Planting, growing and caring for oranges at home

Many lovers of exotic trees grow citrus fruits at home. To know how to grow an orange tree, you need to familiarize yourself with the methods and features of planting, and recommendations for caring for the plant. If all requirements are met, the tree fully blooms and bears fruit. Orange is more demanding than lemon in terms of lighting, temperature, and humidity levels. The quality of the fruit is inferior to the purchased one, but this does not prevent exotic lovers from delighting themselves with the presence of such a plant in the house.

Features of growing an orange

An indoor tree with flowers and fruits requires special temperature conditions, humidity, and lighting. It is necessary to avoid sudden temperature changes and drafts. “How long does a tree grow before fruit appears?” is a question that interests you when deciding to grow an orange at home. With proper planting and care, fruiting occurs: in the 4th year for a tree grown from a cutting, and in the 8th year for a tree grown from a seed.

A homemade orange looks like a miniature evergreen tree. An adult plant can reach 2 meters in height. It blooms in single or clusters of white flowers with a pleasant aroma.

Important! The plant does not tolerate tobacco smoke.

Plant varieties

The home tree has several varieties:

1. Gamlin. A plant with early ripening fruits. The height is no more than 1.5 m. The fruit has juicy pulp with a small number of seeds and a sweet and sour flavor. Ripens in the last months of autumn.
2. Pavlovsky. The tree is short, up to 1 m. Fruit ripening occurs after 7 months, reproduction is by cuttings.
3. Washington Navel. Early and mid-ripening variety. Reaches a height of 2 m. It has quite juicy, sweet and sour fruits with bright orange pulp. Propagated by cuttings.
4. Marheulsky is a dwarf type variety. Low tree (up to 1.7 m). The leaf blades are green, with a slightly dark tint, up to 10 cm long. The buds bloom in spring, white. It produces large fruits with bright orange skin and a sweet taste.

Orange propagation

Orange propagation is carried out in the following ways:

• cuttings;
• from seed.

Each method has positive and negative sides. Cuttings are a little problematic; you need to find the source material; seeds are easier. The cuttings are cut from an already mature tree or can be brought from the growing area, cut from one growing in the natural environment.

A plant planted from seed will be stronger. Accordingly, it grows better, adapts, and is more resistant to diseases. The crown of a tree grown from a seed is more beautiful than one planted from a cutting. Obtained from a seed has quality parameters: 100% genetic information of the parent tree.

Fruiting time is a distinguishing characteristic of planting methods. A tree from a seed begins to bear fruit in the 8-10th year of life, a cutting tree - in the 4th-5th year. For cuttings, a stem with a diameter of 4-5 mm and a length of 10 cm is selected. It is cut: at the bottom - under the bud location, at the top - above the location of the bud. The branch should have 3-4 healthy buds and 2-3 leaves. Coat the bottom of the branch with a root system growth stimulator.

For planting, soil made from humus mixed with sand (coarse-grained) and flower soil is used.

Everything is mixed in equal parts. The cut branch is planted at a depth of 4 cm. It is recommended to irrigate the leaves of the cuttings with water daily. The soil should be moist, but not sour. The container with the cutting must be kept at 20-25 ^OC. Full rooting will occur in 30 days. Afterwards it is recommended to transplant it into a stationary pot.

How to properly grow fruit from a seed at home

To get an orange tree that is well adapted to the external environment and resistant to diseases, you need to plant a good orange seed.

Preparing the seeds

It is difficult to germinate a seed, so you need to use a freshly harvested one, without signs of spoilage or rot. The seeds have a fairly hard skin. It needs to be separated from the pulp, washed, and soaked in water for half a day.

Preparing the soil and pot

The seed is planted in a pot with a volume of no more than 100 ml. You can take an empty yogurt or sour cream container. The container must have drainage holes to allow excess liquid to escape. Waterlogged soil has a bad effect on the quality of germination. It is better to germinate in a citrus mixture or place it in a loose earthen mixture of peat and soil.

Sowing seeds

Planting is done to a depth of up to 1 cm, a distance of up to 5 cm. Cover with film and keep warm and dark until seedlings appear. Regularly irrigate the soil with a spray bottle when dry. The sprout will appear in a month and a half. Now the crops are exposed to the light. You need to dive when 2 leaves form. Next, the seedlings are grown until the diameter of the trunk is 6 mm, then grafting is carried out.

Orange tree care

Caring for an orange tree is not very difficult, the main thing is to comply with the requirements, taking into account the characteristics of the plant.

Lighting and temperature for indoor orange

The tree has special requirements for the light regime: if there is insufficient lighting, the fruits will not ripen or will be sour-bitter, and in direct sunlight the foliage will get burned. The best option is light diffusion.

It is recommended to place the tree on an east or west window. On the south window it is necessary to install diffusing protection from direct sunlight. In summer, it is recommended to put it outside, but shade it. Buds are formed at 15-19 ^OWITH.

In winter, the tree should be kept at a low temperature (from 0 to 10 ^OWITH).It is the cold temperature regime that promotes normal fruiting. Orange does not require much light. Feeding is excluded, and watering is carried out once a week.

Air humidity

The tree does not like excessive soil moisture, and it also provokes diseases. But a small amount of moisture is also harmful. In summer, watering is done once a day. The crown of the tree must be irrigated regularly using a spray bottle.

Fertilizer

During the active growth phase, the plant needs to be fed. The older it is, the greater the dose of feeding. You can fertilize with special fertilizers for citrus fruits, organic solutions or mineral compounds (ammonium nitrate, superphosphate, potassium). To preserve the color of the leaf blades, it is recommended to feed them with potassium permanganate once a month and ferrous sulfate once a quarter. Before fertilizing, it is necessary to water to avoid damaging the roots.

Crown formation

Pruning is a necessary stage of care, since without trimming the crown, it is impossible to grow an orange tree at home. The tree will not produce flowers or fruits. In spring, the central stem needs to be cut by 20 cm. 3-4 side branches form the crown of the first level, leave 2 branches on them, this is the second level, then 3-4 branches of the third level, and on them there will be shoots of the fourth level that bear fruit.

Further pruning consists of thinning, removing old branches and those growing inside the tree, and plucking young shoots.

Branches that are broken, dry, or growing at an incorrect angle must be removed. When flowering, you need to regulate the number of ovaries so that the plant grows fully and bears fruit. To begin with, no more than 3 ovaries are left, in the 4th-5th year - no more than 7, after - about 10.

Transfer

Due to the nature of the root system, the tree is painful to replant, especially if the root ball of the soil is damaged. Transplantation is carried out using the transshipment method. A plant that bears fruit is replanted every 3 years. For intensive growth, young ones require annual transshipment. The diameter of the subsequent pot should be 20 mm larger.

Transplantation is carried out in the spring, before intensive growth. During the procedure, you need to take into account: the neck is not deepened.

Soil mixture for young plants: combine turf, leaf soil and humus with sand (equal parts). For mature orange trees, the specific gravity of turf soil increases by 2 rubles. It is recommended to add some clay. It is important to have good drainage to remove excess moisture.

Spraying

In addition to watering, the tree needs regular irrigation, especially in summer. In addition, this is necessary to wash away dust from the leaves. Once a month you need to take a warm shower: cover the ground with film, treat the wood with soapy water. This will prevent pests.

Features of grafting

An orange grown from a seed must be grafted in order for it to bear fruit. The grafting is carried out when the sprout has reached 5 mm in thickness.

For vaccination you need:

1. Take a cutting from a fruit-bearing tree. The branch is 2 years old.
2. Remove leaves.
3. On the trunk of the game, the skin is cut in the form of an eye.
4. Prepare a ribbon from a latex glove (cut).
5. Attach the branch to the wild bird and wrap it. Direction from top to bottom. Wrap tightly to prevent air from getting in. Monitor the correct fit of the bud and the rootstock. Continue wrapping around the petiole, carefully going around it. At the edge of the cut, wrap it several times and move in the opposite direction.

Place the plant in a warm place and water it abundantly to activate sap flow. After 5 days it will be clear whether the kidney has taken root. After 10 days it will fall off, and after 20 days remove the strapping. If shoots appear at the top of the bush, they need to be removed. When a new branch grows from the bud and the first leaf appears, cut off the top.

Why do orange leaves curl?

There are several reasons for leaf curling:

• presence of diseases;
• lack of air;
• excessive watering or lack thereof;
• draft;
• rare irrigation.

Pests and diseases

Like any citrus tree, it is affected by scale insects. The insect sucks juice from leaves and shoots. The plant turns yellow, withers, and dies. For destruction, “Intavir” or “Aktara” is used. For preventive purposes, it is important to maintain the required level of humidity. Aphids, spider mites or mealybugs also cause harm to the plant. They destroy the above-ground parts of the orange. To begin with, it is recommended to use a tobacco-soap solution. If the treatment does not produce results, spray with chemicals.

The orange tree is susceptible to fungal and viral diseases: homos, gum disease. They attack the trunk, shoots, and foliage. Sticky liquid flows out of the cracks that appear. To treat the wound, it is necessary to clean it, treat it with garden varnish, and spray the tree with a fungicide. A hopeless plant must be burned.

Possible problems

The orange tree is more demanding than other citrus fruits. If these care recommendations are not followed, the following problems may occur:

• yellowing of foliage;
• falling of leaves, flower buds, unripe fruits;
• death of the plant.

Leaf shedding occurs due to:

• sudden change in climatic conditions;
• inadequate watering;
• excessive watering during dormancy;
• excess fertilizer;
• insufficient lighting;
• draft;
• wintering at incorrect temperatures (more than 10 ^OWITH).

Growing citrus fruits is not difficult, and if the required maintenance conditions are met, after 4-5 years the tree will be pleased with its first fruits.