Indoor citrus tree. Secrets of growing different citrus fruits at home

The first citrus fruits appeared about 30 million years ago on a rather vast territory of the Indochina peninsula, covering the central and northeastern part of India, southern China, including the slopes of the Himalayas, as well as eastern Nepal, Bangladesh, northeastern Burma, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and several nearby islands.

Initially, citrus fruits were distributed only close to their homeland - in neighboring countries South-East Asia, including in Japan.

In Europe, citrus fruits began to settle later. So, 200 years BC, thanks to Alexander the Great and his soldiers, the first fruits of these plants, along with seedlings, fell into Ancient Greece. 300 years later, in the 1st century AD, the Romans planted the first lemon orchards in Italy. Great amount citrus fruits were destroyed by the barbarians. In the 13th century, the crusaders re-import citrus fruits to Italy and then to neighboring countries.

Why are citrus fruits afraid of frost?

Citruses - evergreen, do not lose their foliage all year round. In the cold, citrus trees literally freeze - cell sap freezes, forming ice crystals, which leads to the death of plant cells. Therefore, citrus species are slightly winter-hardy. But still they are able to withstand small sub-zero temperatures. So, the critical (lethal) temperature for a lemon is -7 ... -9 degrees Celsius (branches -7, leaves -5 ... -6; fruits -2). But among the deciduous relatives of citrus fruits with inedible fruits, experts were able to find a relatively cold-resistant plant - trifoliata, originally from central and northern China. It withstands frosts of -20 degrees Celsius.

The zone of critical temperatures for citrus fruits is the Russian Black Sea coast and Transcaucasia.

In places not suitable for growing citrus fruits in open field, people have learned to breed them indoors, creating the necessary conditions.

Botanical characteristics of citrus fruits.

Indeed, everything is unusual in citrus fruits, from seeds to roots. You plant one lemon seed, and, as if by magic, it immediately grows ... three plants, since seeds often have several (up to ten) embryos (the scientific name for this rare natural phenomenon is polyembryony), spare lives in case of any cataclysms: if for one reason or another, one or two will die - there will be a third!

All grafted citrus fruits begin to bear fruit faster than other fruits. They bloom in the third year after the rooting of the cutting or grafting, although on our windowsill this period is postponed due to unfavorable conditions for the plant: insufficient duration

daylight hours, low light intensity and low humidity in the room. Elimination of these shortcomings, as a rule, promotes early flowering and fruiting.

Evergreens are not everlasting.

Almost the main distinguishing feature citrus - evergreen bright emerald outfit. We northerners are accustomed to seeing green leaves on trees only 4-5 months of the year; in autumn, on all our plants, except for conifers, the leaves turn yellow and fall off. It is completely different with oranges, lemons and the like: in the subtropics, and even on our windowsills, under more or less favorable conditions, they do not shed their bright clothes, at least completely and at the same time.

Of course, the life of each leaf is not eternal, but limited to two or three years. In the end, even in evergreens, the leaves fall off, only not simultaneously and not as amicably as in deciduous ones, but with long, perennial "intermissions", which makes the whole process almost imperceptible to our perception. Citrus fruits in this respect resemble conifers, familiar spruces and pines.

Usually without leaves, citrus fruits are not tenants! The fact is that for them leaves are not just “green clothes”, but the most important every second functioning organ of respiration and nutrition.

In addition, each fully matured leaf (darker color) is a kind of "warehouse" of all the necessary nutrients which are used as needed. The more leaves, the more intensively the tree itself grows and develops, and hence its higher yield. This is an unmistakable outward sign of health! That's why experienced gardener knows: the most high-yielding citruses - always with lush, abundant foliage of bright green color.

Phytoncides on guard of health.

Citrus leaves are also amazing because they constantly emit a complex of volatile and non-volatile substances - phytoncides. They purify the air around us from many pathogens.

How citrus fruits grow

But do new leaves-twigs constantly grow and form? Not at all, rather - jumps. Experts call this periods or waves of growth. Such a wave "surges" within one or two months. Each time after the cessation of growth, all young shoots go into a state of relative dormancy, during which the gradual maturation of leaf and wood tissues. The next period of growth begins only after the lignification of the previous young shoots. Therefore, the concern of inexperienced citrus growers about the periodic "sleep" of their green wards is often completely in vain. In tub crops under conditions

central Russia with good care for plants, the first wave comes in February.

The duration of pauses between periods of growth can be different and sometimes increases due to unfavorable conditions - insufficient lighting, humidity, nutrition.

Sometimes on the same plant you can observe branches in the stage of active growth and branches in the stage of relative dormancy. One part of the crown can grow, the other can wait. And this is also the norm.

In total, if we sum up all the time of active growth (weeks), then in natural conditions subtropics and tropics in lemon, it lasts 6-10 months. The rest of the year is accordingly occupied by a period of relative rest, from which we can conclude that the lemon grows almost continuously.

At home, with insufficient lighting, air humidity and not the best nutrition, the number and duration of growth periods for all citrus fruits noticeably decreases, as does the length of each growth. True, the latter is more likely to benefit us, since it makes it possible to cultivate citrus trees in room conditions, for quite a long time. limited area home windowsill.

The beginning, duration and end of plant growth phases depend both on biological features species and varieties, and on the well-being of plants, favorable or, on the contrary, unfavorable conditions for their existence.

Citrus blossom is one of the real wonders of nature, giving real pleasure, especially with a subtle and at the same time strong aroma. As the Polish writer Yaroslav Ivashkevich quite accurately noted, “it has nothing to do with either the delicate fragrance of violets or easy breathing freesia, it is very real ... it seemed that we just eat this smell, that it overwhelms us, excites and whispers to us tales that no one has yet told ... ”. And this miracle so poetically described begins from the moment the bud appears, emerging in the form of an inconspicuous white-green-pink pea. Day by day it grows and, right before our eyes, within a month it turns into an elongated tightly tied bud, similar to a lily, and even in its unopened form it exudes a subtle and delicate aroma reminiscent of jasmine.

The lemon flower that opens in a few hours is surprisingly beautiful - large (up to 4 cm in diameter), with five dazzling white dense high petals, numerous bright yellow fluffy stamens inside, surrounding a protruding thick long pistil with a stigma at the end. Citrus blossoms in our homes occur two or three times (at home they bloom about six times) a year. We were also lucky in that almost all citrus fruits are self-pollinating and do not require additional artificial pollination.

At home, the fruits are easily and without problems tied as if by themselves, although in the open air they are helped in this by bees and other insects. And then the ovaries, and ultimately the fruits, turn out to be incomparably more.

Only a flower with a normally developed pistil produces an ovary, all others are empty flowers.

Self-regulation during fruiting.

Self-regulation of the crop also occurs in tub culture. Only now the supply of nutrients in a tub is ten times smaller, other conditions of existence are more severe for them, which means that the end result is incomparable with what is obtained on a plantation. But after all, every northerner is happy to grow at home, far away from real subtropics, even one or two fruits. And with the appropriate experience, you can get 40 or more full fragrant fruits.

The later the extra ovaries fall, the more nutrients the plants lose in vain and the worse they develop. Therefore, it is better to cut off extra flowers at the bud stage, based on the calculation of one fruit per one and a half dozen well-ripened leaves.

Citrus fruits can hang on a branch for a very long time without spoiling, until the next harvest.

The most unusual - underground

Absolutely not typical fruit trees and citrus roots. You can see it with your own eyes, you just have to do their transplant. The roots are exceptionally thick, without thin fibrous shoots, as in other fruit trees. Under a microscope, peculiar “cases” are easily distinguishable at the tips of each spine. These are mycorrhiza - colonies of special fungi that live in symbiosis with citrus fruits and act like a sponge that absorbs all the nutrients the plant needs. These mushrooms, which are vital for the plant, are very tender and vulnerable, so citrus fruits, as a rule, not only do not tolerate rough pruning of the roots, but even the slightest damage and exposure to the open air, which must be taken into account when planting and transplanting.

The three most pressing needs of citrus fruits.

To grow citrus fruits indoors, they need to provide optimal light, humidity and ambient temperature.

First of all, you need a lot of light:

93% of the substances necessary for nutrition, plants do not take from the soil, but directly from the air. This is carbon dioxide (the need for it is seven times greater than in all other substances), which turns into the main " construction material» - carbon. And this process occurs only under the influence of intense light.

Illumination affects the development of citrus fruits much more than any other plants: with the right illumination, their foliage swells.

health, the trees bloom year-round and bear fruit well, with a bad one - the leaves are deformed, and there is no harvest at all!

The deficit arises not only because of the apparent insufficient duration of the sun's stay above the horizon, but also the intensity of the light. In autumn and winter, cloudy weather is typical for our latitudes, when the sun does not peek out for weeks. So, in November, the average duration of real bright sunshine (for the entire month) is only 28-30 hours, and in December 14-20! That is, in two months there are only a few clear days, the rest are cloudy, when the "screen" of the leaves is not able to capture the sun's rays due to their low intensity. Indeed, in cloudy weather, the illumination of any surface on earth drops many times, and with the thickest cloud cover - 20 times! Under such conditions, one can only be surprised that many domestic citrus fruits are able to somehow survive at all.

The minimum illumination required for citrus fruits is 8,000 lux. What do we have? If on sunny days in summer - 14 thousand and above, then in autumn - in winter on the street - 3-4 thousand, and on the windowsill even lower - 1 thousand lux.

Without light, the nutrition of plants with carbon dioxide ceases, and the ability to assimilate all other substances from the soil ultimately depends on the amount of solar energy supplied to the plant. Without additional artificial lighting, only a few types and varieties of citrus fruits, as well as “non-varietal” seedlings (plants grown from seeds), can be successfully grown at home.

Citrus fruits need high humidity:

Citruses living in our house not only suffer from a lack of air humidity, but are experiencing serious stress. According to the observations of scientists, at a normal temperature of 23-26 degrees Celsius, an air humidity of 30% is the limiting lower threshold, which inevitably follows one or another damage to the normal well-being of plants. The only way to save citrus fruits with excessively dry air is to increase its humidity to at least 60-80%, which, by the way, is optimal value and for our health.

Optimum temperature

When growing citrus fruits at home, we must take into account the temperature "frames", if possible, creating a microclimate for our pets that best matches natural conditions.

Summer: 25-30 degrees Celsius; winter 5-10 degrees Celsius. The most optimal temperature for flowering and fruiting is 25-30 degrees Celsius.

Lemon on the windowsill.

The choice of this place is dictated by the fact that light is the main limiting and most important factor in growing any capricious plants in our home! That is why the best "place of residence" for them is as close as possible to the light source. Such a place is not even next to the window, but directly at the glass!

Even close to the window frame, the illumination is 50-75% of that at that moment in the open air. And when removed 1 m into the room, it drops to 25-50%, and two - up to 10%! After all, our light is one-sided, the ceiling is not made of glass, as in greenhouses. All the more badly and obviously insufficiently for citrus fruits, the walls between the windows and the corners, even those closest to them, are usually lit. Therefore, only that tiny space of our house, which is as close as possible to the glass, is more or less suitable for light-loving plants. And to put a tree even half a meter from the window - without artificial lighting - means dooming it to light starvation and slow death.

stress medication

In amateur horticulture and horticulture, some biological products have long been successfully used, which scientists call "adaptogens" - substances of natural origin that increase the ability of the plants themselves to adapt (adapt) to adverse environmental factors, including lack of light and moisture. AT last years and many lovers of indoor plants managed to make sure of the anti-stress effectiveness of such drugs. Among them are "Epin-extra", "Zircon", "Cytovit", "Photosynthesis Activator".

Increasing the area of ​​the window sill.

An uncomfortable window sill can be for two reasons:

If it is too narrow (15-20cm);

If it's made of concrete.

When arranging a lemon garden on a windowsill, both of these negative factors must be kept in mind. Overgrown plants will certainly become cramped after a short period of time, and if the pots are in direct contact with cold concrete, then even small seedlings will experience discomfort, since the earthen lump with roots will be supercooled. In this case, a physiological disturbance will occur: the leaves evaporate more water than the chilly roots are able to absorb and supply to them.

To solve both problems at once - insulation while expanding at the same time - the simplest device helps: on a narrow window sill you need to put one wide (30-35 cm) board or a shield of several boards, planed and painted. At the same time, an air “gasket” must be left between the window sill and the board, using for this purpose, for example, wooden

bars. Such a pad will provide additional warmth to the root system of citrus fruits during the winter cold. A panel made of pressed sawdust is not suitable, because it will quickly fail under the influence of moisture. For more large plants a more significant transformation may be needed, for example, an extension to the windowsill of a small table on separate legs.

Increasing illumination.

The minimum physiological need for illumination for most citrus fruits is at least 8,000 lux.

The degree of illumination depends not only on the orientation of the window in one direction or another, but also on a number of factors:

The floor on which the apartment is located (below - darker, above - lighter);

The degree of shading by the crowns of tall trees and neighboring buildings;

The colors of the walls of neighboring buildings (light reflect light, dark absorb);

The terrain (it is clear that a house on a hill receives more light than one in a lowland);

Seasons (only due to the reflected light from freshly fallen snow, the illumination of the window sill increases by 50-80%). Alas, there are much more negative factors leading to the exact opposite result: for example, dark soil in late autumn or in early spring. And dirty, greyish snow with every thaw in winter.

However, the main factor that has the greatest impact on the deterioration of lighting conditions is the short daylight hours and mostly cloudy weather from October to early March. Such a time is the most difficult for domestic citrus fruits, since the illumination of the earth's surface even near the house drops tenfold compared to clear summer days, and 20 times with thick clouds! And on the windowsill, the level of illumination becomes negligible ...

Reflector effect

After choosing the best window, it is necessary to increase the degree of its illumination due to a natural light source, in other words, to increase the efficiency of using street light so that not a single crumb of it is lost. With competent actions, natural light can be doubled and even tripled!

At first, take a closer look at your window: some of the light simply does not pass through the contaminated glass, the other is uselessly absorbed by the upper and side surfaces of the window niche (slopes), since they are far from always perfectly white, the third simply scatters, not focusing on the leaves of plants.

Conclusions suggest themselves:

Firstly, for the sake of maximum natural illumination of citrus fruits, it is necessary to wash the glasses more often than usual and to a perfect shine;

Secondly, it is necessary to take care of a sharp increase in the light reflection of the slopes.

It's better when the slopes are not just painted in White color, but have a mirror surface! The easiest way to make a mirror surface is to stick a thin foil, or better, a thick mirror film, it does not wrinkle and is durable.

However, the most best option- mount the most ordinary mirrors in the slopes. And the window will become original, and the plants will like this innovation very much.

You can increase the reflection of natural light due to the space behind the pot, from the side of the room. A simple snow-white curtain will help out here, but a mirror surface will serve as an ideal screen. It is not necessary to adapt a fragile mirror here - much more suitable are blinds made of shiny thick foil, which are usually used in summer to protect from direct sunlight.

Illumination

Additional lighting is an artificial extension of daylight hours from 7-9 to 12 hours and an increase in light intensity from 1-2 to 8-10 thousand lux in the autumn-winter period.

Ordinary tungsten filament lamps are not suitable because they only use 3% of the energy consumed to glow. Fluorescent lamps, phytolamps, high pressure sodium lamps are more suitable. These lamps are safe to use and consume little electricity.

Citrus fruits need to be illuminated daily for 12 hours throughout the winter (more precisely, from mid-autumn to early spring), when the daylight hours are too short, and the sun's rays do not break through a continuous veil of clouds. You can leave energy-saving lamps on all day, but for this it is better to install a timer to automatically turn on the lights.

Ways to increase the humidity of the air.

In order to increase the air humidity on the windowsill to 40-50% by ordinary spraying, you need to spray the plants every 15-20 minutes, that is, 50 times a day!

The simplest way to humidify the air: a well-known method of locally increasing humidity on the windowsill is to place plant pots on high trays or baking sheets filled with a three-centimeter layer of expanded clay, which is completely filled with water. Expanded clay can be replaced with sphagnum moss.

Significantly increases the humidity of the air and another simple trick: the battery radiator is covered with a large terry towel. Not dry, but wet, the end of which is placed in a basin filled with water. Water in the basin will have to be added every 2-3 days.

The air will also become less dry if the window sill is isolated as reliably as possible from the flow of superheated air from the battery located under it. To do this, not only build up the window sill, but also cover the battery itself (from the side of the room) with a vertical wooden or metal shield, leaving holes only at the very bottom, near the floor and on the sides. And sometimes the battery is completely transferred to the side wall, deep into the room - it's more efficient.

Modern humidifiers are divided into: traditional, climatic complexes, steam humidifiers, ultrasonic humidifiers, room mini-fountains. These humidifiers do their job well, but are quite expensive.

An integrated approach to creating a microclimate on the windowsill

All three of the most important factors that affect the life of plants every minute - light, humidity and ambient temperature - are closely interconnected. For plants, the main limiting factor is light. But its deficiency in winter is usually aggravated by high temperatures and low humidity. That is, the negative impact of one factor is amplified by the negative impact of two others at once. On the contrary, at moderately cool temperatures (from 0 to +10 degrees Celsius), when plants are immersed in a state of rest and all their physiological functions are inhibited, bright light is not necessary.

Air temperature is inversely related to humidity: when the temperature drops by one degree, air humidity rises by 6% - and vice versa.

The three most important components of the microclimate must be interconnected.

Room mini-greenhouses

It is clear that the need for such structures arises only in late autumn and winter, that is, at the most unfavorable time for the life of citrus fruits.

Individual greenhouse - plastic bag. When constructing such a greenhouse, only new bags should be used: used ones can be torn or lose transparency. In order for the temperature inside such a structure to be comfortable for citrus fruits (+10 Celsius), one side of the package must be pressed tightly against the cold window glass. When the temperature in an individual greenhouse rises above +10 ... +12 degrees Celsius, the greenhouse must be ventilated regularly (every 2 days).

Additional lighting is advisable to carry out only if the temperature inside the greenhouse exceeds +10 degrees Celsius.

It should be remembered that citrus fruits feel much better on glazed balconies and loggias in the most difficult autumn-winter period than on any bright windowsill.

Exit from the winter

After the autumn-winter period, the plants are under stress, so it is better to spray them with anti-stress preparations.

Moving to the street

Outdoors, citrus fruits absorb more carbon dioxide than indoors, although its concentration there is much less than in our home. This is due to the intensive movement of air in the atmosphere. The wind regularly delivers the next portion of carbon dioxide to each leaflet, providing good nutrition.

The timing of the movement of citrus fruits from indoors to outdoors should be determined not by the calendar, but by the actual weather.

What is the best outdoor location for placing citrus fruits? No need to strive to place them under the direct rays of the sun - preferably scattered, for example, in the lacy shade of sparse treetops, on the north side of the house or fence, or even in an open gazebo. Some people put citrus fruits in a well-ventilated greenhouse under the protection of tomato and cucumber bushes.

Another danger is the drying out of the soil, in order to avoid this, citrus tubs are dug into the ground or into a box filled with soil, compost or wet sawdust, or better with moss (it holds moisture longer).

It has been noticed that in the open air, sometimes by itself, release from pests occurs - especially from spider mites and aphids. Either they are exterminated by natural enemies - ladybugs and other useful predatory insects, or several conditions favorably affect at once - rain, wind and sunlight. Although some new pests, primarily leaf-eating, may choose plants.

Good and Bad Neighbors

Citrus fruits do not tolerate shading with larger-leaved neighbors, such as ficus, monstera, hibiscus.

In addition, there are a kind of magnet plants that are extremely undesirable for them, as if attracting insect pests from all around. Pests settle and breed on rose leaves and cucumber seedlings, and then move to citrus fruits if they are nearby. Usually it is not advised to have plants nearby that require different maintenance and care regimes.

Good neighbors: laurels, Uzumbar violets, fragrant geraniums and gardenias, from the abundance of light that goes to highlight citrus, these begin to bloom

plants are a good addition to the winter garden, and these plants also repel pests.

Seedling age.

The principle of choosing seedlings for home conditions - the younger, the better. Even the most best seedling it is advisable to purchase not in autumn or winter, but in spring (the best option is at the end of May - June). Then there is time and all the opportunities for its acclimatization.

Lemons

General characteristics. Of all the types of citrus fruits at home, lemons are the most common and popular. Their assortment is quite wide, but only a few varieties are most often found: Pavlovsky, Panderose, Meyer, Novogruzinsky, Kursky.

Basics of window farming: from sowing to pruning.

Right choice seedlings and creating conditions in our home that meet their immediate needs is only our first step towards creating a fragrant subtropical garden. The second, no less important, is the development of a whole range of techniques for the daily care of these plants, which are sensitive to every mistake made. So, we have to master the techniques of planting, crown formation, proper watering, top dressing and many other "details" of home agricultural technology.

Tricks of proper watering

Watering is the first necessary action that we perform in a long series of cares for our green pet. And the question immediately arises: what kind of water does he need?

Meanwhile, our indoor trees are "water drinkers" doubly.

Disadvantages of tap water

Tap water contains almost the entire "Mendeleev's table".

The result of an excess of all these substances is clearly visible even to the naked eye: a white-yellow coating usually appears on the surface of the soil, on the walls and along the rim of the upper edge of any clay and plastic flower pot. This plaque is made up of insoluble calcium and magnesium salts.

Ordinary drinking water contains, unfortunately, clearly toxic doses of calcium and magnesium salts that are not absorbed by plants! In order not to spoil the soil in the pot, we must daily withdraw calcium and magnesium salts from tap water or use some other.

In principle, tap hard water is generally alien to the natural environment, and ideally, plants “drink” only soft rain or melt snow water. And be sure to clean, without the admixture of heavy metals. But such moisture can be advised to collect and use only in ecologically clean areas remote from regional centers.

Citizens can offer the following:

Constantly buy distilled water (sold in many pharmacies and car dealerships);

Buy a distiller - a distillation apparatus for obtaining distilled water;

Precipitate calcium and magnesium salts by boiling, draining water from the sediment (no more than 50% of salts remain there);

Use household filters with ion-exchange resins or sulfonated coal (adsorbs at least 80-90% of calcium and magnesium salts);

At each watering, acidify the water with acid, under the action of which unnecessary salts gradually, during the day, precipitate;

Mulch the surface of the earth in pots with moss, sawdust, needles, peat.

However, the simplest and effective method- a combined version of salt neutralization: a small part of the surface layer of soil in a pot (1.5 - 2 cm) is replaced with some kind of acidic substrate: sphagnum moss, rotted spruce litter, high-moor peat or sawdust of hardwoods. The latter are pre-soaked in a solution of urea, ammonium nitrate or ammonium sulfate (1 tablespoon of salt per bucket of water), otherwise, during decomposition, they take a lot of nitrogen from the soil. The rest of the salts contained in the water, passing through the mulch layer, will

neutralized. It is clear that such a "filter" has to be changed quite often - every one and a half to two months - but this is not difficult and inexpensive.

Even using a filter, use boiled water for irrigation. With the combined method of neutralization, the very threat of the harmful effects of ill-fated salts disappears.

It is possible to noticeably slow down the accumulation of calcium and magnesium salts in the soil even when using “uncorrected” water. If the amount of water for irrigation is halved, then the amount of salts entering the soil will be halved. It can be argued that citruses do not have enough water. Nothing like this. Half of the moisture that enters the soil during irrigation evaporates from the soil surface. It is possible to reduce this evaporation to almost zero. To do this, cover the soil surface with a dense cover made of thick polyethylene or non-woven covering material. It is easy to make such a cover yourself by cutting out a circle and cutting it along the radius. In the center of the circle, you need to make a hole corresponding to the diameter of the citrus trunk.

Diseases ... from careless watering

Watering citrus fruits by analogy with other, much more unpretentious and less moisture-loving plants is not good.

If the leaves fall - this is an SOS signal! the plant organism is extremely dehydrated, and photosynthesis is almost completely stopped. Withered leaves that have completely ceased their vital activity usually fall off (the accumulated necessary supply of nutrients disappears with them), and part of the roots dies off. Emergency watering does not at all restore the original health of the citrus - rather, it is already a "disabled person" who has a long period of rehabilitation ahead of him. In such a situation, the fruiting period, of course, will be pushed back.

You should never bring citrus fruits even to the seemingly harmless drying of the surface layer of the soil. Firstly, in this case there is a risk of dying off of the uppermost tier of roots. Secondly, even after a single complete drying, the soil loses its original ability to absorb moisture quickly and evenly. At the next watering, the water will not be absorbed, but simply roll off the surface, flowing along the walls of the pot and pouring out of the drainage hole uselessly, and you may have the illusion of saturation with moisture when the entire earthen coma is actually drained completely!

The old tried and tested methods will help to correct this situation: water the plant in several stages, at intervals, and for the first time - quite a bit, so that only a tiny "puddle" forms on the surface of the earth, near the stem. Absorbed - pour a few more times, already more. Or, immerse the pot almost entirely, for 2-3 hours, in a basin of warm water until all the soil is saturated with it. If we do not water citrus fruits immediately after the foliage droops, then the complete death of the plant will inevitably occur, along with the roots.

Temperature and amount of irrigation water

Water must necessarily be warmer than the surrounding air - usually 27-30 degrees Celsius. When keeping citrus fruits on the balcony, they should be watered with cooler water: 13-15 degrees Celsius.

How much water does one plant need? Professional citrus growers have accurately calculated this amount: 20% of the weight of dry soil, taking into account the fact that the earth ball should not dry out completely.

How often to water?

It is considered an axiom that the soil in which trees grow should not be too wet, not too dry, but only wet. How can you tell by touch? When squeezed in a fist, the soil should not stick and flow out and even seep between the fingers, and at the same time it should give off a noticeable coolness. Prolonged waterlogging leads, in the full sense of the word, to chronic starvation, weakens the tree and provokes the development of root rot.

What affects the frequency of watering?

At high temperatures, low air humidity, in bright sunlight or artificial light under lamps, with a small amount of soil and a pot (especially clay), with loose soil, a large leaf surface, large trees, during fasting and flowering, plants are watered more often. On the contrary, at low temperatures, high humidity, cloudy, cloudy weather, without sun and lamps, in semi-darkness, a large amount of soil and a pot (especially plastic), dense soil and when the plant is at rest - less often.

The very specific situation and condition of the tree "asks" or "rejects" watering.

How to water: more abundant or more economical?

In other words, should water flow into the pan when watering? The answer to this question is not so clear.

Immediately after transplantation and within a month - one and a half after that, along with irrigation water, part of the nutrients also leaves the drainage hole in vain. It's better not to lose them.

But already after one and a half - two months - with gradual salinization of the soil during irrigation with excessively alkaline water - without a through full strait, a progressive strong salinization of the soil occurs. Pay attention to a clear sign of such “oversalting”: when the roots absorb moisture with great difficulty even from very wet soil, the leaves are in a semi-sluggish state. With an excess of salts, an urgent transplant will be required, in extreme cases, repeated washing. To do this, put the pot in a large basin with clean water for several hours, or with a change every 30-40 minutes.

For watering domestic plants, it is most convenient to use small, for one or two liters, mostly plastic watering cans.

If there are a lot of pots with citrus fruits and they are installed on the shelves, then a watering can with an elongated spout helps to reach them. You can improve the watering can: for this, a rubber hose is put on the end, with which you can reach a sufficiently long distance.

Watering for the future

This need usually arises when we leave. What if it is known in advance that the plants will endure no more than three days without watering?

The simplest thing in this case is to water them before leaving not once, but twice, with an interval of several hours. And more abundant than ever, leaving water in the pans. Then the citrus will survive for four days.

If it's about more long term, the pallet will have to be replaced with a basin filled with water to half the height.

The classic way of watering for future use is with the help of a twisted woolen cord, acting on the principle of a wick. Next to the plants, but above the pots, a container filled with water is installed, from which a cord is connected to each pot. The cord should be in contact with the surface of the soil, and even better, slightly deepen its end into the ground. The thicker the cord, the greater the moisture intake.

You can use automatic "drinkers", but they are quite expensive. Also use ceramic "drinkers". You can use hydrogel. In addition to moisture, it provides the roots with a comfortable air environment - the soil loses its ability to compact. In such soil, any plants even in winter feel like summer. The hydrogel works like a sponge.

Nutritional features and the "ideal" menu.

As proven by agricultural scientists, at least 14 minerals contained in fertile soil, are necessary for any plant as a vital nutrition (even more of them have been found in the plant tissues themselves, but their need for presence in the soil has not yet been clarified). Three of the 14 substances - nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium - are called macronutrients for two reasons: they are required in most and they have a dominant role. Therefore, the "trinity" is considered the main one. Although calcium, magnesium and sulfur, which follow them in terms of the amount consumed, are sometimes also considered macronutrients, and iron is considered a substance that occupies an intermediate position between macro- and micronutrients.

Each of the seven other substances - manganese, zinc, copper, boron, molybdenum, cobalt and chlorine - also has an important role in plant nutrition in its own way. Without them, the full development and fruiting of the same citruses is simply impossible. Therefore, these substances are called microelements because they are consumed in hundreds and thousands of times smaller amounts compared to nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.

Nitrogen: as an element of nutrition - the most powerful factor and the very means of growth and development of a tree.

Phosphorus: plays the role of a kind of “accelerator” of the metabolism of the entire plant organism, bringing the fruiting period closer from day to day.

Potassium: capable of the so-called "secondary use", when in case of deficiency in the soil from old leaves and the lowest tier of the crown, it passes to the upper one, to young shoots.

Calcium: essential for photosynthesis and energy metabolism. It has a beneficial effect on the growth of the root system and, in a certain amount, balances the ratio of other elements in the soil.

Iron: Plants can only absorb the oxidized form of iron from the soil.

Boron: thanks to this element, citrus fruits become sweet, accumulating a sufficient amount of sugars.

Magnesium: Plant respiration and photosynthesis are to some extent related to magnesium. It also actively affects the absorption and movement of phosphorus within plants.

Manganese: The need for this element increases in heat and decreases in cool temperatures. It plays an indispensable role in the assimilation of carbon dioxide from the air.

Zinc: the presence of this element in plant tissues is especially desirable when rooting cuttings and for good survival of grafts, since zinc is involved in the biosynthesis of growth stimulants - the so-called auxins.

Copper: without copper, seedlings of citrus fruits, like other plants, will certainly die.

Sulfur: takes part in the most important processes of metabolism and respiration of plants. The need for citrus fruits in sulfur is slightly greater than in phosphorus.

Molybdenum: the lack of molybdenum leads to inhibition of the absorption of phosphorus and, conversely, to excessive accumulation of nitrogen in the tissues.

Other elements: The content of these elements is so low in citrus tissues that scientists have not yet fully figured out the reason for their presence there. Among these elements are: chlorine, sodium, selenium, iodine, bromine and others.

Acid-base balance

The acid-base balance in a pot with soil must be corrected, since the possible “corridor” of its values ​​here is much narrower than in open ground.

Acidity soil mixture must first be established and then corrected. It is necessary to try to maintain, without exceeding, the slightly acidic reaction of the soil (pH 5.5-6.5).

Good and bad fertilizers

Compared to other domestic plants, citruses especially need good nutrition, without which they are not able to bear fruit, and they will not survive for a long time, suffering daily from a deficiency of certain substances in tissues. In other words, without a constant addition to the soil of a whole complex, numbering at least 14 nutrients, neither a lemon nor an orange can be grown!

good fertilizer must contain all the necessary substances, and in strict quantitative accordance with the needs of the plant.

When choosing fertilizers, preference should be given to completely or almost completely water-soluble preparations. From different types liquid fertilizers should be chosen first of all - then you can see with your own eyes how many insoluble salts have precipitated there. In addition, this is already a new generation of fertilizers, manufactured not only using more advanced modern technology, but also containing incomparably less ballast.

The optimal ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium for adult citrus fruits has long been known: 1:0.5:1.3(1.5).

In other words, if the content of each of the main nutrients is conditionally taken as a unit, then it follows from the recipe: compared to nitrogen, potassium should be 30-50% more, and phosphorus - 50% less.

For young non-bearing plants, the recipe is somewhat different: 1: 0.5: 1.

For extreme "ambulance" plants need a whole first aid kit. It should include: ammonium nitrate, urea, potassium nitrate and many other mineral fertilizers.

Citrus growers have long noticed that when using organic fertilizers, homemade citrus fruits develop noticeably faster. But this happens doubly better when organic fertilizers are combined with mineral fertilizers.

The well-known manure is gradually becoming a thing of the past, its place is sought to be taken by top dressings containing humates. Humates are extracted from hard coal, and the best are those mined from brown coal. When using dressings containing humates, there is a positive and long-term effect at the cellular level and activation of the metabolism of the plants themselves. This manifests itself at two levels - first of all, in the accelerated development of a powerful root system and increased synthesis of chlorophyll, which affects the general well-being of plants, their foliage and productivity, of course, positively.

To feed domestic plants, you can use special grade ash - the product of burning is not firewood at all, but straw and weeds! Such ash, while maintaining the balance of potassium, phosphorus and trace elements, has a completely acceptable calcium content.