How to grow and care for tangerines at home

Tangerine trees are a popular option for growing indoors, along with lemon trees and ornamental succulents. With proper care, plants actively develop and eventually begin to bear fruit. When growing tangerines at home, you should provide suitable conditions.

Features of growing tangerines

When you decide to plant tangerine seeds, you should think in advance what kind of result is needed. The tree can perform a purely decorative function or be used as a source of fruit. Since tangerine grown from seed takes a long time to develop, you need to choose the most suitable variety by finding out how long a particular variety grows.

During the growing process, you will need to not only create favorable conditions for the development of the plant, but also provide regular care. It is also recommended to first consider the possibility of further propagation of the tree.

Plant varieties

There are a large number of varieties of indoor tangerines. When choosing the appropriate option, the following indicators must be taken into account:

1. Plant height. Dwarf plants stop growing after reaching 40-50 cm, while other varieties can reach a height of 1.5-2 m.
2. Specifics of care. Certain varieties require pollinators, more frequent watering and stem formation during the growing process.
3. Purpose. Trees can be fruit-bearing or decorative.

Mandarin propagation

Like other citrus fruits, the tangerine tree can be propagated. At home, the procedure is performed by cuttings or seeds.

Propagation by seeds

To germinate new seedlings from seeds, you should plant them in a separate container. Shoots will begin to appear after 30-40 days.When the seedling has formed 4-5 leaves, you will need to cut the tap root. If left unpruned, it will grow long and curl. 2 weeks after root pruning, the seedlings grown from the seed are transferred to a permanent container.

Reproduction by grafting

2-4 year old trees are suitable for propagation by cuttings. On plant trunks, 7-10 cm from the ground, choose a place for grafting with a smooth surface and without buds. Using a gentle movement of the knife, make a transverse cut of the bark and from its middle a longitudinal cut into which to plant the cutting. A bud is cut from a scion branch and connected to the trunk.

The grafting site is tightly wrapped with plastic film and additionally treated with garden pitch.

How to grow a tangerine tree at home?

When planning to grow tangerines, it is necessary to carry out a number of preparatory work. Direct sowing of seeds should also be carried out taking into account a number of nuances. In order for trees to actively develop and bear fruit, you will need to choose a suitable container for them, use fertile soil and follow planting rules.

Choosing a container or container for planting

Various containers are suitable for planting tangerines, regardless of the material used. The pot can be in the form of a wooden, glass, ceramic or plastic container. An important requirement is the size of the upper part of the diameter is no more than 15 cm and a similar height indicator. There should be several small openings at the bottom of the pot or container, thanks to which water will not stagnate in the container and the roots will not begin to rot.

Preparing the land

When preparing a substrate for trees, it is recommended to use peat-free soil.Mandarin develops the root system better and bears fruit when it is in soil with neutral acidity. The optimal acidity level is 6.5-7 pH.

Suitable soil can be purchased at a specialized store or made independently by mixing rotted humus, forest soil and sifted sand in a ratio of 2:2:1.

Planting tangerine seeds

A drainage layer of no more than 5 cm and moistened soil are poured into the container for the future tree. It is recommended to plant the seeds immediately after extraction from the fruit, without leaving them to dry out. If it was not possible to sow immediately, then the seeds should be soaked to speed up the germination process, since being in water, the seeds will take root faster.

The timing when sprouts begin to appear directly depends on the selected variety and environmental conditions. As a rule, seedlings begin to grow a month after sowing. It is not recommended to cover containers with seedlings with plastic film, since plants grown in greenhouse conditions will need to be additionally adapted to room temperature.

Tree care rules

Tangerine trees require regular care. To prevent plants from losing their decorative properties and ability to bear fruit, you need to care for them taking into account a number of features.

Temperature and lighting

The optimal ambient temperature for tangerines is about 20 degrees. At the same time, higher temperatures do not harm seedlings due to their ability to withstand up to 40 degrees of heat. If pots with plants are on the windowsill, you should take care of insulating the windows.

Feeding and watering

The citrus tree is moisture-loving, so it must be watered regularly.In summer, it is allowed to moisten the soil several times a day in small portions. In winter, the frequency of watering is 3 times a week, as the soil dries. For intensive fruiting, tangerines need to be fed. It is recommended to use mineral and organic fertilizers once a month.

Formation of mandarin

In order to give a decorative appearance, trees need to be periodically shaped. Before trimming the crown and pinching out the shoots, you should choose a suitable shape. You can make the tangerine round or more spreading. The trunks are cut or pinched at a height of 20 cm above the soil level. Growing side shoots must be removed.

How often does a tangerine tree need to be replanted?

If the seeds are not planted in separate containers, then after the formation of 4 leaves, transplantation into pots is required. Among the grown seedlings, the most powerful and undeformed ones are selected. With further cultivation, young trees are replanted every year, and fruit-bearing ones - 2-3 times a year, increasing the diameter of the pot by 4-6 cm.

How to make a tangerine bloom?

Artificial pollination helps stimulate the flowering of tangerines. In order for the tree to bear fruit, you can grow pollinating varieties nearby or sprinkle the plants with pollen yourself. It is enough to pollinate the seedlings only 1-2 weeks before the expected flowering.

First fruiting of tangerines

The timing of the first fruiting depends on the specific variety. The fruits may differ in taste, aroma and size from the mother variety. After the tree has flowered and the tangerines have formed, it is necessary to continue to provide favorable conditions so that fruits with high characteristics will ripen in the future.

Mandarin pests

Unfavorable environmental conditions, violation of care rules or spoiled seeds cause pest damage. Insects can gnaw through fruits, roots and green parts of plantings.

Spider mite

Small insects up to 0.6 mm in size are practically invisible. Pests can be detected by the formation of light spots on the back of the leaves and thin webs. Having noticed signs of mite influence, it is necessary to treat the leaves with a warm soapy solution, and then carry out several treatments with insecticides at intervals of 7-10 days.

Shchitovka

The pest forms a sticky coating on the surface of the leaves, which leads to depletion and drying out of plants. To eliminate scale insects, spray with a soap solution mixed with kerosene 2 times a week. The fruits on the trees after this treatment are unsuitable for food, so they can be removed or left for decorative function.

Mealybug

The presence of mealybugs can be detected by the white fluffy coating that remains in different parts of the tree. You can remove scale insects from tangerines manually or scare them off using insecticides. The drugs “Decis”, “Intavir” and “Karbofos” are suitable for controlling insects.

Aphid

Insects, green in color and 1-3 mm long, actively reproduce and attack plants en masse. Aphids absorb juices from young shoots and leaves, destroying their structure and causing depletion. As measures to destroy the pest, spraying with a solution of laundry soap, infusion of garlic or infusion of tobacco is used.

Will a tangerine grown from a seed bear fruit without grafting?

Tangerines grown without grafting are capable of bearing fruit if they are provided with proper care.The only difference will be the longer time it takes for the tree to develop.

Where can I get tangerine scion?

For the scion, it is recommended to use a cutting or bud from another citrus plant 1-2 years old. Healthy trees with strong trunks are suitable as rootstocks. If grafting is carried out on an adult planting, then the thickness of its branches and trunk should be more than 5 mm.

Fighting diseases of the tangerine tree

Tangerines are characterized by a number of diseases, due to which the plants die or stop bearing fruit. The most common diseases are:

• anthracnose, which develops in case of severe waterlogging of the soil;
• wartiness, manifested in the form of increasing spots affecting leaves and branches;
• gommosis affecting the bark and root system;
• tristeza, which affects trees older than 5 years and stops their development.

The main measure to combat plant diseases is treatment with fungicidal preparations. Heavily affected parts of trees must be removed, since some infections can actively spread.

Common problems

A common problem when growing tangerines is yellowing and falling leaves. In adult plants, this process is natural, but in other cases the problem arises due to lack of lighting, too dry air, or improper transplantation. Having discovered one of the listed reasons, it is enough to eliminate it to restore foliage growth.

Pale yellow foliage indicates iron deficiency. In this case, treatment with iron chelate helps.If yellowing occurs from the bottom of the crown and constantly spreads upward, additional fertilizing using nitrogenous fertilizers will be required.