A good alternative to lemons and oranges is calamondine. Even a beginner grower can take care of a plant, it is unpretentious and decorative.
Kalamondin - what is it?
Citrofortunella (Calamondin) is a plant also known to flower growers, nicknamed "Indoor Mandarin" or "Golden Orange." This is a hybrid, its "parents" were mandarin and kumquat. In captivity, calamondine, which can be called micro-citrus, reaches a height of 0.6-1.5 m.
Kalamondin is a suitable option for those who want to grow something unusual and exotic on the windowsill
Brownish rough shoots often branch, the crown is densely leafy. The leaves are leathery, smooth, 4-7 cm long. The tip is pointed, the central vein is pronounced. Citrofortunella microcarpa or citrus calamondin is a self-pollinating plant.
Important! You can eat citrofortunella fruits, since calamondine is edible. Although not everyone will like a specific taste.
Home growers grow different varieties of calamondine:
- Variegata - variegated green and white leaves;
- Margarita Big - pear-shaped citruses;
- Mayva - almost seedless sweet fruits;
- Tiger - leaves with a golden border;
- Peters - abundant flowering and very acidic fruits;
- Shikinari are the largest and most delicious citruses.
Jam is made from calamondine fruits and added to tea instead of lemon
Kalamondin - home care
Caring for citrofortunella at home is simple. The main thing is to create an optimal or close microclimate for the plant.
| Parameter | Recommendations |
| Location | Near the window facing east, west. In the summer - a glazed balcony, porch. The room should not have cold drafts or stuffiness. |
| Lighting | Bright, but diffused light, without direct sunlight. Duration of daylight hours is 8-10 hours, in the winter, additional illumination is required. |
| Temperature | During active vegetation - + 24 ... +28 ° С, during the winter - + 15 ... +18 ° С. |
| Air humidity | Minimum - 70%. To maintain the required humidity level, it is necessary to spray calamondine daily, during flowering - the air next to it, avoiding droplets on the petals. |
| Priming | Shop substrate for citrus fruits or a mixture of turf land, humus and coarse sand (2: 1: 1). |
| Pot | The diameter should be approximately 1.5 times the earthen lump. Mandatory presence of drainage holes and a layer of expanded clay (3-4 cm) at the bottom. |
Important! In order for the crown of calamondine to maintain the correct spherical shape, it is necessary to rotate the pot around its axis by 1-2 cm daily.
Calamondine Care Nuances:
- Watering. Kalamondin is citrus, so watering is very important for him. The soil is moistened by drying 1-1.5 cm deep. Usually - once every 2-3 days, in the heat - daily. In winter - less often, every 8-12 days. Young Kalamondins tolerate moisture deficiency worse than adult plants.
- Fertilizer application. To do this, use root or foliar top dressing (it is recommended to alternate them) with any fertilizer for citruses every 10-12 days during the active vegetation period and monthly in the winter. Dilute the product according to the instructions.
- Pruning. The first time the formation of the crown is carried out when the plant reaches a height of 0.25 m. The optimal period is February-April, in the summer - only sanitary pruning. You need to clean all the shoots that clearly violate the regular spherical shape of the crown, broken, sick or damaged by insects. The height of the stem of an adult plant is 0.3-0.6 m. The optimal crown configuration for calamondine is sparse-tiered.
Calamondin requires regular watering and maintaining high humidity
Citrofortunella transplant
The first time calamondine needs to be transplanted 2-3 weeks after purchase. Further, for young plants, the procedure is carried out annually at the end of the dormant period. Kalamondins aged 5 years and older are transplanted every 3 years.
The algorithm of the procedure:
- 2-3 hours before the transplant, pour plenty of calamondine to make it easier to remove from the container.
- Pour a layer of drainage into a new pot with a diameter of 5-8 cm larger than the previous one, fill it with a fresh substrate about a third.
- Carefully remove the plant from the container, keeping the soil lumps intact if possible.
- Move citrofortunella to a new pot, add soil, gradually compacting it. The root neck should remain at the same level as before.
- Water the plant abundantly. Over the next 5-6 weeks, provide especially thorough protection against drafts and direct sunlight.
After buying Calamondin, it takes time to adapt
Calamondin bought at the store needs to be given time to adapt, otherwise the plant may not survive the stress associated with changing living conditions and a simultaneous transplant.
Important! Transshipment for calamondine is the only possible transplant method. He lives in symbiosis with saprophytes, which settle on the roots and help the plant absorb nutrients from the soil.
When and how the plant blooms and bears fruit
Calamondine flowering is plentiful, begins in May and lasts until mid-summer. Star-shaped flowers, up to 2.5 cm in diameter, snow-white or dairy. They are collected in inflorescences of 2-3, are located in the axils of the leaves.
The flower grower can "help" the calamondin with pollination, this increases the chances of harvesting
Fruits ripen in 3.5-4 months. They look like miniature tangerines with a diameter of 3-4 cm and a weight of 10-12 g. The skin is thin, sweetish. The pulp tastes like a slightly bitter lemon, it has a lot of seeds. Eating Kalamondins is recommended along with the peel to “compensate” for the acid.
Important! To increase the chances of the formation of fruit ovaries, it is necessary to pollinate by transferring pollen from flower to flower with a brush.
Breeding methods
Propagation of calamondin by cuttings is the most popular method among gardeners. It allows you to save varietal characteristics of the plant. Procedure:
- In May-June, obliquely cut apical shoots 10-12 cm long with 3-4 internodes. Leaves half cut.
- Sprinkle the slice with any powdery root formation stimulator or hold it in a solution of such a preparation for 2-3 hours.
- Plant the cuttings in a container filled with a wet mixture of peat and sand (1: 1). Cover with a plastic bag.
- Move the "greenhouse" to a place with good lighting, ensure a temperature of at least +25 ° C. As the soil dries, water the cuttings, ventilate the plants daily, removing the bag for 15-20 minutes.
- After 4-6 weeks, the specimens on which new leaves appeared should be planted one by one in pots of 2-3 liters. To care, as for adult plants.
Cutting calamondine - the easiest and fastest way to propagate it
Compared to cuttings, propagation of calamondin by seeds is rarely practiced. Their germination rate is 40-50%. For bearing in the future, vaccination is required. Step-by-step instructions for propagating a flower by seeds:
- Extract seeds from ripe fresh (non-dried) fruits, rinse the flesh.
- Dry the bones, store until March in the refrigerator in a container with wet peat or sand.
- In early spring, soak the seeds in a solution of any biostimulant for 2-3 days.
- Plant in containers filled with soil for seedlings, deepening by 1.5-2 cm, pour well and cover with glass or film.
- Provide a temperature of about +28 ° C, lower heating and darkness. Spray the soil every 2-3 days, daily remove the shelter for ventilation.
- When seedlings appear (after a month and a half), transfer the containers to the light, after another 7-10 days remove the shelter.
- With the appearance of four true leaves, plant the Kalamondins in individual containers.
Important! Calamondin can be inoculated not only on its seedling grown from seed, but also on other citruses. The minimum stock age is 2 years.
Problems When Growing Citrofortunella
Most often, flower growers ask the question: what to do if calamondin drops leaves and branches dry in it. But during its cultivation, other problems are possible:
| Description of the problem | Possible reasons and recommendations |
| Leaves turn yellow, shoots dry | Elevated air temperature, low humidity, direct sunlight, rare watering. It is necessary to identify and eliminate errors in care. |
| The base of the stem rots, "wet" spots appear on the leaves and shoots | Excess moisture combined with low temperature. In advanced cases, the plant can no longer be saved. If the problem is noticed at an early stage of development - cut off all the affected leaves, branches, tissues on the trunk, optimize the conditions of detention, replace the irrigation water for 5-8 weeks with a weak solution of any fungicide. |
| The fruits fall without ripening | Nutrient deficiency, inappropriate fertilizers. Eliminate care errors. Sometimes the plant naturally normalizes the crop itself. |
| The plant does not bloom | Improper conditions of detention, most often - a lack of light, an unsuitable substrate, frequent movements of the pot for no reason. Eliminate care errors. |
| Discards leaves | Drafts indoors, watering with cold water. It is necessary to eliminate negative factors. It happens that the reason is natural stress caused by transplantation, adaptation to new conditions after purchase. |
| Pest attacks (aphids, whiteflies, spider mites, scale insects, false shields) | Pests are visible to the naked eye, it is necessary to regularly inspect the plant. Having discovered the problem - if possible, manually collect insects, treat the calamondin with soap foam, then with a suitable insecticide or acaricide. |
| Fungal diseases (leaf wilting, spots on them) | Regular inspection of the plant is recommended - so you can identify the disease at an early stage. All damaged tissue must be cut off, “wounds” sprinkled with crushed chalk or ash, process the plant and soil with a solution of any fungicide 2-3 times. |
Yellowing leaves of calamondine - this is most often a consequence of the mistakes of the grower in caring for him
Kalamondin is an exotic citrus plant, successfully "domesticated" by amateur gardeners. Calamondin is appreciated for its visual appeal. Edible fruits are a nice bonus.
