How to sow tangerines at home

The tangerine tree It is a very interesting fruit tree that you can have both in a pot and in the garden. Because it reaches a height of no more than five meters and that it supports pruning without problems, its growth can be controlled without difficulty, which will allow us to cultivate it in any corner.

Its fruits have a delicious taste: sweet, but not too much, and they are also rich in vitamin C and B, limes are essential to maintain good health. But, Do you know how to grow tangerines at home? Getting them to germinate and get ahead is not complicated, but with our advice it will be even less so.

What do I need to grow mandarins?

To make the experience easier and more entertaining, before starting it is important to prepare everything that you will need. In this way, we will not have any need to waste time looking for things. To sow the mandarin seeds we are going to use the following:

• Hotbed: it can be a seedling tray (preferably forest, but they can be the normal ones like these that they sell here), milk containers, yogurt cups, peat bars (Jiffy), or flower pots.
• Gloves: if we don't want to get our hands dirty we can put on some gardening gloves like these.
• Small hand shovel: we will use it to fill the pot with substrate. Get it here.
• Pots: so that the plants can continue to grow, the pots will be essential. They have to measure about 10,5cm in diameter by about the same depth.
• Substrates: vermiculite for the seedbed (get her here), and universal growing medium (for sale No products found.) for when they are in their individual containers.
• Watering can with water: you can't miss it. Buy it here. A sprayer can also be used.
• Fungicide: fungi are opportunistic microorganisms that affect seeds and seedlings. If we want to avoid it, we have to treat them with spray fungicides or, if it is spring or autumn, with copper or sulfur. You can buy it by clicking on this link.
• Seeds: obviously. We will eat a tangerine and clean the seeds with water.

Mandarin cultivation

Siembra

Once we have everything ready, it will be time to move on to the most entertaining part: sowing. To have success, We will follow this simple step by step:

1. The first thing we will do is place the seeds in a glass of water for 24 hours. Those that remain floating will be discarded, as they will not be viable and, therefore, will not germinate.
2. After that time, we will sow them in the seedbed that we have chosen at a depth of no more than 1cm and at a distance between them of 3-4cm.
3. Now, we will water thoroughly, soaking the whole earth well.
4. Finally, we will treat with fungicide so that we do not have problems with fungi, and we will place the seedbed outside, in semi-shade (which has more light than shade) or in full sun.

If all goes well, they will germinate after a month or so.

Tickled

Picking is a technique that consists of separating newly germinated seedlings, discarding those that are having weak growth, and then planting the rest in individual pots so that they can continue growing. It should be done soon, in early or mid spring, when they have reached a height of 5-10cm. It is not convenient to wait much longer, because the more they grow, the more their root system will develop and the more difficult it will be to separate them.

For that, do the following:

1. We water the seedbed well, moistening all the earth.
2. We prepare the new pot, filling it with universal cultivation substrate and making a hole about 6-7cm deep in the center.
3. We extract the young seedlings from the seedbed, being careful not to manipulate the roots too much.
4. Very delicately, we are removing the soil adhering to the roots. To make it easier, we can introduce the root ball or root bread in a container with water.
5. We separate the seedlings, untangling the roots, and plant them in their new pots, where they must be just 0cm below the edge.
6. We water and place them in semi-shade.

Transplant or definitive planting to the garden

When its roots have occupied the entire pot and begin to come out through the drainage holes, we will have to make a decision: transplant them to a larger pot or definitely plant them in the garden or orchard. How to proceed in each case?

Transplant

To transfer them to a larger pot, which should be at least 4-5cm wider, they have to be carefully removed from their old container first, and planted in the new one so that they are in the center, about 0,5cm below the edge.

We can use universal cultivation substrate, although it will also be highly recommended to put a first layer of clay or volcanic clay to improve drainage.

Plantation

If we intend to plant it in the garden or orchard we must do the following:

1. The first and most important thing is to prepare the ground: remove the stones and grasses, level it with a rake, put a 3-4cm layer of organic compost so that it has more nutrients and install the irrigation system.
2. Now, you have to make a 50cm x 50cm planting hole. We may think it is too big for such a small plant, but the bigger the hole, the more loose soil the roots will find and the faster they will start to grow.
3. Then, you have to mix the soil with 50% universal growing substrate and fill the hole to the necessary height so that the young tree can be 2-3cm below the soil level.
4. Then, it is placed in the center, and it is finished filling.
5. Finally, it is watered.

How do you care for the mandarin tree?

To have a beautiful mandarin tree, we offer you this care guide:

• Location: semi-shade or full sun.
• Subscriber: from the second year of planting, in spring and summer with low nitrogen fertilizers.
• Irrigation: frequent. Whether it is in a pot or in the ground, it must be watered very often, preventing the soil from drying out completely.
• Pruning: late winter. Dead, weak or diseased branches must be removed.
• Pests: Red spider, mealybugs, citrus miner (Phyllocnistis citrella) Y White fly, which are treated with specific insecticides. To prevent them, it is advisable to treat the tree with insecticidal oil in autumn-winter, or to do treatments the rest of the year with neem oil or potassium soap.
• Management: Phytophthora fungus and virus. The fungus can be treated with systemic fungicides and by controlling the risks; Unfortunately for viruses there is no effective treatment.
• Rusticity: withstands cold down to -4ºC.

Have a very good planting! 🙂