transparent plastic cap or glass to maintain uniform humidity. As an experiment, you can even try to root leaf cuttings. The trees grow about 30 cm per season, and in the second year of life they already bloom and bear fruit.

1.5.Diseases and pests

Leaf spotting. At high temperature environment the plant may shed buds and some fruits. When there is a lack of moisture, the leaves turn yellow. Pale color of the leaves, the appearance of smaller young leaves indicate a lack of nutrients. Yellowing sheet plates(the veins remain green) indicates that chlorosis has begun - feed the plant with iron chelate.

Aphids, red spider mites, mealybugs, scale insects.

1.6. Land for cultivation

The plant adapts well to almost any soil, but prefers soil rich in organic matter with good drainage and pH 5.5-7.0.

1.7. Watering calamondin

Water abundantly, but so that the top layer of soil, about 3 cm thick, dries out before the next watering. In autumn and winter, the frequency of watering is somewhat reduced.

1.8.Fertilizers

Feed the plant 2 times a month with fertilizers at half strength during the period of active growth. In autumn and winter, it is enough to feed monthly.

1.9.Spraying

To increase humidity, place the plant pot on a tray of damp pebbles or use room humidifier. Occasionally spray the leaves with warm, softened water.

1.10.Temperature

Warm keeping all year round at a temperature of 18 - 24 ° C. Minimum tolerance of about 10 ° C.

1.11.Lighting

Brightly lit location, with direct sun rays in the morning and evening hours for 4 hours a day. Periodically rotate the plant around its own axis so that it takes a neat shape and does not stretch towards the light source.

Purpose. The fruits are used like other citrus fruits for cooking. different dishes and drinks, as well as fresh.