How to grow a tangerine from a twig at home

Content

1 Peculiarities of tangerine reproduction
2 How to propagate tangerine from cuttings
3 Rules for care after landing
4 Conclusion

Every gardener who loves unusual crops strives to grow a tangerine from a twig. And although it is easier to propagate with seeds, they are not always present in the pulp, so there is a way to propagate the variety by rooting a shoot. To achieve success, you need to take a responsible approach to the choice of planting material and properly care for the tangerine.

You can try to propagate the following interesting varieties and varieties at home and outdoors:

Unshiu. Has the ability to self-pollinate, fruits without seeds. The weight of each tangerine reaches 70g. The pulp tastes sweet and juicy.
A distinctive feature of the Unshiu variety is its resistance to negative natural factors.
Shiva-Mikan is an old variety with small fruits. There are a lot of seeds inside the pulp. If you propagate the culture, you can enjoy citrus with a sweet and sour taste and a specific aroma.
The peculiarity of the Shiva-Mikan variety is its rapid growth and development
Marcotte is very popular among gardeners for its large, up to 120 g, fruits with an amazing sweet taste after ripening.
A significant drawback of the Marcot variety is the yellow skin, which is very difficult to separate from the pulp.

Peculiarities of tangerine reproduction

You can increase the number of citrus plants by seed and vegetative methods. Most often, gardeners prefer tangerine seeds: they are easy to obtain if you buy the fruit in a store. But it should be borne in mind that breeders for sale try to develop varieties that do not contain seeds, and this complicates the ability to obtain planting material.

In this case, there is an alternative method to propagate the plant - cutting the cuttings. Working with air layering is always a labor-intensive process that requires certain skills and materials. Often, not everyone succeeds in rooting and propagating a shoot. Despite all efforts, roots do not form on the branch.

A real opportunity to propagate a tangerine is to graft a cutting onto a lemon or orange rootstock

But not all gardeners have mature citrus at home, so they come up with an alternative: they buy a tangerine with a sprig. It is this that is rooted, and then they try to grow and propagate.

Important! You can cut tangerines at home throughout the year. The optimal time for the procedure is April.

How to propagate tangerine from cuttings

It must be borne in mind that even if you follow all the rules, the chances of success are not 100%. It is necessary to prepare planting material, properly root and transfer the cuttings to the ground. One of the important factors that allows you to propagate tangerines is the room temperature. Indicators should be within +24-26 °C.

Selection of planting material

To grow a tangerine from a cutting, you need to select “blanks”. There are no seedlings for sale in stores, but you can buy a tangerine twig at a regular fruit shop. Another option is to ask the owners of the citrus tree for a cutting.

Signs of good planting material from which the crop can be propagated:

dense, elastic dark-colored bark;
shoot length from 8 to 15 cm;
the presence of developed living buds (from three pieces);
no signs of rot or bacterial damage;

You can cut a cutting only from an adult tangerine tree that has been bearing fruit for several years.

If the owner plans to harvest the branches himself, then the initial stage of his activity is the processing and disinfection of the tools. To do this at home, the knife needs to be wiped with alcohol and heated over a fire. To take tangerine cuttings, it is recommended to select a one-year-old branch and move 8-15 cm away from its top. Be sure to leave at least three buds on it. Then cut the stalk so that the end is pointed.

To protect the plant from bacteria, you need to treat the cut area with garden varnish.

How to root a tangerine cutting

For the procedure, prepare a container, sand, and water. If it is impossible to immediately root tangerine cuttings, they must be preserved. To do this, wrap the shoots in a damp cloth and put them on a shelf in the refrigerator.

To propagate a crop by rooting, you should adhere to the following rules:

Take a spacious pot or wooden container with ventilation holes. Fill the bowl with wet river sand.
Stick the tangerine cutting into the ground with the sharp end down so that leaves and buds remain at the top.
Wrap the above-ground part in a plastic bag. As an alternative, you can cover the cutting with a cut plastic bottle. It is important to leave ventilation holes.
Move the plant to a windowsill and leave it there for a month. It should be well lit by sunlight.

It was possible to propagate a tangerine if after a month the roots of the cutting become visible in the soil

How to plant a tangerine cutting

Once the plant is ready for transplanting, you can prepare the soil mixture. To do this, you need to mix two parts of turf soil with part of leaf soil and part of rotted manure. To make the mixture highly permeable to water, 0.5 parts of river sand should be added to it.

In order for propagation by cuttings to be completed successfully, planting at home is carried out according to the following rules:

Pour the prepared soil mixture into the pot. First, spread perlite or coarse river sand on the bottom of the container.
Transfer the plant to a pot, sprinkle soil on top, and lightly compact the soil around the trunk. If the root system has grown greatly, it can be rolled into a ring.
Pour water generously over the tangerine.

You cannot pinch the root tips of citrus fruits, as they contain mycorrhiza, which is necessary for the crop to develop and grow.

Rules for care after landing

Propagating a tangerine is only half the battle; you need to be able to grow it. In order for a crop to bloom, bear fruit and not get sick, it needs to be provided with regular care:

Watering: daily in the warm season. The water should be at room temperature, settled. In winter, the procedure is reduced to 1-2 times a week so that the soil in the pot does not dry out.
Loosening: once every seven days using available tools. Housewives often use a toothpick or fork for this.
Feeding is carried out twice a month. It is important to alternate mineral and organic complexes. Chlorine must be eliminated. It is important to provide tangerines with potassium. It is allowed to purchase ready-made formulations. If you propagate and plant a tangerine, you can feed it no earlier than a month later.In winter, fertilizers cannot be applied to the soil.
Cleaning the leaves is required once a week; it consists of wiping the trunk and shoots with a damp cloth. It is recommended to wash the wood in the shower once a month.
Formation should be carried out taking into account varietal characteristics. You can pinch the plant when it reaches the desired height. After propagation, it is necessary to form a tangerine until it forms 4–5 fruit-bearing branches.
Pick off the first flowers after transplanting. The same is done with all subsequently formed fruits for three years. It is necessary not only to propagate the tangerine, but also to ensure that it gains green mass.

Important! The first sign of violation of the rules of care is yellowing and falling leaves. Immediately after propagation, partial wilting of the buds and shoots is acceptable, but after 1-2 days the seedling should look healthy.

Conclusion

You can grow a tangerine from a twig if you follow a number of rules. It is important to provide the plant with proper care and monitor the condition of the seedling. If there is a lack of light and nutrients, you may never see the fruit. And if a culture is constantly under stress, it will quickly die.