Add site to bookmarks

What is it - room tangerine?

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

Indoor mandarin grows in the form of a shrub or tree that can reach 5 meters.

What is a room mandarin?

If you are planning to put a tangerine tree on a windowsill or balcony at home, then pay attention to undersized or dwarf varieties that do not outgrow a height of 1 meter. Of course, for the owner of greenhouses or private houses, it will not be a problem to purchase a real tangerine tree. Otherwise, for lack of space, you will have to constantly cut off extra branches and adjust the size of the plant. You don't need artificial pollination. But eating hanging fruits is still not recommended, because this result is obtained through the use of all kinds of top dressings and fertilizers for the plant. Although even a non-flowering tangerine without bright fruit can attract you with beautiful leathery corrugated leaves that remain green all year round. In this case, the percentage of plant survival will immediately increase several times. You need to take the cutting you like, on which there are at least two leaves, dip it into the rooter and plant it in the prepared moist soil.

Back to index

About the history of indoor mandarin

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

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

So, you bought the houseplant you like and brought it home. Now you need to choose the right place for the further growth of mandarin and create the necessary climatic conditions for it. After that, the planted sprout should be covered from above with half a plastic bottle or a film, while it is important to leave a few holes in a home-made greenhouse for ventilation.

Back to index

What is a room mandarin

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

Back to index

Caring for decorative mandarin at home

The optimum temperature for the growth and development of indoor mandarin is 20-25 degrees.

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

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

Back to index

Watering indoor tangerine

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

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

To determine what nominal amount of liquid will be enough for you to water the tangerine, consider the following features of the plant:

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

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

But not only the roots of the plant should receive moisture, it is necessary to regularly spray the leaves: in dry air, the decorative mandarin can wither and wither, and the risk of infection of the plant with a spider mite also greatly increases. But during the flowering period when watering, make sure that water does not fall directly on the flowers.

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

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

Indoor mandarin is a very effective pot plant. And not only because of the bright, fragrant and appetizing orange fruits that can be stored on it for several months. Sometimes the plant gives pleasure only by its flowering, because the delicate white flowers of the mandarin exude an amazing aroma. In some varieties, flowering begins in spring and can continue throughout the year. Indoor mandarin, grown in the form of bonsai, is a real work of art.

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

Popular mandarin varieties for growing at home

Unshiu- Japanese variety, the most unpretentious, begins to bear fruit for 3-4 years, grows up to 0.8-1.5 m in room conditions. It branches well. It blooms profusely in spring, forms fruits in late October-November. Pear-shaped fruits do not have seeds.
Kowano-Wase, Miha-Wase, Miyagawa-Wase- dwarf tangerines of the Vasya group - suitable for growing on a windowsill, height 40-80 cm. Orange-yellow fruits ripen for the first time in the second year of cultivation, abundant flowering. Like all dwarf varieties, they do not need crown formation.
Shiva Mikan- early compact fast-growing variety. Fruits are small, not more than 30 g
Murcot t - the fruits of this compact mandarin variety are very sweet, ripen in summer, taste very sweet, which is why the name of the variety is translated as "honey".
Clementine- a hybrid of mandarin and orange, bears fruit at home in the second year. One adult domestic tree per year produces up to 50 medium flattened orange-red fruits, very fragrant, with a shiny skin. Plants of this variety with numerous seeds are called monrealis.

Mandarin: home care

Tangerine lighting at home

The first step in successfully growing an indoor tangerine is choosing a location for the plant and lighting it properly.
Indoor mandarin, as well as grown in open ground, needs good lighting with some direct sunlight. In low light, the plant slows down growth, throws out a small number of flowers or does not bloom at all. With a strong lack of light, the leaves of indoor tangerine become faded, new shoots are elongated, thin and painful in appearance. Therefore, it is better to grow a plant on the eastern, southeastern and southern windows, shading from midday direct rays. In summer, the plant can be taken out to the balcony, gradually accustoming it to the street.
In winter, with a short daylight hours, indoor mandarin should be placed in the most lit place with direct sunlight. But sometimes this is not enough: you need artificial lighting. For this purpose, an ordinary fitolamp is suitable, which can be screwed into a chandelier or table lamp. It is necessary to transfer the plant to supplementary lighting gradually. With a sharp change in the length of daylight hours, it can shed its leaves.

Content temperature

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

We recommend reading: Benefits of tangerines »
What to cook with tangerines »
In search of the sweetest and juiciest tangerines »

How to water and spray tangerine at home

Indoor mandarin, like its wild ancestors, is adapted to endure dry periods. In a pinch, the plant will shed its leaves to reduce the amount of liquid that evaporates. A common problem when growing mandarin at home is excessive watering, which leads to the development of fungal diseases.
The amount of water for watering indoor mandarin depends on several factors:
- the size of the plant;
- the size of the container in which the tangerine grows;
- ambient temperature;
- duration of daylight hours and light intensity.
The larger the surface of the leaves of an indoor tangerine, the stronger the evaporation, and the more it needs to be watered. The temperature also affects the rate of evaporation: the higher it is, the more the plant loses moisture. The length of daylight directly affects the amount of moisture that evaporates. Stomata - formations on the underside of terrestrial plants that serve for gas exchange, open during daylight hours.
Watering indoor tangerine should be carried out in the morning, when the plant has activated its vital processes. When the temperature drops, watering is reduced, up to stopping for several days during the period when the temperature in the room is only + 12-15 ° C. In this case, the tangerine is watered with a small amount of water, only to maintain life.
Mandarin at home needs regular spraying of the leaves. Strongly dry air has a bad effect on the plant and is often a prerequisite for its infestation with spider mites. If indoor tangerine blooms, then you need to make sure that water does not fall on its flowers.

How to feed mandarin at home

A complete care for a mandarin at home is not possible without additional mineral and organic top dressing. The soil in a pot is quickly depleted and washed out during watering, and recreational processes practically do not occur in it, unlike the soil in nature.
For top dressing, you can use soluble or dry fertilizers. In the spring, with an increase in daylight hours, top dressing for indoor mandarin is increased. It is in the early spring period that vegetative and generative buds begin to develop intensively, at which time the plant requires additional nutrients.
At home, mandarin is fertilized, like all other indoor plants, that is, in the morning. The ambient temperature should be at least + 18-19 degrees.
Soluble fertilizers are often used for top dressing. They can water the plant, and in a weaker concentration spray its leaves. To feed an indoor tangerine, any complex mineral fertilizer containing phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium, the main elements needed by plants, is suitable.
Dissolve fertilizers in soft or settled water at room temperature. The main thing is not to increase the dose. If the instructions say: 1 cap of the product per 1 liter of water, do not think that 2 caps will make the solution more useful. This will lead to the opposite effect - a chemical burn or toxic poisoning of the plant.
You need to feed mandarin at home during the period of intensive growth (from March to September) 2 times a week. Maybe less often, but not more often.
Dry fertilizers, which are applied to the soil and gradually dissolve, giving the soil trace elements, must be applied even more carefully. Their advantage is that by making them in the spring you can forget about feeding for a long time. However, they can be quickly used by the plant, and it will be difficult to guess about it. The introduction of an additional dose of fertilizer will lead to the above overdose.
Mandarin cultivation also requires organic fertilizers. To do this, you can dilute infused cow dung in a ratio of 1/10. The best option would be to use organic fertilizer in combination with mineral fertilizers for ground dressing.

Additional care for mandarin at home

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

© "Site about plants"

- one of the most favorite delicacies on New Year's Eve. The aroma of citrus cheers up, gives the body a lot of useful trace elements and pleases with a pleasant, sweet taste. It is possible to grow a "home" tangerine. Moreover, it's simple. The plant will decorate the interior of the room, freshen the air with delicate floral and citrus notes.

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

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

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

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

For growing mandarin at home, it is advisable to find satsum seed and a variety intended for indoor cultivation. So you don't have to bother with grafting tangerine or a noble species planted and grown from a "shop" bone. Having understood the intricacies of citrus, you can decide which tangerine to grow at home.

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

Lighting and air temperature:

• Citrus fruits love bright areas where there is a lot of diffused sunlight. A twelve-hour daylight is a necessary condition for a mandarin.
• At home, choose windows facing south. you can also place the bones on the windowsill, and protect the already grown sprouts from sunburn - put the flowerpot a little further from the window.
• In winter, keep your distance from radiators. Do not expose the tangerine to dry air and currents emanating from batteries. It is more expedient to choose a place against the wall of the room, not far from the window, but at a sufficient distance from the radiators. Lighting plays an important role in growing a plant, you should not ignore it.
• The air temperature in the room should not fall below 15° in winter and below 18° in summer. Varieties of the "satsumy", "tangerines" and "noble" groups can withstand temperature drops up to -7 °.

Citrus is very fond of nutritious soils rich in trace elements. Moreover, one mixture is needed for the seeds, and another when transplanting adult plants.

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

For seeds and their germination, a substrate is prepared from soddy soil, sand, humus and leaf soil. Ratio 2:1:1:1. You can not add peat to the soil, it acidifies the soil. For a tree aged one year or more, a substrate is prepared from turf, humus, sand, clay and leafy soil. Ratio 3:1:1:1:1. If there is no clay available, it's okay. This is not a mandatory component of the substrate. Having properly prepared the soil, you can safely plant seeds or transplant an already matured tree.

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

Tangerine from the bone: planting rules

Mandarin pits are the most common type of plant. It can always be obtained from a purchased fruit or purchased at a garden store. Rarely buy seedlings. The process of growing an exotic fruit from a seed is very interesting. It is always pleasant to realize that the resulting fruit was grown "from scratch" - from the seed.

Bone planting:

1. The existing seed material must first be prepared. To do this, the bones are placed for several days in wet gauze. should swell and peck a little. So they will rise faster, in 3-4 weeks, and not in the prescribed 5-6. Mandarin grows for a long time. So please be patient from the start.
2. Lay a layer of drainage in a flowerpot or any other container. Expanded clay, broken brick or pebbles can act as it.
3. Then the pot is filled with the substrate for young plants (see above).
4. Plant the stone shallowly - to a depth of 1-2 cm.
5. Cover the container with foil to create a greenhouse climate.
6. Dishes with seeds can be placed on the windowsill.

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

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

• In the summer, citrus should be watered and sprinkled frequently. It is impossible to allow overdrying of an earthen coma.
• Make sure the soil is evenly moist, but not waterlogged.
• For use only separated, warm water. You can't take it straight from the tap. All the precipitation that is always present in the water will settle in the soil. This adversely affects the health of the plant and the nutritional value of the soil.
• Sprinkling procedures are also carried out with warm, settled water. In the hot season, the plant is sprayed 1-2 times a day so that after that direct sunlight does not fall on the leaves.
• In winter, watering and sprinkling are reduced by 2-3 times.
• Top dressing:
• In the spring, it is necessary to introduce and into the soil. The first feeding is carried out after 5-6 full-fledged leaves have formed on the sprout. It is better to give preference to mineral complexes for citrus fruits. Well-rotted humus is introduced from organic matter.
• Feeding is reduced in autumn.
• In winter, it is better to refrain from them.

It is important to fertilize before - May-June and before fruit ripening - September. Always follow the measure and adhere to the gardener's golden rule: fertilizers with nitrogen compounds are applied in spring, and closer to autumn with phosphorus-potassium compounds.

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

After 8 years of life, the mandarin is transplanted once every 2-3 years. Method - transshipment of an earthen coma. The fresh substrate is distributed in a circle, in a free space along the diameter of the pot. Young plants should be moved from one flowerpot to another with extreme care, as the mandarin root system is very fragile. Many gardeners make a young tree so that the fruits are sweet and tasty. However, if the variety and group are chosen correctly, this procedure is not needed. Basically, it is provided if the bones were taken from a purchased fruit of an unknown variety and group.

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

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

In case of incorrect leaves of the tree become stained and fall off. Therefore, it is very important to water the citrus in a timely manner, but not to swamp the soil. Otherwise, the mandarin no longer has enemies and diseases.

It is easy to grow indoor tangerine at home if the rules are followed, the tree has enough light and moisture. For 3-4 years of the life of the exotic, the first tasty fruits will appear - the pride of the plant breeder. Good luck growing your tangerine!

More information can be found in the video:

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

Growing a seedling from a seed

There is nothing easier than buying a ready-made grafted seedling in a fruit nursery or in an online store of horticultural crops. Most often they sell trees with a closed root system: immediately in pots or in a clod of earth, packed in a bag. In the second case, a transplant into a container will be required.

But for gardeners, growing a citrus tree from the seed of a ripe fruit is much more economical. In addition, many get moral satisfaction when they grow plants from scratch, although this takes much more time.

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

A bag of soil for citrus trees can be bought at specialty stores. If this is not nearby, then the soil is prepared independently by mixing leafy soil, rotted manure and soddy soil. River sand can be added to this mixture. It is not recommended to add clay or peat to the substrate. At the bottom of a clean pot, container or other container, drainage (expanded clay, coarse gravel) and a mixture of soil are poured. The seeds are planted to a depth of 5-6 cm. It is important to determine the place for the pot well-lit, but without direct sunlight, so that the young sprout does not get burned. Under favorable conditions, the sprout will appear from the ground in 2.5-3 weeks. From this moment, you can start feeding the future tree with organic or mineral fertilizers, since useful substances are rather quickly washed out of the ground during irrigation.

Indoor tangerine care

Lighting

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

Temperature and Humidity

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

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

Watering

Indoor tangerine needs frequent watering. On particularly hot days, you will have to water it 2-3 times a day. In winter, while maintaining a fairly low temperature and good air humidity, twice a week watering will be sufficient. Water for irrigation is recommended to be pre-poured into bottles or other containers so that it settles and warms to room temperature.

A tangerine tree will not die with a short-term lack of moisture, since in order to reduce water loss, it will throw off all the leaves or part of the leaves. On "bald" branches, fresh greenery will not grow, it will only appear on new branches, so everyone tries to avoid unexpected leaf fall. But no less dangerous is the frequent transfusion of a tree with water - fungal diseases can develop.

Transplant and top dressing

Growing and caring for a young mandarin seedling involves an annual transplant into a larger container. The root system of a tree grows very quickly, braiding a clod of earth over its entire surface. Transplantation consists in changing the drainage layer and adding land mass. If, after pulling out a tree with a clod of earth, it becomes clear that there was quite enough room for the roots to grow in a pot, then you can replace the drainage layer, insert the tree back with the same clod of earth and add only the surface layer of soil. Annual transplantation is carried out until March, before the start of the growing season. The root neck should not deepen during transplantation, it must be provided with the same level relative to the soil surface.

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

So, in one week you can pour it with a solution of liquid mullein, and after a week - with a ready-made complex fertilizer "for citrus trees" bought in a store. The finished composition must necessarily include nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus. Before top dressing, which is recommended to be carried out in the morning, you should water the soil. The temperature of the nutrient solution must be at least +20 °C. The recommended recipe for the preparation of top dressing should be followed exactly.

Here the rule applies: it is better not to top up than to overfill. Excess fertilizer, its excessive concentration, leads to a burn of the leaves or stem, and even to the death of the tree.

Adult plant care

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

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

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

An adult tangerine tree in a pot also needs a transplant. Unlike young seedlings, it is enough to transplant a fruiting tree after 2-3 years. During the procedure, drainage, the surface layer of the earth are necessarily replaced and the required amount of soil is poured. It is advisable to disturb the earthen ball as little as possible.

When fruit is set, the tree trunk and fruit-bearing branches must be tied to a support to prevent them from breaking off.

Reproduction of home tangerine

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

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

Pest control

Even when providing a full-fledged care for a mandarin at home, gardeners sometimes face such a problem as pests. The most common are the following:

• whiteflies;
• Shchitovki;
• Red spider mites.

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

Many flower growers dream of acquiring an indoor tangerine with fragrant flowers and delicious fruits. But for fear of not coping with the care of the plant, they do not dare to take this step.

However, you can grow successfully fruit tree at home and make a good harvest. It is only necessary to strictly observe the rules for keeping the plant.

What do we know about the famous mandarin

Mandarin or in Latin Citrus reticulate is a member of the genus citrus from the rue family.

Motherland evergreen fruit tree is northern India, where mandarin as a cultivated plant began to be grown many centuries before our era.

Later, it began to be cultivated in China and Japan, and early 19th century was introduced to Spain, Italy, Algeria and other countries of the southern and western Mediterranean.

In ancient China, only wealthy officials could afford this fruit tree, which is why they began to be called "tangerines".

In vivo fruit tree grows up to 4 meters in height. Its small, elliptical leathery leaves are dark green in color.

Matte white mandarin flowers exude a pleasant aroma and capable of self-pollination. After dropping the petals, ovaries appear on the tree - future fruits, which in six months turn into tangerines loved by everyone, reaching up to 60 mm in diameter.

Mandarin successfully grown even in room conditions. It is valued by flower growers not only for useful fruits, but also as an ornamental plant.

Some types of trees can bloom all year round. Particularly impressive it looks during the fruiting period, when its crown is strewn with bright orange fruits.

Through the efforts of breeders, many dwarf varieties mandarin for growing at home. Here are just a few of them:

• Winshiu (Citrus unshiu)- the most famous seedless species, growing up to 1.5 meters in height. Begins to bear fruit after 3 or 4 years.
• Forged— Vasya(Citrus Unschiu Marc. cv.Kowano-Vase)- early ripe dwarf mandarin up to 80 cm in height. Flowering continues all year round. Begins to bear fruit in two years. The fruits can stay on the bush for up to several months.
• Honey (Murcott)- a rare variety in the form of a compact bush with very sweet fruits.
• Shiva Mikan (Citrus leiocarpa Hort var. Shiva-mikan Tanaca)- dwarf tree with juicy fruits up to 30 g in weight. It grows quickly, blooms profusely and bears fruit well.
• Clementine (Citrus clementina)- an early ripe hybrid of mandarin and orange. It bears fruit in the second year. One tree per year can produce up to 50 orange fruits of a flattened shape.

Features of caring for indoor tangerine

An important point in the content of mandarin in room conditions - this is the observance of temperature and light conditions.

Also should know that a tangerine grown from a stone brings inedible fruits called "wild" or does not bear fruit at all.

To get a tree with delicious tangerines from such a plant, you need graft a seedling, grown from a stone, on a cutting of a fruit-bearing tree.

Mandarin, unlike other citrus fruits, unable to propagate by cuttings. However, in flower shops, as a rule, already grafted fruit-bearing trees are sold.

In crown formation dwarf tangerines dont need. It is only necessary to remove dried or strongly elongated branches in time.

Lighting and temperature conditions

Mandarin loves warmth and light. Place a plant the best thing on the south, west or east window, but with shading from the midday sun. In winter, the tree will need additional lighting.

In the summer, it is advisable to place the plant on a balcony or veranda in places protected from the wind. To the fresh air indoor tangerine should be taught gradually..

Optimum temperature for a plant in summer - about 25 ° C, but not higher. It is better not to overheat the tree, otherwise its flowers may wither and crumble.

spring during the appearance of buds recommended temperature is 16 to 18 °C. For abundant fruiting, mandarin needs a cold winter. For the winter, you need to place it in a bright, cool room with a temperature of 10 to 12 ° C.

Watering and humidity

From spring to autumn, you need to water the mandarin abundantly once a day with warm, settled water. It is important to prevent both drought and waterlogging of the soil.

From an excess of moisture, the roots of a plant can rot, and from a lack of water, leaves can fall off. During the winter, the plant should be watered, waiting for drying the top layer of the earth.

Mandarin needs high humidity. Regular spraying is very important for the plant.

In this case, you need to ensure that water does not fall on the flowers. It is useful to put a container with a tree on a pallet with wet moss, pebbles or expanded clay.

Soil composition and transplant

tree prefers slightly acidic soil. Ready-made soil for citrus fruits or a self-prepared mixture of the following components is suitable:

• 1 part of humus;
• 1 part of leaf land;
• 3 parts of sod land;
• 1 part coarse sand;
• some clay.

Young tangerines are transplanted annually in early spring before active growth begins. pot bottom definitely need provide a layer of drainage 3-4 cm thick in the form of broken bricks or expanded clay. Fruiting tangerines are recommended to be transplanted every 2 or 3 years.

The transplant should be transshipment method so as not to damage the roots of the plant. In this case, it is necessary to ensure that the root neck of the tree is at the same level as in the previous container.

top dressing

At the beginning of June in a period of rapid growth you can start fertilizing the tangerine twice a month. This should be done after watering, so as not to burn the roots.

It is most preferable to feed the fruiting tree with infusion cow dung in a ratio of 1:10 or a special fertilizer for citrus fruits. In winter, feeding the plant is not required.

Flowering and fruiting

Plant throughout the year goes through two phases active growth. The tree enters the first phase in March or April, and the second phase - in August or September. To give the young plant a good chance to get stronger, it is desirable to remove flowers and ovaries for the first three years.

For the fourth year you can let the tree bear fruit, but not more than 6 tangerines at a time, partially removing the ovaries, since the branches of the plant at this age are still thin and weak.

Regulate fruiting tangerine can be done with a simple calculation- for 15 leaves of a tree there should be 1 fruit.

Growing up, the tangerine will be able to bear more and more fragrant fruits. During fruiting branches with ripening tangerines it is desirable to tie up so that they do not break off from the weight of the fruit.

With proper care during the year, one adult tree can be harvested up to 60 fruits.

Reproduction of mandarin

Indoor tangerine can be propagated at home in two ways: by seeds and by grafting.

Reproduction by seeds

tangerine seeds soak for several days in a damp cloth or hydrogel. Next, the swollen seeds are planted in the soil, consisting of the components listed above, or in the finished mixture for roses.

It is important that in the soil for mandarin seedlings there was no peat, which dries very quickly and often turns sour.

Three weeks after sowing the seeds, the first shoots can be expected. However, young tangerines grown from seeds in room conditions develop only as an ornamental crop. To grow a full-fledged tangerine with real tasty fruits from such a tree, need to graft him.

Reproduction by grafting

Vaccination is carried out during the period of active sap flow - in April or early May, but it is also possible in August. It is necessary to take care of the stock and scion in advance.

Rootstock- this is a young tangerine grown from a stone with a trunk thickness equal to the diameter of a pencil - about 6 mm. Scion- a kidney (eye) together with a leaf petiole, taken from a fresh cutting of a fruiting mandarin.

At a height of about 7 cm from the ground, an incision is made on the bark of the stock trunk, so as not to hurt the wood. in the shape of the letter "T". The size of the incision along the upper horizontal is 1 cm, and in height - 2.5 cm.

Knife-tip bark gently folds back to the sides, and the kidney, held by the petiole, is inserted into the resulting opening. The inserted "eye" is tightly pressed against the corners of the bark.

grafted plant placed in a "greenhouse" in the form of a large plastic bag. The transplanted kidney usually heals within 3 weeks.

The success of the grafting is evidenced by the easily separating yellowed petiole of the leaf. If the petiole turns black and withered, then "eye" did not take root.

Sprouted bud begin accustom to air, gradually increasing the ventilation time of the "greenhouse". A month after the shoot sprouts from the bud, the rootstock trunk is cut obliquely above the shoot at a height of 5 mm.

The cut is processed with garden pitch, and the bandage is removed. A stick is installed in the pot, to which a young shoot is tied for vertical growth and proper crown formation.

Pests

Dangerous pests of mandarin are spider mites and scale insects.

For pest prevention wash the tangerine with soapy water once a month. To do this, it is necessary to cover the soil in the pot with a film, wrap the trunk with a cloth and treat the tangerine crown with cotton wool moistened with strong soapy foam.

In the case of spider mites, a solution of tobacco powder and laundry soap is used. To make it, you need to pour 1 tbsp of tobacco dust with a glass of boiling water and leave for 6 days, and then add 10 g of soap to the solution.

Also proved to be excellent garlic infusion - chopped head of garlic is poured with a glass of boiling water and infused for 2 days. Each of the solutions is filtered and applied three times for spraying with an interval of 6 days.

When shielding, it is necessary to resort to water-oil emulsions. Very important for the time of processing, cover the ground with a film, and wrap the stem of the plant with gauze, folding it into several layers.

Frequent problems

Very often, when growing mandarin at home, flower growers face a number of problems: yellowing, curling and falling of leaves, complete loss of foliage and falling of flowers.

Why do indoor tangerine leaves turn yellow?

Most often tree leaves turn yellow from lack of nitrogen and iron. To replenish the amount of nitrogen in the soil, it is recommended to feed the mandarin with organic fertilizers.

With iron deficiency, the plant develops chlorosis, which causes its leaves to become light yellow in color. For the prevention of chlorosis once a month, the tree is treated with iron chelate.

Sometimes the leaves turn yellow in insufficient light or due to too small a pot. The problem is solved by transplanting the mandarin into a new, more spacious pot or by adjusting the light regime.

Another reason for yellowing leaves may be spider mite attack. The pest control method is described above.

Indoor tangerine - leaves fall

The tree may fall leaves because the air is too dry. This can happen both in winter during the heating season and in hot summer. You need to spray the plant more often.

Another cause of leaf fall may be the fact that the root neck of the tree is too deep into the ground, or the tangerine grows in a very large pot. It is necessary to transplant the plant according to all the rules.

Sometimes leaves fall due to lack of potassium in the soil. In this case, you should feed the plant with potassium nitrate. Also, leaf fall can begin with excessive watering, poor lighting and drafts.

Anyway the problem is solved through proper care.

Indoor tangerine has lost all foliage - what to do?

Mandarin can shed all the leaves if exhausted and in dire need of a period of rest. A well-deserved rest is necessary for a tree from mid-autumn to the end of February.

At this time, the mandarin must be transferred to a cool place with a temperature of up to 12 ° C, watering should be reduced, avoiding drought in the soil, and feeding should be stopped. With the beginning of spring the tree will come to life. Other causes of abundant leaf fall are described above.

Other possible problems

There may be other problems with improper care of the mandarin:

• Castings dry and crumble- Drought or waterlogging of the soil.
• Flowers are falling- too dry air.
• Leaves are curling- insufficient watering.

Needless to say, caring for a room tangerine has its own difficulties and peculiarities. However, the joy of harvesting fruits and the opportunity to admire the beauty of an exotic tree at home worth every effort.