How to plant a homemade tangerine grown from a seed

You can graft tangerines at home. The easiest option is to insert the cutting into a “pocket” behind the bark or into a split hemp with an even cut. You can also graft using the budding method (cut with the letter “T”). In all cases, the sequence of actions is approximately the same - an incision is made on the rootstock, a scion is inserted and secured with garden tape. Then they are treated with garden varnish.

Is it necessary to graft a tangerine?

In most cases, tangerine grafting is necessary. If you graft from a fruit-bearing tree, the seedling is guaranteed to produce a harvest. The specific variety is not particularly important, the main thing is that it is a variety and not a hybrid.

At the same time, grafting tangerines from the store is undesirable, since it is not always possible to determine the name of the variety. Retail outlets often sell sterile hybrids that are characterized by good yield and keeping quality.Therefore, it is better to purchase tangerine tree seeds from special suppliers.

Will a tangerine bear fruit if it is not grafted?

A tangerine grown from a seed will bear fruit without grafting. However, these citrus fruits will be different from the ones from which the seeds themselves were obtained. They may have other sizes and tastes. The reason is that seeds are produced by cross-pollination of different trees (or even varieties). Therefore, genes are combined in different variants, and the new tree inevitably differs from the parent ones.

There are often cases when a tangerine grown from a seed does not produce any fruit. It grows wild and can only be used for decorative purposes. There may be two reasons:

1. The seeds are taken not from varieties, but from hybrids (for example, tangelo, natsumikan). Such varieties are sterile. Therefore, even if pollination is organized, the fruits will not form.
2. The variety is not self-fertile; it requires cross-pollination (artificially or with the help of bees). However, the gardener may not know about this and wait for the fruits, but they never appear.

Time frame for tangerine vaccination at home

The best period when you can graft a rootstock is early spring (second half of March). The time is selected so that sap flow has not yet begun. Then the graft takes root well on the rootstock. If spring time is missed, then the procedure can be carried out at the end of August - beginning of September.

It is better to plant tangerine at the very beginning of spring.

Required tools and materials

The procedure is simple, but requires some skill. To plant a tangerine at home, you will need the following materials and tools:

• pruner;
• sharp blade;
• knife for budding;
• sterile cotton wool;
• clean cloth;
• garden tape;
• var (or charcoal powder, activated carbon to disinfect the cut).

Methods for grafting tangerine from seed

There are different ways to plant a tangerine tree at home. Three methods are used: by bark, by splitting, and by budding.

For the bark

A fairly simple way to plant a tangerine. You need to act this way:

1. Wipe the rootstock with a damp cloth.
2. Make a cut in the bark at the top of the crown and open it a little.
3. Then take the scion and sharpen it at the bottom with a knife.
4. Insert the rootstock into the cut. Secure with tape.
5. Lubricate with garden varnish.

Then the tangerine will have a lush crown, the tree will give several branches with a rich harvest.

Into the cleft

You can graft a tangerine into a cleft using the following algorithm:

1. Wipe the rootstock with a damp cloth or cotton wool.
2. Use pruning shears to remove the top or other shoot so that you get a smooth stump.
3. Split it with a sharp knife.
4. Wipe the scion with damp cotton wool.
5. Sharpen the lower part of it (you should get a sharp wedge).
6. Insert into the split and wrap with garden tape.
7. Treat with varnish. You can also sprinkle the sections with crushed charcoal or activated carbon.

You can graft a tangerine into a split by making a stump with an even cut on the rootstock

Budding

This method of planting a tangerine requires more steps, although both an experienced gardener and a beginner can perform them. The instructions are:

1. Mark a place for grafting on the rootstock (8 cm above the surface of the ground) and wipe it with cotton wool or a rag soaked in clean water.
2. Take a knife and cut a slice in the shape of the letter “T”: width 1 cm, length 3 cm.
3. Carefully bend the bark from the resulting cut, forming a “pocket” for the scion.
4. They take a cutting and find the largest bud on it. The surface layer of bark is peeled off and, if necessary, the scion is shortened (length 3 cm).
5. Wipe the handle with moistened cotton wool, insert it into the “pocket” and secure with tape.
6. Lubricate with garden varnish.
7. A few days later, when a shoot begins to emerge from the grafted bud, the top of the rootstock is pinched. This is done to stimulate the development of the newly made scion.

How to plant tangerine at home with video

It is quite possible to graft a tangerine tree at home. To do this, you need to choose a grafting method, prepare tools and the tree itself.

Preparing the tree

For the rootstock, perform a few simple steps:

1. 7–10 days in advance, you need to start intensively watering the tree with water at room temperature (preliminarily let it sit overnight).
2. Mark the grafting site and check how the bark is coming off. If it peels off poorly, you need to wait 2-3 days. If the lag is normal, you can begin the procedure.
3. Before planting a tangerine, clean the area with damp cotton wool or a rag.
4. Disinfection is carried out with vodka or an aqueous solution of alcohol (diluted 2 times).
5. Next, remove all branches below the grafting site. Treated with garden varnish.

Before work, it is advisable to treat your hands with an antiseptic.

Choosing a rootstock and scion

The rootstock is the plant onto which the graft is made. A scion is a crop that is wound onto a rootstock. This allows you to give the plant new properties.

The scion can be taken from any variety of tangerine, the main condition is that it must be fruit-bearing

When choosing, you need to consider several requirements:

1. The rootstock is grown from varietal tangerine seeds purchased in a special store or from suppliers. Also, the rootstock can be obtained by any method of vegetative propagation, for example, by cuttings (buy a young seedling).
2. The age of the rootstock is at least two years. You need to pay attention to the appearance (healthy, without spotting) and especially to the thickness of the shoot - the larger the better (minimum 5 mm).
3. The scion can be taken from any variety, the main thing is that the tree is already bearing fruit, i.e. gave at least one full harvest. In this case, several healthy buds should remain on the cut cuttings.
4. Other requirements for the scion are a tree with large, tasty fruits and good keeping quality.

The situation is similar with other citrus fruits - orange, lime, grapefruit. Therefore, it is better to graft only tangerine onto tangerine. And not from a store, but a high-quality one purchased from trusted suppliers.

Step by step process

You can graft a tangerine using any of the described methods. For example, if you choose a budding method, you should proceed as follows:

1. Make a cut in the shape of the letter "T".
2. Move the edges of the cut.
3. Take a cutting, leave 3 leaves and cut them in half.
4. Make the bottom cut at a very sharp angle (30 degrees).
5. Place it under the bark and secure with garden tape.
6. Treat with garden varnish so that the cut does not dry out and infection does not penetrate through it.
7. When the first shoots appear, it is necessary to remove the tape so that there is no tugging.

You can clearly see how to graft a tangerine in the video.

How to understand that the vaccination was successful

If you carry out the procedure correctly and then organize normal tree care, then almost all the grafting will take root.Determining this visually is quite simple:

• the cuttings will turn yellow (but will not dry out);
• A shoot will appear from the scion in a few days.

Grafted tangerine gives a good harvest

If over time the scion begins to turn black or dry out, it means it has not taken root. Then it must be carefully removed; you can make an incision to the healthy part of the shoot. The damaged area should be sprinkled with charcoal powder or lubricated with garden varnish to prevent fungal spores and other pests from entering through the wound.

Tree care after grafting

It is important not only to properly graft the tangerine, but also to take good care of the tree after that. Basic rules of agricultural technology:

1. Place the plant in a south or southeast window so that it receives maximum light.
2. In summer, take it out onto the balcony and shade it a little during hot periods.
3. Water 2 times a week with warm, settled water.
4. In hot weather in the evening, be sure to spray the tree with a spray bottle and wipe the leaves with a damp cloth.
5. In the second half of spring and summer, tangerine is fed every two weeks (bird droppings diluted 15 times, infusion of green grass, wood ash - scattered over the soil surface). It is also possible to use rotted manure, compost and a mixture of peat and humus. Organic matter is alternated with mineral fertilizers (ammonium nitrate in spring, superphosphate with potassium salt or potassium sulfate in summer).
6. Young trees are transplanted every year into new pots of larger diameter (+5 cm). This is done for the first four years, and then every 2-3 years.

Periodically, the seedling is watered and ventilated.

Conclusion

You can graft tangerines at home. To do this, you need to choose a high-quality cutting. It can be grafted onto the bark, by budding, and into clefts. After this, the plant needs special care. Carry out regular watering and fertilizing, and, if necessary, treatment against pests with Bordeaux mixture and other preparations.

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