Mandarins and Cactus (inclu CITRUS propagation info) Sat 28 May 2005
Yep today I planted out 20 "Prickly Pear" cacti offsets I've had curing for about a month in the sun
I also potted up 18 seedlings of Mandarins into larger pots. Larger ones 2 to a pot, smaller ones 3 in each pot. I'll pot the survivors on again about Springtime into individual pots (a few might die in the meantime)
Usually citrus varieties are grafted, a bud from a named or hybrid variety is put onto a rootstock at a special plant production nursery, however I checked the textbooks and Mandarins grow well on their own roots, mandarin seedlings often being used as rootstocks anyway
These seedlings I have grown from (seeds that were in) some especially nice mandarins I bought at a roadside stall about 9 months ago, I's on the outer edge of the Perth metro area, in the area of hobby-farms, market gardens and orchards, known as "Karragullen".
Note this approaching Winter, I have for the first time some "Sour Oranges" ripening on a small shrub which I potted up just a year or so ago into an old washing-machine inner steel tub
Sour Orange is not available as a variety for the public to buy in nurseries but is grown in production plant nurseries as a rootstock for lemon and lime trees. Someone I know has a Lime tree which was accidentally destroyed in a gardening accident but the rootstock, sour orange, sprouted from underneath and has developed into a large shrub which fruits heavily
Nearly ten years ago I took a bunch of those fruits home to eat, and decided I like them, sorta like the old fashioned grapefruits which were sour enough to make you gasp, not like these modern namby-pamby varieties !
I got a bunch of sour orange seedlings growing from seeds that within those sour oranges but they spent years all potbound together in the same pot etc etc
Then just a couple of years ago I separated the several survivors putting them all in good sized pots and one then into the large steel tub (approx 50 litres capacity I guess)
It's grown well and now has several small fruits about pingpong ball sized with some bigger
Oh yeah I got a huge Pomelo off the Pomelo shrub (in another big steel wash-tub) the other day. It's barely a metre high but was bearing 2 fruits larger than the largest grapefruits, but one was damaged (just the outer peel starting to split) and fell off as I's inspecting it, it wasn't quite ripe but was still plenty edible (Usually it's best to pick small fruits off small shrubs as soon as the fruit sets, to allow the shrub/tree to get bigger and stronger before asking fruit production of it)
Note in some countries varieties of Pomelo may be called Shaddock, and Mandarins called Tangerines
Note in climates colder than USDA 9 or so, (eg England and most of Europe and North America etc) that you can grow Mandarins from seed and into a large pot or tub. Put it outside in full sun in Spring Summer and Autumn and bring it under cover for Winter. Note that citrus shrubs CAN tolerate several degrees of overnight frost (approx -4*C is ok, so long as th frost melts later the following day) or a small dusting of snow, but they CANNOT tolerate a sustained hard freeze. If you do not have a glasshouse (heated if need be, to keep the temperature somewhere above freezing point) then simply carry it inside th house as Winter sets in. Placing the plant in a conservatory/sun-room/covered porch etc or any brightly lit room next to a sunny window
Citrus varieties do very well in large pots and tubs and after a few years will happilly give you free fresh fruit. Fruit starts to ripen in Winter and through until Spring and Summer. To get sweet fruits, warm temperatures are needed
Grrowing citrus varieties (orange, lemon, grapefruit, mandarine, tangelo, kumquat) from seeds is easy and can be fun for kids. Fresh seed, rinsed and planted promptly sprouts within a month or so, maybe less sometimes (keep warm). Even new seedlings have very attractive foliage so make good indoor plants for brightly lit areas (best to be right next a window)
Select plump looking healthy seeds and discard scrawny looking ones before planting. Plant about 3/4 inch deep aka 2 cm deep into a plant pot of normal potting mixture whatever you use. I'd use a 200mm/8 inch diameter plastic pot and put about 20 seeds in. You should get 10 to 15 seedlings up easily. Once they are about 6 inches 150 mm tall then separate them into individual pots
cheers
I also potted up 18 seedlings of Mandarins into larger pots. Larger ones 2 to a pot, smaller ones 3 in each pot. I'll pot the survivors on again about Springtime into individual pots (a few might die in the meantime)
Usually citrus varieties are grafted, a bud from a named or hybrid variety is put onto a rootstock at a special plant production nursery, however I checked the textbooks and Mandarins grow well on their own roots, mandarin seedlings often being used as rootstocks anyway
These seedlings I have grown from (seeds that were in) some especially nice mandarins I bought at a roadside stall about 9 months ago, I's on the outer edge of the Perth metro area, in the area of hobby-farms, market gardens and orchards, known as "Karragullen".
Note this approaching Winter, I have for the first time some "Sour Oranges" ripening on a small shrub which I potted up just a year or so ago into an old washing-machine inner steel tub
Sour Orange is not available as a variety for the public to buy in nurseries but is grown in production plant nurseries as a rootstock for lemon and lime trees. Someone I know has a Lime tree which was accidentally destroyed in a gardening accident but the rootstock, sour orange, sprouted from underneath and has developed into a large shrub which fruits heavily
Nearly ten years ago I took a bunch of those fruits home to eat, and decided I like them, sorta like the old fashioned grapefruits which were sour enough to make you gasp, not like these modern namby-pamby varieties !
I got a bunch of sour orange seedlings growing from seeds that within those sour oranges but they spent years all potbound together in the same pot etc etc
Then just a couple of years ago I separated the several survivors putting them all in good sized pots and one then into the large steel tub (approx 50 litres capacity I guess)
It's grown well and now has several small fruits about pingpong ball sized with some bigger
Oh yeah I got a huge Pomelo off the Pomelo shrub (in another big steel wash-tub) the other day. It's barely a metre high but was bearing 2 fruits larger than the largest grapefruits, but one was damaged (just the outer peel starting to split) and fell off as I's inspecting it, it wasn't quite ripe but was still plenty edible (Usually it's best to pick small fruits off small shrubs as soon as the fruit sets, to allow the shrub/tree to get bigger and stronger before asking fruit production of it)
Note in some countries varieties of Pomelo may be called Shaddock, and Mandarins called Tangerines
Note in climates colder than USDA 9 or so, (eg England and most of Europe and North America etc) that you can grow Mandarins from seed and into a large pot or tub. Put it outside in full sun in Spring Summer and Autumn and bring it under cover for Winter. Note that citrus shrubs CAN tolerate several degrees of overnight frost (approx -4*C is ok, so long as th frost melts later the following day) or a small dusting of snow, but they CANNOT tolerate a sustained hard freeze. If you do not have a glasshouse (heated if need be, to keep the temperature somewhere above freezing point) then simply carry it inside th house as Winter sets in. Placing the plant in a conservatory/sun-room/covered porch etc or any brightly lit room next to a sunny window
Citrus varieties do very well in large pots and tubs and after a few years will happilly give you free fresh fruit. Fruit starts to ripen in Winter and through until Spring and Summer. To get sweet fruits, warm temperatures are needed
Grrowing citrus varieties (orange, lemon, grapefruit, mandarine, tangelo, kumquat) from seeds is easy and can be fun for kids. Fresh seed, rinsed and planted promptly sprouts within a month or so, maybe less sometimes (keep warm). Even new seedlings have very attractive foliage so make good indoor plants for brightly lit areas (best to be right next a window)
Select plump looking healthy seeds and discard scrawny looking ones before planting. Plant about 3/4 inch deep aka 2 cm deep into a plant pot of normal potting mixture whatever you use. I'd use a 200mm/8 inch diameter plastic pot and put about 20 seeds in. You should get 10 to 15 seedlings up easily. Once they are about 6 inches 150 mm tall then separate them into individual pots
cheers
posted by Catherine Jemma at 4:34 pm
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