Orange

 

Root family. There are no wild oranges in nature - these trees are obtained by crossing two types of citrus fruits: pomelo and mandarin. At first, the results of such hybridization were not impressive, but the selection yielded results and as a result, under the name orange, we have a number of cultivated species of oranges.

All of them have the name Citrus, but two groups are distinguished among them:

  • sweet orange Citrus sinesis
  • bitter orange (or Pomeranian) Citrus aurantium

In turn, these oranges were crossed with other citrus fruits and received other varieties, for example, Orange-bergamot - a hybrid of bitter orange and citron.

Sweet orange

Citrus sinensis Orange or Sweet Orange sweet orange is a hybrid between pomelo and tangerine. Sweet orange is also called Chinese orange or Portuguese. And it is precisely his fruits that we usually buy in the store.

Sweet orange is an evergreen tree that can be grown in a greenhouse, conservatory or at home. The leaves are oval-elongated. Petioles have small pterygoid appendages. The flowers are white, bisexual, fragrant. Orange blooms on the branches of the current growth. The fruits are rounded, yellow and orange. Among the varieties of sweet orange, several varieties suitable for indoor cultivation are known: Washington Navell, Valencia, Gamlin.

сладкий апельсинOrange Washington Navell Washingtoh Navel
апельсин валенсияValencia Late Orange
апельсинOrange blossom (variety unknown)

Grafted orange trees enter fruiting at 3-4 years, flowering and fruits may appear earlier, but they must be removed so as not to deplete the plant. Leave fruits when there are at least 15 mature leaves per fruit.

Bitter orange

Citrus aurantium has other names Orange sour, pomeranian, bigaradia, it is also a hybrid between pomelo and tangerine, has a bitter taste of fruits, therefore, in its pure form, as a fruit, it is not used for food. But from the pulp of a bitter orange or pomeranian, pectin is isolated, which is widely used in the confectionery industry. Essential oils used in cosmetology are obtained from zest. Pomeranian and Pavlovian orange are grown at home.

павловский апельсинPavlovsky orange
апельсин валенсияPavlovsky orange
апельсин валенсияBitter orange

Orange care

Temperature:

Homemade oranges are demanding on light and warmth. Budding, flowering and fruit setting occur best at an average air and soil temperature of + 15-18 ° C. In winter, it is recommended to keep oranges in a bright cold room - about 10-12 ° C, but a colder content is possible - up to + 4 ° C. The lack of cold wintering can lead to the fact that the plant will not bear fruit.

Lighting:

Bright diffused light, with the obligatory amount of direct sun in the morning or evening. The window sill of the southeast and west windows will do. Shading from the direct sun is needed in spring and summer during the hottest hours on the south window. Different varieties of oranges need a sunny place in different ways. Many of them are quite shade-tolerant, i.e. in the absence of the sun they have a dense crown, but this is usually not enough for fruiting. For example, the popular Washington-Navell sweet orange variety only bears fruit on the southern windowsill.

Watering:

In summer and spring, it is plentiful so that the top layer of soil in the pot (the top half or to the depth of a finger) has time to dry out for the next watering. In winter, watering is more moderate, depending on the temperature, after that. If the temperature is about 18 ° C, as the soil dries at the top of the pot, you need to wait another 2-3 days before watering. If it is lower, about 12-13 ° C, then you need to wait about 8-10 days. If it is even colder in the region of + 5-8 ° C, then the orange is practically not watered, except just once a month and a half quite a bit.

Like all citrus fruits, with a lack of moisture, orange leaves begin to droop, but it is worth watering - they restore elasticity. This is a good enough landmark not to flood the plant. Water when the leaves start to drop slightly. From waterlogging, the orange rots, and it is very difficult to cure.

Air humidity:

Oranges are regularly sprayed in the summer, but if they are kept in a room with central heating in winter, they are sprayed in winter. In this case, you need to cover the batteries with a screen or wet towels.

Flight connections:

Young orange trees must be transplanted by transshipment, annually. Transshipment should not be carried out if the roots of the plant have not yet been burned with an earthen lump. In this case, it is enough to change the top layer of the earth in the pot. Fruiting trees are transplanted no more than once every 2-3 years. Transplant before growth. It is not recommended to replant plants at the end of growth. During transplants, you should not greatly destroy the earthen lump. Good drainage should be provided. The root neck in the new dish should be at the same level as it was in the old dish.

  • Soil for young oranges: 2 parts of sod, 1 part of leaf earth, 1 part of humus and 1 part of sand.
  • Soil for adult oranges: 3 part of turf, 1 part of leaf, 1 part of humus, 1 part of sand.

Orange dressing:

In early spring, with new growth, the orange can be fed with fertilizer for deciduous plants or organic matter - they have enough nitrogen to stimulate new shoots. Since May, you can feed fertilizer for citrus or ornamental flowering plants, where the proportion of potassium and phosphorus is higher. If a potassium deficiency appears on the leaves - an edge burn, when there is a dry brown edge on the edges and ends of the leaves, you can feed potassium fertilizers - potassium monophosphate or potassium nitrate.

Top dressing is applied only on moist soil. With additional artificial lighting of oranges in winter, especially fruiting ones, they also need to be fertilized, but no more than once a month, with a half dose of fertilizers.

Reproduction

Seeds, cuttings, grafting. 'Sorcerers' grow from seeds - fruiting can occur only after 8-12 years, with good care and proper formation. For faster production of a fruiting orange tree, cuttings and grafting are used. As a stock for orange, it is advisable to use grapefruit or pomelo. But the orange itself, or rather bowls from the pit are widely used as stock for lemons.

Cuttings root well in spring in March-April in very good lighting. It is best to root in a mixture of sand and universal soil (in equal parts) in a zip bag - it is easier to hermetically close and easily open if necessary. It is enough to moisten the soil for the handle once, stick the handle, spray a couple of times from the spray bottle with water, close the bag and hang it on tape near the glass. Do not touch or open until roots are visible at the bottom of the bag. It is better to cut the tops of the young shoots into cuttings, about 10 cm long into four sheets. Remove the bottom sheet, leave the three leaves, do not shorten them, but place them in the bag as a whole.

By the way

Light-loving and heat-loving plant, but more suitable for greenhouses. At a temperature of about + 5 ° C, when the plant is at rest, and their vital activity almost completely ceases, orange trees tolerate severe shading without any damage for 3-4 months.

By the way

It is not recommended to replant orange trees with flowers or fruits, as this leads to the fall of both. Soil for young plants is needed light, and for large ones heavier. Soil acidity for citrus fruits should be pH = 6.5-7.

Orange pests

Scutes - brown plaques on the surface of leaves and stems, suck out cell juice. The leaves lose their color, dry and fall. Buds and flowers dry, fruits crumble.

Control measures. It is difficult to mechanically remove the shields from a large tree, so you need to spray it with insecticide as thoroughly as possible. Good results are obtained by simultaneous spraying and watering of the soil with aktara solution. Reprocessing in a week.

A spider mite appears when the air is too dry - a spider web appears on the stems in the internodes, leaves and buds turn yellow and fall. Fruits are crumbling.

Control measures. The plant is washed with soapy water, and after it dries, washed under a warm shower. If the defeat is not strong, then this is enough. With a very strong lesion, the orange can be sprayed with 0.15% actellic solution (1-2 ml per liter of water).

Orange problems

  • New leaves grind, old ones turn yellow and fall, there is no flowering, the fruits do not tie up when the plant does not have enough nutrients - you need to transplant into nutritious soil.
  • If the new leaves are small, deformed, the old ones turn yellow, possibly due to the appearance of pests, for example, scale insects or spider mites - examine carefully the back of the leaves, petioles and stems for signs of mites. Apply insecticides, acaricides or hot showers if necessary.
  • Yellow or brown spots appear on the leaves, the edges of the leaves turn yellow, the leaves fall prematurely - with excessive watering. Watering should be moderate, i.e. the soil should have time to dry in the upper half of the pot. Often, excess watering causes fungal or bacterial infections. Also, spots can be caused by powdery dew or pest damage.
  • The leaves shrivel and dry out - if dry air and insufficient watering are heard. This happens more often during warm wintering with a lack of light.
  • Sudden leaf fall - waterlogging of the soil, watering with cold water, too low temperature if it gets colder, or overfilling with fertilizers.