Mandarin room, Mandarin Unshiu - care at home. How to grow a mandarin from a bone

Root family. The homeland of the Mandarin is China, Japan, Filipina, Kokhinhina (Indochina). The botanical name is Cītrus reticulata.

Mandarin species

You probably noticed that in the store the fruits of tangerines have a wide variety of shapes, the thickness of the peel of the fruits, the number of seeds. This is because the genus mandarin, like orange, is very diverse. This applies not only to fruits, but also to other morphological characters: the size and shape of the bush, buds, flowers and ovaries. And in a store called 'tangerine' they sell not only true tangerines, but also its hybrids (price and taste are important to an ordinary buyer, no more).

Non-hybrid mandarins (true mandarins, various varieties) are most commonly known by the name Mandarin Unshiu, although the correct botanical name is Citrus reticulata Blanco or Citrus reticulata var. unshiu, very often the name is written as Citrus unshiu, implying many varieties united by the common name Mandarin Unshiu (seedless).

Despite varietal differences, all tangerines have green leathery leaves of elliptical shape, usually slightly corrugated, narrowed at the ends, lionfish absent or small. The timing of fruit ripening is different (there is a group by precocity). Tangerines in nature rarely grow more than 2.5-2.7 m, at home no more than 1.5 m. The crown is formed by a fairly wide branched (leafiness is different in different varieties). Mandarin Unshiu does not have a pronounced period of rest, the leaves falling during the year change with newly formed leaves (leaf life is 2-4 years). The flowers are white, five-petalled, appearing in spring on last year's short shoots. Tangerine is propagated by grafting, air branches, cuttings, seeds. Mandarin Unshiu bears fruit from the age of three to four, with the right agricultural technology.

The systematics of the mandarin genus has not been finally approved. But experts distinguish several groups of tangerines:

Satsuma mandarins include varieties of several groups: Unshiu Unshiu, Vase Wase, Owari Owari, Ikeda Ikedu, Zairai Zairai, Mikado Mikado, King King, etc.
A group of hybrid tangerines: calamondin, clementine, tangelo, tangerines, natsumican, tangor, Nobils mandarin, Mediterranean mandarin, citrandarines, ichandarines.

For a simple flower grower who has just started growing citrus fruits, it is usually enough to know that the purchased plant is tangerine and care for it, like most citrus fruits.

A keen citrus grower, usually in love with his business and trying to find out the whole history of each citrus tree. For him, the varieties differ in one look 'Kovano-Vase' Kovano Wase - undersized dense trees, with brown rough bark, bordered petioles, he does not have thorns, flowers are single or in a small group and large about 4 cm in diameter. The variety is popular on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus.

But the variety 'Okitsu' Okitsu Wase - originally from Japan, popularized all over the world (Spain, China, Argentina) - this is also a low tree with a spreading, but thin crown, has small spines, forms a huge number of fruits - therefore it is considered one of the most promising varieties (begins to bear fruit very early). But there is a slight disadvantage - for indoor citrus farming, Okitsu is not the best option if there is no special place for wintering. This variety is not just resistant to cold, it does not tolerate heat, dryness and needs a cold period of rest in winter.

The Portuguese early variety of carvalhais, Citrus reticulata 'Carvalhais', is a vertically growing tree, the leaves are generally long, pointed like a clementine, the flesh is orange, juicy, pleasantly acidic, and has numerous seeds. It is very popular in Portugal, it is very rare for export, since the fruits are practically not stored, they quickly deteriorate. This mandarin is a hybrid of unknown origin, it is assumed that one of the parents is the Mediterranean mandarin Citrus deliciosa.

gardeners with classification are generally simple, all tangerines are conditionally divided into groups: Goku Wase (very early varieties), Wase (early varieties) and Owari (later varieties).
United States, tangerines are often sold, characterized by bright orange or red coloring called tangerines - these are not real tangerines, their genetics have not yet been studied.

Mandarin care

Temperature: Tangerines are demanding on light and heat. Budding, flowering and fruit setting occur best at an average air and soil temperature of + 17-18 ° C.

In winter, the mandarin needs to find a colder place - the best insulated balcony. The upper permissible limit is 14-15 ° C, the lower 8-12 ° C - watering is appropriate, from very moderate to poor. The lack of cold wintering can lead to the fact that the plant does not pay. In addition, a large mandarin tree on the windowsill during the heating season will invariably be under the flow of hot air from the battery, this leads to drying out of the leaves, rapid reproduction of ticks and other problems. If you don't have room to winter, use greenhouse sheeting to shield the edge of the windowsill from the warm air of the room.

Lighting: From February-March to August at noon, a very light shade is needed on the sunny window to protect the tangerine not so much from sunburn as from heat and overdraft. Ideal for it is the south-east window, a spot next to the south window (just behind the tulle curtain), the south-west window will be too hot in summer. North windows are completely not for citrus. The general plan is as follows: from 11 to 15 hours - you can shade, before and after - there is no need for shade, the sun is welcome. In winter, the lower the temperature, the less need for light. If the house is warm and there is no option for cold wintering, you will have to put two 40 W fluorescent lamps (white or blue) 15-20 cm from the crown on both sides so that the total daylight hours are at least 12 hours.

Watering: in summer and spring, abundantly, after the top layer of the earth dries 5-6 cm on top of the pot - in a day or two, and when it is very hot - every day, on cold, damp days, moderate, be sure to check the soil with your finger. In autumn and winter, the frequency of watering depends on the air temperature, with cool maintenance, watering is rare, after a thorough drying of the ground. However, there is no need to dry the ground to a state of dust - drying and falling of leaves, ovaries, fruits will begin. On the other hand, do not forget that plants die from excess moisture. Therefore, it is important that the soil is loose, and the watering is adjusted so that the soil after watering dries out for 4-5 days no longer.

Air humidity: it is advisable to spray tangerines in the summer, on dry hot days, but if they are kept in a room with central heating in winter, then they are sprayed two or three times a day in winter. If the room is hot, cover it with a damp towel.

Transplantation: young trees must be transplanted annually. Transplantation 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 upper layers of the earth in the pot - it is depleted and often oversaturated with insoluble salts. 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.

If you just bought a young tangerine in a store, and even with fruits, you need to transfer it to a larger pot without disturbing the roots. Flower shop tangerine trees are grown in greenhouses and planted in peat - far from an ideal substrate for tangerine. But you cannot immediately replace it - you injure the roots and lose the fruits. Select a pot 2-4 cm larger than the store one, pour about 5 cm drainage on the bottom (made of expanded clay, shards or broken brick). Remove the tree from the old pot (if it doesn't come out - cut it on both sides with a hot knife). Place in a new pot and fill up the grounds. If part of the soil crumbled when removing from the old pot, do not use it, but no more fresh soil needs to be added: the root neck in the new pot should be at the same level as it was in the previous one.

Soil for young tangerines: 2 parts of sod, 1 part of leaf land, 1 part of humus (manure lying in a heap for 3-4 years), 1 part of small pebbles (3-4 mm - coarse sand) 1 part of vermiculite.
Soil for adult tangerines: 3 parts of turf, 1 part of leaf, 1 part of humus, 1 part of small pebbles (3-4 mm - coarse sand), 1 part of vermiculite.

Soil acidity for citrus fruits should be pH = 6.5-7. Avoid planting in strongly acidic soil.

Top dressing: with the beginning of the growth of the tangerine tree in the spring, you need to start top dressing, but not earlier than a month after transplantation. It is best to alternate organic feeds with mineral ones for flowering plants. As organic matter, use an infusion of cowpea or horse manure (1:10 with water). And mineral fertilizers - any for flowering, for example, Fertica Lux, Agricola, Pocon, etc. There are also special fertilizers for citrus fruits. Mandarin is very sensitive to a lack of potassium: the edges of the leaves turn yellow and dry. If similar symptoms appear on your tangerine, you need to carry out additional extra-root (on a sheet) potassium nutrition. Use potassium sulfate (potassium sulfate), potassium carbonate (potassium carbonate, potash) or other chlorine-free fertilizers for fertilizing tangerine, do not use fertilizers containing chlorine - potassium chloride, potassium salt, etc.

If in winter tangerine is not grown in warm home conditions, and at rest it stands in a cold place (balcony, loggia, winter garden), then feeding is not needed. If growth continues, the formation of new leaves or ripening of fruits. Continue to feed, as in the summer, but be sure to light up.

Reproduction

The reproduction of tangerines, as well as lemons, is usually carried out by grafting, cuttings, branches and seeds. At home, the most common way of breeding citrus fruits is cuttings, in which case plants can bloom immediately after rooting. In this case, it is better to cut off the flowers, first allow the plant to grow up and gain strength. But fruit trees grown from the bone can bloom at best in ten to fifteen years.

By the way, if tangerine can be used and grafted on various citrus fruits: lemon, orange, grapefruit, etc., then tangerine is practically not used as rootstock. The reason for this is the poor, slow formation of callus, poor wound healing, vaccinations do not take root, and if they do, they are often rejected.

Another way to get a tangerine tree at home is to buy a fresh delivery of tangerines in the store, which have preserved cuttings at the base of the fruit. If the leaves are still fresh, urgently put the twig to root in a mini greenhouse (soil, as for seeds) or root in a zip bag, or vaccinate if you have a suitable rootstock.

How to grow a mandarin from a bone

Mandarin is easy to grow from a bone - you just need to soak the seed from the eaten fruit for 2-3 days in clean water. When the root pierces (the seed cracks, a small white tip will stick out of it), you need to plant it in a pot 6-7 cm in diameter, in a mixture of soil (universal for citrus from the store) and vermiculite to a depth of 1 cm. Keep the soil moderately wet - do not dry! The seed germinates within 2-3 weeks. After germination, put on a sunny windowsill.

It is also almost impossible to instill mandarin on the yards, it is a very weak and unpromising stock.

Growing problems

Tangerine can be affected by powdery mildew and other fungal infections: in this case, it is necessary to spray and water tangerine with a solution of fundazole, topaz, copper sulfate, and other fungicides.

New leaves grind, old ones turn yellow and fall, there is no flowering, the fruits do not tie up - the plant does not have enough nutrients, it needs to be transplanted into nutritious soil, and similar symptoms can be observed when affected by ticks.
Yellow spots appear on the leaves or the edges of the leaves turn yellow, the leaves fall prematurely - with excessive watering, watering should have time to dry out at least in the upper third of the pot.
Gray dry spots on the leaves, shrunken leaves - sunburn, pest damage.
Sudden leaf fall - waterlogging of the soil, lack of light in winter, watering with cold water, low indoor temperature in winter, excess nutrients in the soil or cold drafts.

Mandarin pests

Scutes: similar to brown convex plaques on the surface of leaves, petioles and stems, mainly along the veins, suck cell juice. The leaves lose their color, dry and fall. Buds and flowers dry, fruits crumble.

Control measures. Carefully spray and water the plant with a solution of a systemic insecticide - actara. After a day, wash off the leaves with a strong pressure of warm water.

Spider mite: it is especially harmful when it is too dry and hot - the tops of the shoots shrivel and do not grow, the leaves turn yellow and dry, often the edges of the leaves twist inward and you can see the cobwebs on the back of the leaf. Fruits are crumbling. There are many spider mites - some are visible to the naked eye (running red dots measuring 0.5 mm), others can only be seen with a magnifying glass or microscope.

Control measures. The plant is washed with soapy water (baby soap, fairy), hold the foam for 2-3 minutes, washed under a hot shower (temperature about 45 ° C). Then dilute the garlic solution: 1 clove per glass of water and spray the leaves, do not rinse. Repeat after 3-5 days. With a very strong lesion, tangerine can be sprayed with a 0.15% solution of actellic (1-2 ml per liter of water) or carbofos.

Good results in such cases are obtained by spraying with a solution of Epin, Narcissus or other stimulant.