Calamondin

Calamondin is an ornamental tree that anyone can grow at home. A pleasant citrus aroma, a beautiful and bright appearance - this is just a small list of reasons why many people fell in love with it. Among other things, it can be noted that it is easy to look after him, so he will not cause problems even for beginners in this business.

This tree was obtained by crossing a kumquat (another name is fortunella) and an ordinary tangerine. Such a hybrid plant has received the well-known name - home tangerine, but scientifically it is called citrofortunella, from the name of its progenitors.

As for the appearance, it is distinguished by a relatively small height - up to a meter. Glossy dark leaves are combined with white flowers that will delight their owner with an interesting pleasant aroma. When the flowering period ends, small bright orange or close to yellow fruits ripen on the tangerine tree. They taste sour and have a lot of seeds.

The light and heat-loving calamondin came to us from the southeast of Asia. For the appearance of tasty fruits, it is necessary to create a climate suitable for the plant, that is, to provide both light and warmth in abundance. Calamondin bears fruit all year round if done correctly.

Caring for calamondin at home

Thanks to its exoticism, aroma and presence of fruit, homemade tangerine can be a very pleasant gift. If someone suddenly decided to please you with such an unusual gift, or you just never started such plants, then you don't have to worry about having to watch him 24 hours a day. He is quite unpretentious, and, perhaps, it will be difficult to call him capricious.

As soon as you get this plant in your hands, you need to immediately pay attention to the soil in the pot. It must be constantly hydrated. Within 14 days after purchasing citrofortunella, you need to spray it daily from a spray bottle and provide the greatest lighting. Also, at this time, it should not be transplanted - this is not required. After two weeks, you can already transplant it, but in a large pot.

There are also several nuances about the content of citrofortunella. Firstly, when transplanting, try not to touch the delicate roots of a young plant, otherwise it may die without producing fruit. Secondly, the roots can overheat. To avoid this, you can rearrange the pot in a white planter and cover with a sheet of paper on the sunny side. It is worth noting that it is not necessary to change the soil during transplanting.

Moving from the store to your apartment, Calamondin may face new conditions of detention and a new atmosphere. Getting used to a new environment - adaptation - can manifest itself in the form of leaf falling in the first days of being in a new place. If this was noticed, it is necessary to create additional air humidity by putting on an ordinary plastic bag on the tree.After that, it will need to be aired daily.

Imported plants are popular in flower shops, and homemade tangerines are no exception. Such exotic is grown in conditions specially created for them. It happens that the plants are injected with capsules with hormones that are incompatible with the conditions in the apartment. For this reason, the plant may begin to fade before our eyes, which means that it is worth taking action quickly: transplant it into a different soil and pot and pay special attention to the roots. In case they are rotten, you need to cut off these areas.

Location and lighting

It is very important to properly plan the place where the citrofortunella will stand. The room should be well lit with natural, but slightly diffused light, so it is better to place the pot on the sunny side of the apartment (west or east), but cover it with a transparent curtain from direct exposure to ultraviolet radiation.

In winter, the tangerine will be sorely lacking in light, so you should put a lamp next to it to create artificial lighting, while moving the pot to the north side of the apartment is the best option for placing a tree. Only in the presence of light will the plant bear fruit.

Temperature

When starting citrofortunella for yourself, you need to remember that she loves moderate heat and moisture, as described above. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain a constant temperature and humidity. In summer, a tangerine can live in a room where the temperature does not exceed +25 degrees Celsius, and in winter - up to +18 degrees. The lower temperature in winter corresponds to the real temperature in natural conditions, moreover, this decrease provokes a greater number of flowers and, as a result, fruits.

Watering and humidity

Calamondin foliage needs to be sprayed regularly and not allowed to dry out, and the soil needs to be watered frequently. As soon as the soil becomes dry by at least half a centimeter, you need to repeat the watering. Tap water is not suitable for sensitive calamondin, because it contains a high concentration of various impurities, including alkalis, which are very harmful to the plant. You need to water it with either boiled warm water or water from a filter.

With the onset of winter, the number and frequency of watering is reduced, while increasing the number of sprays, because at a time of the year such as winter, which is particularly dry in the air, the drying of the crown must be carefully controlled.

If you want to form a beautiful rounded crown shape for your new green friend, then you need to remember to turn the pot clockwise a few millimeters once a day. But do not rudely unfold it immediately with a completely different side to the light - this is very harmful to the tangerine.

Top dressing and fertilizers

Calamondin, like any other flowering plant, needs additional minerals and nutrients during flowering, therefore, from March to September, you need to additionally fertilize the earth once a week and a half. At any other time, this should not be done so often, once a month is enough.

Specialty gardening stores provide their customers with feed mixes for your tree. It can also be bought on the Internet for free access. The most effective and popular fertilizer for Calamondin is Citrus Humus. It contains many useful trace elements, humic substances in high dosage. On the other hand, you can simply purchase formulations for flowering houseplants.

Transfer

To transplant a tangerine tree, you need a large pot, because it can have a very developed large root system. In addition, citrofortunella from a small tree can grow into a tree large enough for its type. You need to pay attention to the position of the root collar relative to the ground in the old pot and ensure exactly the same, only in the new one.During transplanting, do not particularly touch the clod of earth with roots, so as not to damage anything. Drainage must be of exceptional quality.

Within a month and a half, the tangerine does not need to be fertilized, since new fresh soil, enriched with nutrients and minerals, will do it for you.

To lay the soil in the pot, you need to start with drainage. Lay it around the perimeter of the bottom in a layer up to three centimeters. Next is a mixture of different soil. Sod land, manure and sand are well suited for citrofortunella; their proportion is approximately 2: 1: 1.

If the plant is still young, then it needs to be replanted quite often: every spring. An adult tree does not require such frequent transplants, it is enough only once every 2-3 years.

Pruning citrofortunella

All plants require timely and regular pruning. To form a beautiful spherical foliage, you need a quarter-meter tall stem. At the top are skeletal branches, then branches are formed an order of magnitude higher. It is necessary to reach the branches of the 4th order, then the crown can be considered complete. The time for pruning begins in February, until the summer is leveled, and in the summer the excess protruding branches are cut off.

Reproduction of calamodin

There are 3 types of citrofortunella breeding:

• Let's grab.
• The seeds from the fruit are planted in the ground.
• Slice cuttings with multiple buds.

It should be immediately clarified that the reproduction of a homemade tangerine is difficult and you will have to give it a lot of energy.

As for grafting, a drought-free orange seedling with strong roots is well suited for this case.

People consider planting seeds in a pot the easiest way of all, however, it takes a lot of time. In order for your new tree to hatch into the light, you need to regularly fertilize the ground with special compounds for plant growth.

In the latter case, several small details must be taken into account when propagating tangerine by cuttings:

• First you need to determine the cutting from the top of the crown with developed leaves and large internodes.
• Next, you need to prepare a growth stimulant, which can be excellent root or zircon. You need to dip the cutting into it for a couple of seconds.
• Prepare the ground and insert the stalk into it at the level of the petiole of the lowest leaf.
• This design requires maximum humidity. It can be provided by a can on top or a plastic bag.
• The resulting greenhouse needs to be aired daily for half an hour, but no more.

Roots will sprout in less than a month with proper care.

Diseases and pests. Caring for the sick calamondin

Your house tree is susceptible to various diseases such as black fungus, anthracnose and gommosis. The sooty fungus appears as a blackening of the main part of the leaves and shoots, which spoils the overall attractive appearance of the mandarin. To defeat this disease, it is required to regularly wipe the leaves and shoots from black plaque. A solution of Fitosporin in a spray bottle can also effectively cope with the misfortune.

Anthracnose also affects the leaves, but ultimately they are not covered with a film, but with yellow spots, causing necrosis of some parts of the calamondine. Untimely assistance can lead to the loss of part of the crown. A solution of copper sulfate or, popularly, copper sulfate can save mandarin from anthracnose.

Hommosis can cause complete yellowing of the entire tree. The disease goes from bottom to top: from the bottom of the trunk to branches, leaves and even fruits. First, you need to cut out all the affected areas of the tangerine, then begin to heal the wounds with copper sulfate.

Excessive wind, lack of natural light, and high ambient temperatures can cause calamondin to shed its leaves. In this case, the owner should pay attention to what turned out to be wrong and fix it.

To summarize, we can answer the most common question among "apartment" gardeners, whether the tangerines growing on calamondin are edible.They are more than edible, but taste more like lemon than mandarin. Their main advantage is their bright appearance.

Decorative mandarin Calamondin (video)