How to Grow Bergamot: Detailed Guide to Planting Techniques and Precautions

Bergamot, also known as fingered citron, enjoys the fine reputation of being “the immortal fruit among fruits, the wonder flower of the world.” This food, bergamot, is fairly common in our daily lives; it is a food used both as medicine and as food, and people know it best for its medicinal value. In fact, mastering the growing methods for this food and planting it in a courtyard also offers great ornamental value.

How to Grow Bergamot

Suitable environment: It likes a warm, humid climate. It likes light, but avoids scorching sun exposure, and does not tolerate shade. It fears both drought and waterlogging. It is afraid of severe cold, and the optimum temperature is 25-35 degrees.

Propagation methods: Use propagation methods such as cuttings, grafting and layering. Cuttings are taken from late June to early July. Take spring shoots or autumn shoots from a robust mother plant as cuttings, and insert them diagonally into sandy soil to two-thirds of their length, keeping them constantly moist. Grafting mostly uses approach grafting and side cleft grafting, generally carried out during the plum rain season. Air layering is generally carried out from June to August, selecting vigorously growing branches for the layering.

Cultivation and care: It likes fertilizer, so fertilizer should be applied promptly together with watering. When spring shoots emerge, apply once a week; during the vigorous growth period (mid-June to mid-July), apply twice a week, mainly with phosphorus and potassium fertilizer and less nitrogen fertilizer, applying 2-3 times a month. After the fruit is harvested, to restore tree vigor, promote flower bud differentiation and favor flowering and fruiting the following year, extra fertilizer should be applied together with watering.

Bergamot Planting Techniques and Precautions

I. Planting Techniques

1. Temperature and light

The optimum growing temperature for bergamot is about 22-24°C; as long as the temperature stays above 5°C, it can overwinter safely. It is best to ensure that bergamot receives 1200-1800 hours of sunshine per year.

2. Watering conditions

The humidity for bergamot is generally 70%-90%. Bergamot's root system is shallow, so it needs frequent watering. The high-temperature period in summer is exactly bergamot's vigorous growth period, when its water demand is relatively large; it should be watered both morning and evening, and at the same time misted with a sprayer to raise the humidity of the surrounding air. After autumn begins, the amount of watering gradually decreases. In late winter and early spring, when temperatures are relatively low, because indoor evaporation is slow, watering should not be too frequent; generally it can be watered once every three to five days, keeping the potting soil moist. In the early stage of bergamot flowering and fruiting, watering should not be excessive, to prevent heavy flower and fruit drop.

3. Fertilizer situation

Spring is the period when bergamot puts out new shoots, and at this time fertilizer should be light. It is best to apply a light nitrogen fertilizer once a week together with watering. In summer, bergamot has abundant flowers and fruits and a large fertilizer demand, so the fertilizer concentration should be increased. In early autumn, a compound fertilizer of phosphorus, potassium and calcium should be applied, which helps raise the fruit-setting rate. After picking the fruit, phosphorus and potassium fertilizer should be applied promptly to replenish the plant's nutrients, so as to restore its growth and lay a good foundation for flowering and fruiting the following year.

II. Precautions

1. Pest and disease control

Bergamot's main pests and diseases include citrus leafminer, red spider mite, rust mite, scale insects, anthracnose and so on. Adopt "prevention first, integrated management"; once pests or diseases occur, take corresponding measures promptly, adjust the usual care measures, and carry out chemical control.

2. Pruning work

Bergamot grows rapidly and branches heavily, so pruning and shaping work must be done well every year to keep the tree growing vigorously and the branches evenly distributed.

Bergamot Methods for Bearing More Fruit

1. Pruning is needed to promote branching

While the bergamot plant is growing, pinching back is needed; generally keep 15-20cm of the lower part of the main trunk and retain 3-5 axillary buds, which can sprout new branches, and when the new branches grow to about 10cm, pinch them back again. This can expand the canopy and help it form a certain tree shape, entering the fruiting stage earlier.

2. Care during the flowering period

First, flower thinning is done at flowering time, removing bergamot's surplus flowers and early-born male flowers, keeping only 1-2 flowers on each branch. Bergamot generally begins to flower in March each year, and flower thinning should be done during the flowering period; because generally it is better to keep 1-2 fruits on a branch, when keeping flowers, retain only 2-3 and remove the rest.

Fertilizing is mainly by spraying phosphorus and potassium fertilizer on the leaves, etc.; during the full-bloom period, borax should be sprayed, which can aid the leaves' photosynthesis, promote nutrient accumulation and increase yield.

How to Prune Bergamot

1. Pruning principles

When pruning bergamot, cut off overly dense crossing branches and overlapping branches, and also cut off diseased branches, weak branches and dead branches; pruning is best done together with repotting. Generally it is enough to meet the requirements of even branches, reasonable distribution, and ventilation and light penetration.

2. Spring pruning

In March, bergamot grows new shoots and needs pruning; generally, apart from retaining some branches used to fill space and branches near fruiting branches, the remaining branches not needed as fruiting branches can be cut off.

3. Summer pruning

Bergamot's summer shoots sprout after Grain Rain, so they easily compete with the spring fruit for nutrients and affect the growth of bergamot's autumn shoots. Therefore, the shoots that grow in summer, apart from the occasional branches needed for shaping, can all be cut off.

4. Autumn pruning

When pruning bergamot in autumn, apart from cutting off those thin, weak and poorly developed branches, the other branches can be kept as fruiting branches. For bergamot's autumn shoots, strengthening care is the key.

Through the above introduction, if you have mastered the growing methods for bergamot, you might consider making a potted ornamental-fruit plant of bergamot and placing it in your home. However, bergamot is a plant that likes a light-filled, humid growing environment, so during cultivation you should maintain the air humidity of the growing environment.