Grapefruit
Grapefruit( Citrus paradisi Macf) - is an evergreen tree of the family of rutae, up to 12 m high, with a rounded crown, white fragrant flowers and large ovoid leaves. The fruits are large, globose, with a thick, light yellow skin and a sweetish-acidic, slightly bitter flesh of yellowish color. It is believed that grapefruit is a hybrid of orange and pampelmus.
Perennial evergreen citrus plant with very beautiful leaves on large winged petioles.
In indoor conditions it grows no more than 1.5 - 2 m. The flowers are large, white with a pinkish tinge, with a strong fragrance, solitary or collected in a brush. Fruits - large( 300 - 400 g), the skin of the fetus is thick( 1.0 -1.2 cm).Ripen in November. The pulp is juicy, very tasty. In the rooms regularly bloom and bear fruit.
The best varieties for growing in the room are. Duncan, Foster, Marsh seedless and others. Fruits are eaten fresh, processed for juice.
♦ Accommodation. At a young age, the plant feels well on the windowsill. Adult grapefruit looks great in the winter garden, in offices, in closed loggias. The plant requires bright, sunny, warm places of detention. In the summer, before the onset of frost, you can keep in the garden, on the balcony, on the open terrace. In winter, it should be transferred to bright rooms with a temperature of +4 - + 6 ° C.
♦ Care. Frequent watering in the summer, make sure that there is no stagnation of water. In winter, watering is moderate. Top dressing - twice a month, complex concentrated fertilizers "Rainbow".We recommend that the plant be sprayed with water at room temperature from the spray gun.
Transplantation at a young age - annually, and after 5-6 years - every 3 to 4 years. The best substrate is a good, humus-rich land humus or ready-to-sell soil mix "Rose" in stores.
♦ Pests and diseases - citrus whitefly, scabies, red citrus mite. When dryness or excess moisture on the leaves there are different types of spotting.
At a high temperature of air in an apartment and its dryness, the plants discard leaves.
♦ Reproduction - rooting by cuttings in heated greenhouses. Vaccination on seedlings grown at home.
Application of
Wash the grapefruit with a special press. Strain through a sieve. Then cook the syrup. For 1/2 liter of juice - 1/2 liter of water, 600 g of sugar. Cool the syrup and mix with the juice of the grapefruit. Serving on the table, dilute the juice with mineral water to taste.
Grapefruit fruits have a pleasant sweet-sour taste with characteristic bitterness, caused by the content of active substance naringin in them, which helps to strengthen the walls of blood vessels. They contain more than 7% of sugars, 2.5% citric acid, a large number of vitamins. The fruits of grapefruit have therapeutic and dietary properties, contribute to better appetite and improve the overall tone of the body. Preparations obtained from grapefruit juice are used to treat blood vessels in hypertensive disease. The use of grapefruit fruits also contributes to the recovery of vigor in fatigue and prevention of atherosclerosis.