How To Grow An Orange On A Windowsill - Recommendations For Keeping Citrus Crops At Home

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Almost everyone knows that citrus fruits are an exceptional source of vitamin C, but not many manage to get these fruits in their room. Analyzing the range of problems faced by amateurs, we can conclude that most mistakes arise from ignorance of the biology of these plants.

After all, the basic needs of citrus fruits are predetermined by the natural conditions of their homeland - the subtropics. They require a period of relative rest during the subtropical winter. In the room during this period (October-February), it is necessary to maintain a temperature of no more than 12 ° C. But the named months fall on the heating season, and the high temperature leads to untimely growth and depletion of the plant, which will further affect fruiting.

Early spring is also a critical period, when heating stops and warm days give way to a sharp cold snap. Moreover, the growth, which began in the warm period, slows down sharply during a cold snap, the leaves are deformed, and the buds and ovaries crumble. To avoid such a phenomenon, it is recommended to maintain a temperature of 14-16 ° C at this time.

Some people do not know that the growth of citrus fruits is cyclical: between the spring-summer growth waves there are breaks, with which it is necessary to link changes in care (watering, fertilization).

The question often arises: is it really necessary to take plants outdoors in summer? It is not recommended to do this, since citruses very painfully tolerate the change of regimes and very slowly adapt to new conditions. Only by adapting will they be able to resume their growth again. But, as a rule, by this time it is already time to bring them back into the room.

A common mistake is overdrying and over-wetting an earthen coma. When dry, active roots die off, the leaves curl and fall off along with flowers and fruits.

Excessive watering leads to root rot and yellow leaves. It is recommended to water potted specimens from below. In this case, moisture evenly permeates the substrate and there is no leaching of nutrients. The most moisture-loving citrus fruit is lemon, the most drought-resistant is orange.

Many amateurs, trying to please the plant, water it with very warm water (40 ° C), which causes the death of the roots and the death of the plant. On the contrary, when watering with cold water, the roots dry out and the plant also dies. Optimum for irrigation: water with a temperature 2-3 ° C higher than room temperature, and during fruiting - by 10 ° C.

It must be remembered that the roots of these plants are located in the upper layer of the soil, so loosening should be careful, and watering should be frequent, but in small doses.

The light regime is also a factor in successful cultivation. Heavy shading results in large, dark green shade leaves and plant wasting. Direct sunlight causes pale color of leaves, burning of fruits and ovaries and their abscission. The most shade-tolerant lemon, light-loving and heat-resistant - orange. The best lighting for citrus crops is diffused sunlight on the southeast, southwest side. The best place is the windowsill. As a general rule, the higher the temperature in the room, the more intense the lighting should be.

Dry room air causes great suffering to citrus crops. This is manifested in the drying of the ends of the leaf, the fall of buds, ovaries and fruits. In this case, regular washing and spraying of the plants is necessary. If the pot is near the heating device, then a container with water is placed on it, which, as it evaporates, will saturate the air with moisture.

Citrus fruits, especially lemons, are very demanding for nutrition. It is no coincidence that they are called gluttons in the vegetable kingdom. They are fed all year round, except for the period from October to February, when they should be given a weak solution of potassium permanganate for partial disinfection of the soil. The rest of the time, feeding is done by alternating organic fertilizers with mineral fertilizers, once every 7-10 days. This increases the sugar content of the hearths and reduces their bitterness. Recommended fertilizer mixtures: Foskamid, Darina, Ideal, Agrovit-kor.

Citruses are highly adaptable to soil conditions. They just cannot stand very acidic soils and the presence of peat. The following soil mixture is widely used: sod land, leaf, humus, sand (2: 1: 1: 1).

Citrus fruits should not be placed in the same room with strong-smelling plants and with smokers, as they do not like other people's smells, and in the latter case, they can drop the leaves altogether.

The transplant is also a crucial moment. Typical mistakes: transplanting plants with flowers and fruits, which will cause their shedding, as well as destruction of the earthen coma with strong root pruning. In this case, mycorrhiza is destroyed, due to which citrus fruits extract nutrients from the soil. Pay great attention to the level of the root collar: it should be slightly above the soil level. Both deep and shallow planting can be the reason for the lack of fruit.

But most of all, citrus fruits cause problems to their owners in winter, reacting to unfavorable conditions by dropping their leaves. There can be many reasons for this. Here is the most common of them: light starvation, a combination of insufficient light with high temperature and low air humidity; the difference in the temperature of the aboveground part and the root system of plants, when the pot is blown by cold air from the window, and the crown is in favorable room conditions; lack or excess of food.

And this is not the only problem. Some novice citrus growers have no idea about the correct formation of the crown. And this is the main reason for the lack of fruiting and low decorativeness of the plant. It must be remembered that without human intervention, the plant will not be able to form its crown in a short time. By pruning, they achieve the acceleration of the development of shoots of the 4th and 5th orders of branching, on which the fruits are formed.

When crowning, the peculiarities of citruses are taken into account: in tangerines, the crown is prone to thickening, therefore, frequent thinning is necessary; an orange has a tendency to grow in height, therefore, it is necessary to limit the growth of the tree; Lemon has very little branching and undergoes the most pruning to make the plants blossom and bear fruit.

One adult tree in our apartment is capable of producing up to 30 fruits annually. Artificial pollination of flowers increases fruit setting and quality. Pollination is carried out once, applying pollen with a soft brush. It is better to use a mixture of pollen of various varieties, while the sugar content of the orange and tangerine increases and the acidity of the lemon, which is an indicator of their quality.

In the rooms, there is a large crumbling of the ovaries. To avoid this, during the period of fruit formation, it is necessary to intensify watering and spraying with warm water. Be sure to carry out rationing of fruits. The first flowers on young plants are removed, since they still will not form into full-fledged fruits, and the plant will be severely depleted.

Only 2-3 fruits are left on a three-year-old plant. In subsequent years, they proceed from the following ratio: one fruit should eat from 10-15 leaves, and, of course, the well-being of the plant itself is taken into account so that its first harvest does not turn out to be the last for it.

If a young and healthy tree has weak fruiting, then you can use some techniques to strengthen it. Here are some of them: constriction of the main branches with a tourniquet (this causes the accumulation of plastic substances and the formation of flower buds); you can grow a seedling and plant it in the crown of a fruiting tree; plant a peephole from the top of the tree into its bottom; regularly add superphosphate.

After 20 years of age, fruiting dies out, but the plant can be rejuvenated. To do this, all large branches are cut into 3-4 eyes, and their branches are cut into a ring. Rejuvenated plants are transplanted into nutrient soil, shortening the roots by 1/3.

A few words about reproduction. The seed method is acceptable for all citrus fruits, but it must be remembered that in the future, at the age of 2-3 years, the seedlings will need to be grafted, otherwise their fruiting will be delayed for 8-12 years or more. Sowing is carried out only with fresh seeds. Also, all citrus fruits can be propagated by layering (air and earth) and grafting. In this case, the fruits appear on the plant 2-3 years after separation from the mother plant or after grafting.

The most accessible methods are inoculation in the butt, budding. They are also grafted with a handle for the bark, in the cleft. Budding is carried out with a sleeping eye (July-August) or growing (May-April) in a T- or L-shaped incision. In order for the bark to separate well during grafting, the seedlings of the rootstock are watered abundantly 1-2 days before this operation.

Only lemon successfully propagates by cuttings, while entering fruiting in the 3-4th year after rooting. Cuttings are cut from well-ripened shoots of autumn growth during spring cuttings (or spring cuttings during autumn cuttings). For rooting, it is better to use clean sand or lay drainage in a pot, on top of which place humus, and then another layer of sand. In this case, the roots will quickly appear in a layer of sand, and then they will intensively grow into humus.

Recommended varieties: Pavlovsky, Mayer's lemon, Uralsky, Kursky, Maykop.