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Citrus plants are native to Southeast Asia. Citrus plants are small size evergreen shrubs and trees belong to the Rutaceae family. There are types of citrus fruits that can be grown at home, while using them as ornamental, fruit-bearing plants. IN citrus fruits, a lot of different vitamins. You can grow at home - forms of lemons, oranges, tangerines, grapefruits, citrons, calamandins, etc. Citrus trees growing at home always look like real decorations home interior. Throughout the year, pink or white flowers appear in the beautiful, lush, dark green foliage of the citrus plant, emitting a wonderful aroma that fills the entire room. While the plant is blooming, fruits can ripen on it. Beautiful yellow orange color, the fruits on the tree can last for months, pleasing the eye of their owner during the ripening process.
Almost everything citrus plants, are shade-tolerant, which, by the way, makes it very easy to grow at home. The most shade-tolerant are lemon and citron; they must be protected from direct sunlight in order to protect them from burns. Other citrus fruits are considered the most light-loving; they can be kept on the windowsills of southern windows, but you just need to make sure that the pot does not overheat. In summer, it is good to keep citrus plants outdoors, where it is warm and light, as high summer temperatures and dry room air can cause flowers to drop. From spring to autumn, citrus plants need to be watered abundantly with soft, settled water for at least 1 day. Yellowing of the leaves can be caused by hard tap water containing chlorine.
Citrus plants respond very well to frequent misting, and sometimes won't even mind a gentle, warm shower. Starting in February, citrus fruits begin an intensive growth period that continues until autumn, at which time they need to be fed with small doses of mineral or organic fertilizer. In autumn and winter, plants can tolerate a drop in indoor air temperature to 12-15°C. The dormant period and growth slowdown in citrus plants begins in November and continues until February. During this time, it is necessary to limit watering.
For a small feeding during this period, spraying the entire crown with a weak solution of potassium permanganate once a month is good. In winter, plants do much better in a cool room than in a room with dry, hot air from central heating. The reason for dropping leaves may be dry hot air. To prevent this from happening, it is better to keep the plants further away from the battery and moisten the air by spraying. Cold drafts should not be allowed.
To grow citrus plants, you need suitable soil, which you can buy ready-made in the store, or you can prepare it yourself from turf, humus soil, with the addition of sand in a ratio of 3:1:1. Transferring the grown plant into a larger pot is done in early March. This is done only in cases where the earthen lump in the pot is completely entwined with the roots of the plant. Transplanting the plant into a larger pot must be done very carefully, since citrus fruits are very sensitive to even the slightest damage to the roots, this can lead to all the leaves falling off. The new pot must be selected to be approximately the same width and size as the previous one. It is very important to make good drainage at the bottom, from small pebbles or very coarse sand.
Citrus fruits are propagated by cuttings, as well as by grafting and seeds. Citrus seeds are planted at a depth of approximately 2 to 3 cm. If, when planting, the seed is planted deeper, it may rot. And, in cases of so to speak “shortfalls”, i.e. depth is less than 2 cm, the seed will die from drying out. Plants grown from seeds grow very well, but they will need to wait quite a long time for flowering. The best time for cuttings is March, April and June, July. The length of the cut cuttings should be approximately 10 cm, there should be 5-7 leaves per cutting. Two leaves from the bottom are removed from the cutting, after which the cutting is placed in damp sand and covered with film or glass. At a temperature of 23°C, rooting occurs faster; lower temperatures cannot be allowed.
A grapefruit seedling is well suited for rootstock; lemon can be grafted onto it well. The grapefruit seed is germinated, and the seedling reaches the age of 2-3 months, the cutting is grafted into the cleft from homemade lemon, which is approximately 5-7 cm long. The grafting site must be carefully wrapped with film and a mini-greenhouse built for the plant. The graft made in this way grows together very quickly, after only 1.5 - 2 months, the film with which the graft was wrapped can be removed. And after just 1 year, the grafted plant will begin to bloom. Citrus plants do not get sick, bloom and bear fruit regularly, this is subject to correct and regular care. Growing citrus fruits at home, is very good for health, as plants release large amounts of phytoncides into the air, which help purify the air and kill pathogenic microbes. Essential oils, which citrus fruits secrete, help boost immunity and improve the functioning of the heart and brain.
Citrus fruits can be grown at home - right on your windowsill. Although this is a troublesome task, it brings a lot of pleasure!
What citrus fruits can be grown at home?
The most common citrus crop is lemon.
Lemon is found not only in residential premises, but also in offices of administrative buildings. Everything about lemon is beneficial: the fruits, rich in vitamin C, and the leaves, which emit phytoncides, enriching the air.
A little less often you can see oranges, tangerines, grapefruits, citrons, pomelo and even limes, which are quite suitable for growing at home, on window sills, on tables and cabinets. All these exotic plants can produce quite tasty fruits, but only if you take proper care of them.
Choosing a place
Citrus lovers are partly lucky, because these plants are shade-tolerant, but they can grow well in a sunny place, so they can be placed near south-facing windows. As for the window that faces north, you should not place plants near it (with the exception of lemon and citron).
It's all in the pot
You need to take a responsible approach to choosing dishes for your exotic food. The best option for placing citrus fruits is a pot made of unglazed baked clay, as well as tightly knit wooden tubs, selected according to the size of the root system. But no matter what the pot is - clay, wood - it must have good drainage and holes for the outflow of excess moisture.
For good fruiting there must be excellent nutrition. For citrus fruits, ordinary soil from the garden will not work; the pot should be filled with a special mixture for citrus fruits. It is better not to make such a mixture yourself, but to buy it in a store; it is inexpensive, but you will be sure that it will benefit the plant and will not cause harm.
Components of success
An important component of successful cultivation of citrus fruits at home is air and soil humidity and the availability of fertilizers. Periodic spraying warm water- this is the minimum that will allow the plant to feel comfortable.
As for soil moisture, there are some nuances here. You should not use water for irrigation that has just been taken from the tap. Citrus fruits should be watered with water that has settled for several days, and even with a couple of drops of vinegar added to it. If fruits are definitely included in your plans, then fertilizing should be first on the list of tasks for the citrus plant. All exotics simply love fertilizing with mineral fertilizers, and they also love organic matter. You can fertilize from February until the start of the dormant period.
How to propagate a citrus tree at home?
It is still problematic to purchase seedlings of such crops, and they are not cheap.
The easiest way is to sow seeds. It seems that it could be simpler - we bought a fruit at the market or in a store, took out a seed, placed it in the soil, watered it... And after a week, a sprout will appear on the surface of the soil, which will gain strength every day and will soon become an adult, independent plant. However, in reality everything is more complicated. We will receive a plant, it will delight us only with its green mass, but we will either have to wait a very long time for flowering, and even more so for fruits (from 7 to 1 5 years), or not at all, because many plants grown from seeds even Being large shrubs, for some reason they stubbornly do not bloom.
Such seedlings are only suitable for a rootstock, and the scion can be any shoot that you, having asked the owner’s permission, cut from a fruiting tree.
Transplanting citrus fruits
Grafting is a complicated matter; it is much easier to root a cutting taken from a fruit-bearing tree. For rooting, apical cuttings 12-15 cm long are taken, placed in river sand, moistened and covered with a glass or plastic bottle. The optimal temperature for rooting is 20-25 degrees. Place the pot with the cutting, covered with a jar, in a well-lit place, but so that the sun's rays do not fall directly on it.
The cuttings need to be sprayed periodically, constantly keeping the soil moist. Typically, after 35-54 days, the cutting will have a well-developed root system and can be transplanted into a citrus mixture.
The main thing when replanting is to very carefully remove the root system of the cutting from the sand so as not to damage the roots, because they are very fragile. Subsequently, when the plants gain weight and their roots become cramped in the container, it is necessary to replant them.
Fertilizers for citrus fruits at home
As organic fertilizers, you can use settled slurry that does not emit unpleasant odor. Before watering, it is diluted with water 8-10 times.
You can apply the solution twice per season: the first time in early spring, the second - in mid-summer. As a mineral fertilizer, potassium nitrate is used - 50 g of nitrate per liter of water; before application, this solution is diluted 10 times. Ammonium nitrate also gives good results, its dose is 30 g per 10 liters of water, this solution is diluted 10 times before application. These fertilizers are usually applied once or twice a month, depending on the condition of the plants.
Citrus grafting
Grafting on cuttings
Citrus crops are usually propagated by grafting or rooting cuttings to produce fruit-bearing plants. The first method requires experience and skill. The second does not apply to all plants. Thus, tangerines, kumquats and limes practically do not take root at all. Oranges and grapefruits behave a little better. So, what is better – grafting or cuttings?
Citrus cuttings
If you are doing cuttings, then you should focus on lemons, citrons and pomelo. They can be rooted in different substrates; I use vermiculite for this. I first soak the cuttings for 10-12 hours in a concentrated solution of Heteroauxin - dilute 1 tablet in 500 ml of water. Cuttings rooted from May to September take root best.
Vaccinations take root better and grow together in the same time frame. Here, quality material also plays an important role. The rootstock and scion must be healthy, without obvious signs pests and diseases. In addition, they must be compatible with each other. My own experience speaks to how important this is. A year and a half ago, I ordered a Lisbon lemon by mail. The seller said that it was grafted onto a lemon seedling. For a long time the plant practically did not develop.
I concluded that the problem was the incompatibility of the scion with the rootstock. And I decided to experiment and regraft the Lisbon lemon onto another variety - Macrophylla. especially since I just had a rootstock required diameter, obtained by cuttings. I was vaccinated using the cleft method in the spring of 2016. The fusion of the rootstock and scion occurred very quickly, within a month. After this, the lemon actively began to grow and quickly overtook the plant from which the scion was taken. This is clearly visible in the photograph.
Rootstock and scion
Both a seedling grown from seeds and an already rooted cutting, taken, for example, after formative pruning of a particular citrus, can be used as a rootstock.
It is believed that a rootstock grown from seeds is the most viable, it has a powerful root system and is already adapted to the climatic conditions in which it grew. I agree with this, but only partly. After all, what if we need to get vaccinated soon? It takes a very long time to wait for a seed to grow into a full-fledged seedling of the required diameter. Therefore, in this case, you can use a rootstock from a rooted cutting. And, in my opinion, it is no worse, and maybe even better, than the seedling.
Personally, I like to use Macrophylla variety lemon as a rootstock, which I specially cut into cuttings for subsequent grafting. They take root very quickly and just as quickly grow the root system. Citrus fruits grafted onto Macrophylla grow together very quickly and immediately begin to grow.
Returning to the question posed at the beginning of the story, what is better - grafting or cuttings? – I will say that I was never able to give a definite answer. In some cases, it is more advisable to use grafting, and in others, cuttings. It all depends on individual characteristics plants. But the most important thing is that you should not be afraid to experiment, and then there will be a real opportunity to receive a fruit-bearing citrus plant as a reward.
New Year with citrus scent
For us, New Year is always associated with the smell of citrus fruits. But almost any of their types and varieties grow well, bloom and bear fruit in the microclimate of apartments and winter gardens. The quality of the fruit when fully ripe is excellent, and the yield only increases over the years. How to achieve this? Our experts will reveal secrets, share experience, advice, and tips.
The genus Citrus includes a huge number of cultivated plants of the Rutaceae family - evergreen shrubs or trees. They bloom profusely fragrant flowers, produce edible berry-like fruits. The most famous representatives are orange, tangerine, lemon, grapefruit, pamelo, lime, kincan, calamondin.
HOW TO REPRODUCT
Citrus fruits are propagated by seeds (sown at any time of the year), cuttings and grafting.
And although you can grow a beautiful tree from seeds, the seedling will bloom no earlier than in 8-10 years.
To get fruits, you should purchase grafted plants from specialized nurseries. Some species, for example lemon or lime, are easily rooted by cuttings - in light soil at a temperature of +20-25 degrees. But they need to be taken from a fruit-bearing specimen.
After rooting cuttings or grafting, citrus fruits bloom quickly, sometimes even in the first year. However, in order not to deplete the plants, flowers and ovaries should be removed and fruits should be allowed to form in the 3-4th year of life, when the trees have developed and become stronger.
CONDITIONS ARE THE SAME FOR EVERYONE
For these subtropical crops, a cool dormant period (about +10 degrees) is desirable in winter. However, they do not have leaf fall, like pomegranates or figs. Even when stored for 2-3 months in a dark, cool room, they practically do not lose foliage.
The rest of the time, citrus fruits need good lighting and maximum summer sun.
They prefer abundant watering with warm water, but without overflow and stagnation of moisture in the pan. In dry rooms, spraying and “bath” procedures are required. Air humidity - 75-85%.
During flowering and fruiting, which require large amounts of nutrition, plants are fed with complex humate fertilizers at least 2 times a month. The best option for nutritional mixtures is ready-made for citrus fruits. During winter rest, fertilizers are not applied.
Plants develop well in fertile soil, rich in humus and humus. Both garden soil and special soil substrates are suitable.
Citrus crops are significantly susceptible to attacks by pests: spider mites, thrips, California scale insects, scale insects and others. Attention should be paid to preventive plant protection - treatment with appropriate preparations should be carried out at least once a month.
Sergey RYZHOV, agronomist scientist, collector of exotic plants, director of the Exotic Garden nursery, Sochi.
Transfer
Young citrus plants are replanted by careful handling soon after purchase (then annually in the spring), since the peat soil dries out easily, and there is a threat of drying out the plant, and the roots, tightly entwined in the lump, can get burned from heating the pot in the sun. To a ready-made substrate for citrus fruits, for example, “Lemon,” coarse sand or perlite is added for looseness and a little turf soil, the amount of which in the mixture can be gradually increased during subsequent transplants. Older specimens are replanted once every 3-4 years; for larger ones, they are replaced annually instead of replanting. upper layer soil, adding coarse sand or perlite and turf or leaf soil to the finished mixture.
The soil mixture for citrus fruits should be neutral or slightly acidic (if the water for irrigation is hard) - pH from 5.5 to 7.0. Before use, the substrate is disinfected by heat treatment.
FROM CUTTINGS...
Cut off a mature (about 6 months old) young shoot, which has turned from angular to round. It is important that it is in the dormant stage, otherwise the likelihood of rooting is very low.
The branch is divided into segments with 3-4 leaves, the bottom leaf is removed, and an oblique cut is made under the bud. It is useful to lightly scratch the bark with a thin, clean needle and dip the cuttings in Kornevina powder. They are planted in sterile soil made of peat and sand, deepened to the next leaf. Root at a temperature of about +25 degrees, in a greenhouse, preferably with bottom heating, in bright diffused lighting (fluorescent lighting can be used). If the greenhouse is humid, it is better to leave the leaves without shortening them - they will serve as a source of nutrients. If the shelter is poorly sealed, two bottom sheets cut in half. Rooting lasts from 2 weeks to 1-2 months, sometimes longer.
...AND SEEDS
Citrus seeds germinate quickly, usually within a month. The seedlings grow well, are quite unpretentious, and release useful phytoncides. By pruning you can form beautiful trees.
SECRETS OF FRUIT BEARING
Many indoor citrus fruits are characterized by remontancy - the ability to bloom and set fruit several times a year. Optimal conditions for flower development - temperature + 18 degrees, and air humidity about 70%. The flowers are bisexual and in many varieties are self-pollinating, but to ensure reliable fruit set, it is better to resort to artificial pollination using a soft brush. After flowering, not all ovaries remain on the branches; a large number of them soon fall off. The ovary can be considered complete if it has reached a size of at least 2 cm. The fruits ripen for 5-9 months, depending on the specific variety, and can hang on the tree until the next harvest.
CUTTING AND SHAPING
To give a beautiful and compact appearance to the crown of citrus fruits, I form it. The best time for pruning is at the end of the winter rest period (beginning of February). In summer, branches that are too long and fattening should be shortened.
U various types and varieties have their own way of growing. Thus, lemon does not branch very readily, and it is difficult to form a compact tree from it. The orange grows powerfully upward - regular shortening pruning is required. The tangerine's crown thickens quickly, and it is necessary to cut out some of the shoots growing inward. Kumquat grows compactly, requiring virtually no pruning. It is not often necessary to prune calamondin - young seedlings almost immediately take on a beautiful shape.
Citrus seedlings should be formed from the age of one year; if by this time they have reached at least 30 cm, the top of their head is cropped.
Everyone's favorite "New Year's fruit" - tangerine is not only tasty and rich in vitamins, but also an assistant in solving many health problems.
Fungal diseases of the feet and nails: rub the juice into the affected areas 2 times a day. For nail fungus - long-term.
Colds, ARVI with high fever, cough, bronchitis, bronchial asthma: drink warmed juice and slightly diluted with water, 2/3-1 tbsp. several times a day.
Intestinal upset, loss of appetite: eat 0.5-1 fruit 2-3 times a day half an hour before meals while following a diet.
Mandarin is useful for anemia, hypertension, atherosclerosis, overweight, flu, swelling of the legs, joint and skin diseases, tumors of various organs, metabolic disorders, decreased vision, intestinal candidiasis, helminths.
Attention! Tangerines and their juice are contraindicated for stomach ulcers, acute nephritis, exacerbation of colitis, hepatitis, cholecystitis and gastritis with increased acidity gastric juice.
Dina BALYASOVA, Doctor of Chemistry. sciences,
Growing tangerines at home
Homemade tangerine – photo Did you know that the mandarin, familiar to everyone, came to Europe only in the 19th century? A hundred years ago it was almost unknown to the general public, but now we simply cannot imagine life without its fruits. In an incredibly short period of time, tangerine spread throughout the planet and won universal love and recognition of humanity.
The amazing story of the mandarin
In fact, tangerine has been cultivated for several thousand years. Its culture is almost as ancient as grapes, and perhaps even older, since wild tangerines are unknown to botanical science. Only its cultural forms have reached us. At the same time, tangerines for many centuries were available to a limited circle of people - they were grown in the gardens of mandarins, wealthy dignitaries of imperial China (hence the well-known name of the culture).
Mandarin is believed to come from South-East Asia, this territory now belongs to India. There is no exact data on exactly when it migrated from China to the West. According to one story, its trees were brought with them by Portuguese missionaries returning from the colonies; according to another version, a tangerine plant in a tub was given to Napoleon Bonaparte. But one way or another, he got to Europe and conquered it.
Today, in Asian countries, the first place in growing tangerines is occupied by Japan, followed by China in second place, then India and others. On the European continent man-
Mandarin blooms in January-February
Mandarin yield is impressive
pot culture. By the way, tangerine turned out to be the most unpretentious. compared to other citrus crops, and it is much easier to grow in protected soil than the same lemons and oranges.
Let's raise him!
Mandarins can be purchased at a specialty store or grown yourself.
After purchasing a plant, it must be kept “in quarantine” for several days, separately from other indoor plants, to make sure that harmful insects do not enter the house along with the tree.
This crop is propagated in the spring, by seeds and grafting.
The optimal temperature for growing tangerine is 16-18 °C. In winter, it is best to place the pots on well-lit, south-facing windows, and rotate them from time to time so that the crown is formed evenly (except for the period of flowering and fruiting, when it is better to leave them alone). In summer, it is advisable to shade plants from direct sunlight and also protect them from drafts.
A tangerine tree in protected ground can reach from 0.8 to 1.5 m in height. It blooms in winter, in January-February. At this time, a delicate aroma spreads throughout the room. Fruits thickly. The fruits set during self-pollination and remain on the branches for several months.
Young tangerine trees have a crown formed before fruiting begins. Remove dry shoots that are too long, thicken branches and grow inside the crown. The crown of young and fruit-bearing tangerine trees must be sprayed with water several times a week. If necessary, with complex fertilizer (the consumption rate is indicated on the product packaging). Mandarins are fertilized from the second decade of February to September.
As the trees grow, they need to be transplanted into larger containers. The best time for transplantation is spring, from March to May. Before transplanting, the plants must be watered abundantly with water at room temperature. The tangerine tree is carefully removed from the old pot and placed in a new one filled with drainage and moistened soil. The trunk of the tree should be located in the center of the container, and its root collar should be slightly above the soil surface, but below the top edge of the container. Then they gradually add and compact the soil, but make sure that the root collar remains at the same level; it cannot be covered. After replanting, the trees are carefully watered again, the spout of the watering can is kept closer to the surface of the soil so that the stream of water does not knock the soil out of the pot and expose the root collar and roots of the plant. Subsequent watering is carried out as the top layer of soil dries.
This is interesting
The tradition of giving tangerines for the New Year is almost as old as the culture itself; it originated 1000 years BC. The Chinese, when they came to visit, presented their owners with two tangerines as a gift, and when they went home, in turn, they received another two tangerines from them. The word for a pair of tangerines in Chinese is consonant with the word “gold” and thus people wished each other prosperity, abundance, happiness...
Tropical at home - my reviews and what else can be grown in the room
Over the years of growing tropical plants in the room, I have learned a lot, gained experience and will be happy to share it with readers.
At first I purchased unpretentious varieties of lemons ( Pavlovsky, Meyer, Panderosa). Then they gave me Pavlovsk Pomeranian. It is suitable for beginners. Pomeranian tolerates dry air and poor lighting well. The bushes are small (up to 50-60 cm), with a powerful crown and large (2 cm) flowers. It blooms profusely, but many of the ovaries fall off. In good conditions it blooms and bears fruit all year round. The fruits are 5-7 cm, with a thin orange peel and creamy, slightly bitter pulp.
Then I acquired varieties of tangerines without bitterness. They grow and bear fruit best Okitsu and Unshiu. The Okitsu variety was bred in 1940 in Japan and quickly spread in industrial plantings. Its flattened fruits are much more sugary than, for example, the parent variety Miyagawa. Having tasted the fruits from my tree for the first time, I highly appreciated their taste: tangerines are sweet, without bitterness, like Pavlovsk orange.
The most common one in the room is Unshiu mandarin. It is often called a variety, but it is an independent species Citrus reticulata Unshiu. It comes from China and, unlike other citrus fruits, is most resistant to low temperatures. One of its advantages is fast maturation fruits at relatively low solar activity. The trees grow short, and for all these advantages Unshiu is very popular as a houseplant.
The rows of varietal lemons have also been replenished. For example, Italian variety The commune is unusually productive. A tree of medium height, well leafed, with sparse small thorns. The fruits are oval, seedless, with medium-thick skin and juicy pulp.
Lemon Genoa was considered rare for a long time and was included in the collections of “advanced” citrus growers. Nowadays it is easy to purchase. The variety is a little capricious to care for, especially in terms of lighting. But the fruits are unusually tasty, elongated, large (100-120 g). Peel without bitterness.
Limoncello They sent me by exchange, origin – Holland. Its bush is compact, no more than 60-70 cm high. It is not capricious, grows successfully, blooms profusely and sets a lot of fruit. In many ways it is similar to a Meyer lemon, but noticeably differs from it in its flexible character - it tolerates insufficient lighting in winter time.
It is impossible to imagine a citrus garden without an orange. I have several of its varieties, but the most popular and often found in indoor culture is the famous Washington Nevile. His story is interesting. It comes from Brazil and is a bud mutation of the Selecta variety, then its specimens were brought to Australia, and after a couple of decades they returned to the USA under a different name. Here Washington Nevil was placed on industrial production. The fruit has a “navel” (navel in English), hence the name. And this navel is the second fruit that has stopped developing. It grows well in the room, but it must be supplemented with light during the active growing season.
The world of citrus fruits is diverse. I have grapefruit, lime, pomelo. Of undoubted interest is microcitrus faustrimedin is a hybrid of Australian finger lime and calamandin. The plant has small leaves and relatively large spines; long, finger-like fruits hang on the bush, which gives it an exotic appearance. When cut, we see not the usual pulp, like citrus fruits, but something reminiscent of egg balls. They are refreshing, orange, sweet and sour. Parent form finger lime– from the arid regions of Australia. So faustrimedin loves the sun and heat, but despite this, it grows well and tolerates the conditions of the rooms. The fruits ripen much faster - in 5-6 months (for lemon - 9 months).
Along with citrus fruits, the familiar plant grows in our “tropics” laurel. Its green leaves are not so fragrant, but once they are picked and dried, they will acquire the usual, familiar smell of bay leaves.
Next to the laurel in the room, another most popular southern spice feels good and blooms profusely - rosemary. The evergreen subshrub is interesting as a spicy and medicinal plant. Its leaves look like needles. Agricultural technology is simple: in the summer, keep it in the sunniest place, and in the winter – in a cool place, where it overwinters safely.
It grows on me and olive. Long-lived, large tree, but grows well in a room. The main thing to consider is that flowers form on last year’s shoots. Therefore, you should be more careful when pruning it.
Many love figs. Starting a tree in a room is not difficult, and indoor varieties begin to bear fruit quickly. The first wave of fruit growth begins with the leaves blooming, and the second - closer to autumn. Only in your indoor garden can you enjoy the taste ripe fruits figs Imported ones are known to be picked unripe, and they have no real aroma or taste.
Is growing successfully guava. The plant is unpretentious, reproduces well by seeds, and quickly begins to bear fruit. The fruits, of course, cannot be compared with those that grew in the south. In the room they are much smaller and not so fragrant and tasty, but what a pleasure it is to pick them in your indoor garden!
This is how my fascination with the world of the tropics gradually moved from the pages of Nikolai Verzilin’s book “Travel with Houseplants” into reality. Now tropical plants They grow up in an apartment in Mordovia, where in winter there is snow and frost. And only the winter garden pleases the soul with its delicate foliage, fragrant flowers and delicious fruits.
Difference between Citrus fruits and other plants. Features of the content. Providing a period of rest.
Vaccinations for better fruiting. May 20, 2014 / Rating: In crop production, citrus fruits remain the most popular among fruit-bearing plants.
Everything about these plants is attractive: the hard, waxy leaves, the fragrant spring flowering, and the no less fragrant fruiting in autumn and winter. In home gardening, the most common citrus fruits are Lemon, Mandarin, Orange, Citrofortunella, Fortunella, Lime, Pomeranian, Clementine, and Citron.
The latter, by the way, is known for its original fruits, which are used in confectionery production, but are not eaten raw. Oranges or lemons growing in pots are quite possible if you know all the intricacies of caring for these subtropical plants.
Moreover, with proper maintenance, you can even get fruits regularly. In addition to natural species, today you can purchase various cultivars and hybrids.
Among them, for example, is the compact Mejer Lemon (Citrus Limon Mejer), famous for its sweetish taste of fruits that appear throughout the year. Also interesting is the Marumi kumquat (Fortunella japonica), which looks like a small tree whose fruits can be eaten directly with the peel. If desired, citrus fruits can be grown from seeds. But this method is suitable for the most patient growers; moreover, there is a risk of not waiting for flowering and, accordingly, fruiting. ON THE PICTURE: Citron (Citrus medica)
Features of caring for citrus fruits
Citrus fruits came to us from Southeast Asia with a subtropical and tropical climate. High humidity air, an abundance of heat without seasonal temperature fluctuations, daylight equal to night - are characteristic of the habitat of citrus plants.
This determines the main features of care. Determining a suitable location First of all, you need to take care of the location of the plant. Putting the pot on the windowsill in winter is not the best solution.
Cold air from the window, as well as increased temperature from radiators, negatively affect the exotic. The most suitable place for citrus fruits is a fairly warm place with intense light and high humidity.
In spring, summer and early autumn, it is best to place the plant in a southwest or southeast window with softer, diffused light. Soil selection The basic requirements for soil for growing citrus fruits are good air and moisture permeability.
The soil should be slightly acidic. Special soil mixtures are available for sale, but they are only good for the first time. Literally a year later, their nutritional composition is already depleted, and the soil should be changed.
Compliance with watering rules Water quality has great importance. Watering with hard tap water will quickly lead to the deposition of salts and an increase in the pH of the substrate, which will certainly affect the health of the plant, causing, at a minimum, yellowing of the leaves.
The ideal option would be to use soft water, the temperature of which is 1–2°C above room temperature. You can soften the water using a special preparation "Kislinka" or high-moor peat. More about this in the article “How to understand watering.”
It is necessary to provide the plants with regular moderate watering. In summer, citrus fruits should be watered approximately once every 2 days, and in winter, the frequency of watering is reduced to 5–7 days. The top layer of soil should have time to dry out.
Maintaining Humidity As tropical plants, citrus fruits require high humidity - at least 45–50%. Therefore, in winter, you should use a humidifier or maintain an optimal level of humidity using a tray with wet expanded clay.
Effect of temperature The ideal temperature for keeping citrus fruits in summer is +22–24°C. In the autumn-winter period, before the dormant period - +16–20°С.
The best temperature for setting citrus buds is about +16°C, and for vegetation and fruit ripening - +22–24°C. Unlike most other fruit trees, citrus plants do not require frequent pruning. But periodically shortening the branches will help form the crown and give rise to new shoots.
However, it all depends on the species. Orange trees, for example, grow tall and require regular pruning. Since the crown of Mandarin is very dense, thinning it is necessary from time to time.
Even more frequent pruning is required for Lemon with its weak branching. And Kumquat and Kalamodin do not need pruning at all due to their slow growth. ON THE PICTURE: Lemon PanderosaA little about the rest period In autumn and winter when there is a shortage sunlight Due to increased air dryness, the growth of citrus fruits stops and a dormant period begins. At this time, you need to pay special attention to the plants. One of the recommended ways to ensure a dormant period is:
- with a significant decrease in temperature to 5–10 ° C and darkening (period of complete rest) with a slight decrease in temperature and additional lighting (period of relative rest).
Period of complete rest lasts about 3 months. In this case, there is no need for watering, since the humidity of the cold air is quite sufficient. You can place the plant in the basement, on staircase, in the garage with periodic monitoring of it.
Period of relative rest takes place under intense lighting with the help of additional lamps and reduced watering. The air temperature should be slightly lower, about +12–15°C, so the plant is placed in a cool, moderately heated place.
In “home wintering” conditions with insufficient air humidity, it is necessary to spray. In the spring, watering is increased and fertilizing is gradually added. ON THE PICTURE: Lemon during dormancy
Vaccinations
Grafting allows you to transfer some varietal characteristics of one plant to another, speed up fruiting and improve the quality of the fruit. Cuttings of fruit-bearing plants are used as scions. All types of citrus fruits can be grafted.
We should not forget to promptly remove shoots of the rootstock, which can stop the growth of the grafted cuttings.For indoor citrus fruits it is used budding (grafting with a bud taken from a cutting of a cultivated plant) and copulation (grafting by cuttings with the same thickness of scion and rootstock). At the same time, some varieties of citrus fruits require a strictly defined rootstock.
So, Lemon Panderosa is well suited for grafting Kumquat, and Pompelmus is suitable for grapefruit. Sweet orange is used to graft oranges and lemons. ON THE PICTURE: Tarocco orange grafted by copulation method
- Buy citrus fruits with an already formed crown. Growing from seeds will take too long and the tree may not bear fruit. Be careful when choosing a location. The best option for citrus fruits would be a warm, well-lit place with high level humidity. The dormant period is very important for the normal growth and fruiting of citrus fruits. Not all citrus fruits need pruning. This depends on the development of the crown and its density. Grafting citrus fruits can increase fruiting.
Everyone who has seen homemade tangerines from friends dreams of having a citrus tree with fragrant flowers at home. Many are stopped by the fear that they do not have enough strength and knowledge to properly care for such an exotic pet. Indeed, some citrus indoor plants require specific growing conditions, but not the tangerine; caring for it is quite simple: it is unpretentious and hardy enough to live on ordinary window sills of Russian apartments. Anyone can grow a tangerine from a seedling purchased at a flower shop, since it is already a grafted fruit-bearing tree.
If you cannot afford to allocate money from your home budget to purchase a plant, then you can grow a tangerine at home yourself. To do this, you only need to have a few seeds taken from ordinary fruits.
Homemade citrus fruits: decorative tangerine
Several years will pass, and you will be full of pride from a slender tree with very beautiful shiny leaves. Citrus aroma will spread throughout the entire apartment, which will give your home additional coziness and comfort. The tangerine tree is from the rutaceae family, spherical in shape, the leaves are evergreen, replaced every four years, the flowers are white, attractively smelling, and the fruits are well known to everyone.
This citrus tree reproduces by seeds or vegetatively. Most often, Russians have indoor tangerines at home, grown from seeds.
But this is only a decorative indoor plant that improves the interior of the apartment, but does not bear fruit at all or has very small inedible fruits. IN natural conditions Citrus fruits are always produced by grafting.
You will have to undergo a similar operation if you decide to feast on juicy vitamins. If you just want to try your hand at growing citrus plants yourself, then you will absolutely succeed. Make room for them on the south side if you have one. poisonous plants, then they are not the best neighbors for indoor citrus fruits, move them to another windowsill.
How to grow a tangerine at home from an ordinary seed
Soaking the seeds
Anyone who has experienced growing seedlings from seeds knows that they must swell. We take several tangerine seeds and soak them in gauze for several days.
There shouldn't be too much water, just keep the fabric slightly damp and just add water as needed. If you plan to have only one homemade tangerine, still have 10-15 seeds: not all will germinate, some will die from disease, and some will die a “death of the brave” when you try to plant the plant yourself for the first time.
There is no desire to deal with gauze - hydrogel will help you, sold in specialized stores. Professionals involved in landscape design and ordinary amateur gardeners use it whenever possible, as it is an excellent protection for plants from the heat.
Hydrogel is similar to drip irrigation, but in our case it will not be added to the soil, but will serve instead of gauze, as it retains moisture perfectly. The seeds should be kept in the middle of the gel so that they do not dry out.
Landing in the ground
The hatched seeds are transplanted into a pot or ordinary seedling box. Some people do not wait for the seeds to swell, but immediately plant them in the ground. The sprout appears a little later, but it looks nothing like worse than that that grew from a soaked seed.
What kind of soil is required to get a tangerine at home? Peat cannot be used: it often sours, dries quickly, and has no special nutritional properties. It is found in almost all mixtures sold in stores, so you will have to prepare the soil for growing citrus fruits yourself:
- turf soil - 3 parts; rotted cow manure - 1 part; sand - 1 part; a small amount of clay.
For city dwellers, such manipulations are unrealistic, so try to buy neutral, nutritious soil “Rose” or “Veriohumus”. According to reviews on the Internet, it is well suited for growing citrus fruits successfully.
As a last resort, you can take ordinary soil and mix it with a small amount of ash, superphosphate and organic fertilizer. Don’t forget to put expanded clay or pebbles at the bottom of the pot for drainage. When will the first leaves appear? Citrus fruits at home begin to grow actively three weeks from the time of planting.
Indoor citrus fruits: care, nutrition, protection
As soon as the first sprouts appear, they should be fed every two weeks with mineral and organic fertilizers. It’s great that there are special fertilizers on sale for caring for citrus plants. First, the tree is watered, and then fertilized. Such a houseplant should be replanted in the spring every year, trying to keep the soil around the roots intact.
When the tangerine tree at home reaches eight years old, the transplant is done after a year. It loves the sun, a window on the south side is an ideal place for it, but so that in winter the temperature does not drop below 14 degrees.
The indoor tangerine should be sprayed every week; high humidity is vital for it, so let there always be a bowl of water next to the pot. In the summer, the tangerine tree should be watered several times a day very generously, in the winter - up to three times a week as the soil dries with water. room temperature. Active feeding of citrus fruits occurs from April to September, this will make the fruits grow sweeter. Many young indoor citrus fruits die from pests that are practically invisible to people: red spider mites, citrus whiteflies, scale insects.
If you look closely, you can see that the plant is entwined with tiny cobwebs that are destructive to it. There are preparations “Aktellik”, “Fitoverm”, designed to thoroughly wash all the leaves, top and bottom, with their solution. Proceed according to the attached instructions, spraying is not effective, so only rinsing, which is repeated several times a week.
How to grow fruiting tangerine
Mandarins from seeds in nature begin to bear fruit after 4-5 years. This will be the so-called wild fruit, which has tasteless fruits. Grafting a tangerine accelerates fruiting and produces delicious fruit.
It is done during the period of sap flow: April, early May, August. In other months, success is not possible; a good result also depends on quick, careful actions during grafting in a clean environment. What should be prepared for grafting a tangerine tree:
- rootstock is your plant grown from a seed, with a trunk no thinner than 6 mm (about the size of a pencil); scion - a fresh cutting or eye taken from a fruiting citrus tree, from a branch no older than two years; garden varnish; elastic tape; budding grafting knife .
On the trunk of the rootstock at a height of 10 cm, an incision is made in the shape of the letter T: horizontal - 1 cm, vertical - 2-4 cm. The scion is prepared: thorns and leaf blades are removed. The bud with a small layer of wood is carefully cut off and inserted into the cut.
The “operation” site is carefully wrapped with tape. After grafting, the plant is placed under a jar or plastic bag to create the necessary humidity and microclimate. Only after a month will it become clear whether the budding was successful or not.
Let there be several experimental samples, since it will no longer be possible to redo it - the period of sap flow has passed. It is best to start experiments in the spring; if there is no success, repeat at the end of summer. As you saw that the bud has sprouted, the sprout gets accustomed to the air outside the jar.
Ventilation gradually increases, the winding is removed. Another month later, when the new shoot is already growing well: the trunk of the rootstock is carefully cut off obliquely with a knife 3 mm above the base of the shoot and covered with garden varnish.
A stick is placed in the pot to teach the tangerine tree to grow vertically at home. That's all! Good luck to you, do not forget to water, fertilize and spray your citrus tree.
Citrus fruits: eternal summer
Citrus fruits - yellow, orange against a green background - seem to be created to give us a feeling of sun and warmth, light and joy of life.
In urban areas it is usually grown lemons and much less often - oranges, tangerines and grapefruits. The principles of caring for citrus fruits are general, and growing lime not at all more difficult, but also not simpler than its more familiar relative. Citrus fruits really need care: sticking a seed into the ground and growing a weak wild one is not difficult, but to cultivate a full-fledged plant, you need serious work. Citrus fruits are grown from the seed, and from cuttings. Of course, by purchasing an already grafted plant or rooting a cutting, you can get the result much faster - an adult fruit-bearing tree, but the pleasure of observing all the stages of development of a green pet will be lost.
Growing citrus fruits is fun, although it can be a bit of a hassle. This activity requires many years of work, but with careful care you can get a healthy fruit-bearing plant from the seeds.
Mini-forms with a maximum height of two meters are suitable for home cultivation: calamondin, kumquat, lemon, citrofortunella, citron, grapefruit, mandarin, sweet orange and Chinese citrus. The citrus seed is washed, dried for several hours and sown in a pot with a thick layer of drainage and soil from garden soil and river sand. The vessel must be large enough - at least two liters, since young citrus fruits cannot be replanted - they die. The pot is placed in a large transparent plastic bag, the bag is inflated, tied - it turns out to be a kind of greenhouse, which needs to be “visited” from time to time in order to ventilate and water the soil.
In a month or two, shoots will appear. Of these, you need to leave the strongest one and cut off the rest. A bright sunny room, fresh air without drafts, spraying, watering with settled water, summer “walks” on fresh air(on the balcony), regular pinching of young shoots, winter rest (at this time the plant is stopped feeding and watered much less often) will lead to the fact that in a few years the tree will bloom with fragrant unusual flowers. Citrus fruits react differently to light.
Lemon and citron will grow on any side: they are quite shade-tolerant. For their other relatives, it is preferable to choose a place of residence on a south window, protecting them from direct rays of the sun.
Citrus fruit care
Grown trees need pruning. Its main goal is to form a beautiful crown and improve the health of the plant, rejuvenate it. Trees are pruned moderately but often. It should be borne in mind that there is a close connection between pruning and fertilization.
A well-fertilized plant needs to be trimmed less. In addition to mineral fertilizing, good fertilizer for citrus fruits, beer is considered, with which experienced gardeners not only feed, but also spray the plant: this makes the leaves become especially bright and shiny. Leftover tea and coffee are also good supplements.
The main thing is not to overfeed the plant. This is much more dangerous than underfeeding. Seed-grown, ungrafted citrus fruits begin to bear fruit not soon.
Tangerines - for 6-8 years, pomelo - for 7-10 years, lime - after 3-4 years. If the plant is grown vegetatively and grafted, the fruits can be obtained much earlier.
All citrus fruits are “mutually grafted”, so by experimenting at home, it is quite possible to get your own variety. Blooming plants vary: tangerines - only once a year, but other types of citrus fruits can bloom indoors several times. A tree that bears both flowers and fruits at the same time is especially attractive. Even one citrus tree will bring summer to the house forever, but several different types of citrus fruits will create a real celebration of summer colors: a purple hue of young shoots, white or pink fragrant flowers, yellow, golden pink , orange, emerald fruits among dark green shiny leaves.
More about growing citrus fruits at home
Growing lemons at home. Basic rules for planting and growing citrus plants
Growing citrus fruits at home
Interest in lemons and other citrus crops that can be grown on windowsills or in winter gardens is growing every year.
Seeds or cuttings?
Sometimes plant lovers plant seeds in pots that they found in fruits they bought at the store. Then they ask: when can we expect a harvest from the resulting seedlings?
Alas, in this case they will have to wait a long time for fruit! Lemons from seeds are, in fact, wild ones - they do not repeat the properties of their parents - an adult cultivated plant. It is difficult to predict what will ultimately grow from a seed, for example, a lemon, and this applies not only to lemons.
It happens that from such seeds they grow worthy of attention plants, but this is rather an exception. Typically, lemons grown from seeds begin to bear fruit after 20 or even 25 years. However, there are secrets on how to make a lemon bear fruit much faster.
The first is pruning.. Every year the lemon produces new growth, sometimes more than one, different varieties it happens in different ways. If you cut a branch, it will begin to develop from lateral buds. Consider this, one year has already passed.
The slightly pruned branches will grow back, so you can prune new ones too. And this is how you can “live” 5-6 years in one year. The second method is ringing: the stem or one or two main branches at the very base are tightly pulled - “ringed” with copper wire so that it is slightly pressed into the bark.
Very quickly, an influx and deformation of the bark forms in this place, which causes the accumulation of substances that stimulate the formation of fruit buds. Six months later, in order to avoid constriction of the branches and the threat of breaking, the ring is carefully removed, and the operation site is covered with garden varnish.
The third method is vaccination. Vaccinate cultivated plant, and it can be not only lemon. But this method requires skill, although we all did it for the first time once. In our nursery, we propagate plants by cuttings.
We cut a twig from a well-cultivated, large lemon and plant it in specially prepared soil. And in the greenhouse, after some time, this branch grows roots, and a new plant develops. This is a vegetative method of propagation.
Small plants obtained in this way replicate the properties of an adult plant 100 percent - they begin to bear fruit in the third or fourth year. And we don’t plant lemons as there is no need for it, we get by quite well vegetative way By the way, I can tell novice gardeners how to distinguish between a lemon grown from seeds and a lemon from a cutting.
You can tell the difference by the roots! If the lemon is obtained from a seed, then you can see one more developed root, and small roots are already extending from it, and the large root is in the middle, at the bottom.
If a lemon is grown from a cutting, then its roots grow from the sides - from the bark. Now let's look at issues such as closed and open root systems. Often people don't quite understand what this means.
A closed root system is when a plant took root and grew in a separate pot, and not among the total mass in a greenhouse, and then was replanted. In our nursery all the seedlings have a closed root system, since we root them separately in peat pots, and then we place them in permanent pots. And we usually send the seedlings with a small lump of earth in damp moss or sawdust.
Packed securely. We have already seen that they can travel well this way, even over long distances. And then flower gardeners place the resulting seedling in their pot.
Now they sell a lot of grafted seedlings that come from Holland and Georgia. But here you need to be careful, alas, such seedlings survive very rarely or only live for two years. These lemons are grafted, as a rule, on trifoliate - a plant that is in a state of deep dormancy in winter.
For open ground on the southern coast, where there are light frosts, this is good, but for closed soil, especially indoor cultivation, the trifoliate rootstock is unsuitable, since, entering the dormant stage in winter, the grafted citrus fruits shed their leaves at high room temperatures and die. And the shade tolerance of such seedlings is weak, because they grew up in conditions where there is an abundance of moisture and sun. Very often you read on various forums that grafted seedlings are cool!
Let's figure it out. What is a grafted plant? They grow wild animals, and then graft a cultivated plant onto it. The vaccination site is weakness seedling.
And grafting makes sense only when the plant reproduces poorly by vegetative means, for example, oranges do not take root well, and it makes sense to graft them. So plants from cuttings are self-rooted plants, they are more reliable. In stores, they sometimes sell seedlings, and sometimes even small ones beautiful citrus trees that should also alert you. The pots there are filled with some kind of substrate, sometimes not even earth, but something resembling a sponge.
All this is processed with preservatives. And as soon as this substance runs out in the pot, the plant dies. Such a plant dies even if you transplant it into your own pot.
So choosing a citrus plant seedling is a serious and responsible matter.
Planting citrus fruits
What to do after you have received a parcel with seedlings or purchased them, for example, in a store? We need to plant them faster. And for this you will need a pot and soil. Which pot to choose for planting citrus seedlings?
A good pot is one that allows air to pass through and serves as a humidity regulator. Clay is best, but most of our residents grow lemons in wooden tubs. Size pot has the meaning.
Often this is where the first mistake of beginning citrus growers lies. The owner of the seedling wants his pet to live well and at ease, and therefore buys a large, beautiful pot. But in fact, it destroys the plant.
The size of the pot when transplanting the seedling for the first time should not exceed 10-15 cm (the diameter of its upper part). But then once a year you need to transplant the plant into a larger pot. It is better to do this in February, before new shoots begin to grow. The size of the dishes should correspond to the age of the plants:
- for one-year-olds – 10-15 cm; for two-year-olds – 15-20 cm.
And then gradually add about 5 cm in diameter. Adult plants (5-7 years old) can no longer be replanted, but left to live in a pot with a diameter of up to 50 cm, a height of up to 40 cm, but once a year it is advisable to partially replace the soil, remove its top layer and add a new one. Place drainage at the bottom of the pot, do not forget to also make holes in the bottom of the pot.
The best drainage is expanded clay; if it is not available, various pebbles, shells, slag, crushed stone or charcoal are also suitable. You can buy special earthen mixtures for citrus plants. Or you can prepare the earthen mixture yourself.
For this purpose, go to the forest or to a park where fallen leaves are not removed. Preferably away from the highway. There, collect soil under old linden trees or any deciduous plants, except oak.
Take the top layer, rich in humus, where there are rotted leaves and twigs. Add sand, preferably river sand, and a little ash to this soil.
If you couldn't find it right away the right land, then use any garden soil, adding, if possible, all the above components to two cups of such soil. Six months later, when you replant the lemon into a slightly larger pot (5 cm in diameter), prepare good soil. Houseplants suffer from a dense earthen lump in the pot.
The roots stop growing and rot. In nature, this does not happen, since the soil is loosened by worms. It is not advisable to let worms into a pot with lemon or flowers, since there are no fallen leaves in it, and the worms will feed on the roots of our favorite flowers.
What is important is not so much the nutritional value of the soil (this can be regulated by fertilizing), but rather its air and water permeability. You need to add river sand (up to a third of the volume). Citrus fruits do not like acidic soil, so there should not be any peat, it has an acidic reaction.
A seedling is planted correctly when the root collar (the place where the roots come out) is buried no more than 5 mm into the soil, and the soil itself is not filled to the edge of the pot by 10 mm. This is done so that the root collar does not get wet and does not rot during watering, and the soil is not topped up so that it does not wash off along the outer wall of the pot.
All buds must be cut off in the year of planting. Flowering requires a large expenditure of energy and nutrients, and a fragile tree cannot always withstand such a load and may die.
For the first three to four years, plants need crown formation. Avoid uncontrolled growth and elongation of shoots. Try to give the crown of the tree bushiness and proportionality. Rotate the pot occasionally, but no more than 30 degrees per month.
Avoid the appearance of individual vertical branches inside the crown. Horizontal branches and those whose direction you don't like can be straightened a little.
At a young age, when lignification has not yet occurred, tilt them as you want and fix them in that position. You can insert an additional stick and tie an unruly branch with twine. Trim long shoots.
The more the tree bushes, the faster it will bloom, and it will simply be more beautiful. On our website: www.abrikosnn.ru you can order seedlings of fruit trees and berry crops for your garden, and for home cultivation - “Pavlovsk lemon” and other citrus plants. We send planting material by mail to any corner of the country.
My address: 606160, Nizhny Novgorod region, Vachsky district, Novoselki village, Molodezhnaya street, building 4/2. Tel.: + 7 950-360-27-68 – V.F. Svistunov. I will also answer questions that are asked in almost every letter. Valery Svistunov, gardener
Citrus fruits are grown on an industrial scale, in greenhouses and in private households. All citrus, in particular lemon, lime, tangerine and even orange or grapefruit, you can grow up in an apartment. Citrus fruits are cultigens, as they have been growing in cultivation for a long time. Grown from seed, they do not require grafting, but formation is required for them, otherwise citrus fruits will not bloom.
Features of growing Citrus fruits
In addition, they are important for the presence of mycorrhiza in citrus fruits, which is found in the mother soil in the roots of each citrus plant, since they grow in a community with microfungi living on their roots. If the microfungi die, the plant itself will die. Therefore, you should not use pesticides or a too bright solution of potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate) to water the soil when controlling pests. For the same reason, it is prohibited to use fresh manure or apply large doses of mineral fertilizers when fertilizing.
Seeds, taken out from ripe fruit, should be heated in warm water, this will speed up germination. The seeds are buried in the soil 2-3 times the diameter of the seed, that is, slightly deeper than the nail. Sometimes several plants grow from one seed at once, since citrus fruits are characterized by polyembryony. You should leave only one plant, cutting off the rest with scissors. Citrus seeds have good germination. Plants grown from seed usually bloom and begin to bear fruit in the 10th year, but the quality of the fruit may be low.
You will get much better results if you first grow a seedling from a grapefruit or pomelo seed, and then graft any other citrus plant onto it early stage, when the seedling has a stem as thick as a match (2–3 years after emergence). The grafted plant develops faster, since the root system of pomelo and grapefruit is more powerful than that of other citrus fruits. This significantly accelerates the plant’s entry into fruiting. In this case, you will need a cutting of a fruit-bearing plant (you can contact a greenhouse, nursery or friends). From a grafted cutting, the plant blooms and begins to bear fruit in the 2nd–3rd year.
Grafting for growing citrus fruits
Vaccination The easiest way to do it is by budding, that is, with an eye. A more mature plant (that is, 5–6 years old) will be required for grafting. Budding begins when the bark is well separated from the wood (in April or August). A well-ripened 1–2-year-old branch is cut from a fruiting citrus plant. Cut off the leaves, leaving only the stalk, and place it in a glass of water. On the stem of a plant grown from seeds, at a height of 5–6 cm, the place chosen for grafting is thoroughly cleaned; there should be no dirt on it. You can wipe this area with vodka, as well as your hands and the knife blade. The operation must be sterile - this is the key to success.
Using a sharp knife (placed perpendicular to the stem of the seedling), make a T-shaped cut in the bark, without touching the thin green layer of cambium between the bark and the wood. The length of the cut is about 2 cm, the width is about 1/2 cm. On the prepared grafting cutting, two transverse cuts are made in the bark 1 cm below and above the eye. Then they carefully cut off the bud, grabbing the bark along with the cambium (this is literally a jewelry job, so first practice on the branches of any plants brought from the street). While spreading the top edges of the T-shaped cut on the seedling, insert a bud (pay attention to where it is at the top) and push it deep into the cut. Smooth the cut well with your fingers, pressing the bud firmly against the cambium. Tie the top and bottom so that the bud remains outside. The easiest way is to use a narrow strip of ordinary polymer film for tying, which must be wiped with vodka.
After about 20 days, the kidney should take root, that is, begin to grow. When the cutting from the bud grows 5–10 cm, the seedling on which the bud was grafted must be cut obliquely, 2–3 mm above the base of the new shoot from the graft. After this, you need to immediately cover the cut with liquid garden varnish, or black metal varnish - bitumen, or natural oil paint (it is now sold only in stores for artists and is expensive). The shoot that has developed from the grafted bud is tied to a peg stuck into the soil.
The cuttings can not only be grafted, but also rooted. Rooting It goes slowly, it takes 1.5–2 months for lemon and up to 6 months for orange and tangerine! The grafted plant will begin bearing fruit in the 3rd year. In any case, cuttings should be taken from the ends of the shoots of a healthy fruit-bearing tree, which have just finished growing this season, have become slightly lignified, but still retain flexibility. The bark on them should still be green. The length of the cutting is 8–10 cm, it should have 3–4 leaves. Cut the cuttings with a very sharp and thin knife or scalpel. The lower cut is made oblique (directly under the leaf or bud), and the upper cut is made straight (1–1.5 cm above the bud). Cutting citrus fruits room conditions It is possible throughout the year, but it is better to do this in April - May, then they will have time to build up a good root system by winter.
Substrate for planting cuttings when grafting citrus fruits
Best substrate for planting cuttings is a mixture of sphagnum moss and steamed sand in equal volumes. The cuttings are planted immediately in pots, at the bottom of which shards or coarse sand (2–3 cm) are placed. Then pour a layer of nutritious soil (5–6 cm), and on top - a substrate of moss and sand (3–4 cm).
After planting the cuttings sprayed and placed in a plastic bag, into which several exhalations must be made (to increase the concentration carbon dioxide), and then tie the bag. The pots are placed in a bright but not sunny place. Every morning and evening, the bags are untied, the cuttings are sprayed with warm (about 25 ° C) water, air is exhaled into them and tied again. The procedure can be simplified by covering the cuttings with jars and exhaling air into them or using small pieces of dry ice as a source of carbon dioxide. The air temperature should be between 20–25 °C. After rooting, the top bud will begin to grow, then the jar or bag can be removed, but daily spraying must be continued throughout the life of the plant.
Soil at citrus growing
Soil for citrus fruits must be rough, but at the same time fertile, with a neutral reaction and necessarily containing a large set of microelements. Adding fresh organic matter or large quantity mineral fertilizers can destroy the cohabitants of citrus fruits (microfungi) and thereby harm the plants. Be sure to place broken shards at the bottom of the pot to allow excess water to drain. And of course, you need to put the pots on pallets. A rough or heavy mixture consists of turf soil, coarse river sand and leaf humus, taken in a ratio of 1: 1: 1 by volume. Nowadays they are sold in gardening stores or the corresponding departments of large supermarkets. ready-made mixtures for a wide variety of plants, including citrus fruits X.
They don't like citrus fruits movements. Plants may drop leaves even when the pot is rotated. Therefore, before starting citrus fruits, determine a place for them in the apartment. It should be light, but do not place plants on the windowsill (except in cases where there are double-glazed windows). The fact is that citrus fruits come from the subtropics, that is, they love warmth and moisture, so they get chilly on the windowsill near the glass in winter. In hot summer, without turning the pot, they should be moved away from the window, deeper into the room, to avoid direct exposure to sunlight, which can cause sunburn. In case of burns or freezing, plants should be helped by spraying them with a solution of Ecoberin or Epin-extra.
Air temperature when growing citrus fruits
Citrus fruits love warmth, so room temperature should not fall below 24–25 °C. In addition, all citrus fruits need moist air, for this reason they should not be placed close to heating radiators. In addition, in winter, when the apartments are too dry, constant spraying of the leaves with water is required. For this, water obtained from melted snow or ice and heated to 22–25 ° C is best suited. You cannot use water directly from the tap; it must be passed through a filter or at least allowed to sit for a couple of days and be sure to be heated before spraying.
Watering citrus fruits
For glaze, which must be combined with fertilizing, you should also use filtered or settled water, always warm (temperature not lower than 20–22 °C). How much water should you pour, what fertilizers should you add to it, and how much of them are needed? All these questions will definitely arise in your mind. Despite the love for humid air, citrus trees die from excessive watering. They should be watered moderately, especially in winter. Their leathery leaves evaporate little moisture, and therefore excess water leads to rotting of the roots. It is better to loosen the top layer of soil more often. With infrequent watering, the water should moisten the entire lump of earth. An indicator of sufficient watering is the appearance of water in the pan. I advise you to combine watering with weak mineral fertilizers (1 teaspoon per 5 liters of water).
Fertilizer for growing citrus fruits
Top dressing must contain all the necessary composition of macro- and microelements. It is best to use Uniflorom-bud. It contains all the macro- and microelements that plants need, including extremely useful substances for citrus fruits - magnesium, selenium, cobalt and molybdenum. In addition, all minerals are enclosed in an organic shell, that is, they are in chelated form, and therefore are absorbed by plants immediately. The fertilizer itself is liquid and easy to dose. Pour the cap into 5 liters of water, stir and let it settle. The finished solution can be stored indefinitely.
You can also use the powder fraction fertilizers AVA. You need to pour 1 teaspoon of powder into 3 liters of water and let it brew for at least 3 days. Then you need to stir, let the sediment settle and water the plants. This fertilizer does not dissolve in water (so you don’t have to boil it for the sake of the experiment), but due to Brownian motion, ions of mineral elements contained in the fertilizer gradually penetrate into the water, and in very small doses. You will add water to the sludge for most of the year and continue to use it. This is a very profitable fertilizer, despite its apparent high cost. It contains everything necessary elements nutrition, but at the same time it does not contain any harmful impurities that are necessarily present in other mineral fertilizers, although this is not written anywhere. All plants, especially citrus fruits, require organic silicon. It is contained in the preparations Energen and Siliplant. You only need to add 1-2 drops per 1 liter of solution for watering and fertilizing.
When citrus fruits bloom, especially lemons, there is a fabulous aroma in the apartment! They bloom for a long time, usually in inflorescences collected in a brush. The flowers are pink or white, appearing on the current growth of 3-year-old lateral horizontal shoots. During flowering, plants can be pollinated manually by applying pollen from the stamens to the pistil with a soft (squirrel) brush.
Citrus leaves emit phytoncides, so the smell of these plants is constantly diffused in the apartment. It is very gentle and also has a detrimental effect on pathogenic microbes in the room. At temperatures of 18–20 °C the fruits do not ripen. To ripen one fruit, 15 leaves are needed; if there are not enough of them, the lemon will shed excess fruits. Therefore, store the leaves, each of them is very valuable for the plant. Shedding of leaves can occur as a result of increased dryness or air temperature (more than 24–25 ° C). If the plant does not bloom for too long, you can “hurry it up” by reducing watering and slightly pulling the horizontal 3-year-old branch with a tight constriction.
Citrus leaves are glossy, shiny, leathery, and well adapted to retain moisture. Although these plants are called evergreens, each leaf lives for only 3 years. Dead leaves turn yellow and fall off, so don't be alarmed when this happens..
Transplanting citrus fruits
The transplant is being done every 3–5 years along with the entire clod of earth. Plants should not be planted or replanted in pots that are too spacious. If you give the plants the opportunity to grow freely, then they either stretch upward with one trunk without side branches, which means there will be no fruiting, or they take the form of a very dense bush.
You definitely need to study citrus crown formation. In a young tree that has reached 15–20 cm in height, in February, before the next growth begins, the top is cut off, leaving 5–6 well-developed buds below. These buds will soon germinate and give rise to lateral branches of the 1st order. Of these, 3–4 shoots are left, growing in different directions.
As soon as these branches finish growing, their ends are trimmed, leaving 3-4 buds on each. Second-order shoots will appear from them, the ends of which are also cut off after their growth has finished, again leaving 3-4 buds. Fruit branches of the 3rd order begin to grow from them. They do the same with them.
From the moment the branches of the 4th order appear, the formation of the crown ends and the fruiting period begins. Until the formation of skeletal branches of the 4th order is completed, fruiting should not be allowed, since the premature appearance of buds on the branches of the 3rd order will stop the further growth of the tree, therefore, before the growth of the branches of the 4th order ends, the first buds on the branches of the 3rd order should be removed .
WITH fruit tree at the end of February - beginning of March, you need to trim strong branches by 10-15 cm, cut out vegetative branches. In addition, it is necessary to cut out fattening sprouts, remove dry branches and branches that bear fruit (they are usually without leaves). Branches that grow too strongly upward are bent to a horizontal position (while they are growing upward, they will not bear fruit). In addition, branches growing inside the crown that are not capable of bearing fruit are cut out.
All citrus fruits are very sensitive to frost, during which the roots may dry out. In winter, it is best to keep plants in a bright room with a temperature of 7–8 °C. Suitable for this glazed loggia or balcony. At the same time, it is necessary to constantly monitor the temperature so as not to overcool the trees, otherwise they will die (citrus crops do not tolerate temperatures below 5 ° C). Watering at this time is done very moderately.
During frosts, plants should be brought indoors, maintaining their orientation towards the sun (that is, without turning), and keep them near the balcony door. If you do not have loggias or balconies, keep citrus fruits on the window sills close to the glass, but in severe frosts, move them deeper into the room. Transfer the lemons carefully without turning the plants. In a dark room, citrus fruits, especially lemons, can lose their leaves, so lighting is needed in winter.
Pests when growing citrus fruits
Citrus pests, like any other plants in the apartment, - whitefly, aphids, scale insects, and less often thrips. The enemy of citrus fruits exclusively is the mealybug.
Spraying with the absolutely safe and also useful for both people and plants with the Healthy Garden preparation (4 grains per 1 liter of water) helps against aphids. The scale will have to be scraped off onto the litter and destroyed. Whiteflies and thrips are sucking insects. To combat them, you need to use the absorbable biological product Fitoverm, which is allowed to be used in an apartment (1 ml per 3 liters of water). It is especially effective when combined with Healthy Garden.
Whitefly- This is a disgusting insect, similar to a very small moth, which sits on the underside of the leaf and is therefore hardly noticeable. It multiplies as quickly as an aphid, but at the same time, a sooty fungus (black smearing coating) immediately settles on its sweetish secretions. The whitefly should be destroyed, the plaque should be washed off the leaves with soapy water, and then the leaves should be sprayed with Zircon (4 drops per glass of water).
Against scaleworm you need to use a pink solution of manganese the next time you water the plants. For preventive purposes, this is done with each watering and fertilizing, since potassium permanganate contains not only manganese, which has a detrimental effect on the mealybug, but also potassium, and all citrus fruits love potassium. Do not forget that too strong (dark pink) potassium permanganate solution can destroy microfungi living on the roots.
Recommendations:
Growing citrus fruits at home is very promising view home business
, ornamental plants are always in high demand. You can sell plants on the market, through flower shops.
Profitability:
- Initial costs: from 500 rubles
- Monthly income: from several thousand rubles
An exotic domesticated tree - lemon, tangerine or orange - can delight its owner not only with its beautiful appearance, but also with tasty and aromatic fruits. Even novice gardeners can grow citrus as a houseplant.
Features of cultivation
You can grow citrus indoor plants (lemon, tangerine or orange) from seeds. This is a proven and most reliable method.
To do this, you will need ripe citrus with uniform skin, without damage or rot. You can buy it at any supermarket. The seeds must be ripe and formed.
Substrate
It is better to germinate citrus plants in a light nutritious substrate of peat soil and store-bought flower soil. Mix both components in equal proportions.
At the bottom of the seedling box you need to lay a 2 cm layer of expanded clay, then fill it to the top with soil mixture.
Planting and conditions of detention
Seeds should be planted to a depth of 2 cm immediately after removal from the fruit, since dried citrus seeds are less likely to germinate than wet ones.
- on the windowsill, where there is bright but diffuse lighting with protection from the sun;
- at a temperature of 20-22°C;
- the soil should be regularly moistened with a spray bottle;
- ventilate periodically.
Under a transparent glass or film cover under such conditions, citrus fruits from the seed will germinate in 2 weeks.
Caring for sprouts
After citrus plants germinate, the sprouts are regularly watered with warm water, as well as loosening the soil after watering in order to increase its aeration.
As soon as the citrus fruits produce one pair of leaves, they are transplanted into separate pots with a diameter of 8-10 cm. To create a greenhouse microclimate, the plants are covered with a jar. They are ventilated once a day, removing the cover for an hour.
The plants are kept in such pots until they reach 20 cm in height. Then the indoor trees are transplanted into spacious containers using the earthen ball transfer method.
During each subsequent transplantation, containers 5-6 cm in diameter larger than the previous ones are used for plants. You should not plant a homemade citrus tree in a container that is too large, since the soil that is not occupied by roots begins to turn sour when exposed to moisture.
A layer of expanded clay, pebbles or broken polystyrene foam 2-3 cm thick is placed on the bottom of the container. Garden soil flavored with humus or a flower substrate for citrus fruits are suitable as a substrate.
For planting seedlings, you can buy substrate in special stores
When replanting citrus fruits at home, try not to deepen the root collar too much, as this may cause it to rot.
Rules for cultivation and maintenance
Growing citrus fruits at home is a difficult but rewarding process. In order for an exotic plant to be healthy, bloom beautifully and bear fruit, it should be provided with proper care.
Lighting
Decorative citrus fruits at home need good lighting. This is a short day plant. Under conditions of 10 or 12-hour lighting, it begins to intensively grow green mass, as a result of which fruiting is delayed or does not occur.
The best place to keep it is a window sill on the south or east side. At lunchtime it should be shaded from the sun to eliminate the risk of burning the leaves.
In order for citrus fruits to form a symmetrical crown, during the growth process they should be regularly (every 10 days) rotated around their axis by 10°.
In winter, if the plant is not in the dormant phase, it should be illuminated for 6-7 hours.
Temperature
Indoor citrus fruits grow well under stable temperature conditions within 15-18°C. At higher temperatures, this plant sheds flower buds and ovaries.
During fruit ripening, citrus trees at home need warmer temperatures of 21-23°C.
Citrus trees need warm temperatures during fruit ripening.
In summer, they are taken out to the balcony, terrace or placed in the garden. It is important to prevent sudden changes in temperature, so the citrus is brought indoors or covered at night.
In winter, the plants are taken to a cool room where there are no heating devices and the temperature is 12-14°C. During the winter, citrus, which is in the dormant stage, will get stronger for the next fruiting.
Watering
Caring for citrus plants at home involves regularly moistening the substrate. Between May and September the tree is watered daily. From October to April, the frequency of watering is reduced to twice a week. Each watering is carried out as the top layer of soil dries out. To moisten the substrate, use settled water at room temperature.
With excessive watering, there is a risk of rotting of the root system, so the flooded plant should be urgently transplanted into a new substrate.
If in winter it is at room temperature and located next to heating devices, it should be sprayed daily with a spray bottle. This will increase the humidity level and prevent the indoor tree from drying out. Do not spray it too often, otherwise it may rot.
Feeding
In order for citrus home plants to be healthy, bloom and bear fruit profusely, they need to be fed regularly. Complex mineral fertilizers are used as food.
For young specimens, such feeding is applied once every 1.5 months, for adults more often - once every 2-3 weeks throughout the spring-summer period.
With the onset of autumn, citrus fruits that are in the dormant stage stop fertilizing. Those specimens that develop all year round should be fertilized no more than once every 1.5 months. Fertilizers are applied immediately after watering. This prevents the risk of burning the roots.
Of the organic components, indoor citrus prefers an ash solution or an infusion of birch and quinoa leaves (0.5 liters of raw material is poured with water and infused for 2 days). Manure infusion has proven itself well (1 liter of substance is dissolved in 5 liters of water). The scheme and frequency of adding organic matter are the same.
Infusion of birch leaves - excellent organic fertilizer for home citrus
If your indoor citrus is rapidly growing green mass, you should exclude nitrogen from the fertilizers and increase the dose of phosphorus.
Trimming
Basic care for citrus fruits at home involves regular pruning. The formation of the crown is carried out taking into account the purpose of growing the tree:
- If you want to get a home decorative tree, then the crown should be given a compact, small shape.
- To obtain a fruit-bearing tree, pruning is done differently. The crown is formed by pinching. The first pruning of the apical shoot is carried out after it reaches 25 cm in height. The next one is carried out at a height of 20 cm from the previous one. In this segment between the first and second pinching, it is necessary to leave 4 vegetative buds, from which lateral branches will subsequently grow. Shoots of the first order are pinched after 20 cm. After ripening, they are cut 5 cm lower. All subsequent shoots should be 5 cm shorter than the previous ones. The final pruning is carried out on shoots of the fourth order. If you do not carry out such a haircut in a timely manner, it is impossible to achieve fruiting from indoor citrus. The plant will randomly produce shoots growing in different directions. A thickened and shapeless crown will look unsightly.
In addition to formative pruning, plants require sanitary pruning. All damaged, broken and shriveled shoots must be removed.
Difficulties in growing
Growing an exotic tree at home is not an easy process. Indoor citrus is often affected by diseases and pests, which are constantly being fought. Often, due to inexperience and ignorance, flower growers do not take any measures to eliminate them, as a result of which the tree dies.
Yellowing
This is one of the most common problems, which is found in the home tree. There may be several reasons:
- indoor air is too dry;
- lack of nutrients in the soil;
- keeping the plant in a warm room in winter near heating devices;
- spider mite damage.
You can easily eliminate all reasons, except the last one, by optimizing the care of your trees: irrigate the crown more often, feed the tree and keep it cool in winter.
The leaves are falling
One of the reasons for massive leaf fall is the presence of spider mites on the home tree, which feed on the sap of leaf tissue. Control measures are described above. You can avoid using pesticides and try limiting yourself to an infusion of grated onion (1 teaspoon of onion pulp, pour 200 g of water, leave for 2 days, strain).
The second reason why citrus leaves fall off is a lack of moisture in the soil and low air humidity, so it is important to regularly water and irrigate the crown, especially on hot days.
Drying out
Due to insufficient watering and dry indoor air, the leaves dry out at the tips and turn brown.
If they dry out and curl into a tube, this is sure sign that the plant is not properly cared for: home tree is under straight lines sun rays or suffers from a lack of light, nutrients, or excessive watering.
If the leaves of a citrus tree dry out, you need to choose the right care tactics
Pests
In addition to spider mites, citrus plants at home are affected by aphids, whiteflies, scale insects and mealybugs.
This product helps well in cases of minor pest infestation. At an advanced stage, you will have to resort to chemicals(insecticides) “Aktellik”, “Aktara” or “Fitoverm”.
Diseases
Sick indoor tree for many reasons:
- lack of light;
- excess or lack of moisture in the soil;
- lack of nutrients in the substrate;
- dry indoor air.
Due to such deficiencies in care, the plant becomes weakened and susceptible to various infections.
Citrus at home is often affected by the diseases described below.
- Tristeza is the death of the bark on a tree trunk. It is no longer possible to save such a specimen, but it is worth trying to propagate it with a healthy cutting from a diseased specimen.
- Gomoz. Cracks appear on the trunks and shoots of the plant, from which a sticky substance - gum - flows out. The affected areas are cleaned, then treated with a 3% concentration of copper sulfate solution. After this, the wounds are lubricated with garden varnish.
- Cancer. This is a bacterial disease that appears as dark brown spots on the surface of leaves and fruits. Cannot be treated.
- Root rot. The affected plant is removed from the pot, rotten roots are cut off, and treated with powder charcoal and transplanted into a new substrate.
Conclusion
Despite the fact that citrus fruits at home are capricious plants, if you follow the basic rules of care, you will not have any difficulties in maintaining them. In return, you will receive a decorative tree with healthy and tasty fruits.