{"id":8082,"date":"2016-11-16T12:00:32","date_gmt":"2016-11-16T17:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/?p=8082"},"modified":"2016-11-10T11:10:53","modified_gmt":"2016-11-10T16:10:53","slug":"care-of-calamondin-orange-in-the-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/2016\/11\/16\/care-of-calamondin-orange-in-the-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Fine Tuning Growing Calamondin Orange In The Home"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Calamondin<\/a>

Calamondin Orange (Variegated Leaf Form)<\/p><\/div>\n

Calamondin\u00a0orange (Citris mitis<\/em>) is challenging to grow in a home environment. It is hardy to 20\u00b0F., more than\u00a0most other true citrus <\/span> (USDA hardiness zone 8).\u00a0It\u00a0does not grow well\u00a0in temperatures below 45\u00baF.<\/p>\n

In temperate regions calamondin spends the\u00a0active growing\u00a0months (May – October) outdoors either in direct sunlight (in northern areas) and in half day shade (in south).\u00a0Calamondin is moved indoors\u00a0in winter into a\u00a0well lit room.<\/p>\n

New plants\u00a0may be easily started from seeds or as rooted cuttings.\u00a0Flowers are self-fertile and require no cross-pollination.\u00a0A plant can be forced\u00a0to flush\u00a0new growth and bloom by withholding water. Once the leaves show symptoms of wilting, water the plant thoroughly. It should\u00a0recover\u00a0full of fragrant blooms within two months.<\/p>\n

All citrus plants require iron supplement when soil pH creeps into\u00a0the alkaline range. Iron becomes less available\u00a0when\u00a0soil becomes less acidic. A key symptom of iron deficiency is yellowing of the upper (newest) leaves. Twice yearly, use an iron supplement to\u00a0maintain healthy green foliage. An alternative is to feed with a water-soluble acidic fertilizer such as Peters\u2122 20-10-20, Miracle-Gro\u2122, or Schultz\u2122.<\/p>\n

Sticky or web-covered leaves may be\u00a0signs of\u00a0mite, mealy bugs,\u00a0and scale infestations. Aphids and white fly may be problem pests in spring. Mealy bugs can be managed with insecticidal soaps inside the home. Otherwise, take the plant outdoors and spray with a pesticide labeled for controlling the specific insect on house plants.<\/p>\n

Under optimum growing conditions, annual growth rate is 1 foot per year. Calamondin produces an abundant fruit crop starting at\u00a0two years of age or when plants are at least 18-24 inches tall. Fruits are usually harvested in the fall.<\/p>\n

Calamondin\u00a0fruits have a thin, smooth, yellow to yellow-orange peel that is\u00a0easily separable. Ripen fruits are very astringent, but make a tasty marmalade spread for your morning bagel or toast.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Calamondin\u00a0orange (Citris mitis) is challenging to grow in a home environment. It is hardy to 20\u00b0F., more than\u00a0most other true citrus (USDA hardiness zone 8).\u00a0It\u00a0does not grow well\u00a0in temperatures below 45\u00baF. In temperate regions calamondin spends the\u00a0active growing\u00a0months (May – October) outdoors either in direct sunlight (in northern areas) and in half day shade (in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1124,747,1256,710,144,800,665,877,637,1257,742,791,1030,202,843,1076,630,756],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8082"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8082"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8082\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8390,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8082\/revisions\/8390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}