For many gardeners, having a plant that not only pleases the eye, but also bears fruit, is a fix idea. One of these fruit-bearing plants, which has gained immense popularity lately - kumquat, This is a citrus plant that can be grown at home.
Did you know? Translated from the Chinese kumquat - is a "golden apple".
Description of Kumquat, as it appeared in our area
So kumquat, what is it? This is an evergreen tree from the citrus family. Kumquat gained considerable popularity among gardeners. China is considered the birthplace of Kumquat.
In the twentieth century it was brought to the American and European continents, now it grows in almost all countries, and it is called - japanese orange. In the wild, kumquat grows in southern and southeast China.
Kumquat home shrubs are very miniaturized and compact, with a well-developed ball-shaped crown (due to dense tillering) and small leaves. Kumquat blooms in pink and white flowers with a pleasant persistent odor, which give abundant fruiting.
The maximum height of the plant is 1.5 m, the leaves are up to 5 cm in length, have a rich green color, the flowers are small, have a strong citrus smell. The main value of kumquat are fruits. They are small, do not exceed 5 cm, are oval, orange in color and very bright.
Externally, kumquat looks like a small orange, and tastes like a mandarin with only one difference: kumquat has edible peel. The skin is very sweet, but the flesh is slightly sour. Kumquat is taken to be eaten whole-skinned, so the sour flesh and sweet rind will mix and give a pleasant, balanced taste.
How to choose a place for planting kumquat (kinkana)
In order for the kumquat to grow well and produce a large crop, it needs to find the right place. Let's figure out how to care for kumquat at home?
What should be the temperature and lighting
In the summer, kumquat will be quite enough diffused sunlight. If the weather is not particularly hot, then it will fit and direct sunlight. It is also recommended to take it out to the balcony, to the garden or to the garden, so that the tree can be filled with street freshness.
In winter, the plant needs a lot of light, so it is better to put it on a well-lit window sill. If possible, the kumquat can be further illuminated with lamps.
Air temperature has an important role in plant development. In the summer, a good growth of kumquat requires a temperature of 25-30 ° C, and in winter it will be quite enough for about 18 ° C.
Humidity and Kumquat Cultivation
Kumquat is a plant that prefers growing at home with high humidity. If the air is too dry, it will quickly shed its leaves. This often happens after the start of the heating season, when the air temperature in the apartments rises sharply.
Did you know? To maintain the necessary humidity, you can put a container with water next to the flower.
To prevent such troubles, spray the plant as often as possible with a spray bottle. If there is a possibility and desire, then you can arrange a kumquat once a week for a “bath day” and wash it in the shower.
Important! If in the winter the kumquat is in a room with a low temperature, then it is necessary to exclude a shower and less often to spray the plant. Due to high humidity and low temperatures, fungal diseases may appear..
How to prepare the ground for planting
Asking the question: “How to grow kumquat at home?”, You should first of all be interested in the composition of the soil for the growth of this plant.
The first thing you need to know about soil for Kumquat is that it should consist of equal parts of garden soil and river sand. Before mixing the sand is well calcined in the oven.
Then the treated and mixed soil is poured into a pot no more than 8 cm in diameter, but high. Previously to the bottom of the pot fall asleep drainage in the form of coarse sand or expanded clay.
Kumquat planting rules
So, how to plant a plant in order to grow a beautiful and strong kumquat at home? It is necessary to plant it in the soil mixture of sand and soil, for a better nutrition of the roots, you can add a little humus.
It is better to put a pot with a plant on a sunny window-sill, where it will “bathe” in the sun's rays, grow and become stronger. Next to the kumquat is to put a container with water to increase the humidity of the air. You can place kumquat among other plants, then they will feed each other with moisture.
Care for kumquat, how to grow citrus tree
Kumquat is a very demanding plant that needs special conditions for growth. In order for him to grow well, he needs to create a relaxing microclimate.
Watering plants
Kumquat needs moderate watering in autumn and springtime, while in winter it is necessary to reduce watering. But in the summer it is necessary to water the kumquat as often as possible.
It will be better if you take it as a rule to water the kumquat in the morning. Water should not be below room temperature, because if you pour cold water on a plant, all its leaves will simply fall off.
To prevent stagnation of water in the soil at the bottom of the pot stack drainage. In the very soil mixture, you can also add drainage in the form of small pebbles.
Important! In the summer you need to water at least 3 times a week. Check the dryness of the soil to determine the frequency of watering.
Fertilizing and fertilizing
How often kumquat needs to be fed, and how much kumquat fertilizer needs depends on many factors. It takes into account the composition of the soil, the age of the tree and its condition, as well as the size of the pot in which the kumquat grows.
In the period from March to September, the plants that bear fruit, feeding is necessary at least 3 times a month, at other times you can feed once a month and a half. Fertilizers should consist of 2.5 g of ammonium nitrate, 1.5 g of potassium salt or potassium chloride, 1.5 g of superphosphate and a liter of water.
How to form a crown of "golden orange"
In order for a kumquat to have a presentable appearance and begin to bear fruit faster, it is necessary to form its crown. First of all it is important to form the right trunk.
Already grown trunk cut at a height of 20 centimeters. It is necessary to leave well-developed buds, they should be at least 4. Later, skeletal shoots will form from these buds, which will form the basis of the tree.
These shoots are called "first order shoots", they should turn out to be 3-4, they need to be located on opposite sides of the trunk. Each subsequent order of shoots make shorter by 5 centimeters. The last will be the 4th order of branches.
If you do everything right, then your kumquat will start to bear fruit much faster, and its appearance will delight you.
Plant transplant
Kumquat must be transplanted before the shoots start to grow; this usually happens in the middle of spring. However, a kumquat growing at home needs to be transplanted no more than once every 2-3 years.
A kumquat transplant consists of handling an earthy coma and rhizome without damaging it. Drainage completely replaced with a new one.
Possible gaps between the walls of the new pot and the earthy clod are filled with fresh soil. After that, you need to put the tree in a warm dark place and moisten well.
While the kumquat will stand there, his crown must be constantly sprayed with warm water.
Kumquat multiplication
Like all citrus fruits, kumquat can be propagated with the help of: seeds, cuttings, cuttings and grafts. Let's take a closer look at each type of breeding.
Seeds
For the seeds to grow a full-fledged kumquat, they need to be planted in a mixture of river sand and ordinary garden soil. The first shoots you can watch after a month and a half.
Seedlings sprout with 4 leaves. When the plant is strong, it can be prepared for transplanting. 2 weeks before the planned transplant, prune the plant roots.
Important! During the cutting of the roots of the plant can not be removed from the ground.
If you do not cut the roots, they will curl, and not give growth in length. To cut the roots, hold a knife with a sharp knife at an angle of 45 ° at a distance of 10 cm from the plant. "Cut" seedlings gently pull out of the pot and seated.
Plants grown from seeds do not retain the characteristics of their variety. For example, they begin to bear fruit after 10 years, or even more.
Kumquat grafting
This is the main breeding method for home cultivation. Kumquat can be cut throughout the year, but the best results are obtained in April.
Having processed the cuttings before planting with a special growth stimulator, you will accelerate the process of proper root formation, which contributes to the appearance of a larger number of cuttings and a better development of the root system.
For cutting cuttings use shoots that are harvested from fruit-bearing plants in the fall. Flexible and not stiff shoots cut into cuttings of 8 cm with several buds. The lower sections of the cuttings, so that they do not start to rot, sprinkled with charcoal.
At the bottom of the pot is laid drainage, which is covered with moss, on top of pouring soil mixture. In the pot planted 5 cuttings of kumquat at 2-centimeter depth. All this is covered with a glass jar and placed under diffused sunlight.
After 2-3 weeks, roots are formed in the cuttings. Rooted plants can be planted in separate pots.
Reproduction by layering
For reproduction by layering in the fruiting kumquat in the spring choose an annual shoot or branch. Above 10 cm on the branch, two annular cuts are made and the ring of bark is removed.
Next you need to cut off all the leaves that are above and below the cut. The plastic bottle is cut along the center. On each half at the bottom, 2 semicircles are cut out in the center, the thickness should correspond to the thickness of the branch.
The bottle must be tied to a branch so that the cut of the bark is right in the center of the container. 2 bottle halves need to be stapled and filled with soil mixture, periodically need to be moistened.
After 2 months, the kumquat below the bottom of the bottle should be cut, carefully separate the halves of the bottle and transplant the resulting plant with an earthy clod in a separate pot. Put the pot where the kumquat grows in your house.
Grafting plants
To be able to propagate kumquat grafts, you need to have plant seedlings that have already reached a thickness of 1 cm at the base. They also recommend grafting shoots of kumquat on a grapefruit stock or three-leaf poncirus. Often they practice the inoculation of the shield in the butt or the simple eyeing of a cultivar.
Kumquat needs to be grafted while actively growing and sap flow of shoots. After a month and a half, the eyes will take root, and the above-ground part of the seedlings can be cut to the vaccination site and begin to form a crown.
Plants grown with vaccines start to bear fruit a little later, but develop much better. Kumquats that have instilled are much tougher and more resistant to various adverse growth factors.
Now you know what kind of fruit is kumquat, and you can grow it yourself at home.
