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A melon tree or papaya, as it is also called, belongs to the family of caricatures. His native land is the lands of tropical countries. Papaya is known all over the world for its fragrant and useful fruits. Often they are used for making fruit salads, desserts. Green berries are used as vegetables. Mature fruits with their appearance look very much like a melon, and from the milky juice of fruits they extract an enzyme called papain. A photo of a melon tree and a description of its care are presented below.
How to grow a tree from seed
This method is most effective for non-professional florists. To grow a papaya at home, you just need to buy a ripe fruit and choose seeds from it.
Grain rinse under running water to remove remaining flesh.Then leave for 24 hours at room temperature. This time will be enough for them to dry up.
Papaya does not like transplants. Insignificant, at first glance, damage to the root system, can adversely affect the sapling.
Methods of preparing the seeds for planting:
- "Cover" the seeds for 12 hours with damp sand or moss;
- soak the grain in the growth stimulator.
Plant the plant immediately in a large pot or in a vessel that will be easily cut to get an earthen lump. It is recommended to sow several seeds at the same time. Place them at a depth of about 2 centimeters. From sprouted select the most powerful plant, while others remove or try to transplant.
This procedure is recommended in March. From this period, the light day increases, thus providing the necessary amount of light to the plant. If you sow the grains in another period of the year, then additional lighting will be required near the pot.
In order to accelerate the germination of seeds, the container should be covered from above with polyethylene.
Before sowing the seeds, the future plant should be well drained. For this you can use pebbles, crushed red brick, expanded clay.
This is necessary so that moisture does not linger in the soil and can flow freely into the pallet. All the liquid that is collected must be drained.
The soil for the tree should be taken only nutritious. To cook it yourself, you need to mix in equal parts sand, peat, deciduous and turfy soil.
Also, the land can be bought in a flower shop. The substrate, which is intended for ficuses, should be purchased.
Reproduction of papaya using cuttings
For this, one-year or two-year-old trees should be used, the thickness of the trunk being within the limits, The length of the cut should be 10 cm. After detaching the twigs, remove the leaves and leave them for three days at room temperature. This is necessary in order to evaporate a large amount of juice, and the cut "healed." In this way, you can protect it from rotting and disease.
At the end of this time, the cutting should be disposed in a container with wet sand or peat. Deepen it to a depth of about 3 cm. Top with a cut plastic bottle.
Without the creation of a mini-greenhouse cuttings are rarely rooted.
Plant the plant in a permanent vessel only when there are clear signs that it has taken root.
Proper care of melon tree
For sprouts to appear, it will take 14 days. The first fruits can be observed ten months after planting, provided that all care requirements have been met.
In order for a tree to develop well, one should adhere to:
- glaze;
- lighting;
- temperature in the room;
- air humidity;
- additional feeding.
Watering.Young shoots should be irrigated in small doses, but regularly. This is necessary so that the root system does not begin to rot. The dry soil affects the development of the tree negatively.
Lighting. Papaya needs a lot of light. In winter, it is recommended to put the pot near the southern windows. In summer, the plant should be taken out on the balcony or in the garden.If the fluorescent lamp is used as additional lighting, the gap between the device and the leaves should be at least 30 cm. If you ignore this indicator, a young young tree can get burned.
With a deficit of light, the tree will stretch and cease to develop properly.
Temperature. To ensure that papaya has developed well at home, it should be provided with a temperature regime that will be as much as possible natural.The optimum indicator of the thermometer is + 18C - + 24C. It should be remembered that the tree is afraid of a temperature close to zero.
Additional fertilizing. To this well developed tree, it should be fertilized every three weeks. You can use organic and nitrogen. During the flowering period it is recommended to make phosphoric-potassium preparations. Positive effect on papaya mulch. Grinded grass is an excellent option for imitating a flooring similar to what can be observed in the rainforest, the natural place of growth of papaya.
Pests.With proper care, the melon tree is rarely exposed to disease. Most often the plant is affected by aphids and spider mites. If they are not removed in time, then they can damage not only the leaves, but also the stem, sucking the juice out of them.
To remove adult insects and their offspring, insecticides should be used. An effective folk remedy for such pests is a soapy solution or a decoction of yarrow. Sometimes on papaya you can observe such a disease as powdery mildew. The reason for this is over-moistened air, soil or too low temperatures in the room where the plant is located. To overcome powdery dew is easiest with copper sulfate or colloidal sulfur. When the irrigation regime is not respected, the tree often has root rot.
With the correct planting of the melon tree and its care, you can enjoy its fragrant fruits in a short time. Adhering to the rules, the harvest will always be abundant and high-quality.
