Mandarin has long been a symbol of the New Year. Spreading like a trail throughout the apartment, the citrus aroma gives you a mood and a feeling of celebration even on the gloomiest day. By planting a few seeds of this sunny fruit, you can enjoy the effect of aromatherapy every day.
Don't know how to grow a tangerine from a seed? This article will help you, take note of this information and you will definitely grow a gorgeous tangerine tree.
It is not difficult to grow a fragrant fruit-bearing tree from a tangerine seed. Having done everything correctly, the citrus representative will delight you with a small but regular harvest. After all, to grow a fragrant tangerine tree, you don’t have to have the tropics, just empty the windowsill.
As a rule, a tangerine tree grown from a seed is considered decorative, as it produces a small, inedible harvest and is considered an interior decoration.
It is useful to grow decorative tangerines not only for the sake of delicious fruits. Like all citrus fruits, the tangerine tree exudes essential oil extracts into the air. They purify the air, increase the amount of oxygen in the room and help strengthen the immune system.
Where to get planting material for growing tangerines at home
Material for planting a tangerine tree is quite easy to find.
The easiest way is to purchase seedlings from a nursery. As a rule, such plants are already grafted and will produce a harvest for 2-3 years.
You can try growing a tangerine tree from a seed.
Any fruit from the nearest supermarket will do for this. When choosing, you should give preference to healthy, strong fruits, without signs of rotting or mold. You can also buy seeds in our store.
In order to get a guaranteed result, you need to plant at least 15 seeds. In the future, you can leave the strongest seedling and remove the rest.
Tangerines grown from seeds will bear fruit only after grafting.
Preparing tangerine seeds for planting on the windowsill at home
If you simply stick unprepared seeds into a pot of soil, they will most likely germinate due to the large supply of biologically active substances in the grains.
But over time, the growth of the seedling will stop, the plant will be weak and highly susceptible to fungal diseases. To prevent this from happening, careful preparation must be carried out before planting.
Processing tangerine seeds
- Tangerine seeds are wrapped in a damp cloth or gauze and left for 3-4 days in a warm place.
- During the period of grain swelling, it is important to ensure that the fabric does not dry out.
- Immediately before planting, the seeds are soaked in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for 2-3 hours.
Instead of a damp cloth, you can use hydrogel beads.
Preparing soil and containers for tangerines
A ready-made mixture for citrus plants is used as soil. You can prepare the soil yourself.
To do this you need:
- 3 part of turf;
- 1 part of humus;
- 1 part of sand;
- 2 handfuls of clay.
Tangerine does not take root well in acidic soils, so there should be no peat in the soil.
For the first time, you can use small plastic cups as containers.
After the sprout has 4 leaves, it is transplanted into a pot with a diameter of 10-15 cm.
Drainage made of expanded clay, broken brick, ceramics or pebbles must be placed at the bottom of the containers.
Rules for planting tangerines in a pot at home
- The prepared seeds are immersed in the soil to a depth of 4 cm. 2-3 seeds are planted in one container.
- The crops are covered with film and left in a warm place until shoots emerge.
- The greenhouse is opened daily for 10-15 minutes to ventilate the seedlings.
- The first shoots appear 3-4 weeks after planting.
- Sometimes several sprouts may appear from one seed. In this case, they need to be carefully separated and transplanted into different pots.
Caring for a tangerine tree at home
Caring for a tangerine in an apartment is not difficult. It is enough to provide the plant with conditions as close to natural as possible.
Mandarin tolerates errors in care well, but it should not be abused.
Temperature and lighting
The tangerine is placed on the sunny side of the apartment, preferably on a window facing south.
- In summer, the plant can be taken out to the balcony, while avoiding direct sunlight.
- In winter, most varieties begin the flowering and fruiting period. At this time, it is best to move the tangerine to a cooler place. The optimal ambient temperature in winter for the plant is from 16 to 18°C.
Daylight hours for a tangerine should be at least 12 hours a day.
With the onset of autumn, seedlings begin to be illuminated with phytolamps. This must be done gradually, otherwise the tree may lose its leaves.
Watering
The regularity of watering tangerines is the same as for all citrus fruits.
Water with warm, settled water as the soil dries to a depth of 1-2 cm, 2-3 times a day in summer and 3-4 times a week in winter.
In summer, the plant is sprayed daily and washed in the shower once a month, covering the soil with film. To prevent pests, you can wipe the leaves and trunk with soapy water.
During the flowering period of tangerines, spraying should be carried out carefully, from a distance of at least 10 cm from the tree, trying not to get on the flowers.
Top dressing
Fertilizer is applied to the soil in the first half of the day. The ambient temperature during feeding should be no lower than 18 °C.
Ready-made complexes of preparations for citrus fruits are best suited as a top dressing. They contain a full range of microelements necessary for the tangerine tree.
Instead of ready-made preparations, in the summer you can use nitrogen-potassium and phosphorus fertilizers:
- 0.5% saltpeter solution;
- urea solution;
- superphosphate solution;
- wood ash solution.
In summer, fertilizing is carried out 3 times a week. Closer to autumn, the amount of nitrogen fertilizing is gradually reduced, replacing it with phosphorus-potassium ones. In winter, the amount of fertilizing is reduced to 1 time per month.
Mineral fertilizers must be alternated with organic ones.
- To prepare the fertilizer, cow or chicken manure is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10.
- The resulting mass is infused for 3 days, then 2 g of potassium salt and 3 g of superphosphate are added.
- Fertilizers are applied in small portions, first once every 2 weeks, no earlier than 4 days after nitrogen fertilizing.
Organic matter can easily burn the roots of a plant. To prevent this from happening, the plant is well watered an hour before feeding.
Folk remedies you can use:
- infusion of finely ground weed;
- tea leaves;
- sugar solution (1 tsp per 200 ml of water);
- powder from crushed eggshells;
- bone meal;
- water from the aquarium (strengthens the root system)
To activate growth and protect against fungal plants, once a month you can water the plant with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. To do this, 5-6 crystals are diluted in 2 liters of water. Watering is carried out in the first half of the day.
Transplanting and pruning a tangerine tree at home
Young tangerine seedlings are transplanted once a year, bearing fruit as the container is filled with the root system.
Transplantation is carried out using the transshipment method. It is important to ensure that the root collar remains at soil level. The diameter of the new container should be 4-6 cm larger than the previous pot.
Old and large tangerine trees do not need to be replanted. Once every 2-3 years, remove the top layer of soil and replace it with fresh soil.
When the seedling grows 30-40 cm, the top of the plant is pinched to form side shoots. They are cut at a height of 4-5 leaves. As a sanitary pruning, weak, diseased shoots are removed, as well as those growing inside the crown.
Mandarin diseases at home
Errors in care and planting can lead to fungal diseases in the tangerine tree.
Most often you may encounter:
- Anthracosis. The cause of fungus is an excess of moisture in the soil. Light green spots appear on the tree, which then turn black.
- Wartiness. Light spots form on the leaves, which thicken over time, change color and turn into orange bumps. Flowering on the affected tree stops and the ovaries fall off.
- Gommoz. The cause of infection is planting the seedling too deeply, excess nitrogen and moisture in the soil. The trunk and root collar become covered with cracks. Over time, the bark is completely destroyed and the tree dies.
- Root rot. The disease occurs due to excessive soil moisture. The plant first stops growing, then begins to dry out. The leaves turn yellow and fall off. The lower part of the trunk darkens and emits an unpleasant odor.
If signs of a fungal infection appear, it is necessary to completely change the soil and disinfect the container.
The roots of the plant are inspected for signs of rot and mold. All damaged areas are cut off.
The tree is treated with antifungal drugs at least 2 times with an interval of 1 time per week.
You may be less likely to encounter viral diseases:
- Cancer of citrus fruits. Dark brown spots similar to tumors appear on the surface of the trunk. The leaves fall, the shoots die, and the fruits that have set do not ripen.
- Tristesa. As a rule, older plants are susceptible to infection. At the first stage of the disease, the plant begins to lag in growth, the fruits become noticeably smaller. Thick white veins appear on the leaves. Convex grooves can be seen on the tree bark. Subsequently, the tree dries out and dies.
- Malsecco. Leaves on the affected tree begin to fall. In this case, only the plates fall off, the petioles remain in place. The shoots begin to dry out and the plant dies.
There is no cure for viral infections. If characteristic painful signs appear on a tree, it must be destroyed as quickly as possible so that the infection does not spread to neighboring plants.
Mandarin pests at home
Pests can get to tangerines grown at home through poorly treated soil or neighboring infected plants.
Most often, a tree is susceptible to damage:
- spider mite;
- scale insect;
- whitefly;
- aphid;
- mealybug;
- citrus nematode.
Insects can be easily seen with the naked eye, usually on the lower part of the leaves. Traces of pest activity remain on the tree: torn edges of leaves, bumps and growths on the trunk, cobwebs and sticky secretions.
Pests are removed from the tree manually. To do this, wipe the plant with soapy water and rinse under a warm shower.
To destroy eggs and larvae, insecticides are used 2-3 times at intervals of 7 days.
How to harvest tangerines at home
A tangerine grown from a seed will bear fruit only after grafting.
It can be carried out using the following methods:
- In the cleft. The scion branch is cut at an angle of 450. The tangerine trunk is cut in half to a depth of 5 cm. The cutting is inserted into the split and tightly fixed with a bandage or tape.
- Grafting under the bark. A shallow incision 3 cm wide is made on the tangerine trunk and the bark is carefully pushed aside. The scion branch is placed between the wood and the bark and fixed tightly.
- Budding. A T-shaped cut is made on the tree trunk. The scion branch is carefully placed in the cut and covered with bark. The structure is fixed with tape and garden varnish.
In the first 2-3 years after grafting, the tree must be allowed to grow stronger, so it is best to remove the flowers. For the 4th year you can leave 6-7 fruits. In the future, you can get up to 60 fruits from one tree per season.
Excessive flowering and fruiting thins the plant's internal reserves. Experts recommend leaving one fruit per 15 crown leaves.
If the tangerine does not bloom 2-3 years after grafting, then fruiting can be artificially stimulated.
There are several ways to do this:
- Mature plants at least 1 meter high can be fed with fish broth. Boil 200 grams of any fish in 2 liters of water for 30 minutes. The broth is filtered and the soil is watered in the first half of the day.
- Treat the plant with a growth and fruiting stimulator such as “Epin-extra” or “Zircon”
- The trunk of the plant is tightly wrapped with copper wire. After 6 months, the ring is removed and the wound is treated with garden varnish.
- Two shallow cuts are made on the trunk and each branch at a distance of 1 cm from each other. The bark between the cuts is removed, turned over, returned to its place and tightly fixed.
- During the stimulation period, it is necessary to maintain the ambient temperature no higher than 18°C.
Growing tangerines at home is quite simple. By following the rules of care, in a couple of years you can get a harvest of bright and juicy fruits for the New Year's table. If fruiting cannot be achieved, then tangerine can be grown as an ornamental tree. It will look great in the interior of the apartment, refreshing the air and filling it with a subtle, refined aroma.
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