Every year during the New Year or near the Spring Festival, I will buy some kumquat (kumquat) potted plants at home, which are particularly beautiful when Bought, and the branches are full of golden fruits, and the fruits are golden and bright, varying in size and look particularly charming.
The picture above shows the white flowers of ornamental kumquats
And what I want to say is that the kumquat potted plants are very beautiful in addition to the fruit. In fact, he can also blossom every year with a fragrant fragrance, if raised well, ornamental will be very good.
First, the conditions for maintaining potted kumquats
Kumquat potted plants are not everyone's home can be raised, need environmental conditions to grow, the most basic conditions are:
There is about 8 to 12 hours of direct sunlight every day, and direct sunlight should be avoided when the temperature and light are strong in summer. Ensure that the cultivated soil has good drainage, the soil should be slightly acidic, and it should be planted with a certain weight of well-drained pots.
The maintenance of kumquat potted plants should pay attention to regular watering, this premise is that there is sufficient light and good ventilation, and the other is to pay attention to ensuring a warm environment, morning and evening to have a proper temperature difference.
There are also a few more critical places is to ensure a certain air humidity, relative humidity in about 50% to 70%, the growth of kumquat is the best, but also in the spring, summer and autumn growing season regularly supplement some citrus fertilizer, you can also use ordinary organic fertilizer.
Kumquat potted plants can also be raised on sunny balconies, especially suitable for raising in a south-facing position, it is certainly not possible to grow in indoor shade, only as a short-term ornament, it may be long for a few months will wither.
Second, about the varieties of kumquat
In fact, we usually see in the flower market in the kumquat, is also divided into different varieties, their plant height, fruit size and form are different, the more common ones include Abaka west navel orange, Abbasi narrow leaf bitter orange, etc., we should have heard an old saying called orange in Huainan for orange, in the north for citrus, so in the south friends are suitable for planting these potted kumquats, planting will be relatively easy. Usually, the ornamental kumquats we buy in Guangdong and Guangxi are usually ornamental oranges in the four seasons. This kumquat is particularly ornamental, and the fruit yield is particularly large, but the flesh is particularly sour and is only suitable for ornamentation.
Third, some tips for flowering and fruiting
Usually, most of the potted kumquats we maintain bloom in late autumn and winter, and there may be no insects pollinating flowers during this time period, so artificial pollination is needed to promote the cultivation of more fruits.
After the potted kumquats that want to be maintained can give birth to more fruits, but also to ensure that there is a proper temperature difference in the morning and evening, and a suitable cool environment at night to avoid excessive temperature, in order to better breed fruits.
The location of the conservation kumquat is best to have more than 8 hours of direct light per day, raised in a place with insufficient light, the leaves are easy to yellow, the plant is easy to grow, only in the summer when it is too hot, it is necessary to properly shade at noon and afternoon.
Fourth, potted kumquat maintenance attention:
1. Choose the right pots and soil
The pots with kumquats must have more drainage holes, and in addition, it is necessary to ensure that some loose and well-drained soil is planted, the soil should be slightly acidic, and some more viscous soil should be avoided.
Usually when we match the soil ourselves, we can use peat soil, with perlite, the soil can be mixed with more manure, increase the fertility and slight acidity of the soil, in order to increase the drainage of the soil, you can add some bark and coarse sand.
2. Pay attention to watering
Usually when watering kumquats, it is also very exquisite, but also to avoid the soil is often dry, generally yes, the soil surface under 3 to 5 cm dry, you need to water once in time.
Watering potted kumquat is also seasonal, in the spring and summer growing season, this time the demand for water for kumquat is more, must be timely to add water to it, but to avoid leaves often residual moisture, the soil should not be excessively wet, otherwise it will cause root rot. After the autumn and winter season, the temperature is relatively low, and the frequency of watering should be slightly reduced at this time, and the potting soil cannot be wet often.
Conservation of potted kumquat is very afraid of soil often dry, if the root excessive lack of moisture, it will lead to yellowing and dry leaves, leaves continue to fall, which is also an important reason why many people do not raise potted kumquats.
4. Mastery of humidity and temperature
Maintenance of potted kumquat is necessary to maintain a high air humidity, the relative humidity is best at about 60%, if the indoor air is relatively dry, it is certainly unfavorable to its growth, you can occasionally increase the ambient humidity in the surrounding spray water, before maintaining potted kumquat, you can prepare the hygrometer in advance.
The ideal temperature for maintaining potted kumquats is around 20 degrees, and the temperature at night can be reduced by about 10 to 15 degrees, so as to maintain a cool environment at night, in order to promote better flowering of potted kumquats.
Potted kumquats are tropical fruits in their own right, they require a lot of water to flower and bear fruit, and during the spring and summer growing season, they are replenished with water-soluble fertilizer every one or two weeks. Kumquats basically do not sleep, so in some cooler seasons, it is also necessary to occasionally supplement thin fertilizer, but it is necessary to reduce the frequency of fertilization, and the amount of fertilizer should be appropriately reduced.
Conservation of potted kumquats usually do not need to be pruned, because they grow in pots, their own growth will be limited, the growth rate is slow, in addition to pay attention to them occasionally add some trace elements, supplement acid fertilizer, in order to ensure that potted kumquats grow better.
summary:
There are a few points to remind you, when maintaining potted kumquats, if you find that the soil dries up particularly quickly, the leaves look particularly thin, and there are roots growing out of the drainage hole at the bottom of the pot, you need to change the pot in time, generally every two years or so, each time change to a larger specification of the pot, directly with soil transplanting, the best time to change the pot is in the spring.
Before changing pots, you can let the soil dry a little for a day or two, get the soil out, remove the topsoil, hold the trunk of the plant to pull it out, transplant it into a large pot, refill some soil around the roots, water it thoroughly once, keep the potting soil slightly moist, pay attention to maintaining it in a ventilated shade for a week or two, and then slowly see the light.
Pest and disease protection:
Conservation of potted kumquat should also pay attention to the prevention of pests and diseases, once found to have aphids, whiteflies or shell insects, be sure to spray soapy water in time to control pests, if the pest becomes more serious, you can use a cotton swab dipped in alcohol, smeared on the leaves, the insect pests are removed in time.
It will also be necessary to pay attention to raising potted kumquats in a well-ventilated position, avoid placing them next to heating or air conditioning, if there is an impact of air currents, it is also unfavorable to its growth, which can easily lead to leaf fall.