Kinkan plant

The genus Kinkan (Fortunella), in which two subgenera and several species are distinguished, is represented by fruit evergreen trees or shrubs , belongs to the Rutovye family.

In nature, kinkan plants grow in the southern and southeastern regions of China, from where these shrubs were brought to Europe and America in the 19th century.

Our photo gallery contains photos of the main types of kinkan – Japanese and oval.

Japanese kinkan (Fortunella japonica) is an evergreen undersized tree up to 2-3 m high. The leaves are 4-5 cm long and 1.5-2 cm wide. The flowers are white, one or three in the axils of the leaves. The fruit is round, 2-2.5 cm in diameter, golden yellow in color, the flesh is pleasant, sweet and sour. Blooms in autumn, fruits ripen in spring.

Kinkan oval (Fortunella margarita) – an evergreen undersized tree up to 1-2 m high. Shoots without thorns. The leaves are small, lanceolate-oval, pointed, 3-5 cm long, 1-1.5 cm wide. The flowers are white axillary. The fruit is small (plum-sized), oval or oblong, with a smooth thin fragrant sweet skin and sweet and sour pulp, almost devoid of seeds.

Caring for a homemade kinkan

Kinkan prefers bright rooms. In summer, the plant is taken out into the open air, protecting from the wind and the bright midday sun. The optimum temperature during the warm period is 25-30°C, in winter the temperature is maintained at 16-18°C. When caring for kinkan during the period of budding, flowering and fruit set, it is necessary to ensure the temperature of air and soil at the level of 15-18°C.

From April to September, homemade kinkan is watered abundantly, watering is reduced in winter, but the soil is not allowed to dry out. For irrigation, settled soft water at room temperature is used; the leaves of the kinkan turn yellow and fall off from cold water. Spray regularly and put the plant pot on a pallet with wet claydite.

From spring to the end of summer, the kinkan is fed once a month with complex mineral fertilizers, adding them to the water when watering. In winter, during the dormant period, feeding is stopped.

To prevent overheating of the roots and avoid rapid drying of the soil, placing the pot in a box with a wet substrate (moss, peat, sand or sawdust) will help.

Correctly forming a crown and accelerating fruiting (fruits are tied on shoots of the fourth order of branching and subsequent ones) will help regular pruning and pinching of shoots.

The kinkan plant is transplanted every two years in autumn into a soil mixture of leafy, soddy soil, humus and sand (1: 1: 1: 1). The plant is watered abundantly and placed in a warm shaded place for 10-15 days.

The shrub is propagated by semi-woody cuttings, air layering, grafting (budding). Cuttings are cut in March-April, using autumn shoots harvested from healthy fruit-bearing plants. Green, insufficiently lignified shoots are cut into cuttings 5-8 cm long with two or three buds. The lower cut of the cutting is made 0.5 cm below the kidney, the upper one is 1 cm above the last kidney. The leaves are cut off by one third. The lower sections of the cuttings are treated with charcoal powder. The cuttings are rooted in pots, first placing coarse sand on the bottom, then a layer of sphagnum, fertile soil is poured on top, covering it with washed river sand (layer thickness 3-4 cm).

During rooting, the temperature is maintained at 20-25 ° C, watered with warm water. Roots appear in 15-20 days.

Budding is carried out in April-May or in August-September. The rootstock is usually kinkan seedlings. After a month and a half, when the eyes take root, the ground part of the seedling is cut off to the place of inoculation and a crown is formed from growing shoots. Wild shoots on the stump are removed.

Ticks and scale insects harm the home kinkan. Falling leaves causes too dry air, excess moisture leads to rotting of the roots.

Share with your friends

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Other flowers
Other people actively read

Saintpaulia care: watering the uzambar violet

Wasps with a bizarre flower shape and chimeras with a unique...

Flower female happiness zamiokulkas: types and varieties

The genus Zamioculcas (Zamioculcas) includes only one species, Zamioculcas zamielistny (Z....

Indoor geraniums: home beauties

All types of geraniums grown in the house are united by...
Tuesday, November 7, 2023