Indoor tangerine is a very effective pot plant. And not only because of the bright, aromatic and mouth-watering orange fruits that can last for several months. Sometimes the plant delights only in its flowering, because the delicate white mandarin flowers exude an amazing aroma. In some varieties, flowering begins in spring and can last all year round. Indoor tangerine, grown in the form of a bonsai, is a real work of art.
1. To plant a tangerine, you will need seeds, or rather seeds, which can be "obtained" by purchasing several ripe tangerines in the store. For the success of the event, it is better to have more seeds (at least 5-10), since not everyone will be able to germinate.
2. Next, it is necessary for the bones to hatch or swell. To do this, the bones need to be wrapped in gauze and lightly moistened with water for several days.
3. The optimal soil for planting will be a special earth for citrus bought in a flower shop, but in principle any light mixture is suitable for tangerines. For example, if you mix in equal parts turf and leafy soil, completely rotted manure humus and compost, your tangerine will surely like it. A peat-based mixture is neither worth making nor buying. Do not forget about the need for drainage.
For the emergence of tangerine shoots, it takes quite a long time, the first noticeable shoots appear only after two to three weeks, and sometimes even a whole month.
4. Mandarin generally grows very slowly, and sometimes it also stops growing. But if you do not lose hope and enthusiasm and give him the necessary care, he will grow into a beautiful tree that delights your eyes.
5. Of course, mandarin is an unpretentious tree in its content (not only among citrus fruits, but also among all other plants), but it still requires observance of some rules of care. The most important condition for him is an abundance of sunlight. For a light-loving tangerine, intensive lighting is needed 12 hours a day all year round.
6. Mandarin is also very sensitive to moisture. In the summer it needs to be watered abundantly, but not flooded, and in winter, watering should be reduced, but make sure that the soil does not dry out. In addition, tangerine leaves must be sprayed daily with filtered or boiled clean water to compensate for the dryness of the air, you can even place a small indoor fountain near the tangerine so that it additionally humidifies the air.
7. As the tangerine tree grows, it should be transplanted into a larger pot. It is best to do this in late winter - early spring. You need to take a pot with a diameter of 3-5 cm larger than the previous one. The tangerine tree is transplanted by the transshipment method, preserving the old earthen lump as much as possible so as not to damage the root system of the plant.
8. A few weeks after transplanting, the tree should begin a period of active growth. Such periods will be repeated several times during the spring and summer season. During this period, you need to feed the tangerine with mineral and organic fertilizers once a week or two. You can use a sleeping tea leaves as a fertilizer, which you need to dig into the soil.
9. Tangerines, grown at home, grow only up to 1.5 m and are miniature trees that fit perfectly into any interior, even without fruit. And when the tree is strewn with fragrant flowers, and then with bright fruits, it becomes a universal center of attraction, giving beauty and causing sighs of admiration.
