CITRUS INDOOR PLANTS - HOME CARE

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People have learned to grow fruit trees in houses for a long time. They develop well in the room, quickly grow, give in to molding, bloom and delight their hosts with delicious fruits. One of the most popular are citrus indoor plants.

Citrus trees grow in India, Australia, China, Japan, in tropical or subtropical climates. In these regions, always warm and humid air, enough sunlight throughout the year. Tasty and aromatic fruits grow on trees and shrubs. Trees under natural conditions grow up to 12 m high.

The features of growing citrus plants include their uneven growth: the lush development of young shoots alternates with a dormant period.

Homemade citrus

Citrus fruits are mainly repair plants, can produce crops several times a year.

To obtain fruits, it is best to purchase grafted seedlings or rooted Citrus cuttings.

The flowers are bisexual.

Although most Citrus fruits are self-pollinating, flower growers recommend artificial pollination. This will increase the fruit yield.

The fruit ripening period lasts from 5 to 9 months.

Propagation of plants is carried out using seeds, as well as cuttings and grafting.

Types of Citrus for Home

Indoors grow quite a lot of varieties of citrus. The most common are:

citrus;
citron;
tangerine or citrus mesh;
kumquat or fortunella;
calamondine or citrofortunella;
lemon;
grapefruit.

Citrus Diseases

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Diseases can be associated with physiological disorders caused by a deficiency or, conversely, an excess of trace elements.

Some signs of excess or lack of trace elements:

Adult leaves are dull and yellow. This is due to a lack of nitrogen. If rapid growth of young shoots is observed, the plant is fattening and does not bloom, then an excess of nitrogen in the soil is possible.
Leaves turn yellow and fade, flowering is weak. Possible lack of phosphorus in the soil. With an excess of trace elements, the plant poorly develops and grows;
The leaf plate is warped, pits are formed on it, folds appear on the leaf along the veins, some branches die off, foliage falls during the flowering period. This is possible due to a lack of potassium. With an excess of potassium, brown necrotic burns appear along the edges of the leaf;

Lemon leaf with a lack of potassium

The growth of defective young leaves, the death of growth points are provoked by a lack of calcium and boron;
With a lack of iron, manganese, zinc or sulfur, leaf chlorosis is observed (green veins are clearly visible on the yellow leaves), young shoots die off.

Citrus plant disease can be caused by pests. These include:

scabbard and false scabbard (the appearance of wax plaques on leaves and branches);
mealybug (the appearance of white lumps in the axils of the leaves);
aphids (on young shoots an accumulation of small black insects);
spider mite (yellow dots form on the leaves, a white coating appears below).

Fungal diseases include:

malseko (the branches turn black, then begin to dry);
gum detection (the appearance of fluid from the wound on the branches and trunk);

Gum detection

anthractosis (the appearance of wet spots on a sheet, which eventually merge into one);
powdery mildew (white coating on the leaves).

If a disease is detected, it is necessary to adjust the watering and top dressing of the plant. With fungal diseases, damaged branches are removed and fungicides are sprayed.

Indoor Citrus Care

In order for indoor citrus to develop normally and bear fruit, it is necessary to organize the correct watering, lighting, and also to establish the optimum temperature and humidity.

Watering mode

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Watering plants should be moderate and regular. They do not like drought, but waterlogging is also unacceptable to them. The signal for irrigation is the top dried soil layer. In summer, watering is done daily, in winter - if necessary, the main thing is that the soil does not dry out.

Attention! After properly watered, part of the water should drain into the pan.

Temperature and humidity

For the normal development and fruiting of plants, the ambient temperature should be in the range from +18 to + 22 ° C. Higher and lower lead to inhibition of the development of a houseplant.

In the spring and summer, the flower pot can be taken out onto the loggia or balcony.

It is also necessary to maintain humidity of about 70%. To do this, in the summer, wipe the leaves with a damp cloth, install a humidifier near the flower pot or spray the plant with soft water.

Top dressing

Fertilizers are applied only during the growing season. Top dressing is performed in pre-moistened soil.

To maintain beneficial microflora use the drug Baikal or East EM-1.

You can feed with organic fertilizers. To do this, take the infusion of horse manure at the rate of 100 g per 1 liter of water. Infuse fertilizer for 2 weeks.

You can use an infusion of chicken manure or cow manure in a proportion of 40 g per 1 liter of water.

Note! To make mineral fertilizing use special complex fertilizers for citrus fruits.

Mineral and organic fertilizers are applied alternately every 10 days.

Nitrous compounds are not used during flowering. During this period, the plant needs phosphorus and calcium.

Wintering plants

In winter, the air temperature should be lowered. If the room is warm, then the vital processes of the tree will proceed quite actively. Since the photosynthesis of citrus is slow during this period, the plant does not receive energy. As a result, the tree will be depleted, this can lead to its death.

This time is called the rest period. It lasts from November to February. Then the wood ripens in the citrus, young shoots do not grow.

The air temperature during this period is maintained depending on the type of citrus. To maintain a 12 hour light day for citruses arrange artificial lighting.

Bone Orange at Home

Indoor plants for dark rooms and rooms

An orange tree can be grown at home from the seed of an orange purchased in a store. However, in this case it will bloom no earlier than in 7-10 years. In a pot, it can reach 3 meters in height.

Orange tree

If you want to get the crop faster, it is better to plant an orange or propagate it using cuttings. After vaccination or after planting the cuttings, the plant may bloom in 3-4 years.

Conditions for sprouting an orange seed

In order to grow a seedling, you must adhere to the following step-by-step procedure:

Preparation of seed material;
Preparation of soil and containers for growing seedlings;
Replanting seeds;
Sowing care;
Dive and transplant the finished seedling.

It is better to plant an orange in early spring so that the natural light for the seedlings is sufficient.

How to choose the fruit of the desired maturity and separate the bone

To obtain seeds, you need to take fully ripened fruits, without damage and rot. Ripe oranges have a rich specific smell, they are heavy in weight. The fruit should be evenly colored and free from stains.

Seeds are selected the most round, large and full-bodied. They are immediately freed from the pulp, washed in water and soaked for 12-24 hours in water or a solution of Epin or other growth stimulant. Soaking will soften the outer shell of the seeds, which will allow the seeds to germinate faster.

Attention! Dried seeds for germination are not used, as a dense peel will prevent germination.

Preparation of the soil mixture and the choice of pot

Soil for landing can be purchased at the store, you can do it yourself. To prepare the soil mixture using sheet earth, sand and peat, taken in equal amounts, or sheet soil and peat.

For sowing, you can use small containers with drainage holes.

Seed Preparation Steps

At the bottom of the pot lay a drainage layer of expanded clay, vermiculite, etc. The soil is poured on top and rammed a little.

Planting and growing seedlings

The seed must be planted shallowly, to a depth of 1-1.5 cm.

Prepared pots are placed in a warm place. Lighting at this stage does not play a role. To create the effect of a greenhouse, they are covered from above with a piece of polyethylene or a cut-off plastic bottle.

You can germinate the seeds beforehand. To do this, put a cloth in the container, which is pre-moistened. Seeds are placed on it, which are covered with a damp cloth. Arrange a greenhouse. After a few weeks, the seeds will germinate. After emergence, seedlings are transferred to a well-lit place.

When 2 leaves appear, seedlings need to be diced, when 4 leaves appear, they are transplanted by transfer to a permanent place.

Orange tree seedlings

Pots with seedlings are placed on the southeastern or southwestern window sills.

Watering regimen for bone and sprout

When germinating a seed, the soil should not be overdried and waterlogged. Therefore, periodically the earth is sprayed with water from a spray gun. After emergence, the soil should also be moderately moist.

Citrofortunella home care (Calamondin)

Kalamandin what is it

Another evergreen citrus plant with a beautiful name is -calamondin citrus. It appeared as a result of crossing kinkan and mandarin plants. It is also called Chinese tangerine and golden orange. Grown in rooms, as well as winter gardens. It can be presented in standard form or in the form of bonsai.

Bonsai calamondin

In vivo, it grows from 3 to 7 m high, at home - from 0.6 to 1.5 m.

The flowers are white, self-pollinating.

The calamondine fruit is orange in color, rounded, slightly flattened above and below, up to 4.5 cm in size. The flesh is acidic, consists of 6-8 slices, covered with a thin fragrant skin.

Care

Citrofortunella grows well indoors. Calamondine care is to create optimal conditions for the development and fruiting of the plant.

Illumination

One of the requirements for caring for calamondine at home is the organization of lighting. Daylight hours should not be less than 12 hours, so in winter there is a need for artificial lighting. In summer, it is advisable to place a citrus hybrid in the garden. The place should be a little shaded so that direct sunlight does not fall on the plant.

Temperature mode

During the growing season, the ambient temperature should be in the range from +18 to 27 ° С. If the temperature is high, the plant will lose fruit.

Calamondin fruit

During the rest period, the temperature is reduced to + 10-15 ° C.

How to water

The soil in the pot should be moderately moist. Water the plant in the summer every day, in winter - not more than 1 time in 1-2 weeks.

For watering, the water should be soft and room temperature. After watering, the water that has poured into the pan is removed. If the air is dry, then additionally spray the crown.