How to germinate an orange seed: step by step instructions.

Everyone at least once in their life had the idea to plant and sprout an orange seed (tangerine, lemon or any other), eating an amazingly delicious citrus fruit. But many immediately abandoned this idea, fearing that nothing good would grow out of the kernel of the fruit purchased at the store. In fact, everything is much more optimistic. At home, you can sprout the seed of an orange, and the tree will delight juicy fruits.

Main difficulty

A favorable climate for an orange is the tropics and subtropics (Italy, Brazil, China, India, etc.), and the microclimate of the apartment does not at all resemble the necessary conditions. This is perhaps the main difficulty. However, purityis.decorexpro.com/en/ magazine clarifies: the problem is not the temperature, as most beginner gardeners think, but the poor lighting and the incredibly dry air to which the orange tree is very sensitive.

Poor conditions greatly inhibit development, the plant slows down three times. If in Italy a tree sprouted from the same orange seed (as well as many other citrus fruits) begins to bear fruit in 5–7 years, then in an apartment in central Russia the process drags on for 20–25 years. Waiting for so long is not the best incentive for a gardener. Fortunately, there are effective ways to accelerate the growth of an orange, moreover, in completely budgetary ways and without much effort.

How to grow an orange tree from a stone

So, how do you grow an orange seed in an apartment?

Preparatory steps:

1. Even at the stage of purchase, it is worth giving preference to the most ripe fruits. By the way, their taste will be sweeter.
2. Seeds must be carefully removed, taking care not to damage. Some gardeners recommend rinsing them after extraction. This is especially important if you need to store seeds for a while: they will not sour.
3. If the nucleoli lie for the time being, they must not be allowed to dry out very much, otherwise they are unlikely to germinate.
4. Seeds extracted from store oranges are not stored for long. And the longer they lie, the more likely they are to "disappear."
5. For planting, it is worth taking the largest seeds, without wasting energy on small ones: they are less viable.
6. Before planting, you can soak them in a weak solution of vermicompost or sodium humate for an hour or two. Especially if they were stored for some time and managed to dry. In any case, it is worth studying the instructions for each specific fertilizer before use. This will increase germination and help strengthen the shoots in the future so that they better survive the difficult conditions for them.

Soil for orange
Most gardeners prefer store soil, the name of which means "for citrus fruits." Ideal is considered forest (from under oak or aspen) or loose gray soil with garden soil (1 to 1 mixture proportions).

Planting seeds:

1. For starters, a 100-200 gram pot, preferably with drainage holes, is enough for orange grains.
2. It is better to sow from 3 to 10 pieces each, subsequently select the most viable and strong.
3. Planting should be at a depth of 1-2 cm no more, water well. Resource ru It also advises to cover the pot with cling film with holes made in it and put in a warm, bright place. This will create greenhouse conditions that will accelerate the germination of seeds. As soon as the first shoots appear, the film must be removed and watered as necessary, without damaging the sprout.
4. It is impossible to allow overcooling of seedlings and you need to ensure that they have enough light and moisture.Once every 2 weeks, you can feed them vermicompost or any other fertilizer in accordance with the instructions on the package.
5. After 3-6 months, you can select the most powerful seedlings and transplant them each into a separate larger pot. When picking, great care must be taken not to disturb the earthen lump and damage the root system.
6. Having finished with the transplant, it is advisable to feed the seedlings with fertilizer again. It will help them adapt faster and not slow down the growth rate after suffering stress.
7. Once every six months, it is worth rejecting weak plants. Already by their appearance it is quite easy to determine which of the future orange trees will begin to bear fruit faster: stocky with a dense crown, with short thorns or without thorns at all, rarely dropping foliage. And a quick harvest can not be expected from plants, often dropping leaflets, with a large distance between the buds (in comparison with other representatives of the same species), with a large net of thorns and thin elongated shoots.

Life hack from the author
Biodegradable molds with a pallet are sold in any seed store - they are a great option for those who have never replanted plants and do not know how to do it. They help transfer the seedlings to a larger pot without damaging the root system and either decompose themselves from water and external factors, or are easily removed and do not disturb the earthen lump.

The above steps are relevant for almost any citrus fruit, except for the most moody. And if there are difficulties with choosing from a huge assortment and there is no certainty that everything will turn out, then purityis.decorexpro.com/en/ magazine and leading agronomists advise starting with mandarin. This plant is quite unpretentious in room conditions and will not cause any special problems. The following on the list are not cranky lemon and orange. But it is better to refrain from planting kumquat if there is no time for scrupulous care of it.

Formation

Another point worth knowing: the seedling of an orange tree must be formed in the course of its growth. Only the stem should not be allowed to develop. Lateral branching is crucial.

Citrus fruits do not grow all the time, but in periods of 4-5 times a year, with breaks from 1 to 3 months between them. This must be taken into account, tracked and pinched at the top of the shoot in every second growth wave. The same thing is done with the side branches after the appearance of several leaves on them. Thus, you can achieve the desired bushiness of the tree and a pleasant appearance of the crown. The procedure will also not allow the orange to grow tall, which is unacceptable in an apartment.

It is worthwhile to monitor the appearance of individual vertically growing branches, bend or tie them to the trunk, while they are still plastic.

Banding of the trunk or main branches will help to bring the fruiting a little closer. It must be done very carefully: drag it with a wire, slightly pressing the bark and leave no more than six months, otherwise the branch or the plant itself will begin to dry out and die. In these places there will be a hormonal surge, which will help to accelerate the formation of fruiting kidneys.

With proper care and proper attention, an orange tree in room conditions is quite capable of giving the first fruits after 5 years, and for this it does not need to frantically search for cuttings to plant the plant. Few in the world plant citrus fruits this way. And to look after him is not so difficult as many believe. But the advantages are obvious: even before the orange starts to bear fruit, it will fill the air of the apartment with a pleasant aroma, which, by the way, will help during periods of colds and flu, since it has a bactericidal property. And without a doubt, a neat little tree will become an adornment of any interior.