It is not difficult to vaccinate a tangerine grown from a bone at home. The main thing is to observe sanitary and agrotechnical rules so that the plant does not get sick. Grafted tangerines bloom profusely and for a long time, bear sweet and large fruits.
When to plant mandarin
Vaccination is needed for tangerines planted from the bone. If you bought an already strengthened tree in a specialized store, the procedure will not be needed.
Gardeners who have long grown citrus seeds from the seed know when and how to plant tangerine at home so that it actively bears fruit. The optimal months for the procedure are:
- March;
- April;
- August.
You can plant mandarin in March, April, May and August.
In the spring the plant wakes up, the active movement of juices begins inside the shoots, in August the plant is as strong and strong as possible. During these months, the mandarin will successfully undergo vaccination.
In autumn and winter, the plant is dormant. Vaccination during this period will not work, you can harm the tree.
The main methods of vaccination
As a scion it is necessary to use a cutting with 2-3 buds from a fruit-bearing mandarin tree. The procedure is recommended to be carried out immediately on 2-3 seedlings, because not all grafts take root successfully.
The grafting procedure is carried out on grown mandarin seedlings. The rootstock shoot thickness should be 5–7 mm. Usually biennial trees are used.
Vaccination of mandarin at home is carried out in the following ways:
- splitting (the easiest way, suitable for novice gardeners);
- for the bark;
- eyes (budding).
For the procedure to be successful, all manipulations must be carried out quickly and clearly. It is important to make even and neat cuts, to make sure that the bark of the cuttings and the tree are in close contact with each other. Before carrying out agrotechnical work, hands and all tools must be washed with soap and water.
Before planting a tangerine, you need to prepare a sharp knife, electrical tape and garden var. To prepare the var, take rosin in a ratio of 4: 2: 1, beeswax and animal fat (pork or beef). The components are boiled for 30 minutes, the mixture is allowed to cool, and then kneaded into a homogeneous mass.
Grafting into cleft
Any beginner will be able to inoculate a mandarin into cleavage. You must follow the sequence of actions:
- Cut a branch into the rootstock, split the stump to a depth of 5 cm.
- Make 2 oblique cuts 3-4 cm long on the handle, a wedge should form.
- Insert the wedge into the cut (split) on the rootstock so that the slices fit snugly against each other on one side.
- Wrap the vaccination site insulating tape, the kidney must remain free.
Grafting for the bark
It is not difficult to plant a tangerine for the bark so that it bears fruit. On the rootstock, you need to cut a branch, make a 3 cm long incision in the bark on it. Move the edges of the bark and place the scion with an oblique cut inside so that the cambium of the scion and the rootstock are in contact.
On thick branches, 2-3 cuttings can be grafted, at a distance of 3-4 cm from each other. The attached scion must be wrapped with electrical tape. After the procedure, the tree is also placed in a greenhouse and periodically ventilated.
Budding
Mandarin inoculation with eyes, or budding is the most effective method... The work is carried out in the following order:
- Wipe the bottom of the rootstock trunk (10–12 cm from the soil surface) with damp gauze to remove a layer of earth dust.
- Carefully cut off the peephole from the scion cuttings - a section of the bark with a bud.
- On the bark of the stock with a disinfected knife, make an incision in the bark in the shape of the letter T with vertical stripe 1 cm, and horizontal - 2.5 cm.
- Move the wood to the rootstock with a knife blade, insert a peephole inside, press with bark.
- Lubricate the slices with pitch, wrap with tape so that the kidney remains open.
- Place the seedling in a greenhouse for two weeks and ventilate every day.
If the vaccination is successful, then after 10 days the grafted eye will turn yellow. The electrical tape can be loosened, and after a week completely removed. When the bud germinates, the mandarin trunk should be shortened with an oblique cut at a distance of 6–9 cm from the scion.
If the peephole is not engrafted, it will begin to blacken or rot. It is necessary to remove the plant from the greenhouse, unwind the tape, remove the scion, process the bark cut with garden pitch.
Caring for a grafted tree
The grafted mandarin needs to be provided proper care so that it bears abundant fruit in 2-3 years. The tree should grow in a warm, evenly lit room with an air humidity of more than 50%.
Proper care of your vaccinated mandarin includes the following:
- Watering. In summer, the plant is watered 2-3 times a week, in winter - once a week. Use only settled or filtered water. For the prevention of diseases, once every 2 months, the plant is watered with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
- Spraying. In summer, mandarin is sprayed with water from a spray bottle every 2 days, in winter - once every 2 weeks.
- Top dressing. Specialized organic fertilizers for citrus trees they are applied in spring and summer, 2-3 times a month.
- Transfer. Young plants (up to 4 years old) are transplanted every year, adults - every 2 years. The transplant is carried out in the spring.
- Pruning. Unnecessary and damaged branches are pruned so that the tangerine will bear fruit better. The trunk is periodically shortened. Pruning is also done to form a beautiful crown.
In winter, plants need to be provided with rest. Otherwise, you should not expect a lot of fruits from him. In addition to reducing the intensity of watering and fertilizing, the temperature in the room is reduced to 15 ° C.
Many gardeners dream of having citrus trees in their home that bear tasty fruits. But to get good harvest it is not enough just to plant a tangerine seed and grow a tree. In order for the fruits to be large and sweet, the plant must be grafted. Information on how to plant tangerines, on the rules for the preparation of rootstock and scion, care and crown formation will be of interest to all growers.
Description and methods of reproduction
Reticulata) is the most popular and widespread crop in Asia, especially Japan and China. A low (up to 3.5 m) branched tree, according to the botanical classification, belongs to the Rutov family. It has leathery lanceolate leaves that have been growing on branches for almost 4 years. A feature of the structure of mandarin leaves is the presence of small wings on the cuttings. The tree blooms with fragrant white flowers, large in size.
Reproduction of mandarin is possible in two ways: from the bone and vegetatively. To obtain a plant from a seed, it is planted in fertile soil, and after a month, small sprouts appear. However, the tree grows very slowly, and fruiting can occur only after 4-7 years, and the fruits will most likely be sour and tasteless (wild). Therefore, you should know how to plant a tangerine from a seed in order to stimulate the development and high-quality fruiting of the culture.
Growing from a bone
To plant a tangerine, it is necessary to purchase well-ripened fruits, from which the largest seeds are taken. It is better to select a dozen, place it in a bag of gauze or cloth and moisten with water to swell.
When the seeds hatch, you need to prepare the pot. For drainage, small pebbles, shards or nutshells are placed in it. When buying ready-made soil, it is necessary to select non-acidic, peat-free. For home cooking, take humus, forest soil and sand in a ratio of 2: 2: 1.
Seeds are planted in a pot filled with soil mixture to a depth of 4 cm and placed in a warm place, periodically moistening the ground. A transplant into a large container is done when at least 5 young leaves appear.
Tangerine tree care
The most important components for the successful growth of a tree, which are necessary even before the tangerines are grafted, are heat, light and moisture. Optimum temperature must be maintained at least +20 ° С, the duration of illumination is at least 12 hours (it is recommended to use phytolamps). An important rule high-quality growth - maintaining the necessary moisture in the soil and air, as well as regularly wiping the leaves with a wet napkin and spraying. For this, only boiled or filtered water is taken. It is strictly forbidden to allow the soil to dry out, but in winter period watering can be slightly reduced.
In the first year of the tree's life, it is necessary to prune for the correct formation of the skeleton: the overgrown lateral branches are left only strong, the rest are removed. Pruning is best done in early February, before the end of the dormant period. In older plants, the upper branches are pinched, the old ones are removed. Too long shoots can be shortened during the summer.
Preparation for vaccination
You should know that following the recommendations on how to plant a tangerine at home will help to make the procedure efficiently, which will speed up the growth of the tree and bring the time to get fruit closer. However, for this you must first prepare planting material.
- all homemade citrus fruits are best grafted in April, when the phase of active growth begins for the plant, which will contribute to better engraftment of the material;
- another suitable time to plant tangerines is August, when the tree reaches its peak;
- it is necessary to prepare in advance the scion and stock, tools and materials (knife, garden var, electrical tape or scotch tape): the scion is a branch taken from an already fruiting plant, and the stock will be a grown mandarin seedling obtained from the seed;
- grafting is not done on plants that are too young (less than 2 years old) with a trunk diameter of less than 6 mm (pencil thickness).
Choice of rootstock and scion
When asked if tangerine can be grafted into tangerine, the answer is only yes, but this option is the least suitable. This is due to the slow growth of the tree and its weak root system. As a rootstock, you can use indoor tree lemon, grapefruit or orange, the latter being valued more for its drought tolerant properties. Tangerine grafted onto lemon grows better, thanks to a more developed root system, as on grapefruit. The best option The rootstock is considered a pomelo, but in our climate it is rarely grown.
Recommendations experienced gardeners indicate that the stock should be grown in the same conditions or in the same room in which it will grow further, which is a guarantee of stable development and fruiting. That is, if the plant is a greenhouse, then transferring it to an apartment after grafting will negatively affect the development of the tree.
For the scion (which will be grafted onto the future tangerine), a branch from a varietal tree is taken, necessarily one that has already borne fruit. It should have 2 kidneys. Only 1 scion can be grafted for each rootstock root. If you put two of them, then only the strongest will survive.
Vaccination procedure
- the scion stalk is cut from a healthy tree with a sharp disinfected knife;
- all leaves and thorns are removed, 1 mandarin bud should remain on the branch;
- completely remove the entire crown of the tree from the stock, otherwise it will not allow the scion to grow;
- the rootstock plant must have a trunk with a developed bark, at a distance of 7-10 cm from the soil it must be wiped with a wet cloth, removing dust and dirt;
- sharp knife an incision is made in the bark in the form of the letter "T" (it is better not to touch the wood) measuring 2.5 x 1 cm (top and bottom);
- all operations must be done quickly, without touching the slices with your hands;
- the bark is pushed back with the tip of the budding knife, and the handle is inserted into the hole;
- then this place is covered with bark, covered with pitch and scotch tape or electrical tape is wound on top so that the kidney remains outside;
- the grafted plant is placed in a greenhouse made from a bag or plastic bottle, which must be ventilated daily so that moisture does not accumulate.
As a rule, after 12-20 days, the success of the operation will be visible by the appearance of the cutting: if it is blackened or withered, it means that it did not take root, if it turned yellow, then everything worked out. Then you can first loosen the bandage, then remove it. This will be a positive answer to the question of whether mandarin is inoculated and whether the procedure will be successful.
When a green shoot gradually begins to grow from the bud, the stem of the rootstock tree must be cut off from above by 10 cm above the graft site, and treated with garden pitch. It is better to tie a young shoot to a support or stick, which will help it grow quickly.
Caring for a grafted tree
Many gardeners are interested in how to plant a tangerine so that it will bear fruit successfully. However, it is not enough to make a high-quality vaccination; the subsequent care of a young tree and its correct fertilization are of great importance.
Watering is carried out only with settled water at room temperature. To maintain humidity in the room, it is necessary to spray the tree and the air around it 2-3 times a day. It is also possible to use a drip tray with constantly poured water.
The active growth of the seedling occurs from March to October, and during these months the plant needs constant care and feeding, which must be done every 2 weeks. Both mineral and organic fertilizers are used, monthly the tree is watered with a solution of manganese (light pink) or ferrous sulfate.
Tangerine trees are transplanted annually until they reach 7-8 years of age, usually in the spring. After the tree grows to 8 years old, a transplant is done every 2 years.
Crown formation
After the tangerines are grafted on the tree, it is necessary to adhere to some rules annually to properly form its crown. Moreover, this must be done only before the beginning of the first flowering of the plant. It is not recommended to allow the appearance of flowers until the branches of the 5th order are formed, otherwise the vegetation cycle of the plant will slow down.
If a tree grows with one shoot, then it must be cut so that 5-6 buds remain below, of which branches of the 1st order will grow further. Among them are left those who are directed to different sides... After their regrowth, 4-5 buds are left on each branch, from which branches of the 2nd order will grow in the future.
Diseases and pests
The following pests may appear on citrus trees: mealybug, red spider mite, citrus whitefly, scale insects, etc.
With a lack of water or waterlogged soil, spots may appear on the leaves, which is why they begin to fall off. To solve the problem, it is necessary to adjust the rules for the care and watering of the plant.
Since mandarin is an evergreen plant, each leaf, on average, lives in nature for about four years. Is growing tangerine tree slowly, up to 25 years old, it can reach 3-3.5 meters in height. The crown of an adult plant can be about the same in diameter. Mandarin blooms very beautifully, its flowers are large, bright white, have a pleasant spicy scent, therefore, at home, tangerine can also be grown as an ornamental flowering plant.
Suppose you come across a mandarin that is full of seeds, and you have the desire to plant it. The ability to grow your own tangerine tree from ordinary bone- this is great, but be prepared for the fact that you have to gain a fair amount of patience - the tangerine grows extremely slowly. In addition, you will have to learn how to plant a tangerine and learn how to do it practically.
Why Citrus Grafting
It is worth noting that a tangerine grown from a seed produces fruits after grafting, but they do not look like those from which the seeds were originally taken. In order for the mandarin variety to repeat, it is necessary to propagate it vegetatively - by cuttings, grafting. However, what happens will in any case pleasantly surprise the grower.
In order for the grown tangerine to start bearing fruit, it is necessary to be vaccinated.
Very often, flower growers plant citrus seeds, sometimes just out of curiosity. These seedlings germinate superbly, live at home, the tree looks very beautiful, but does not bear fruit. So, what you grow at home in a pot of tangerine seeds is wild. Just as only a tree can grow from an apple seed, which at best gives wild sour fruits if it is not grafted, so a tangerine without grafting will not bear normal fruits.
So, in order to get a real fruiting tangerine, a plant grown from a seed should be inoculated from a fruiting tree, the citrus variety does not really matter.
We plant the tangerine correctly
First of all, you need to prepare the planting material - a tangerine seed. It is best to immediately plant about ten seeds so that your efforts are suddenly not in vain. For planting, seeds obtained from ripe fruits are suitable. You can give the fruit a little overripe so that the seeds are definitely ready for planting and further growth. But don't let the tangerine rot, it can be bad for the seeds too.
Important. It is necessary to get seeds from the pulp immediately before planting, dried seeds are no longer suitable.
The already swollen mandarin seeds are planted in the ground.
Take a saucer, cheesecloth, or cotton wool. Pour warm water on the bottom of the dishes, put the material on top, let it soak in moisture, and put tangerine seeds on top, cover them with the same wet cloth or cotton wool. When the bones are very swollen, they can already be planted in the ground. When you see green growth, it's time to send tangerine crumbs to the ground.
Any one is suitable for planting. purchased soil for citrus fruits or just a light nutritious substrate. You can also prepare the soil yourself, for this you need to take from one part of leafy land, sod land and compost.
Sprouted seeds are best placed in a greenhouse - for this, it is done in a spacious pot good drainage, soil is poured and plants are planted. The greenhouse should be placed in a bright place in the house, but not in direct sunlight, you can additionally illuminate the seedlings with a lamp. It is also necessary to regularly ventilate the greenhouse to prevent rot and mold. With a harmonious ratio of light, moisture and heat, the mandarin will grow quickly and will require a separate pot.
Features and conditions of mandarin vaccination
So, the tangerine has grown and got stronger, it is in a separate pot. Now you need to make sure that it bears fruit. First, you need to think about the presence of a tree that bears fruit for grafting (you will need a cutting with two to four buds).
Important. You should not try to plant a plant that is less than two years old.
Some time before vaccination, you should begin to water the plant abundantly, then check how the bark is lagging behind the tree by cutting the bark just above the place where the vaccination will be carried out. In order to properly plant a tree, it is very important to observe whole line rules.
It is necessary to act accurately, quickly and confidently. If you work slowly, the tissues of the plant can oxidize under the influence of oxygen, in which case the grafting simply will not take root.
Without vaccination, a tangerine grown at home will not bear fruit.
You can train on plants that do not grow so slowly and are therefore less valuable. Hands and all instruments must be perfectly clean, ideally wearing sterile surgical gloves. Otherwise, bacteria and fungi will simply destroy young plant... You need to try not to touch the cut with your hands, and wipe the grafting site and cuttings with a damp cloth, or (ideally) treat with a fungicide.
The most optimal and correct timing for inoculating citrus fruits, including indoor plants, is spring and early summer (May or June). For grafting, it is better to choose rainy weather, open a window, since the high moisture content in the air has a good effect on the condition of the scion, not allowing it to dry out excessively.
Truth, experienced florists vaccinated in indoor conditions citrus fruits (including tangerines) practically all year round... Tangerines, as a rule, have two waves of full growth, the second is late autumn. Therefore, even at the beginning of winter, you can also graft a plant. It is important to provide him after the procedure normal humidity in the air and backlight.
Inoculate indoor tangerine can be with an eye or a handle. Cuttings can be stored in the refrigerator in sawdust or peat.
Mandarin can be grafted with a handle or eye.
Let's take a closer look at two methods of vaccination:
- How to inoculate a tangerine with a kidney or an "eye". Vaccination techniques for indoor tangerine are the same as in conventional gardening. The only difference is in the size of the "tree". A healthy and mature kidney must be selected for the mandarin vaccination. First, you should clean the trunk of your rootstock (not grafted tree) from dust and dirt, lightly wiping the surface with a moistened cotton swab. Then, taking a sharp knife, very carefully make an incision in the shape of the letter "T" on the bark of the stock, without touching the wood. Corners should appear on the bark. They are slightly bent and a peephole is inserted there.
- Inoculation of a mandarin with a cuttings. First, the stem is lightly wiped, dust is removed and horizontally cut off at a height of five to seven centimeters from the ground surface. In the downward direction, you need to make a small (about a centimeter) incision along the bark, slightly move the corners at the bark, where to insert the prepared cutting. Good stalk should have two or three nodes with full buds and several cuttings from leaves. Pressing the handle, smooth the corners and edges on the bark, press the bark to the handle. The vaccination site is properly wrapped, and the top is covered (for example, with garden varnish).
Tree care after vaccination
After the vaccination, the mandarin needs care.
In the warm season, the tangerine grown from the bone and grafted is best sent to Fresh air but hot summer heat the tree should be slightly shaded. In summer, especially if it is hot, it is imperative to periodically spray the entire crown with slightly warm water, or wipe the leaves with a damp sponge.
A tangerine tree needs a normal light source, it needs to be placed on the south side, but from the direct rays of the hot sun, the plant may burn its leaves. You need to feed the tangerine in the summer once every two weeks. In addition to special feedings that are sold in the store, you can also use organic ones. For prevention, once every two months, the earth is spilled with a very weak manganese solution or iron sulfate.
The resting period for mandarin begins at the end of November and ends in February. During this period of time, you should lower the air temperature in the room where the tangerine tree stands to 14 degrees with a plus sign by sending your citrus to a warm veranda or balcony. If this is not possible, choose the coolest windowsill and place the plant closer to window glass... Watering must also be reduced (no more than twice a week).
A tangerine, which has not yet reached the age of four, should be transplanted annually at the onset of spring, an adult tree can be transplanted in a year. The diameter of each subsequent pot becomes larger than the previous one by five centimeters. During transplantation, you need to be careful and keep an earthen lump, in order to avoid damage to the roots.
Agronomists advise to spray the tangerine grown at home.
Experts who constantly grow citrus fruits from seeds, including tangerines, advise:
- Sprinkle rainwater on a tangerine tree once a week.
- The plant will feel great if a small indoor decorative fountain is installed in the room in which the tangerine stands.
- In order for your tangerine to not grow much, and to give more strength not to the leaves, but to the fruits, you need to pinch all the young branches after the formation of six leaves. The perfectly formed crown of a citrus tree has a slightly rounded shape, and the plant itself in an adult state can reach one and a half meters
- If you were able to grow a young tangerine in a pot, you should take care of buying a cultured normal scion, it is better to purchase it in a botanical garden. When placing an order online (on the Internet), make sure that your sprout is properly "canned", since only freshly cut and healthy material should be taken for inoculation.
By the way, in China, the tangerine tree is a symbol of success, prosperity and well-being. Just like us New Year we don't celebrate without a tree, the Chinese don't celebrate it without a tangerine tree. So the time will come and small tree with real fruits will decorate your festive table.
On the video you can see detailed process vaccinations of mandarin at home.
Everyone who has seen homemade tangerines from friends dream that they also have zither at home. whisker tree with fragrant flowers... Many are stopped by the fear that they will not have the strength and knowledge to properly care for such an exotic pet.
Indeed, some citrus indoor plants require specific growing conditions, but not tangerine, caring for it is quite simple: it is unpretentious and hardy to live on ordinary windowsills of Russian apartments.
Anyone can grow a tangerine from a seedling purchased at a flower shop, since this is already a grafted fruit-bearing tree.
If you cannot afford to allocate money from your home budget to buy a plant, then you can grow a tangerine at home on your own. To do this, you need to have only a few seeds taken from ordinary fruits.
Homemade citrus fruits: decorative mandarin
Several years will pass, and you will be full of pride from a slender tree with very beautiful shiny leaves. The citrus scent will spread throughout the apartment, which will add extra coziness and comfort to your home.
Mandarin tree - from the Rutaceae family spherical, the leaves are evergreen, change every four years, the flowers are white, smelling good.
The given citrus tree seeds or vegetatively. More often than not, many homes have an indoor tangerine grown from seeds. But this is only decorative indoor plant, which improves the interior of the apartment, but is absolutely not fruitful or has very small inedible fruits.
On farms, citrus fruits are always grafted to produce delicious fruits. You will have to do a similar operation if you decide to feast on juicy vitamins. If you just want to try your hand at growing citrus plants on your own, then you can do it one hundred percent.
Make room for them on the south side if you have poisonous plants then they are not best neighbors for indoor citrus fruits, move them to another windowsill.
How to grow a tangerine at home from an ordinary seed
Soaking the seeds
Everyone who has come across the cultivation of seedlings from seeds knows that they must swell. We take a few tangerine seeds and soak them in gauze for several days. There should not be too much water, let the fabric be slightly damp, and you will simply add water as needed.
If you only have one homemade tangerine, anyway, let there be 10-15 seeds: not all will germinate, some will die from diseases, and someone will die a "death of the brave" when you try to inoculate the plant yourself for the first time.
There is no desire to deal with gauze - a hydrogel sold in specialized stores will help you. Professionals involved in landscape design, ordinary amateur gardeners use it whenever possible, as it is a wonderful protection of plants from heat.
Hydrogel is akin to drip irrigation, but in our case it will not be added to the soil, but will serve instead of gauze, as it retains moisture perfectly. The bones must be kept in the middle of the gel so that they do not dry out.
Landing in the ground
The hatched seeds are transplanted into a pot or a regular seedling box. Some do not wait for the bones to swell, but immediately plant them in the ground. The sprout appears a little later, but it looks no worse than the one that grew from the soaked seed.
What soil is required to get a tangerine at home? Peat must not be used: it is often sour, quick-drying, and does not have any special nutritional properties. It is found in almost all mixtures sold in stores, so you will have to prepare the soil for growing citrus fruits yourself:
- sod land - 3 parts;
- sheet land - 1 part;
- decayed cow dung- 1 part;
- sand - 1 part;
- a small amount of clay.
For townspeople, such manipulations are unrealistic, so try to buy a neutral, nutritious soil "Rose" or "Biohumus". According to reviews on the Internet, it is well suited for citrus cultivation. As a last resort, you can take ordinary soil and mix with a small amount of ash, superphosphate and organic fertilizer.
Do not forget to put expanded clay or pebbles for drainage at the bottom of the pot. When will the first leaves appear? Citrus houses begin to grow actively after three weeks from the time of planting.
Indoor citrus: care, nutrition, protection
As soon as the first sprouts appear, they should be fed every two weeks with mineral and organic fertilizers.
It is great that there are special fertilizers on sale for the care citrus plants... First, the tree is watered, and then fertilization occurs.
Such a houseplant should be transplanted in the spring of every year, trying to maintain the integrity of the soil around the roots. When the tangerine tree at home reaches eight years old, then the transplant is done in a year.
Mandarin loves the sun, a window on the south side is an ideal place for it, but so that in winter the temperature does not drop below 14 degrees. Indoor tangerine should be sprayed every week, high humidity it is vital for him, so let there always be dishes with water next to the pot.
Watering the tangerine tree in the summer should be very abundant several times a day, in winter - up to three times a week as the soil dries out with water room temperature... Active feeding of citrus fruits occurs from April to September, from which the fruits will grow sweeter.
Many young indoor citrus fruits die from pests that are practically invisible to people: red spider mite, citrus whitefly, scale insects.
If you look closely, you can see that the plant is entwined with the smallest cobweb, destructive for it. Check the seedlings regularly to spot problems early on.
There are preparations "Aktellik", "Fitoverm", designed to thoroughly wash all the sheets from above and below with their solution. Proceed according to the attached instructions, spraying is not effective, therefore only rinsing, which is repeated several times a week later.
How to grow a fruiting tangerine
A tangerine from a stone in nature begins to bear fruit in 4-5 years. This will be the so-called wild, which has tasteless fruits. Tangerine grafting is an acceleration of fruiting, getting mouth-watering fruits. It is done during the period of sap flow: April, early May, August. In other months, success is impossible, good result also depends on quick, careful action during grafting in a clean environment.
What should be prepared for grafting a tangerine tree:
- the stock is your seed-grown plant with a trunk no thinner than 6 mm (like a pencil approximately);
- scion - fresh stalk or peephole, taken from a fruiting citrus, from a branch not older than two years;
- garden pitch;
- elastic tape;
- budding grafting knife.
On the stem of the stock at a height of 10 cm, a T-shaped incision is made: horizontal - 1 cm, vertical - 2-4 cm. The graft is prepared: thorns and leaf blades are removed. The bud with a small layer of wood is carefully cut and inserted into the incision. The place of "operation" is carefully wrapped with tape. The plant after grafting is placed under a jar or plastic bag, to create required humidity and microclimate.
Only after a month it will become clear whether budding has turned out or not. Let there be several experimental samples, since it will no longer be possible to redo it - the period of sap flow has passed. It is best to start experiments in the spring, if there is no success, repeat it at the end of summer.
As you can see that the bud has sprouted - the sprout is accustomed to the air outside the jar. Airing is gradually increased, the winding is removed. Another month later, when new escape already growing well: the stem of the stock is carefully cut with a knife obliquely higher by 3 mm from the base of the shoot and covered with garden pitch. A stick is installed in a pot to teach a tangerine tree at home to grow vertically. That's all! Good luck, do not forget to water, fertilize and spray your citrus tree.
Without proper vaccination, enjoying juicy and sweet self-grown tangerines will likely become impossible over time. This procedure allows you to somewhat speed up the appearance of fruits and significantly improve their taste and appearance... The task is not particularly difficult - even an amateur gardener can handle it with ready-made instructions.
When to plant mandarin
It is not recommended to do this if the tree is not yet bearing fruit due to its youth - there will be no results. The first tangerines appear usually 7 years after planting. The optimal month for grafting is mid or late spring, the time for active sap flow, although you can calmly do everything in the summer. You should not do this more than twice a year.
There are two ways - cleft inoculation, which is more suitable for beginners, and with an eye (budding). In the first case, the graft is slightly larger than the rootstock, therefore, before grafting tangerine at home, it is recommended to prepare 2 cuttings. This gives a better chance of a successful outcome of the procedure. A year later, in the spring, the smaller branch is removed. Both a dormant and an active kidney are suitable for budding. Both techniques involve the use of the scion at rest.
What you need: a list of everything you need to the smallest detail
Since the bark on mandarin is slightly thinner than on garden trees, you will definitely need a grafting knife with a sharp blade. You should also prepare:
- sterile gauze or bandage for tying the treated area;
- small plastic bag;
- boiled water;
- elastic adhesive tape;
- garden pitch for processing the place of cut on a tree.
Before the mandarin is vaccinated at home, one must not forget about the stock, the diameter of the trunk of which must be at least 7 mm. It will need a fresh graft of a fruiting tangerine, lemon or orange, but the native twig nevertheless takes root better and faster, and it should be fresh, not older than 2 years.
Detailed step-by-step instructions - how to proceed
Here are all the steps you need to take to budding:
- Measure 7 cm from the ground on the rootstock trunk. At this height, clean the bark of dirt and dust with a rag. Then carefully cut off all thorns and plates, if any, with a pruner.
- In the desired area of the tree, make a 1x2 cm cut in the shape of the letter "T" and gently move the bark to the side with the tip of a knife.
- To properly plant a tangerine tree, slowly insert a peephole with a layer of wood previously cut from the prepared branch into the formed recess. It must be held by the petiole leaf, which should eventually be covered with bark. By the way, it is desirable that the bud is from the middle of the branch.
- Lubricate the incision site with garden varnish made from melted beef and lamb fat, wax and rosin. The proportions for it should be approximately the same.
- Tie the treated area with gauze or bandage, and then tape it over. It is important that after all, the petiole with the leaf remains intact.
If you don't feel like messing around with putty, use a plastic bag. Before putting it on the handle, drip a little boiled or distilled water inside. The incision should also be covered with a bag. This method of planting a tangerine tree on your own is faster, but less effective - the peephole takes a little longer to take root. But in this way it will be possible to watch how it grows together with the stock, and if something is done wrong, calmly repeat the procedure.
At the end of all work, you need to place the plant under a film or a large plastic bag, they will serve as a greenhouse.
Advice! Ventilate the scion at least once every two days, which speeds up the healing of "wounds" on the trunk and the appearance of leaves.
In the case of budding, proceed as follows:
- The trunk, on which they will be grafted, is well wiped with a sponge.
- Having retreated 5 cm from the beginning of the stock, a horizontal incision is made on its bark no longer than 1.5 cm.
- At the bottom of the cutting, an incision is made the same size as that of the rootstock.
- The bark of the trunk is carefully bent over and a handle is inserted under it so that they touch.
What to do next
After about a month, the tangerine tree can be freed from the binding, by which time the branches should have already grown together. If a cellophane bag was chosen, then it is allowed to leave it for a year, before the start of sap flow in the scion. It is at this time that the first leaves appear on the cutting.
Next, you need to wait another 25 days and cut off the stock obliquely so that the trail from the knife is 2-3 cm higher than the shoot that appears on the handle. Then the garden pitch should be used again to process the incision. You can remove the adhesive tape after germination of new buds on the scion.
Advice! To form the correct crown of the tree, you need to fix the young shoot on a wooden support.
Admiring the flowering, if everything was done strictly according to the instructions, it will be possible after 2-3 years, but not very long, because the ovary needs to be cut off. This is due to the fact that while the tangerine tree has not yet sufficiently matured and formed for such loads, the scion. He will only become stronger for 2-3 years of life.
