Indoor tangerine care
Mandarin is a tree from the citrus plant family. You can grow it at home from a stone, but then it will take a very long time to wait for the first fruits. To get the first harvest of tangerines as quickly as possible, trees are grown from grafted seedlings.
Nurseries sell different varieties of tangerine trees:
- decorative;
- semi decorative;
- fruit.
Ornamental tangerine trees do not bear fruit, but only form barren flowers. Such varieties are used to decorate gardens and parks in the southern regions of Russia. To obtain fruits at home, tangerine trees are grown in semi-ornamental or fruit varieties. Plants of semi-ornamental varieties bear small, sour-tasting fruits, but bloom with very fragrant white flowers.
Tangerines of fruit varieties when grown indoors bring 20-25 small tangerines with a sweet taste per season. When planted in open ground in the summer, the yield of tangerine trees of the fruit direction increases. Also, summer planting accelerates their entry into the fruiting period.
Fruit varieties of mandarin are divided into varieties of Italian and Japanese selection. These varieties need to create different growing conditions. Consider the care of tangerine trees of Japanese and Italian selection using the example of the varieties "Chinotto" and "Satsuma".
Caring for varieties of Japanese selection
Varieties of Japanese selection do not tolerate low temperatures. Therefore, in winter, the temperature in the room where the tangerine grows should not fall below +12ABOUTC. As a rule, varieties of Japanese selection have special sinuses, from which thorns grow. These thorns must be trimmed annually. Varieties of Japanese selection can withstand temperatures up to +40ABOUTC, therefore, it is not necessary to spray or rearrange the pot with a tangerine tree in partial shade in the summer.
The Satsuma variety does not tolerate hard water. Filter it to remove calcium salts. Water for irrigation should be warm so as not to damage the root system. Also, during the rest period, stop any feeding.
During the flowering period, apply magnesium fertilizers to the soil to increase the ovary.
Caring for varieties of Italian selection
Mandarin variety "Chinotto" does not tolerate the midday sun, so at noon the tree is moved to partial shade. In order for the tangerine to lay more flower buds, in winter the temperature in the room where it grows must be +8ABOUTFROM.
During the dormant period, tangerines of Italian selection must be fed with wood ash. Such feeding will increase the formation of flower buds.