Growing decorative citrus citron palm or Buddha's Hand
Most citrus fruits that are grown at home bear fruit. However, there are among them plants for the "soul", for example, as decorative citrus, citron palmate. Although this evergreen tree bears fruit, the latter do not differ in special taste. But they look so unusual that there are no analogues of this culture in our climate. What can surprise this culture and how to grow it?
Among amateur gardeners, the finger citron is better known as the Buddha's Hand.
Description of the plant
Citron is a hybrid of the citrus family and is the largest-fruited. This is a beautiful non-deciduous shrub with densely leafy shoots. Under natural conditions, its height can reach 3 m, but indoors the tree does not exceed 1.5 m. It has very beautiful large oval leaves, and thorns appear on the branches over time.
The finger citron has very original fruits, similar to a hand with well-defined lobules-fingers, pointed at the tips. This is the reason for the name of the plant. There are several types of citron, which differ in the shape of the fruit. In general, they have an elongated shape, but the location of the fingers changes. Some have straight fingers, others spread out, but there is a variety with fingers clenched into a fist.
The peel is yellow or orange in color, but there is no pulp as such. The inside of the fruit is a cotton-like substance with a bittersweet taste. Citron is used mainly as a decoration, but it is not completely useless. Thanks to the lemon scent of the fruit, you can make candied fruit or add them to tea.
Ornamental citrus palm citron: cultivation features
Like many tropical crops, citron does well in indoor conditions.
However, for fruiting, it is still necessary to meet the main requirements of the plant:
- Lighting. It should be bright, but diffused, ideally - the south side with shading. The length of daylight hours should be at least 10 hours, so supplementary lighting is a must
- Temperature. In summer, the citron will be comfortable at 25 ° C. In winter, however, he retires and needs coolness (no higher than 15 ° C).
- Humidity. Citrus is good for moderate levels around 50%. It is advisable to put the tub on a pallet with wet pebbles and spray the tree regularly.
The decorative citrus finger citron propagates by cuttings in spring, since the seeds in the fruits are immature. From spring to autumn, the bush should be watered often. When the citron retires, watering is reduced to a minimum. The Buddha Hand is fed only during the period of active growth. You can alternate organic and mineral preparations. It is not necessary to trim the citron, unless in order to give it a compact shape.