How to grow a tangerine at home
Mandarin is a plant from the citrus family. Like all citrus trees, it must be grafted onto the rootstock. A wild lemon or tripolyate is used for the stock.
Tripoliate is a wild plant from the citrus family. It has a powerful root system that goes deep into the soil by 3 m. An adult tripoliate tree is not susceptible to fungal or viral diseases, because it has good immunity. This rootstock gives the tangerine the opportunity to develop rapidly. For scion, cuttings of the cultivar mandarin are used, cut from the fruiting branch. It is thanks to this scion that the tangerine seedling will begin to bear its first fruits already in the second year after transplanting into a spacious pot.
Mandarin transplant time
Citrus trees grow very slowly, so the tangerine will not bear fruit if immediately transplanted into a spacious pot. Until the root system grows throughout the pot, the tree will not tie the fruit buds. To bring the fruiting period closer, the tangerine is planted in a cramped pot. It needs to be transplanted when the roots appear from the drainage holes. The volume of the new pot should be 2 cm3 more than the previous volume.
If you have purchased a mandarin seedling grafted onto a tripolyate stock, reduce the width of the pot and increase its height with each transfer. If the tangerine is grafted onto a cultivated lemon or pomelo, then the width of the container must be increased.
A transplant into a new container is usually done twice a year: in spring and autumn. Those plants that are planted in open ground for the summer are better transplanted.
Soil mix
In order to mandarin has accumulated the nutrients necessary for flowering faster, it is necessary to prepare the correct potting mix for citrus plants. For a tangerine, you need to take eight parts of deciduous soil, four parts of vermicompost, two parts of garden perlite and one part of river sand. Place 2 cm of pebbles or garden perlite on the bottom of the pot with drainage holes to ensure drainage. The rest of the volume is filled with soil mixture. Transplant the tangerine tree until the root system of the tangerine reaches 10 liters. Before transplanting a tangerine into a 10-liter pot, it is better to cut off all flower stalks. It will take about 3 years to grow a tangerine, after which you can enjoy its delicious fruits.