orange tree- citrus evergreen perennial family Rutaceae, grown in subtropical climates and does not tolerate negative temperatures. The growth of the orange tree in warm climates continues constantly; the plant is medium-sized and can grow up to 7 m in height at open cultivation. There are also low-growing varieties up to 3 m. Thermophilia and low demands on conditions allow you to successfully grow oranges at home. Orange tree at home at good care will be able to bear fruit and reach a decent size.
Many domesticated, specially bred varieties of orange can bear fruit all year and have minimum size crowns These varieties (for example: Washington Navel, Korolek, Gamlin) allow you to regularly obtain a small harvest of oranges at home. And three or four plants can create the feeling of a citrus garden in a room.
Planting an orange at home.
Orange trees are propagated in two ways: cuttings and seeds. Both methods have their pros and cons. Firstly planting material need to find it somewhere. With seeds, everything is simple - go to the store and choose the first fruit you like. As with growing avocados at home, the orange fruit must be ripe and uniform orange. Almost all orange fruits contain seeds suitable for germination. You need to get cuttings somewhere: ask a friend who already owns a homemade orange, you can buy a ready-grown seedling in a store, or, for example, bring a cutting from a vacation in the subtropics, cutting off a twig of an orange growing in open ground.
An orange planted at home from seed is a stronger plant. It will grow better and adapt to new conditions, be more unpretentious to diseases, the tree will acquire a beautiful crown, which cannot be said about plants planted from cuttings. However, you need to keep in mind that an orange grown from a seed will have slightly different biological characteristics than its parent. Planting by cuttings ensures 100% transfer of the genetic material of the parent tree. And the last thing that may influence the choice of how to plant oranges at home is the beginning of fruiting. A tree from a seed will begin to bloom and bear fruit with sufficient care at the age of 8-10 years; the cutting method of propagation reduces this period by half.
Growing an orange tree from seed.
Take the formed seeds of the correct shape from the orange fruit. To guarantee, use several pieces from different fruits so as not to sow only unpollinated or unripe seeds. Plant immediately after removing the seeds, in small pots or long boxes at intervals of 5 cm from each other and 3 cm from the walls. For soil, use a mixture of peat and flower earth in a 1:1 ratio, with good drainage.
Deepen the seeds by 1 cm and maintain constant soil moisture, avoiding overwatering. The optimal temperature for germination is 18-22 degrees. Orange sprouts at home will appear in about 2 weeks. From the hatched oranges, choose the strongest, most powerful, with the right leaves. Carry out growing under a small glass jar- to create a microclimate. Place the pots in a bright place, but out of direct sunlight. Once a day, remove the jar for half an hour to refresh the atmosphere around the orange.
After two true leaves appear, transplant healthy specimens into separate pots with a diameter of 10 cm, place good drainage. When replanting, try to keep the roots and the peat mixture around them intact. For soil, use a substrate of humus and flower soil. In this pot, the orange should grow to 15-20 cm, then the next transplant will be needed.
Propagation of orange tree by cuttings.
For cuttings, choose stems with a diameter of 4-5 mm and a length of about 10 cm. The cut should be made under the bud from below, and above the bud from above. On the cutting you need to leave 3-4 live buds and 2-3 leaves. For greater effect, the cuttings should be treated with a root growth stimulator and placed 1/2 of the length in water for 3 days. To root homemade orange cuttings, plant them in boxes or pots with soil consisting of a mixture of humus, coarse sand and flower soil in equal parts. Plant the cuttings in a compacted substrate to a depth of 3-4 cm. Initially, the branch has no roots, this does not allow the plant to receive enough moisture from the soil, so the orange tree requires daily spraying of the leaves with water. The soil should be well moistened, but do not allow it to become sour. The optimal temperature for rooting is 20-25 degrees. Final rooting occurs after 30-45 days. Then the home orange tree can be transplanted into a separate small pot.
Growing conditions and care for homemade orange.
To grow an orange tree at home, soil endowed with a good supply of nutrients. For these purposes, a flower mixture, which can be purchased in stores, or soil from yours is suitable. summer cottage processed with boiling water and enriched with humus. Be sure to place drainage made of expanded clay or charcoal. When watering, do not allow water to stagnate and the soil to rot. At the same time, you need to ensure that the entire earthen ball is moistened, otherwise the tree will begin to lose roots and get sick. Watering is required approximately twice a week. The soil must be allowed to become completely saturated with moisture, and then it must dry out. When the soil becomes sour, it needs to be replaced. The recommended container for growing orange is clay pot. It is quite moisture permeable and this property helps regulate soil moisture; clay absorbs and evaporates excess water through the outer surface.
Orange loves light, so a grown tree requires direct sunlight but not more than 2 hours a day. Orange at home does not like to be moved to a new location, so you need to find a permanent place for the home tree in the south from the very beginning. bright room. To form beautiful crown You can turn the orange pot, but every day at a small angle so that the plant has time to turn around. Every year, as the home orange grows in size, it needs to be transplanted into a larger pot. New dishes should be slightly larger than the previous one by 3-4 cm in diameter. When replanting, the earthen ball with roots should be removed with minimal damage and moved to a larger pot, and the difference should be filled with fresh soil. A pot of 8-10 liters in volume can be left as a permanent one, and replantings can be replaced with fertilizing, and the top layer of soil must be updated at least twice a year.
Comfortable temperature for growing oranges: 17-28 degrees. Orange like any other indoor plants does not tolerate drafts. Homemade oranges need to be misted with water several times a week to maintain optimal humidity. IN heating season daily spraying is required.
To give an aesthetic appearance orange at home must be taken active participation in crown formation. In the first year of life, the tree produces a single shoot up to 30 cm high. In the second year, before active growth begins - in the spring, you need to cut off the top of the shoot with pruners or scissors, leaving only about 20 cm. This will force the tree to produce lateral buds. Next, remove the lower buds, leaving only the 3 upper ones. These should form the skeletal main branches of the crown of a homemade orange. Next year, perform similar manipulations with the lateral branches of the second order, stimulating branching. Often, cutting the central shoot of an orange does not give the desired result; the tree produces a single new sprout from above, then you need to cut the shoot again along with the top bud, and if the length allows, then the second one. An orange tree acquires a nice appearance when its branches develop to level 5-6. In the future, it will be enough to trim individual fast-growing shoots or remove them altogether.
With careful care, an orange grown at home will bloom in a few years. Move pollen to form ovaries cotton swab from anther to sticky stamen. If quite a lot of fruits are produced, some will need to be removed, otherwise the tree may die from exhaustion. For normal growth, one fruit should correspond to 10-15 leaves. Try to grow your homemade decorative Pink Banana from seeds and get it to bear fruit.
Tell your friends about it.
Description of an orange, what the tree looks like. Oranges - small flowering trees about 10 m tall with a rounded, symmetrically expanding crown with a diameter of 4 - 6 m, with oval, or oblong-ovate, shiny leathery leaves, wavy along the edges 4 - 10 cm long. The branches of many varieties are prickly. The flowers are arranged singly or in groups of up to six, are white and very fragrant. Orange trees bloom in the spring and do not produce fruit until the following fall or winter. The fruits are round, their size and color may vary. The skin of the fruit is very sensitive to temperature, so even mature fruit will appear green or mottled in cool conditions. The fruit always contains eleven segments, and sometimes hard white seeds.
Oranges are one of the most common citrus fruits in cultivation.
Height. Up to 10 m.
1.Orange at home
1.1.Reproduction - growing from seed, grafting
Cuttings of varietal oranges are grafted onto one- or two-year-old seedlings of related species, and they will begin to bear fruit after 3 years. How to germinate an orange seed? The seeds are removed from ripe fruits and thoroughly washed to remove the pulp. They can be germinated in a damp bandage or gauze until small roots appear - for 1 - 1.5 months, then the seeds are planted in a greenhouse. Germination usually occurs within 2 - 3 weeks at a temperature of 15 - 20 ° C. Seedlings are kept in wet conditions, water with caution, ventilate and avoid direct sunlight on young plants.
The first picking is carried out when 5 - 6 leaves appear on the young growth. Orange trees grown from seeds begin to bear fruit only after 10 years, but are considered more adapted to room conditions content. Oranges are also propagated stem cuttings about 10 cm long, which should bear 3 - 4 buds each, the lower cut is made oblique and treated with a growth stimulator. The lower leaf is removed and the cuttings are immersed in a glass of water for 2 - 3 days. Rooting is carried out in nutritious, well-moistened and loose soil for 1 - 1.5 months under a cover of transparent plastic or glass to maintain the necessary high humidity air at temperatures above 20 ° C.
The method of propagation by grafting is also very common - this allows you to get plants that bear fruit of any type of citrus - after all, you can graft an orange and a tangerine onto a lemon and vice versa.
1.1.1.How to plant a homemade orange?
There are 2 grafting methods - budding and copulation. For budding take only one bud from a varietal fruit-bearing plant - it must be taken from a well-lignified cutting - this scion. You can graft such a bud anywhere on a wild plant, which is also called rootstock. Budding is carried out only 2 times a year during certain periods - when plants have intense sap flow. The first period begins with the very beginning of new growth - in the spring, the second suitable moment is the first half of August. Using a sharp sterile knife, a small incision is made on the branch of the rootstock, leaving a tongue, and the bud, also cut off with a sterile instrument, is inserted between the branch and the tongue so that the edges of the cuts coincide as much as possible. The grafting site is wrapped with a special tape. New growth can be detected in a given location within 2 weeks.
Copulation is already carried out by a whole branch, early spring- with swelling of the buds - and at the cut site, the scion cutting and the rootstock branch should have the same diameter. Maintaining the diameter is very important, since the branches must be completely aligned - this is the only way all their layers will successfully grow together. The cuts are made at an angle of approximately 30 degrees with a sharp sterile pruning shears, then the rootstock and scion are combined as much as possible and secured with a special grafting tape or a simple polyethylene tape.
1.2.How to care and trim
Growing an orange at home is a fun business. In addition to attractive appearance, the plant, with proper care, will give you several harvests a year. An orange tree needs competent and timely pruning and crown formation. Branches of the first order are cut at a level of 20 cm from the main trunk, branches of the second order are treated in the same way, but shoots of the third and fourth order are shortened at a level of 5 - 8 cm. Since oranges bloom on mature shoots of the fifth order, they must be pruned after fruit ripening. In the first fruitful years, it is worth limiting the number of fruits on the tree, since the plant spends too much effort on their formation - for example, in the first year leave 3 buds, in the second - 5, and in the third year of fruiting 10 fruits are allowed. In adult plants, promptly remove old and diseased shoots.
Do not place orange trees near radiators - this may cause heavy leaf fall. Plants will periodically shed leaves - most often this is a normal process - each leaf lives for approximately 2 years. If in the winter months the leaf fall is too abundant and the branches of the plants become bare, reduce the temperature or use artificial supplementary lighting with phytolamps.
1.3.Orange transplant
Young homemade orange trees are transplanted annually into larger pots, adult specimens - as needed to change the substrate - approximately once every 2 - 3 years. When transplanting, try not to disturb it too much root system- trees don’t like this, be careful about the depth of planting of the orange. Do not replant flowering and fruiting plants.
1.4.Diseases and pests
A sharp change in temperature conditions causes plants to shed their leaves - and the leaf blades turn yellow. The trees do not like prolonged drought or waterlogging of the soil. Citrus trees are susceptible a large number fungal diseases affecting roots, trunk and branches, foliage and fruits. If the tips of the leaf blades, especially in the winter months, become brittle, brown and dry, then the plant may be overwatered - for such specimens it is necessary to reduce the frequency of watering. Among fungal diseases, plants can be susceptible to anthracnose if kept in too warm and very damp room. Scab can appear as unsightly, pinkish-yellow spots on fruit and small yellow spots on young orange leaves. Sooty fungus appears as a black coating on the leaves and shoots of the tree. If too frequent and abundant watering, and also with insufficient drainage, the plant can be affected by root rot. With the onset of this disease, the trees will lose leaves profusely. If the orange tree is located too deep and its root collar is recessed into the ground, then the plant may be subject to gommosis, which manifests itself in the form of small transparent drops of resin on the branches. Powdery mildew affects oranges when kept in too cool, humid conditions. This disease looks like a white fluffy coating on the leaves. Deformation of leaf blades, changes in their color and general depression of the plant may indicate the appearance of viral diseases. Trees that have been infected with the virus are subject to complete destruction. If the fruits appear small, round, brown spots surrounded by a lighter, yellowish circle, then the plant may be suffering from citrus cancer. The areas of the stems affected by the fungus are cut back to healthy tissue, sprinkled with crushed coal, slightly dried and treated with garden pitch. Yellowing of the leaf blades (the veins remain green) indicates the onset of chlorosis - feed the plant with iron chelate.Do not place citrus fruits close to heating devices- they will react to this with abundant leaf fall.
Oranges, like other citrus fruits, tend to suffer from mites, which cause leaf spots, smaller fruits, and premature leaf drop. Mealybugs prefer young trees. Whiteflies hide on the undersides of leaves, sucking out the sap. Aphids cause leaves to curl and become crinkled. Scale insects also often attack plants.
1.5.Flowering time
Citrus trees at home bloom mainly in the spring.
1.6.How to fertilize homemade oranges
An orange in a pot has a limited feeding area and needs additional feeding. During the period of active growth, adult plants are fed weekly, and oranges love both organic and mineral fertilizers.
1.7.Watering
Although orange trees are quite drought tolerant, it is best to provide them with timely and sufficient watering. During hot summers, trees are watered daily. The number and size of fruits depend on watering. Oranges cannot tolerate stagnant water. For irrigation, use only settled water. room temperature- plants do not like high chlorine content.
1.8.Temperature
Ordinary room temperature is quite suitable for indoor orange; during the winter, the plants are moistened and kept at low temperature– about 15° C, but not lower than 13° C. In autumn and winter, the plant will not have enough sunlight- if kept cool, its growth will slow down and the orange will withstand the absence of sunlight. During the flowering period, plants also need to be kept cool - the air temperature should not exceed 20° C, otherwise there will be no fruiting. Sometimes plants do not have a clearly defined dormant period.
1.9.Lighting
Young orange trees are placed away from direct sunlight or provided with shading. Adult plants love brightly lit places; they shade them only on a hot summer day. In case of shortage natural light can be used for additional lighting fluorescent lamps. Place the orange in partial shade during the dormant period. Rotate the plant pot 1/4 turn every week when watering - this will help form a symmetrical plant.
1.10.Ground
The best soil for citrus fruits is well-drained soil for growing citrus trees A mixture consisting of peat, loam, sand or perlite is suitable. They are undemanding to pH and can grow in very acidic and very alkaline soils. 
1.11.Spraying
Daily spraying has a good effect on the development of the tree and prevents the appearance of some pests. Do not place plants in places where there are drafts.
Purpose. Orange is grown in subtropical and tropical areas around the world, especially in Brazil and the United States, which account for more than two-thirds of world production.
Note. Orange essential oil has an antiseptic and anti-inflammatory effect and is used to treat diseases such as constipation, gastritis, cramps, obesity, nervous tension, and depression. The fruits contain vitamins A, B and C, calcium, copper, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, natural sugar and pectin. They are rich in antioxidants and strengthen immune system. With the right approach, orange trees can be successfully grown indoors for up to 70 years.
Hydroponics.
2. To summarize - 7 secrets of success:
- Growing temperature: summer - 20 - 22° C, winter - preferably about 15° C.
- Lighting: light shading from direct sun rays in hot weather summer days, autumn and winter maximum quantity sun rays.
- Watering and air humidity: water with softened water after drying the soil slightly, in winter the frequency of watering is reduced in accordance with the temperature environment, air humidity is high combined with good air movement.
- Trimming: regular pinching of young shoots and formative pruning allows you to keep the size of the plant under control.
- Priming: easily adapts to any soil pH, a nutrient substrate is required.
- Top dressing: mineral or organic fertilizers If the plant is susceptible to chlorosis, add iron supplements to the fertilizing.
- Reproduction: stem cuttings in spring and summer, seeds - seeds, however, plants obtained from seeds do not inherit the varietal characteristics of their parents, grafting.
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Date: 2013-11-13 | Views: 86011
Probably, more than once, beginners or experienced flower growers, encountering a beautiful orange tree in flower shops, wondered how to grow an orange at home. In our apartments this is a rather delicate plant. But you can grow your own, hardened and adapted tree.
This will require several seeds, a piece of cloth, a glass or glass, soil, plastic bags, sun, water and, of course, your care.
Planting seeds
Sowing seeds can be done at any time of the year. But it is better to do this in the spring. In this case, the plant will develop under more intense lighting and longer daylight hours.
Just before planting, select large and ripe orange fruits. Choose the roundest and largest seeds from them. Flat and dried ones are not suitable for sowing. Place them in a damp cloth and place them in a glass or plastic cup from under yogurt. Cover the cup with a plastic bag. It turned out to be a small greenhouse. Place it in a warm place, maintaining the temperature at 18-22°C. Don’t forget to check the moisture content of the cloth every 2 days and ventilate the mini-greenhouse.
Transplanting sprouts
After 3-5 weeks, the first shoots should appear. As soon as the sprouts reach 1-2 cm, transplant them into the ground into pots with a diameter of 7-9 cm. To do this, pour a little expanded clay on the bottom of the pot, and on top - required quantity ready soil for citrus plants. You can make this mixture from leaf soil, coarse river sand, humus and turf land in a ratio of 1:1:1:3 parts. Do not use pure peat. It is advisable to place the pots closer to the light (but not in direct sunlight).
When transplanting, do not bury the sprouts too deeply. The optimal depth is 1.5 cm. Be careful with the roots - the plants are still very fragile. Therefore, cover the sprouts on one side with damp soil. This is necessary so that the stems do not dry out and break.
Young plants must be constantly watered and sprayed with clean, settled water at room temperature. The larger the tree becomes, the more water it will need.
After the formation of the first 4-6 leaves, transplant the seedlings into larger pots with a diameter of 9-11 cm. Use the transshipment method. Save the old large ball of earth and plant the sprout with it.
At this stage, you should not create ideal conditions for the seedlings - additional illumination with lamps, mandatory spraying, maintaining an ideal temperature, etc. They undergo hardening and natural selection. Leave the strongest shoots. They will be ideal tenants for your apartment.
Crown formation
When the orange trees grow to 20 cm, you will have to pinch off a couple of leaves at the top. Then the plants will produce lateral branches. They are considered second order branches. If you break off the tops of second-order branches, they will give third-order branches, etc. You shape the crown of the tree yourself. Aim for the bush to have many fifth-order branches within a few years. The first fruits will appear on these branches.
Optimal conditions for growth
Monitor air humidity. It is advisable to place a container of water or an indoor fountain next to the pots with orange trees. The optimal air temperature is 22°C.
Flowering and fruiting
While the plant is still small, it is advisable to remove the first buds. The tree can bear fruit in 8-10 years. If you want to get tasty fruits before this time, graft a branch from a fruit-bearing tree onto an overgrown tree. Instead of grafting, you can do ringing (squeezing branches with wire or removing the bark on a branch in the form of a ring). And then your tree will bear fruit in 4 years.
To speed up fruiting, you can use the cold wintering method. To do this, it is necessary to place the plant in the cold (air temperature 2-5°C for 3 months), do not fertilize it and water it from time to time. In this state, the orange tree can tolerate almost complete shade. In the spring it is necessary to resume the usual for the plant temperature regime. Cold wintering should be repeated for 2-3 years.
Orange tree pests
Plant mites, scale insects, thrips and aphids can cause trouble for the plant. Therefore, to prevent pest damage, it is advisable to treat the bush with an insecticide 2 times a year.
Don't forget about fertilizing. It is necessary to fertilize 2-3 times a month from March to November with liquid fertilizer “For citrus fruits”. Old tea leaves, which are buried in the ground, are also suitable for these purposes.
In general, the orange tree is a drought-resistant plant, does not tolerate waterlogging, and does not have a pronounced dormant period. Throughout the year it grows, blooms and bears fruit at the same time.
Good luck growing these sunny fruits!
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For each of us, the smell of orange and tangerine evokes a feeling of celebration. Believe it or not, you can create this holiday for yourself all year round if you grow an orange tree on your windowsill.
The Merheulsky variety is most often grown in apartments: its growth rarely exceeds one meter. If you try hard and be patient, you can collect from 2 to 40 fruits from one plant.
- The photo shows an orange tree
Orange tree: care at home
Orange is a tropical guest with great whims. It loves warmth, so it is best to grow it in warm southern rooms.
In winter, it is advisable to place them in special greenhouses for citrus fruits, but it is unlikely that a simple amateur grower has such an opportunity.
Orange is picky about its surroundings. It is better if the following representatives of the flora are not next to him:
- monstera;
- hibiscus;
- large-leaved ficus;
- cucumber seedlings
Lighting
The orange tree simply loves light. The owner should not only place it in a well-lit place, but also provide additional lighting. At the same time, it is better not to keep the plant in the open sun for a long time. There is a risk of leaf burn.
Temperature
The ideal temperature is:
- in summer +25 degrees;
- in winter - no higher than +13 degrees, tolerates short-term drops to zero degrees.
For an orange to bear fruit, it must be kept in a room with a temperature of 15-18 degrees.
In the heat and unbearable heat above +30, the buds fall off, and the plant itself slows down its growth.
The peculiarity of the orange tree is that it practically never has a dormant period in an apartment. You continue to look after him in the same way as you looked after him. If in winter you send it to a balcony or a special greenhouse, the plant will go into a state deep sleep, and maintenance will be reduced to a minimum.
Video: Growing citrus fruits at home
Watering
All citrus fruits love moisture. Because of this, under no circumstances should the soil be allowed to dry out. As soon as the soil, which was scooped up at a depth of 5-10 cm, does not roll into a ball, start watering. In summer, oranges are watered daily; in winter, the volume and frequency are slightly reduced: once every five or ten days. It all depends on the temperature of the content.
Watering is carried out exclusively with well-settled water. Be sure to warm -25-30 degrees.
Oranges may not show signs of water shortage for a long time. Only in case of critical dehydration do its leaves lose their former elasticity and droop. It is no longer possible to save a plant in this state.
Spraying
Orange, as a representative of citrus fruits, prefers a “bathhouse” climate. In short, air humidity should be as close to 90% as possible. You need to spray the plant every day and more than once. In addition, additional containers of water should be placed next to the flower pot.
If the air in the room remains dry, the option of using a special humidifier cannot be ruled out.
Feeding
When feeding an orange tree, it is important not to overdo it. nutrients. There must be balance in everything. Experienced flower growers It is recommended to use ready-made fertilizers such as Humisola. Fertilizing is carried out 2 - 3 times a year using the foliar method.
Crown formation
To wait for the fruits, the crown of the tree needs to be put in order and shaped. If you keep it for decoration, then you don’t have to cut it, just remove the shoots. Pruning is carried out in the spring.
Video: How to shape citrus fruits
Transfer
Young individuals - annually, over 5 years old - once every 3 years, old plants - every 6-7 years.
Oranges are long-lived. By providing him proper care, you will enjoy the aroma and taste of attractive fruits for a long time.
Botanical name: orange tree (Citrus sinensis) – species fruit trees, belonging to the genus citrus of the orange subfamily of the rutaceae family. Cultivated for a long time, the fruits of the tree, oranges, are widely known and considered one of the healthiest and most delicious fruits.
Homeland of orange: China.
Lighting: photophilous.
Soil: light, loose, with a neutral reaction
Watering: abundant during the growth period, limited during the dormant period.
Maximum tree height: up to 12 m.
Average lifespan of a tree: 75 years old.
Landing: propagated by cuttings, seeds, grafting.
Description of orange
Orange is cultivated plant and in wildlife does not occur. This is a hybrid form obtained in ancient times by crossing citrus species such as tangerine (Citrus reticulata) and pomelo (Citrus maxima)
The orange tree (see photo below) is evergreen, with a compact thick crown, there are quite large thorns or prickles on the branches and young shoots. The sizes strongly depend on the variety, tall forms can reach 12 m, grafted onto dwarf rootstocks - 4-6 m, and those grown as indoor plants do not exceed 2-2.5 m. There are even more compact varieties, created specifically for indoor spaces and having a height of only 60-80 cm.
The orange root system is superficial and has a number of features that must be taken into account when cultivating it. So, unlike other fruit trees, the roots of an orange do not have root hairs, through which moisture and nutrients are usually absorbed; instead, at the tips of the roots there are caps with colonies of soil fungi that exist in symbiosis with the plant.
Mushrooms receive from it carbohydrates and amino acids, other substances necessary for their life activity, and in return they convert water and mineral compounds, primarily phosphorus, into a form accessible to the tree for absorption.
This community, called mycorrhiza, helps to increase crop productivity; the growing mycelium increases the absorbent surface of the roots, but, on the other hand, makes the host plant more vulnerable, since mycorrhiza does not tolerate the lack of water, low soil temperature, and especially suffers when the roots are exposed.
In this regard, trees when grown in open ground often require artificial irrigation and do not tolerate transplantation with an open root system very well.
Orange leaves in the photo with description
Orange leaves are dark green, leathery, pointed oval in shape, their size is approximately 10x15 cm. They have a solid wavy or jagged edge and petioles with small winged appendages, connected to the petioles through a fairly wide intermediate joint. Inside the leaf plates there are glands filled aromatic oil, the smell of which is similar to that of orange blossoms. The lifespan of one leaf is about 2 years. Most of them (about 25%) fall during the dormant period, from February to March, and another quarter - throughout the year. Healthy tree It only loses old leaves.
TO biological features orange leaves property different ages perform different functions. The young ones participate in photosynthesis, that is, the plant breathes with them, while the old ones serve to accumulate nutrients necessary for the growth of branches, flowering and ripening of fruits. Excessive loss of old leaves under unfavorable external conditions leads to delayed tree development, absence or weakening of flowering and fruit set.
Orange flowers with description and photo
The orange flower is bisexual, large, up to 5 cm in diameter, with five white, less often reddish, elongated ovoid petals. In the center of the slightly opening perianth rises a long single pistil, surrounded by many yellow stamens. Formed in the axils of leaves on the current year's shoots, usually growing downward or horizontally.
Orange flowers (see photo below) are usually collected in brushes of 6 pieces, less often they are single, and have an intense aroma. Flower buds are laid in March-early April, and remain in the bud stage for a long time, sometimes up to a month.
The opening of the petals and the setting of fruits occurs at a strictly defined temperature, about 16-18 ° C; at a higher or lower temperature background, the buds fall off. A blooming flower lives no more than 2-3 days. There are varieties without pistils, they do not need pollination and produce fruits without seeds.
Orange tree fruit
The fruit of the plant is round or broadly oval in shape, has a structure characteristic exclusively of representatives of the orange subfamily, and is called hesperidium or orange. It is multilocular, multi-seeded or seedless, and is close in structure to a berry. The outer part, or pericarp, is a soft and thick skin up to 5 mm thick, smooth or slightly rough, covered with zest, and underneath there is a thin white layer called albedo. The orange peel, depending on the variety and degree of ripeness, makes up from 17 to 42% of the weight of the fruit, its color varies from green and light yellow to orange and reddish-orange. The taste is usually bitter, the consistency is loose or dense elastic, and the large translucent glands are filled essential oil, the percentage of which ranges from 1.2% to 2.2%.
The inner part of the fruit, or intercarp, consists of nests or lobules that separate from each other (9-13 pieces), covered with films of varying thickness and density and filled with large juicy cells of pulp in the form of nipple sacs, sweet, sweet-sour or bitter-sour taste. In most varieties, numerous seeds are immersed in the pulp, white in cross section, usually multi-embryo. There are also seedless forms of the plant, in which the fruits are formed parthenocarpicly, without pollination, and there are no seeds.
How do orange seeds ripen?
The tree is characterized by remontancy, or the ability to repeatedly flower and bear fruit during one season, therefore, as can be seen in the photo, a blooming orange can simultaneously be decorated not only with buds, but also with fruits of varying degrees of maturity. The latter ripen, depending on the variety, within 8-9 months, and with a lack of lighting, even longer; in a mature form they can remain on the branches for a long time, and when grown in open ground they acquire again by spring green, and then by autumn they turn yellow again. Orange seeds that ripen for two years are of higher quality, but the taste and nutritional properties of such fruits deteriorate due to the low content of biologically active substances.
Orange is a long-lived tree, and although it grows quickly, from 40 to 50 cm per year, it matures and ages slowly. Grown from a seed, it begins to bear fruit at the age of 8-12, or even 15-20 years, and lives up to 75 years or more. Plants grafted and obtained from cuttings bear fruit earlier, after 4-5 years.
Origin of the name, history and uses of orange
The name of the fruit sounds different in different languages, and basically reflects its origin. So, in Holland it is “Appelsien”, in Germany it is “Apfelsine”, “Appelsine” or “Sineser apfel”, in France it is “Pom de Sine”. All these names translate as “apple from China.” The name "orange" accepted in Russian also comes from the German "Apfelsine".
Later in France the fruit began to be called “orange”, just like in England. This word got into English language from Spanish, in which the orange is called "naranja" from the Arabic "nareng". There is another name for the fruit, “portogalo,” which is common in a number of southeastern European languages and literally means “Portugal.” It reflects the fact that for a long time Portugal was the main exporter of sweet fruits to other countries in the region. Oranges are called this way or in the same way in Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Macedonia, Iran, Iraq and Turkey. The name "portogallo" is considered obsolete, but is still used in Italy.
The plant is considered one of the most ancient cultivated fruit trees in the world. The first description of an orange is found in the works ancient Greek philosopher and the natural scientist Theophrastus as early as 350 BC. The ancient Greeks became acquainted with it during Alexander the Great's campaign in India, where it is believed that the fruits were brought from China. According to most researchers, China is the birthplace of the orange, but there is another opinion about its origin. For example, the famous Russian scientist Nikolai Vavilov considered India to be the birthplace of culture, from where it was later introduced to China. IN Western Europe orange appeared only in the 15th century, or more precisely, in 1548, when the Dutch brought an unfamiliar fruit from southern China. In the Mediterranean and especially in the southern part of the continent it is fruit tree appeared much earlier. Thus, after the liberation of the Pyrenees and Southern Italy from the Saracens in the 11th century, it turned out that orange trees were found quite often in the gardens of local emirs and sultans; mention of them can be found in the poems of the famous Nizami, a classic of Persian poetry, dating back to 1197.
Soon after the plant became known in western Europe, it quickly spread along the entire Mediterranean coast, then came to Africa and South America, where it also took root well and has since been widely cultivated. On the territory Russian Empire oranges grew in Georgia, in the Batumi region, already at the beginning of the 18th century, and in the 19th century they began to be cultivated in the Sochi region.
Currently, the cultivation of oranges has been put on an industrial basis, its volumes are increasing every year. Fruit production forms an important part of the economy of countries with subtropical and tropical climates, such as the USA, Brazil, Mexico, India and Pakistan, China, Iran and Egypt, as well as all Mediterranean countries. Slightly less of them are grown in Spain and Greece.
In Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union, due to climatic conditions, orange is less common; it is cultivated in the south of Ukraine, Crimea, and in the subtropics Krasnodar region. To the north it can only be found in greenhouses, or as a houseplant.
Producing countries export these valuable and popular fruits throughout the world. They spoil easily, so they are removed from the tree unripe and, to prevent damage during transportation, they are placed in boxes of 200-500 pieces, with each fruit wrapped in unglued paper. In order to choose a quality product when purchasing, it is necessary to take into account that smaller and medium-sized oranges are sweeter and juicier, and those collected at the beginning of winter (late November - December) last longer and have better taste qualities. In addition, ripe fruits have a strong aroma and are much heavier than unripe ones.