Growing an orange from a seed at home

If you think that it is impossible to grow an orange from a seed at home, then you are deeply mistaken. Undoubtedly, it is not enough to lower the seeds into the ground and wait for the shoots to emerge. It will take a lot of patience and time before the orange tree delights you with its fruits.

Orange is the most unpretentious of citrus fruits. For planting, bones obtained from fresh fruit are quite suitable. Most gardeners prefer to grow these trees from seedlings. But to decorate a house or a greenhouse, which is translated from French as "winter orange garden", you can grow a plant from a seed.

Varieties of orange

Oranges are divided into two large groups: sour (bitter) and sweet varieties. There are three types that are most often found on sale in our country.

Sweet

Chinese or Portuguese fruit. The most common and demanded variety.

Sour

Usually these are hybrids of mandarin and pomelo. They have a bitter and sour taste. These fruits are often called oranges.

Bergamot

A hybrid of citron and orange. It has a pronounced bitter-sour taste.

All oranges are equally healthy and tasty. They contain a huge amount of vitamins, amino acids and trace elements. We will present you the best varieties.

Washington Neville

Sweet and sour fruits with a thick, porous skin. Many are mistaken, believing that the homeland of this variety is the United States. In fact, this variety is native to Brazil. Its fruits have practically no seeds.

Valencia

A variety of Spanish oranges. They are distinguished by a thin skin of a bright orange color with red blotches. The pulp is the same color. These oranges have a pleasant sweet taste.

Blondo Commune

A variety from Sicily. For a long time it was the most popular in its homeland, but in recent years it gave the palm to the two previous varieties. It has a lot of seeds and is excellently grown from them.

Oval

The name accurately describes the shape of the fruit. This variety has almost the same taste as Valencia.

Tarocco

Another early maturing Sicilian variety. The harvesting season lasts from November to January. These oranges do not only have a pleasant taste and exquisite aroma. However, the fruits are popular not only because of their excellent taste, but also because of the unusual blood-red color of the pulp. How to grow a red orange from a seed, we will tell you a little later.

At the end of this small review, I would like to say that Moroccan and Abkhaz oranges today compete with the varieties described above.

Preparing the potting mix

Before planting seeds, it is necessary to prepare the soil for the future tree. It is prepared from:

• leafy land;
• sand;
• humus;
• turf.

All components in equal parts are thoroughly mixed, and the soil is ready. The soil for an orange must be saturated with trace elements, so you can purchase a ready-made soil with the inscription "Rose" or "Lemon", which is perfect for an orange (tree). The plant needs drainage. To do this, you can use small pebbles or expanded clay. The best time to plant a tree is spring.

Seed selection

For planting, you can use any bone from a freshly eaten fruit, and if you wish, you can buy seeds of a particular variety. Choose whole, undamaged and the most attractive seeds. If you decide to use them from freshly eaten fruit, then they should be washed carefully, being careful not to damage the shell.

After that, they are soaked in warm water overnight. Then the bones are laid out on a damp napkin and covered with it on top. This will keep the moisture needed for germination. Drying out will negatively affect the germination of the plant. Then place the seed napkin in the bag, creating a greenhouse effect for the seeds. Orange is a thermophilic plant, so keep the seed bag in a warm room.

Seed germination process

For germination of seeds, a temperature of about +25 ° C is recommended. If necessary, the seeds in the bag must be moistened. They should always be moist and should not be allowed to dry out. Germination takes about two weeks on average, sometimes a little longer. It is important to periodically ventilate the greenhouse.

Landing

Now you need to plant the seeds in a pot with sterile soil. To do this, heat the purchased or prepared soil composition in a pan for several minutes, spreading it out in a thin layer. You will see the first shoots in three weeks. When they grow up to two centimeters, the seedlings must be transplanted into pots with a diameter of about nine centimeters.

Place some expanded clay at the bottom of the container, creating the necessary drainage. The sprouts are transplanted into a larger flowerpot when the fourth or fifth leaves appear on them. The next pot should be at least 9 cm in diameter. The old clod of earth that tightly wraps around the roots should be preserved. Do not try to remove it - this could damage the roots.

During this period, it is necessary to create the most favorable conditions for strengthening the sprouts and hardening them. Each transplant is carried out into a container with a diameter of five centimeters larger than the previous one. Transplants stop when they begin to form the crown of the tree. After planting, the bone should be immediately watered with settled, filtered or boiled water.

Cover the pot with plastic wrap to create a mini greenhouse effect. Place it on a windowsill and make sure it is not exposed to direct sunlight. You can cover it with paper. At night, the film is removed so that the seedling is ventilated.

Interested in how to grow a fruit-bearing tree from an orange seed, you need to know that this plant needs moist soils, so it should be sprayed daily. Water the soil as needed, but do not fill it with water.

How to grow an orange from a seed: plant care

The main requirements for this plant are watering and pruning. Even a beginner can grow an orange. Caring for a plant requires only accuracy, patience and adherence to simple rules.

Watering, as we said, should be periodic. In this case, there should be no waterlogging or drying out of the soil. Pruning is done annually. At home, the top of the head is cut off from the stone at home for the second year, leaving no more than twenty centimeters. After that, the tree will throw out healthy side shoots, however, they will have to be removed.

Thus, skeletal branches are formed.When your tree begins to bear fruit, the branches are pruned as needed. It should be borne in mind that too much fruit on the branches often leads to the depletion of the plant.

Indoor orange: top dressing

The seedling is fed six months after planting. Organic and mineral fertilizers are used, which are now offered in a huge assortment by specialized stores.

How to form a crown?

This thermophilic plant needs crown formation. This work should be started from the moment the tree grows to thirty centimeters. You need to cut from two to four leaves from the top of the plant. This will give a powerful push, and it will release side branches, which are second-order branches.

Subsequent pruning of these branches stimulates the growth of shoots of the third and subsequent generations. The branches are cut when they reach a length of thirty centimeters. This is how all shoots are shortened. As a result, the trunk of the formed plant is fifteen centimeters, and the crown is made up of three or four branches, which are covered with small shoots.

The purpose of the grower is the twigs of the fifth order, since they are the ones that bear fruit. But this usually happens at 5-7 years. This largely depends on the characteristics of the variety and the conditions of detention.

First flowers and fruits

How to grow an orange from a seed in order not only to admire a beautiful plant, but also to get fruits from it? Surely the answer to this question is of interest to all gardeners. The tree begins to bloom in the fifth year after planting. But the first buds should be removed, since the plant at this age is not yet strong enough for fruiting.

The plant will give real fruits for 8 years. There are several secrets that allow you to get the harvest earlier than the specified date. Here are some of them:

1. Vaccination (graft a twig from a fruiting tree to the tree).
2. Repot the plant often (2-3 transplants in the summer will enhance the development of the root system).
3. Ringing - wire the twigs or peel off the bark in a ring. As soon as the plant begins to bloom, the wire is removed.
4. Cold wintering. Take the tree out to a room with a temperature of +5 ° C for three months. Cold wintering is very effective. They are recommended for the first two to three years. At this time, the plant is not fertilized, you can only water it, but not abundantly.

After these procedures, the orange will begin to bear fruit in the fourth year.

Reproduction

How to grow an orange from seed and propagate it later? At home, this can be done in two ways: by seed and cuttings. In mid-latitudes, it is not so easy to get a stalk. You can ask your friends who are engaged in the cultivation of these citrus fruits, or buy it in specialized greenhouses.

For reproduction, cuttings 15 cm long and 0.5 cm in diameter are suitable. The cut is made under the kidney and above it, above and below. The stem must have at least four buds and three leaves. The stalk is treated with a root growth stimulant. After that, it is placed in water for several days, and then planted in the ground.

Rooting can take from one to one and a half months. After rooting, the cuttings are transplanted into pots by transferring them. You already know how to grow an orange from a seed. This process is more complicated, but at the same time very exciting. The tree grown in this way has strong genetics and has other characteristics that differ from the parental ones.

Cuttings, on the other hand, fully inherit the donor's genetic code. At the same time, cuttings significantly reduce the timing of the onset of fruiting.

Diseases and pests

Many pests can attack the orange. The tree can be affected by some diseases. Its main enemies in indoor floriculture are spider mites and scale insects. In addition, an orange seedling can be infected with viruses and fungi.

You can fight diseases and pests with the help of fungicides and insecticides. The affected areas are cut out and smeared with garden pitch. In advanced cases, the diseased seedling is recommended to be burned.

Oranges are very healthy fruits. They lower the level of "bad" cholesterol in the blood, strengthen the immune system, and normalize blood pressure. It is not surprising that many flower growers and gardeners dream of growing this plant. This culture is unlikely to be called unpretentious by anyone, however, it will not bring great difficulties in leaving. Constant care, painstaking work and a great desire to grow an exotic plant will definitely give a positive result.

Among the variety of indoor plants sold in specialty stores, the eye quickly catches neat trees with glossy leathery foliage and a mass of brightly fragrant fruits. If you have patience and put in a little effort, you can grow an orange tree from a seed at home, especially since a seed from a ripe fruit bought in a store is suitable as a planting material.

How to grow an orange at home from a seed?

The orange seed is covered with a rather dense, hard peel, on the one hand, preserving the sprout from all kinds of damage, and on the other, preventing its germination. If the seed dries up, it is very difficult to make it hatch, so only fresh seeds are used for planting.

Orange pits:

• washed in warm water;
• soaked for 8-12 hours;
• planted in loose soil or peat to a depth of 1 cm under the film.

Until the moment of germination, which occurs in a month or a month and a half, the container with seeds remains in a shaded warm place. The mini-greenhouse should be periodically humidified and ventilated. And only after the emergence of sprouts, future orange trees are brought into the world.

Since in countries where oranges grow in nature, trees generously receive both heat and light, you can provide seedlings with the longest daylight hours by planting seeds at the end of winter or in March. But even in this case, young orange trees respond well to the extension of daylight hours with the help of special lamps.

Transplanting an orange at home

The picking of sprouts is carried out at the stage when two true leaves open on the orange, while it is important to take into account that the plant reacts extremely painfully to all manipulations associated with transplantation and possible damage to the root system. It is unacceptable that the root collar of an orange turns out to be underground during transplantation.

The best way to transplant a tree is to transfer the plant along with an earthen lump in spring, until the active growth of shoots begins and buds appear. A home-grown orange will have to be regularly subjected to this procedure, each time choosing a container with a diameter of 1-3 cm larger than the old pot:

• The growing root system of a young plant once a year requires an expansion of the "living space".
• Mature fruit trees are replanted every 2-3 years.

For seedlings with 4–6 leaves, a pot with a diameter of about 10 cm and a soil mixture of two parts of sod land, one part of deciduous humus, the same volume of peat and sand are suitable. Already at the next transshipment, the proportion of sod land in the soil is increased and a small amount of clay is added. An orange tree, which is grown from a seed at home, must be provided with good drainage and an irrigation regime that does not allow root rot.

Optimal growing conditions for an orange at home

Like all inhabitants of the subtropical zone, orange trees do not tolerate drafts, but they love light very much and are demanding on the humidity of the air and soil. With a lack of lighting, citrus fruits can hurt or refuse to bear fruit, so it is better to grow them on the sunny side, but shielding them from burning direct rays, especially in summer.In autumn and winter, when daylight hours decrease, the orange grown from the seed is highlighted.

The air humidity in the room where the tree is located should not be lower than 40%, otherwise the plant begins to quickly shed its leaves and may die. This happens especially often in winter, during the heating season, or when the pot is located close to the heater. In this case, it is necessary to artificially humidify the air, spray the plant and make sure that the soil under it does not dry out.

The danger of drying out the soil also exists in the summer, therefore, daily watering, which moisturizes the entire earthen lump, but does not cause stagnation of moisture, is extremely necessary for an orange.

Home orange trees can die if the irrigation water contains chlorine. Therefore, they use rainwater, thawed or settled water for at least a day, which is heated to 25-30 ° C.

Caring for an orange tree at home

In order for the seedling to develop quickly, and after a few years the plant began to bear fruit, it needs to create conditions, as in the Mediterranean and northern Africa, where oranges grow in nature:

• In summer, the tree can be taken out into the air, protecting it from the scorching sun.
• In the spring, when bud formation begins and ovaries are expected to form, orange trees need to be kept at 15–18 ° C.
• In winter, watering is reduced and a warm winter is arranged at temperatures above + 12 ° C, not forgetting about the plant backlighting.

On transfer from room to room, changes in temperature, humidity and other growing conditions, up to turning the pot, an orange tree, as in the photo, at home can shed its leaves, turn yellow and wither. Therefore, it is advised to rotate the plant so that its shoots grow more evenly, approximately 10 ° every 10 days.

An actively growing orange every 7-14 days needs a complex fertilizing with fertilizers for citrus crops or a composition based on 10 liters of water and:

• 20 grams of ammonium nitrate;
• 25 grams of superphosphate;
• 15 grams of potassium salts.

Caring for an orange tree at home means that iron sulfate is added to the top dressing four times a year, and to maintain the rich color of the foliage, the orange is watered monthly with a solution of potassium permanganate.

Orange seed grafting

If you take good care of the tree, it quickly grows and develops. However, not everyone manages to wait for flowering and ovary, and if the fruits do appear, they turn out to be small and bitter. The fact is that oranges grown from the seed may not carry parental characteristics and may simply be wild plants. You can recognize such a wild game already at the age of one by the hard green thorns on the trunk.

How to grow oranges at home, as sweet and large as store fruits? In this case, you can choose one of the following methods:

• Carry out the classical grafting of the tree, using the seedling as a rootstock for a varietal cuttings obtained from a fruiting plant.
• Inoculate an orange by budding by implanting the bud of a cultivated plant with a small layer of bark and wood. For reliability, you can use up to three eyes at the same time, grafting them from different sides of the trunk.

The second method is less laborious and painful for the tree. If the seedling after grafting remains only as a rootstock, it is better to carry out the operation on a tree at the age of 1 - 3 years, when the diameter of the stem does not exceed 6 mm.

On an adult orange tree, in the photo, various citrus crops can be grafted, since the plant practically does not reject related species.

Forming an orange crown at home

Fruiting of an orange tree at home can begin 6-10 years after the seeds germinate and only if the plant has a properly formed crown.The buds, and then the ovary, in the same plants appears on the developed branches of the fourth order. Therefore, to obtain an early harvest, the formation of the crown begins during the period when the tree reaches a height of 25-30 cm:

• In spring, the main shoot is pinched at a level of 18-25 cm.
• Of the side shoots, three or four of the strongest are left, which are cut off, forcing to branch.
• In the next season, two branches of the second order are left from the increment. They will subsequently give 3 to 5 shoots of the third order.
• And only then will the horizontal fruiting branches begin to develop.
• Next, they monitor the density of the crown and the timely replacement of branches.

On young trees, it is better to remove the first flowers and ovaries. The first harvest can be as little as 2-3 oranges, so that the plant does not lose too much strength when they ripen.

You can speed up the tree's entry into fruiting by wintering the orange at a temperature of 2 to 5 ° C, limiting watering and not feeding for three months. When the temperature rises to 15-18 ° C in the room where the oranges grow, buds begin to set and an ovary begins to form. A properly cared-for orange at home can live up to 50-70 years, regularly delighting with the appearance of white flowers and brightly fragrant fruits.

Citrus grafting at home - video

The variety of overseas fruits in shops and markets is striking. Eating a new fruit, we get bones in memory of it. Many indoor plant lovers have itching to sow seeds or seeds and see what will grow out of them? Today we will grow an orange!

Planting seeds from a mango or avocado is very easy to get seedlings, but you will not be able to wait for fruits from them. These trees begin to bear fruit only when they grow to a height of 4.5 m and above.

Fresh persimmon seeds also germinate easily at home, but it will not grow and bear fruit in limited home conditions. Persimmon sheds its leaves for the winter and must be stored under certain conditions.

And pomegranates, figs, lemons, tangerines or coffee grown from seeds or seeds readily bloom and even bear fruit in indoor conditions.

It is very easy to grow oranges from seeds. Oranges are sold in large quantities in any grocery store. Their fruits contain a lot of planting material. A tree grown from a seed will not only decorate the interior, but also flavor the air, destroying bacteria.

In a warm subtropical climate, an orange tree grows up to 7 meters in height, however, there are also shorter varieties, no higher than 3m. The tree, evergreen, light-loving but tolerant of slight lack of sunlight, is ideal for indoor growing.

It is not difficult to create suitable conditions for it, which means that over time it will bloom and give almost real fruits. Three citrus trees in the room will create the atmosphere of a citrus garden in the room. Another undoubted property of an orange seedling is that you can graft a stalk of any citrus tree into it.

You can propagate an orange by seed or cuttings. Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages.

A tree grown from a cutting will bloom much earlier than a tree grown from a seed, but the cutting needs to be found and rooted somewhere. Garden centers sell already fruiting seedlings, but their prices have no upper limit. A tree grown from cuttings fully retains the hereditary characteristics of the parent plant.

Seeds are much easier to obtain. Oranges are sold everywhere, and the seeds in each fruit are enough for a whole grove. A wild game grown from a seed is stronger and more adapted to habitat conditions, more resistant to diseases, and the crown of seedlings is thicker and more beautiful. Seedlings from seeds, if properly grown and shaped, bloom at 8-10 years of age. Consider

How to grow an orange tree from a seed with photos and videos

Preparing the seeds

It is better to take seeds from fully ripe fruits of the correct shape. The seeds should be large and full-bodied. For sowing, you can take seeds from several different fruits.

The seeds are covered with a dense rind, especially hard after drying. The germination of dried seeds is markedly reduced.

Selected fresh, dry seeds are necessary:

• free from the remnants of the pulp;
• rinse thoroughly with running water;
• soak for 8 to 12 hours in water, to which you can add Energen, Epin, HB or any fertilizer diluted according to the instructions.

Sowing seeds

You can sow prepared seeds in individual containers with a volume of no more than 100 ml, for example, from yogurt or sour cream, or you can sow all the seeds at once in a wide and shallow planting box.

The distance between the seeds should be about 5 cm and 3 cm is left to the walls of the box. The depth of planting seeds is about 1 cm. In any case, holes for water drainage and drainage are required.

The soil can be taken ready-made. Specialty stores sell citrus soil. You can prepare the mixture yourself by mixing peat and garden soil in a 1: 1 ratio.

Containers with sown seeds are placed in a warm and optionally lit place. It will be useful to isolate the seed containers from the cold window sill by placing them on polystyrene or polystyrene foam.

You can create high humidity in individual containers by covering them with cut-bottom plastic bottles. By screwing the lid onto the bottle, you can get a complete tightness of the greenhouse, by unscrewing the lid, we get moderate ventilation.

The boxes are covered with cling film. It has sufficient width, does not trap light and is well fixed. The soil should be kept warm and moderately moist.

When the seedlings appear in a month and a half, the illumination is intensified, the lengthening of daylight hours with additional illumination, the seedlings will benefit. If the seeds are sown in late winter - early spring, then additional illumination is not required.

When two true leaves appear on sprouts growing in a common container, a pick is carried out at a greater distance. In this case, you need to be very careful with the root system, and the root collar should remain at the same level.

When there are 4 - 6 leaves on the sprouts, they are seated in personal pots, no more than 10 cm in size. Larger planting containers should not be used. The soil in the pot, where there are no roots, remains wet and sour for a long time. If the seedlings have sprung up in individual containers, then it is better to transfer the plant without damaging the earth clod.

The soil for the grown plants is different: 2 parts of sod land, 1 part of leaf humus, 1 part of peat and 1 part of sand. When the orange tree grows to 15-20 cm, it is necessary to carry out the next transshipment, but 3 parts of the sod land are taken and a little clay is added.

The size of each next pot when transplanting is chosen 1-3 cm larger than the previous one. Adult plants are transplanted every two to three years. In plants over ten years old, instead of replanting, the top layer of the soil is replaced.

The ideal time for handling orange trees of any age is the beginning of spring, before new leaves and buds appear.

Good drainage and moderate watering is essential for an orange at any age.

Conditions necessary for successfully growing an orange in an apartment

To successfully grow an orange tree, you must:

• no drafts,
• air humidity not lower than 40%,
• moderately moist soil,
• sunlight.

Plants are best placed on the sunny side, but the leaves must be protected from direct sun. On the other hand, a significant lack of light delays flowering and fruit formation.

If possible, in the warm season, the tree should be taken out into fresh air, protecting it from the direct sun.In winter, flowering plants need to be supplemented.

The optimum room humidity should be kept above 40%. At lower humidity, the tree sheds its leaves, leading to its death. During the heating season, you need to especially carefully monitor the level of humidity in the room.

If necessary, you can increase it by spraying the plant or install a bowl with wet expanded clay or moss next to the tree. It is very important to monitor the soil moisture in the pot. Excessive moisture leads to decay of the roots, a lack of moisture dries up the tree.

Lack of moisture in the soil is also dangerous in summer, when leaves and shoots are actively growing. You can water the orange every day in the summer, as long as the moisture in the pan does not stagnate.

The chlorine contained in the irrigation water is especially dangerous for orange trees.

It is better to use water for irrigation snow, rain or settled for at least a day and warmed up to 25 ° C.

Orange care

The rapid and full-fledged development of the orange tree will be facilitated by the creation of conditions similar to those in its historical homeland - on the Mediterranean coast or in North Africa:

• in winter, the temperature in the room where the orange grows must be maintained within +12 to +15 degrees, watering is reduced, daylight hours are extended with additional lighting;
• in spring, when leaves and buds appear, the temperature is raised to + 18C;
• the orange tree should spend the summer outdoors, protected from the midday sun, watered daily;
• every two weeks, the plant is fed with complex fertilizer. Compound fertilizer for citrus fruits would be ideal. You can prepare a fertilizer mixture yourself if you dissolve 20 g of nitrogen fertilizers, 25 g of phosphorus fertilizers and 15 g of potassium salts (only not potassium chloride) in 10 liters of water. Once a season, iron sulfate is added to the fertilizer mixture, and once a month - potassium permanganate.
• the condition of the tree is influenced by changes in air humidity, illumination, temperature, and even the orientation of the plant relative to the window. You need to turn the pot for leveling no more than once every ten days and no more than 10 degrees.

Pests and diseases

Another point in caring for orange seedlings at any age is the prevention and control of pests and diseases.

Of the pests on citrus fruits, in particular, on the orange, there are aphids, spider mites, whitefly and scale insects. A weekly inspection of the plant will allow timely detection and destruction of pests.

Especially carefully you need to inspect the tree when it is transferred from open air to a room in the fall.

Pest control at home can be done with broad-spectrum drugs with a short waiting time, such as Biotlin or Fitoverm.

From home remedies, infusions of garlic, hot pepper, or a solution of laundry soap are suitable.

You can fight root rot with Fitosporin or a tooth powder solution that lowers the acidity of the soil.

Graft

An orange tree grown from a seed can grow rapidly, form a beautiful crown, after 6-8 years, with proper pruning, flowers may appear, but the fruits are likely to be inedible or very small and bitter.

Plants grown from seeds do not retain the hereditary characteristics of the parent plant. In very rare cases, the fruit may or may not be better than the original tree.

In order for the fruits to appear on the grown tree earlier and to be tasty, you need to vaccinate. Graft a bud or twig of a cultivated, varietal plant on the grown seedling. A wild, unvaccinated seedling can be identified by the long, hard, green thorns that appear on the stem of the seedling at the age of 1 year.

The best age for grafting is 1-3 years

Video how to plant an orange

How to get fruits at home?

An unvaccinated orange tree will begin to bear fruit at the age of 6-10 and only on a properly formed tree. For the formation of buds, and in the future, and fruits, branches of the fourth and higher order are needed. To get an earlier harvest, you need to start forming the crown from the moment when the trunk reaches a height of 20 to 30 cm.

• in early spring, the main shoot is pinched at a height of 15-25 cm;
• from the lateral shoots that have appeared, 3-4 are evenly spaced along the trunk and direction, which are pinched, limiting further growth;
• extra branches are removed to the ring;
• next spring, two branches of the 2nd order are left on each branch, on which branches of a higher order will subsequently grow;
• on the branches of the 4th and higher order, fruiting branches develop;
• thickening, small and poorly growing branches are removed annually;
• it is better to remove the first buds, saving the strength of the tree;
• for ripening for the first time, you can leave no more than 3 ovaries.

You can stimulate the formation of buds if you arrange a cold (+ 2-5 ° C) and dry winter for the orange tree, limiting watering for 90 days. When the tree senses an increase in temperature to + 15-18 ° C and an increase in watering on the branches, the formation of buds and ovaries will begin.

Pollination is necessary to obtain fruit. With a cotton swab, the pollen from the stamens is transferred to the pistil, and it is better if it is the pistil of another flower. The amount of the formed ovary must be strictly dosed - each ovary must be provided with nutrition for 10-15 healthy leaves.

With proper care, an orange tree can become a real long-liver in the house - it can bloom and bear fruit for up to 70 years.

It is quite possible to grow a real orange tree from a seed. Of course, it will not be enough to put the seeds in the pot and wait for the germination. An orange will take a lot of time and patience before it delights you with its fruits. It should be noted that this type of citrus is considered the most unpretentious among the rest. Fresh fruit seeds are suitable for planting. Still, many gardeners prefer growing trees from young seedlings. The main ways to reproduce an orange are from seeds and cuttings. For cultivation, a greenhouse is perfect, which is translated from French as "winter orange garden".

Varieties of orange

All oranges can be divided into two large groups: sweet and sour (bitter) varieties. Three types are especially distinguished, which can be most often found on sale.

Orange fruit

1. Sweet. Portuguese or Chinese fruit. The most common variety.
2. Sour. A hybrid of pomelo and tangerine. Has a bitter taste. Another name for it is orange.
3. Bergamot. A hybrid of orange and citron. Has a pronounced bitter-sour taste.

All oranges are tasty and equally healthy. They contain a large amount of vitamins, minerals and amino acids. Oranges are a real storehouse of vitamin C, which is responsible for immunity.

There are several more varieties that differ in appearance and taste.

• Washington Neville... Sweet and sour fruit with a thick skin. Many people mistakenly believe that the homeland of this variety is the United States. In fact, Washington Neville is originally from Brazil. The fruits of this variety ripen seedless.
• Valencia - Spanish variety of oranges. Its distinctive feature is a thin, bright orange peel with small red blotches. The pulp has a similar color. The orange taste is sweet.

Valencia variety

• "Blondo Communes" - Sicilian variety. Ranked first among the consumed varieties of oranges in Sicily. At the present time he has given primacy to the two previous varieties. Has a lot of seeds.
• "Oval"... The name speaks for itself. The orange fruit resembles an oval in shape, and the taste is not much different from the "Valencia" variety.
• "Tarocco" - an early ripe variety originally from Sicily.The harvesting season is from November to January. Tarocco oranges are distinguished not only by their pleasant taste, but also by the unusual color of the pulp. They have a blood-red color.

Tarocco variety

• "Sanguinello"... Bitter oranges. Their homeland is Sicily.

Abkhaz and Moroccan oranges also compete with the above varieties.

Planting an orange tree

The most common way to grow an orange is to plant the seed in the ground. But first, this land needs to be prepared. You will need:

1. One piece of leafy ground (rotted foliage).
2. One piece of sand.
3. One piece of humus.
4. Three pieces of turf.

Consider the planting process:

• Mix all the components and the soil for the future citrus is ready. The land for planting an orange should be rich in trace elements, so the best option would be to buy a ready-made mixture in stores. You can buy land marked "Lemon" or "Rose", they are perfect for growing an orange.

• Drainage must be laid at the bottom of the pot. For this, expanded clay or small stones are suitable.

Planting an orange seed

• The seed for planting must be fresh, that is, only removed from the fruit. It needs to be buried 2 cm into the ground. Then sprinkle with earth and compact a little.

Attention! The best time to plant an orange is in spring.

• Immediately after planting, the seed should be watered with boiled, filtered or settled water.
• Cover the pot with plastic to create a mini greenhouse effect.
• Place the pot on a windowsill and keep out of direct sunlight. To do this, cover it with paper. At night, the film must be removed in order to air the seedling.
• A sprout will appear in 20-25 days.
• Oranges love moist soils, so they need to be sprayed daily. And water as needed, but in no case fill with water.
• After a year, the seedling can be transplanted into a pot that has a larger diameter.

Orange tree care

The main requirements for caring for an orange include watering and pruning. Watering should be periodic, do not allow the soil to dry out or waterlogged.

As for pruning, it needs to be done annually. In the second year of life, the crown of a young seedling is cut off, leaving only 20 cm. After that, the tree should throw out the side shoots, but they will have to be removed. This will form skeletal branches. When the tree begins to bear fruit, the fruit branches are pruned as needed. It should be borne in mind that an excessive amount of fruit on a branch leads to the depletion of the plant.

Watering the orange tree should be moderate, no overflow

You need to feed an orange seedling no earlier than 6 months after planting. You can buy suitable fertilizers at any specialized flower shop.

Reproduction

At home, an orange can be grown in two ways: by cuttings and from seeds (seeds).

Stalk not so easy to get in the middle latitudes of our country. You can ask for it from friends who breed this citrus, bring it from a vacation in the subtropics, or buy it in specialized greenhouses.

Cuttings with a diameter of 0.5 cm and a length of 10-15 cm are suitable. The cut is performed under and above the kidney, below and above. At least 4 buds and 3 leaves are left on the stem. The stalk is treated with an agent that stimulates root growth. After that, it must be placed in water for several days, and then planted in containers with soil. The rooting process can take from one to one and a half months. Only after the cuttings have taken root can they be transplanted into pots by transferring them.

Orange stalk

Planting an orange from bone a more complex process, but a tree grown in this way has strong genetics and different characteristics than the parent. In the cuttings, there is a complete transfer of the donor's genetic material.A pitted orange will only start blooming after 8-10 years. Cutting reduces this period in half.

Diseases and pests

Orange trees are susceptible to attack by many pests, as well as some diseases.
So, the main misfortunes when growing in apartment conditions are scale insects and spider mites.

In addition, a citrus seedling can be attacked by fungi and viruses. The most unpleasant thing is gommosis.
You can fight pests and diseases with insecticides and fungicides. The affected areas are removed and smeared with garden pitch. In the most advanced cases, the affected seedling is recommended to be burned.

Gommoz

Orange is a healthy citrus fruit. It reduces blood pressure and is a good prevention of the development of cancer. Strengthens the immune system and lowers blood cholesterol levels. Protects against infections and promotes weight loss. These are not all of its positive qualities.

Not surprisingly, many are willing to grow this fruit. The most affordable option would be to grow an orange from a seed. This culture cannot be called unpretentious, but it will not bring any particular difficulties. Patience, constant care and a desire to grow exotic will give a positive result, but, unfortunately, not as soon as we would like.

Planting an orange from a stone: video

How to plant an orange from a stone: photo