How to grow tangerine from the bone at home?

Thanks to the experience of amateur gardeners, everyone has the opportunity to successfully cultivate citrus fruits at home, while receiving tasty fruits. Today, you can grow a tangerine on your window sill from the stone, for this you need to follow fairly simple agricultural practices that will provide the culture with a favorable environment for development and fruiting.

In recent years, there has been a positive trend in the cultivation of mandarin in winter gardens, greenhouses, and even at home. The tree develops quite well in non-standard conditions, and with the observance of the subtleties of growing a culture, it is capable of producing fruits.

The plant can be germinated from the seed itself, but it is necessary to be patient in advance, since this process can be extended in time, but the result of the work will be almost year-round citrus blossom and good fruiting.

Mandarin is a member of the ruta family. Among the distinctive features of culture is the need to highlight the need to change the green mass every 4 years. The tree blossoms with white fragrant flowers, and reproduction occurs both in a vegetative way, and seed. But it should be borne in mind that the tangerines grown in this way will look like a small ornamental shrub that cannot produce crops. Therefore, to obtain a home crop, the plant must be planted. This task is part of a set of activities for the cultivation of exotic crops, but the first issue is the germination of the seed to produce a seedling.

Mandarin is quite unpretentious and viable, has an attractive appearance. It has been established that citrus tree aroma can have a positive effect on a person with emotional exhaustion and depression. For the cultivation of plants at home should give preference to low-growing species of tangerine tree.

As for the favorable conditions for the breeding of an exotic plant, worth adhering to a number of mandatory recommendations that will successfully cope with the process of growing.

• The optimum temperature for citrus trees is a thermometer reading of at least + 14 ° C.
• The culture develops best in a sunny place. Mandarin can be grown in a pot on a window sill or loggia, but preference is given to windows facing south.
• Since culture comes from a different climate, it is important for it to maintain good air humidity. This is easily achieved by regular spraying. With strong heat near the plant have a container filled with water, as well as increase the frequency of watering.
• In the autumn and winter, agricultural technology implies a reduction in the amount of moisture introduced.
• With the arrival of spring, mandarin will need to be fed with the help of a universal fertilizer complex.

For the successful germination of tangerine seeds should be purchased several citrus fruits, extract the largest and hardest seeds, which will become planting material.

However, the work on planting does not bypass the preparatory measures concerning the soil for rooting bones. As practice shows, citrus plants do not tolerate acidic soil types; peat should not be present in soil mixtures for mandarin. That is why the substrate for the culture is better to do it yourself.

To prepare the soil for planting mandarin should be used:

• 2 parts of leafy ground and humus;
• 1 part of river sand.

Ultimately, a light soil mix will be formed with good aeration for proper circulation of air and moisture. If there is no possibility to make a soil for planting plants on their own, it can be purchased at specialized garden stores. After preparing the soil, you should proceed to the selection of planting material.

There are several recommendations regarding the quality and type of seed that will be used for the further cultivation of mandarin.

• The priority is hybrid citrus varieties, because their fruits, as a rule, contain the maximum material. In addition, they have the ability for rapid germination, earlier flowering and easier grafting.
• For germination, you need to select from 5 to 10 seeds, because not all the bones will be suitable for work.
• Seeds should be convex, without any bloom on the surface, without voids.

For testing, you can use water - the stones are immersed in a container with liquid, suitable for germination will be those that were on the bottom.

Before rooting into the soil, the bones must be germinated. Usually they are kept in wet gauze for several days. In addition to gauze, you can use a special hydrogel for seeds, which you can easily buy in any department for gardeners. The main advantage of the latter, along with maintaining an optimal level of moisture, is the creation of a suitable microclimate for the appearance of "roots" in tangerine seeds, since the material is completely immersed in this environment.

After a time, you can determine the quality of the material used for the dilution.

As a result of natural selection material is obtained for further cultivation. Germinated bones before rooting in the soil prepared for mandarin should be properly prepared. It is possible to plant seedlings in small containers, for example, in plastic disposable cups or a small pot for planting indoor plants.

The deepening of seeds in the ground is not more than 2 centimeters. After rooting, it is necessary to monitor the soil moisture, in a plastic container the liquid may evaporate more slowly, so moisture will be infrequent. Soil loosening in the first days after planting the bones should be discarded, since the culture will need some time to adapt and root.

The technology of planting mandarin seeds is as follows:

• the material sinks into the soil and deepens by a few centimeters;
• from above stones are sprinkled with soil mixture and moistened with a spray bottle;
• the container with the seed planted must be covered with a film to maintain the microclimate inside and leave in a bright place.

As a rule, the first shoots can be expected in a pot 14-21 days after planting.

An exotic fruit belongs to heat-loving cultures, therefore placing on a window or a loggia with unhindered access of light will be the best option for its productive growth. However, young sapling's contact with direct sunlight should be avoided, as they can cause a burn on the foliage.

For mandarin, which grows at home, there are a number of rules regarding care.

• Properly planned watering and regular wetting of the above-ground part of the crop by spraying are the main agrotechnical measures on which the development and fruiting of mandarin depends. Watering should be carried out only with separated liquid. To reduce the content of harmful impurities and chlorine in it, it should be left in an open container for about 3 days. The introduction of moisture should be regular, it is necessary to avoid surface watering, because the tree needs abundant moisture and nutrition of the root system. The required humidity of the air is achieved by spraying, during the heating period, when the air in the room is dry, near the tree it is necessary to place a container with wet moss or expanded clay for additional moistening.
• Each season mandarin requires a transplant in a deeper capacity. Transplantation is carried out with the preservation of earthen coma near the roots of mandarin. Upon reaching 8 years old, the culture will need to be replanted twice a year.

• Citrus needs extra nutrition. The first introduction of fertilizers is carried out after spitting of the first shoots.For these purposes, you should take advantage of specialized store complexes. The introduction of dressing should be carried out only after watering, so as not to burn the root system of the tree. In winter, feeding citrus is not necessary.
• Unfortunately, mandarin, which is cultivated at home, often suffers from various fungal diseases and pests. Greater danger to the culture is aphid, whitefly and spider mite. These insects feed on the sap of the tree, as a result of which it quickly fades, and if no action is taken in time, the culture will simply perish.
• For preventive purposes, mandarin should be regularly inspected for the occurrence of insects or their larvae. If they are found, the tree should be washed under water pressure, as some of the insects, especially the mite, are afraid of it. After that, the culture is treated with infusion of garlic or onion peel. At home, the treatment of mandarin advised folk remedies. Quite effective in terms of combating insect pests is spraying with a solution of "green soap".
• If the measures taken did not bring the desired result, you should take advantage of store trains, for example, "Flyoverm" or "Aktelik". There are frequent cases of the presence of small midges near the tree, the larvae of which could be in the acquired soil, and their regular reproduction and growth occurred from regular moistening. To get rid of them, you need to dry the soil, and then enter the "Thunder-2" into it. As for diseases, the mandarin can suffer from late blight, gray rot and blackleg. Fungicides are used to fight and treat, in addition, all affected areas and parts of the culture are removed.

In the period of flowering and fruiting care is to use as a feed potassium and phosphorus, which will be a substitute for nitrogen-containing drugs. Spraying the culture, you should avoid getting water on the flowers. If the plant itself has not got rid of excess flowering, it is necessary to ensure the presence of no more than one fruit for 15-20 leaves.

To mandarin fruited at home, should be vaccinated cuttings from varietal plants. The grafting can be done in any way you like, but the tree will not be ready for this event until the trunk is as thick as an ordinary pencil. After grafting the cutting, this place needs to be wrapped and treated with garden pitch to speed up the survival process and regeneration. To create optimal conditions a place with a handle can be covered with a plastic bag. In some cases, a growth stimulator is useful. It will be possible to temporarily remove cellophane from the vaccination site in 7-10 days, leaving the area with the handle open for access of oxygen.

Gradually, the time when the mandarin will be without shelter can be increased. A month later, there will be no need for shelter. After another 3-4 weeks, the stem of the stock will need to be shortened a few centimeters above the grafting site and smeared with garden pitch to heal.

Properly planned and carried out agrotechnology will allow home tangerine to fruitfully blossom and bear fruit.

On how to grow a tangerine from the bone at home, see the following video.