What fruits can be grown at home

Citrus fruits

Lemons, tangerines, oranges, grapefruits, sweeties and pomelo are the easiest fruits to grow at home from seeds. They are sown in pots to a depth of 1 cm in loose soil. Pots should be kept warm at a temperature of about 25 ° C. Before germination, it is important to keep the soil moist, so it is better to cover the crops with a film.

Seedlings usually appear within a week. As soon as the sprouts hatch, they need to be placed on the lightest window sill or provided with a phytolamp.

At home, citruses bear fruit well, but the first fruits of seedlings appear after 10 to 15 years. But even without them, the tree will please you: if it is formed correctly, it will be fluffy. And what is even more pleasant, all citruses purify the air in the premises, because they release phytoncides.

Persimmon

Persimmon does not get sick and practically does not require care (1). But it’s in the open. And at home it is more difficult to grow it: it will need a cool content in winter.

The fruits must be ripe, otherwise the seeds will not sprout. And in stores they often sell immature ones, because they last longer. To bring the fruit to ripeness, put the fruit in a bag along with a banana or an apple: they release ethylene, which speeds up the ripening of persimmons. It is impossible to freeze persimmons: the seeds from such fruits will not sprout.

Hold the extracted seeds for two days in a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Then carry out warm stratification – for 2 months to withstand at a temperature of 50 ° C (for example, you can put it on a battery). Before sowing, the seeds must be filed with sandpaper hard ribs.

Persimmon seeds are planted to a depth of 1,5 cm in a pot with loose soil – it is better to use a mixture of sand and peat in a 1: 1 ratio. Since persimmon is a deciduous tree, in winter (from the second year of life) it needs a cool content at a temperature of 5-10 ° C. You can remove the pot with the plant in the cellar or put it in the refrigerator (during the dormant period, the plant does not need light).

Persimmon, grown from the seed, begins to bear fruit for 5 – 7 years.

lichee

This tree can also be grown at home, and without unnecessary tricks.

Lychee seeds extracted from the fruit lose their germination within 4 to 5 days, so they need to be sown as soon as possible. The stone is embedded in loose soil to a depth of 2 cm. Until shoots appear, soil moisture should be high. And the temperature is also – in the range of 25 – 34 ° C. Sprouts usually appear within 1 to 4 weeks, but sometimes longer. The first leaves of the lychee are reddish in color. As soon as they appear, the pot must be placed in a bright place.

At first, the litchi grows quickly, in just a few weeks the seedlings reach a height of 20 cm. But then growth slows down: in the first 2 years, the seedling barely reaches 30 cm. This is also the norm, the plant is actively growing roots.

Litchi from the stone begins to bear fruit at 8 – 10 years (2).

Mango

Growing a mango from a seed is not an easy task, but an exciting one. Seeds from ripe fruits are suitable for germination. Determining the degree of ripeness of a mango is simple: if the pulp is easily separated from the stone, the fruit is ripe. The removed bone should be washed well, and the remaining pulp should be scraped off with a knife. And then it needs to be… split. Yes, yes, it is to split, since the whole bone, most likely, will not germinate. Inside the seed there will be an embryo with a green seedling.

Mango is a rather large tree, so it is better to plant a sprout immediately in a large pot. The soil is suitable universal, from the store. The seedling is planted horizontally, so that about 1/4 of the seed remains above the soil surface. After that, the pot is covered with a film and placed on a warm, light windowsill. Once every 2 – 3 days, the edges of the shelter are slightly raised to ventilate and prevent the bone from rotting. After about 2 to 3 weeks, the first shoots will appear.

Blossom and fruit mango at home begins at 6 – 7 years.

Passion fruit

Perhaps not everyone knows, but passion fruit is the fruit of the edible passionflower. This is a vine that not only bears fruit, but also blooms very beautifully. So at home it will become a real window decoration. But it is important to remember that passionflower is a very powerful vine and will need pruning at home, otherwise it will take up all the space available to it (3).

Seeds are sown in separate tall pots. It is important to put drainage at the bottom (expanded clay, crushed stone, brick chips) with a height of at least 2,5 cm. The soil for germination should be both loose and breathable (leaf humus, compost, sand, soddy soil).

Seeds are pre-scarified – lightly rubbed with sandpaper. Then they are treated with any growth stimulant. Sowed to a depth of 1 cm. The pot is covered with a film. The optimum temperature for germination is 20-25°C, humidity is 75%. Seedlings appear after 30 days or more. As soon as they appear, the film is removed.

Pitahaya

The exotic fruit pitahaya is a large climbing or creeping forest cactus (Hylocereus) without thorns. Its flowers are large and fragrant. Disperse at night.

Pitahaya seeds are sown in separate pots to a depth of 0,5 cm. To prevent the soil from drying out, it is better to cover the pot with foil.

Hylocereus can be grown in the shade – in nature it grows in forests, where it can do without an abundance of sun.

Fruiting begins at 5 – 7 years.

Avocado

The germination of seeds in avocados is 100%, but on condition that they are collected from ripe fruits. To check for ripeness, press down on both sides of the fruit with your palms, then release. A ripe avocado will restore its structure.

Seeds should be planted on the day of collection. It is usually recommended to pierce them in 3 places with toothpicks and immerse them in water by a third, but this requires skill, and you will have to constantly monitor the water level. So do not bother: avocado seeds germinate perfectly in the soil, it is enough to dig into the loose earth 1/3 of the blunt ends down. And water once a week.

Avocados do not like stagnant water in the roots, so it is imperative to put a 2 cm high drainage on the bottom of the pot. As soon as a seedling appears, place the pot on the lightest window sill.

It gives the first fruits for 3-5 years.

Popular questions and answers

We talked about growing exotic fruit crops with agronomist-breeder Svetlana Mikhailova.

Sources of

1. Smirnov A.V. Plant world. Stories about cultivated plants // M .: Young guard, 1988 – 303 p.
2. Baranov V.D., Ustimenko G.V. The world of cultivated plants. Handbook / M.: Thought, 1994 – 381 p.
3. Dr. Hession DG All about indoor plants // M .: Kladez-Buks, 2002 – 256 p.