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Tangerines are evergreen low-growing trees that grow in the Mediterranean countries, Southeast Asia, Argentina and Brazil. In Russia they are found only in the Krasnodar region and the North Caucasus. They can be grown not only in open ground, but also at home.
Where did tangerines come from?
The provinces of southern China and Cochin China are considered the homeland of tangerine trees, i.e. southeastern part of Indochina (southern Vietnam). They grew there for dozens of centuries, and came to Europe only at the beginning of the 19th century.
Wild tangerine trees are no longer found. Only cultivated varieties are known. There are more than 200 species, varieties and hybrids of plants. They differ in different parameters: taste, appearance and shape of the fruit.
What does a tangerine tree look like?
Mandarin is an evergreen tree belonging to the Citrus genus (Rutaceae family). In Latin its name is: Citrus reticulata. The tree on which tangerines grow is named exactly the same as its fruit.
The culture is a low tree that reaches a height of only 4–5 m. Young cuttings are dark green in color, and over time they become covered with bark. The leaves are small, oval or ovoid in shape. The flowers are white, with elongated petals (five pieces on each inflorescence). The tangerine tree looks quite beautiful, especially during the fruiting period, which lasts 7–9 months. The harvest ends by early December.
An adult tree produces 5–7 thousand fruits per season
Mandarin: is it a fruit, berry or vegetable
Along with the question of what tree tangerines grow on, it is not entirely clear which category they belong to. According to scientific classification, the culture belongs to the category of orange or hesperidium. This is a type of berry - a juicy multi-seeded fruit. The peculiarity of orange is that its pulp is divided into several bags of the same size (10-12 cloves in each). Seeds are formed only in some. There are also varieties in which they are not present at all. Thus, the tangerine is precisely a berry. Although from an economic point of view it is a fruit (sweet, juicy). That's why they call him this and that.
The fruit size is small (compared to other citrus fruits). They reach 4–6 cm in diameter, with an average weight of 60–80 g, although there are also larger varieties (depending on the variety). The color is orange, yellow, greenish and even red-orange. The taste is pleasant, sweet, often with sourness.The aroma of the zest is pronounced, citrusy.
Mandarin: is it a tree or shrub
From a botanical point of view, the tangerine is precisely a tree. It reaches a height of 4–5 meters, after which it grows only due to lateral branches. Like a classic tree, the tangerine has a main trunk, skeletal branches, as well as shoots of the third, fourth and subsequent orders. For comparison: shrubs can have several trunks, and their height rarely exceeds three meters.
In which country do tangerines grow?
In nature, the tangerine tree grows in tropical and subtropical climate zones. This is India, the countries of Indochina, southern China. South Korea and Japan. The second cultivation region is the Mediterranean, including Italy (especially Sicily), France, Greece, Spain, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt.
Tangerine trees are also grown in the countries of the Black Sea coast and Transcaucasia - Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Abkhazia. In America, these plants are also found quite often, for example, in Florida (USA), Argentina and Brazil.
In Russia, heat-loving tangerine trees are often grown in greenhouses
Where do tangerines grow in Russia?
In Russia, tangerines grow only on the Black Sea coast - this is the south of the Krasnodar Territory and the regions of the North Caucasus. The plantations here are small, so the main volumes are supplied from Turkey, China, Abkhazia, Morocco and other countries.
How and on what do tangerines grow
Tangerine fruits grow on stalks - petioles on the shoot. They appear in groups of 5–6 pieces, in the same quantity in which the flowers were formed.
How tangerines grow in nature
In natural growing conditions (open ground), these plants prefer light, fertile and well-moistened soils.The place should be open and sunny, without stagnant moisture. All varieties are heat-loving and do not tolerate even short-term frosts. In countries with hot climates (Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia) they can bear fruit all year round.
How to grow tangerine at home
At home, the plant is grown in heated greenhouses or in a room (in a large container, bucket). For planting, choose hybrid seeds that have good germination and grow much faster. It is quite simple to distinguish them from varietal varieties: varieties do not have seeds in the fruit, but hybrids always have them.
Seeds are selected of a normal type (not very thin), and you need to take at least 5 pieces. In March they are planted in a pot with turf soil, humus and sand (2:1:1). There is no need to take peat, since it acidifies the soil, and tangerine loves a neutral reaction (pH from 6.5 to 7.0).
Initially, ordinary 200 ml cups with holes for moisture drainage can be used as a container. Seeds are planted to a depth of 4 cm and watered. If you have time, you can first put them in a damp cloth and put them in a warm place.
At home it is quite possible to get a harvest of tangerines
Seedlings are grown at room temperature (20–25 degrees). In such conditions, the first shoots appear in the period from 15 to 30 days. As soon as four leaves appear, they are transplanted into a pot.
The root collar should not be buried - it should remain on the surface. Old plants do not need to be replanted.
The crop may not bloom on its own. To stimulate this process, proceed as follows:
- The base of the trunk is tightly wrapped with wire and the structure is left for six months. After this, treat the wound with garden varnish. The method works only after the plant has branches of at least the fourth order, and it itself has gone through at least one wintering.
- Seedlings can also be grafted by making a T-shaped cut on the trunk at a height of 7 cm (length 2.5 cm, width of the upper bridge 1 cm). The bark is folded back and the graft is inserted. Then they cover it with a bag, water it, and create greenhouse conditions. The vaccination should take root within a month; if this does not happen, you will have to do another graft.
All tips of the leaf blades are removed after 4–5 leaves. They also remove shoots that grow inside the crown. The most important stage for formation is the first four years of life.
How long does a tangerine tree grow?
This plant lives for a very long time - in warm countries, its age reaches 65–70 years. Moreover, the tree enters the period of maximum fruiting at 30 years of age. Although in home, greenhouse conditions the duration is much shorter, the figure is still quite large - from 10 to 20 years. Even when grown indoors, you can harvest your own fruit.
When and how does the tangerine tree bloom?
Flowering of the tangerine tree begins, depending on the variety, from 3–5 years. Flowers appear in May, they cover the entire crown. The inflorescences are painted pure white. The petals are oblong, collected in pairs or 4–6 pieces. The aroma is delicate, floral, not like the smell of citrus fruits. It has delicate jasmine tones.
Tangerines (pictured) bloom very beautifully, almost all flowers form ovaries.Therefore, the yield of mature plants is very high.
The main flowering period of the tangerine tree is in May.
Interesting facts about tangerines
Tangerines have been known for many centuries, but they appeared in Europe only 200 years ago. Despite this, quite a lot of interesting facts are known about them - here are some of them:
- The word "mandarin" was once used to describe high-ranking Chinese officials (their clothes were bright orange). Translated from Portuguese it means "minister".
- In the USSR, the first tangerine trees began to be grown in Abkhazia.
- The Krasnodar Territory and the Caucasus are the northernmost regions in the world where tangerine trees are grown.
- The tradition of buying tangerines for the New Year exists not only in Russia, but also in China. It is customary here to give fruits to your loved ones and friends. They are believed to bring wealth, prosperity and happiness.
- In terms of sales volume (among citrus fruits), tangerines are second only to oranges.
- Tangerine juice does not last long, and when boiled, it loses its beneficial properties. Therefore, it is almost impossible to find this drink on sale.
- Different varieties of tangerines are crossed with lemon, grapefruit, orange and kumquat. Therefore, there are both sour fruits and very sweet ones.
- One of the wood ducks is named mandarin duck because its feathers are bright orange. Only males can boast of an unusual color. Females are inconspicuous, they have grayish plumage.
Conclusion
Tangerines are one of the most famous citrus fruits, along with oranges and lemons. Plants live a very long time - up to 70 years. They bloom profusely and annually produce a large harvest of up to 500–600 kg per tree.
