Growing lemons at home

Lemon is an evergreen citrus tree. The homeland of lemons is the subtropics, so plants love warmth and moisture. In open ground, the tree grows up to 8 meters, although there are also dwarf three-meter trees. Homemade varieties bear fruit all year round with good care.

Room lemon - a short description

At home, lemons are grown in flower pots or tubs. Growing a lemon in a tub, you can get from 10-30 fruits every year from a young plant to 200 from an adult. Lemons, which are not inferior in quality to the southern varieties, can be removed from a tree about one and a half meters in height. You can grow a houseplant from a lemon seed, but truly delicious fruits are obtained only from varietal plants. Lemon is a perennial plant and it blooms profusely, although the flowers are not too noticeable behind the dense foliage, but the room is filled with a fresh aroma from essential oils secreted by all parts of the plant.

Growing features

Growing lemon at home is not as easy as other indoor flowers. A home tree requires a spacious, well-lit space and constant attention. But there are also obvious advantages - durability, pleasant smell, tasty and healthy fruits.

Several years pass from the moment of planting to the receipt of the first fruits, so please be patient and wait for your tree to bloom and give you the first medium-sized lemons. Over time, the tree will get stronger, and will delight you with a more generous harvest.

When growing indoor lemon, you must comply with the prerequisites:

• Bright room.
• Regular airing.
• Good drainage.
• Regular feeding.
• Cool wintering.

Planting lemon

If you decide to grow lemon from a seedling, pay attention to the "pedigree". It will be difficult for a fruiting tree from the subtropics to acclimatize. We recommend choosing seedlings from indoor plants or from a tree that lives in your climate. Lemons from the Caucasus, grafted on trifoliate, are suitable for growing in cool rooms - winter gardens or greenhouses. At home, the plant is likely to die. When choosing a seedling, carefully study the information about it.

When planting, the root collar should be buried only 5 mm into the ground. The ground level is 1 centimeter below the edge of the pot. This is necessary so that the root collar does not rot, and the soil is not washed off during watering. After planting, spray the seedling and water with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.Place the pot in a lighted place, but protect the leaves from direct sunlight, shade the tree if necessary.

Lemons do not like to move from place to place, so choose a permanent home for the plant and do not turn it abruptly so that the house flower can develop normally.

Optimal time

The best time to plant is late winter – early spring, as the natural growing season begins at this time.

The soil

Pour loose and nutritious soil into the pot after laying the drainage. Soil composition:

• Light loam (meadow sod) - 2 parts.
• Leafy ground - 2 parts.
• Dung humus - 1 part.
• Coarse sand - 1 part.

On ordinary land from a summer cottage, a lemon will bear fruit poorly.

If you cannot assemble such a complex composition, buy Lemon or Rose earth in a flower shop.

Important! The tree will grow in the same soil for several years, so the correct selection of the substrate and regular feeding are very important.

Care features

Lack of sunlight shouldn't kill the plant. When the days are lengthened, the growth of the tree is activated, but at the same time fruiting is delayed. The southern and eastern windows are suitable for a houseplant. The most favorable place for lemon is the sills of the eastern windows, on which in the morning the sun's rays are bright, but not scorching. In hot summer, shield the flowerpot from the sun with a gauze curtain.

Indoor lemons do not like changes in light and rearrangements, the growth and development of fruits may slow down a little, but the tree will form correctly when turned.

Advice. In winter, it is advisable to arrange daylight illumination for 6 hours a day. Place an incandescent or fluorescent light bulb 60 cm above the tree.

Humidity

The most difficult period for indoor plants is October-March. The air in the apartment at this time is dry due to heating. Move the pot away or cover the batteries with a damp cloth. Spray the lemon periodically, but do not get carried away so as not to cause the development of the fungus. Place a cup of water in or near the pot.

In the summer, it is useful to have a cool shower once a week and wipe the leaves with a damp sponge. This is necessary so that the plant can breathe fully.

Important! The plant reacts painfully to changes in air humidity, dry air is especially dangerous at high temperatures during flowering and fruit formation. Flowers and ovaries may crumble. The more humid the air, the longer the leaves of the plant live.

Watering

In May and September, lemons should be watered daily, but in moderation. Swampy soil is categorically unsuitable, but overdried soil can also destroy the tree. Water the lemon less often during the winter, but keep it moist.

Important! Do not water lemons with cold water or in the sun. The optimal watering time is morning or evening.

Temperature

The optimum temperature for the development of shoots and leaves is + 17 ° С, for the growth of fruits the temperature should be higher - + 21 ... 22 ° С. Lemons do not survive the heat well, especially in low humidity. In summer, when it gets warmer, flowers and ovaries can fall off, and temperature drops in autumn and winter can lead to falling leaves.

Attention! The soil temperature should be close to the air temperature. It is dangerous to bring lemon from the open air into a heated room. When it gets cold, try to gradually move the pot of the plant so that it can adapt to the new conditions.

Top dressing and fertilization

Fertilizers should be applied to the soil in moderation, but regularly, since their excess is harmful to plants.

By the state of the leaves, shoots and fruits, one can judge what kind of nutrition the lemon needs:

• The leaves turn yellow, the number of fruits decreases, and they become smaller - there is not enough nitrogen.
• The leaves turn pale and fall off, and the fruits are deformed and coarse - phosphorus deficiency.
• The leaves grow, and the fruits become smaller - potassium starvation.
• The tops of the branches dry out, the leaves turn pale and turn yellow, the lemon does not bloom and does not bear fruit - there is little iron.

It is recommended to fertilize lemons with 0.5% ammonium nitrate combined with potassium salt. With a lack of phosphorus, superphosphate is used.

In the summer, when the plant can be taken out of the house, you can feed it with organic fertilizer (bird droppings or water in which the meat was washed). It is not necessary to apply all fertilizers at the same time - lemons suffer from excessive feeding.

Carry out the planned feeding twice a month in the summer; from October to February, you do not need to feed the lemon.

Pruning

When growing indoor lemon, it is important not to let it grow to the size of a tree, especially since this plant is prone to forming long branches. If the bush is not cut, the crown will become too large. When pruning, part of the branches is removed after the fifth leaf - the crown from such a haircut will become productive and compact.

Lemon transplant

The fact that it is time to transplant the lemon is evidenced by the roots sticking out of the drainage hole, but this is a case of extreme neglect. A planned transplant should be carried out as the tree grows, each next flower pot should be slightly larger than the previous one. There are circumstances of a forced transplant, for example, a pot may break or you will feel an unpleasant odor from the soil.

If the lemon does not grow well, it can be transplanted in the fall, although the optimal time is the end of February, before active growth begins, or the middle of summer.

• Carefully take out the plant, cut off the broken and damaged roots, and sprinkle them with crushed coal or Kornevin. It is not necessary to completely shake off the earth lump.
• Place a drain on the bottom of the pot and add some river sand. Above - a layer of soil.
• Cut off some of the branches to make it easier for the roots to feed the plant.
• Make a depression in the soil, set the lump so that the neck is just below the edge of the pot. If you need to raise, fill up the earth.
• Sprinkle soil around the edges in layers, making sure that the trunk is in the middle of the pot.
• Trample the soil with your hands so that no voids remain.
• Pour with settled water and loosen the soil a little.

Advice. To make the lemon easier to bear stress, sprinkle it with Zircon and cover it with foil for 5-7 days.

Reproduction

Lemon propagation

Lemons can be cultivated by cuttings or seeds. A tree that has grown from a seed will bloom and begin to bear fruit no earlier than after 8 years. If you plant a cutting, you will wait for your own lemons in 4 years. A baby lemon that has grown from a seed does not necessarily inherit the characteristics of the variety from the parent tree, and identity is guaranteed when propagated by cuttings. But trees and seeds are more resistant to disease and better adapt to life in captivity.

Seed propagation

You can get the Lemon Seed from any ripe fruit. Each lemon contains several seeds, take them out and plant several at a distance of 5 cm. It is better to plant seeds from several fruits.

Planting soil - well-drained peat and flower soil in a 1: 1 ratio. Deepen the seeds 1 cm and keep the soil moist without overflowing. At room temperature, the sprouts should appear in two weeks. Pick the tallest ones and delete the rest. Cover the sprout with a jar and place in a well-lit place without direct sunlight. Ventilate the sprout for several hours each day by removing the can.

When a few true leaves appear, plant the sprouts in pots up to 10 cm in diameter with good drainage. When replanting, try to keep the roots and soil around them. Pour a mixture of peat and soil for flowers into the pot. Transplant the plant that has grown up to 15-20 centimeters into an "adult" pot.

Propagation by cuttings

In the spring, semi-lignified twigs about 10 cm long with several leaves are cut off, and rooted in a homemade greenhouse with high humidity and temperature.Soil: peat and soil for flowers.

Lay drainage at the bottom of the pot, on top - a 5 cm layer of a mixture of turf and sand (6: 1), then - a mixture of sand and moss. This layer will mainly contain the root system of the future plant. Plant a cutting, water it and spray it with warm water. Cover with a can.

It is necessary to spray the cutting twice a day with water of about + 25 ° C until rooting occurs. At room temperature, the cutting should take root in 3-4 weeks. After that, remove the jar for several hours a day, and after a week, remove it completely. After another 7 days, you can transplant the cutting into a small pot with nutritious soil and reliable drainage. Within a year, you can transplant the lemon into a regular pot, and after 3-4 years it will begin to bloom.

Bloom

The tops of young shoots of lemon are pink-purple in color. The oval toothed leaves contain an essential oil. Leaves change after 2-3 years. Large lemon flowers (4-5 cm) bloom in spring five weeks after the bud appears, flowering lasts more than two months. After the petals fall off, the fruit is tied, ripening in 200 or more days.

If a young plant begins to bloom in the first years of life, it is advisable to cut off the buds so that the tree can develop normally. When the buds appear a second time, they are no longer torn off - the lemon itself "decides" how many fruits it can feed. The extra buds will fly around by themselves. You can allow flowering when the tree already has at least 20 leaves. It is believed that each fruit needs at least 10 mature leaves.

Post-flowering care

Lemon grows, blooms and bears fruit all year round. One tree may contain ripe fruits, ovaries, flowers and buds. It is not necessary to pick off the faded inflorescences, as they turn into ovaries. If the lemon blooms in summer, the fruit ripens faster than in spring bloom.

Problems, diseases, pests

Many diseases of ornamental lemons are caused by improper care. With a lack of light and nutrients, lemon leaves brighten. Buds and leaves fly around if there is not enough moisture. The dryness of the indoor air is especially difficult for the plant, flowering may stop, the leaves darken and fall off.

Pests also often settle on the plant:

• Scabbards lead to the drying of branches, leaves and the death of the lemon. Remove the pests with a toothbrush and wash the lemon with soapy water.
• The spider mite settles on the wrong side of the leaves and the cobweb gradually envelops the entire tree. Spray with Actelika 0.15% solution three times, every 10 days.
• Mealybug leaves a sticky discharge on the leaves. Fruits and leaves fall off. It is recommended to inspect the plant and collect larvae.
• Citrus aphid. Actelika solution helps to get rid of this pest.
• Thrips and whiteflies also settle on lemons, which must be collected by hand, and the tree must be washed under the shower and treated with soapy water.

Popular types of indoor lemon

Meyer's lemon

Lemon Pavlovsky

Lemon Lunardio

Ponderosa lemon

Lemon Jubilee

• Meyer's lemon
• Lemon Pavlovsky
• Lemon Lunardio
• Ponderosa lemon
• Lemon Jubilee

Useful Tips

• If the lemon leaves turn brown, increase the indoor humidity and water the plant more often.
• Small leaves and thin shoots indicate that the lemon urgently needs to be fed and placed in a brighter place.
• Leaves dry and curl when there is not enough light and moisture. Spray a lemon every day, water and feed with complex fertilizers.

Answers on questions

The lifespan of indoor lemon

With careful attention and proper care, lemons live up to 45 years. An indoor flower dies ahead of time due to diseases and pests.

Why isn't the lemon blooming?

You have probably planted the plant in a pot that is too tight. Transplant it and feed it with complex fertilizer.

What if the lemon drops its leaves?

For lemon, leaf fall is a reaction to stress.Perhaps after the summer you moved it into a room or, conversely, sharply placed it under bright rays. Arrange artificial lighting or create a shadow. The reason may be excessive or insufficient watering - souring of the soil and drying out of the earthy coma are equally harmful for lemons. If the tree has not been watered for a long time, do not moisten the soil abundantly, add water little by little over several days.

Why does lemon shed fruit?

Lemon sheds fruits when it does not have enough strength to develop them. The first flowers that appear on a young lemon must be cut off, and only 2 fruits can be left on a three-year-old plant. In the future, each fruit should have at least 10 leaves.

How to arrange wintering?

The main task during the winter is to preserve the leaves. The room should not be too hot - no more than + 20оС. Keep the plant pot away from batteries and place a container of water next to it. If the windows are well protected from cold air, arrange a tree in the southeast or southwest window. Watering lemon in winter should not be as abundant as in the warm season.

Lemon - a tree of the genus Citrus, everyone knows its fruit. The homeland of this plant is China, India and the Pacific tropical islands.

Lemon was first introduced by the Arabs to the Middle East, North Africa, Spain and Italy.

Is it possible to grow a lemon from a seed at home?

People know about the benefits of lemon firsthand. Lemon is an excellent remedy for many ailments... It strengthens the immune system, normalizes hormones, improves vision, and stimulates the digestive tract.

It is used for colds, as it contains a huge amount of vitamin C and many people just like the sour, aromatic taste.

It is possible to grow lemon at home. If you cut a lemon, you can see a lot of seeds. It is quite possible to grow a full-fledged lemon tree from these seeds.

To a man who decided to plant a lemon at home, it is important to consider the following rules:

• the fruit should be yellow, the most ripe, since if the lemon is green, then due to the fact that it is not ripe, the germs of sprouts in the seeds of such a lemon may not sprout;
• for planting, it is important to choose several large seeds - from 10 to 15 pieces, so that later you can choose a beautiful and actively growing seedling;
• it is important to choose a suitable variety that will grow well at home.

For cultivation, you must choose the right variety of lemon, the fruit must be ripe, the seeds are large

Suitable variety for a house or apartment: Pavlovsky, Meyer and others

There are many varieties. Below are some of them that are suitable for growing in a house or apartment:

1. Pavlovsky - differs from other varieties in its large fruits, which can reach 500 grams, has a sweetish taste, and the tree of this variety is quite large - more than 2 meters. This variety is distinguished by fragrant leaves. The scent is so sharp and strong that the whole house will be filled with it.
2. Meyer - a hybrid of lemon with grapefruit, has a sweet and sour taste, a small tree with a rich harvest, the size of one lemon can reach 150 grams, blooms in bunches, there is a seasonal dormant period.
3. Ponderosa - a hybrid of lemon with grapefruit, has a bitter taste, as well as the presence of a large number of seeds. Pleases that it constantly blooms. According to the people who grow this type of lemon, it is a very grateful plant and quite unpretentious.
4. Genoa - an average tree, gives a large yield already for 4-5 years of life. Fruits with delicate pulp, have a sour, aromatic taste. You can also eat the rind. This variety is considered not whimsical. For 2-3 years, the seedling is already blooming.
5. Anniversary - a medium-sized tree, considered a variety that gives a rich harvest, the fruit is distinguished by its thick skin. Very suitable for growing in a house or apartment.

After the stage of selecting the variety has been passed, it is necessary to proceed to the very planting of the seeds in the pot.

Varieties that are suitable for growing in a house or apartment: Pavlovsky, Meyer, Genoa, Yubileiny, Ponderoza

How to plant plant seeds: highlights

Some active citrus growers with a wealth of experience it is advised to free the bone from the upper husk, which in their opinion allows you to get seedlings in the shortest possible time.

This must be done very carefully, since any damage to the seed can lead to the fact that the germination of the seed does not occur.

But you can plant bones without the above procedure.

Lemon seeds must be wet before planting... It is advisable to soak them for a day in water or in a solution of sodium humate. You can buy this growth stimulant at any botanical store.

But even if the seeds were planted without soaking, and as soon as they were removed from the lemon, they will most likely sprout.

Next, you need to find a suitable small, shallow pot or glass, pour earth into it. There should be holes in the bottom of the pots... They are important so that excess moisture, due to which the roots of the sprouts may die, flows down.

Make holes in the bottom of the pot, fill with small pebbles, soil

Put 1.5-2 cm of expanded clay, small pebbles or very coarse sand on the bottom of the pot. Planting soil can be purchased at the store, but you can prepare yourself. To do this, you need to mix garden soil, sand, humus and a little charcoal.

It is better to plant bones to a depth of no more than 1.5-2 cm... It is important to moisten the soil before planting. It should not be dry, but excessive moisture is also undesirable.

The pot can be covered with plastic wrap. The air temperature in the room where the seed pot is located should be above + 18 ℃.

Spray the soil once every 2-3 days... If the ground has become completely dry, then you can water it a little. After the first shoots appear, the film must be removed.

It is better to rearrange the pot with sprouts in a bright place and water with settled or rain water, at room temperature.

The first shoots will sprout no earlier than 3-4 weeks after planting.

According to experienced citrus growers, the best time to plant lemon is late winter, early spring... Since the increasing daylight hours will only benefit the young sprouts that have appeared.

Will the indoor lemon tree bear fruit?

Many people think that growing a lemon from a seed is a thankless job. Since it will take 5, 7, or even all 15 years to wait for fruits from such a lemon, and its fruits will be small in size.

For that, in order not to wait for decades when the lemon tree begins to bear fruit, it must be grafted... This can be done in two ways during the warm season (summer or warm spring):

1. Into the cleft - the preferred type of grafting. It is necessary to take a stalk of a cultivated fruiting lemon. A branch is cut on the seedling, and the remaining stem of the seedling is split. A "wedge" is sharpened on the cutting of a fruiting lemon, which is then introduced into the split in the stem. Next, you need to tie the vaccine with electrical tape. 2-4 buds are left on the cutting of a fruiting lemon, everything else is cut off. The inoculation is covered with a plastic bag. When the vaccine has healed, the bag can be removed.

Lemon grafting - by budding or splitting - is necessary for early fruiting

1. Oculated - the shoots are cut off from the seedling, a "stump" 10 cm high remains from the tree. Next, they take a sprig of cultivated fruit-bearing lemon. Under each leaf of the twig is the so-called "dormant bud". A slice must be made in front of this kidney. Next, cut off the leaf plate, but leave its petiole. Cut the bark on the "stump" of the seedling and insert the petiole with the cut down. Tie the vaccination site with electrical tape. The stalk of the cut leaf plate will serve as an indicator.If the petiole falls off after 2-3 days, then we can assume that the vaccination was successful, but if it dries up, then the vaccination has failed and must be repeated.

I wonder what grown lemon from seed adapts to home conditions faster and better, it is less picky than grafted and grafted seedlings.

Why lemon grown from seed does not bear fruit:

Optimal growing conditions, care after planting

It is advisable to be very attentive to a lemon that has risen in a pot. When on lemon seedlings 3-4 leaves will appear, they are transplanted into separate pots.

It is recommended to replant young lemon trees up to 2 times a year. It is advisable to do this very carefully so as not to damage the root system.

Typically, lemon can react to both extreme heat and sunlight, as well as cold and strong winds. Therefore, when changing the location of the lemon pot, it is advisable to keep this in mind.

And the best solution would be not to change the place of "residence" of the lemon. The best place for a lemon would be the south or southwest side of the apartment. In terms of temperature, lemon can tolerate temperatures from + 14 ℃ to + 27 ℃.

The best place for a lemon would be the south or southwest side of the apartment.

Lemon create conditions without sudden temperature jumpssince they can kill him. It is desirable to maintain a moderate air humidity of 60-70%.

Water the plant best with rainwater at room temperature. In hot summer, it is better to do this 2 times a day. And on cloudy and cold days, it is important to add lighting to lemon with LED or fluorescent lamps.

Feed in summer a seedling can be a solution of humus and liquid mineral fertilizers.

Lemons, like all houseplants susceptible to disease and pest attacks... Therefore, they need careful care, and it is also recommended to carefully examine the plant every day in order to detect the appearance of this or that pest as early as possible and take the necessary measures in time.

Courting and Protecting: The Main Enemies of Citrus

Lemon gets sick if you do not follow the rules of care. If the tree is watered a little, it will dry out. If the soil in the pot is oversaturated with moisture, then yellow leaves will appear on the lemon, and this will be a sign that the roots of the tree are beginning to rot.

Same the appearance of yellow spots on the foliage, after which the leaves dry and fall off, indicate that the wood lacks iron.

Drying leaf ends say that the tree needs phosphorus. And the lack of potassium and manganese leads to wrinkling of the leaves and falling off of the ovary.

Knowing how to grow a tree is not enough, it is important to be able to care for it. If a pest is noticed on the plant, it is necessary to figure out what kind of parasite it is and urgently take measures to combat it.

Below are some common parasites that can attack a home-grown lemon:

1. Mealybugs, popularly known as "hairy lice" - on a tree they can be recognized by a white bloom. They prefer dry conditions, they are afraid of moisture. A good prevention of this parasite is to regularly wash all the lemon leaves.
2. Shield - small shiny droplets appear on the leaves, sticky to the touch. Leaves dry and fall off. Soapy or garlic water is used against this pest. Soapy water is prepared as follows: 2 tablespoons of liquid soap are dissolved in 1 liter of water. The resulting mixture is treated with the affected tree. An hour after the procedure, they are washed under the shower. It is desirable to repeat the treatment after 2 days.
3. Spider mite - small, light dots on the sheet plate. The leaves are curling up. A cobweb is visualized on their back. If this parasite is found on the lemon, it is necessary to treat the tree with sulfur. For prevention purposes, the lemon is washed under running water, paying more attention to the underside of the leaf plates of the tree.Spraying with a solution of water and laundry soap helps to fight the mite well.

Common parasites that can attack home-grown lemon: mealybugs, scale insects, spider mites

Prevention measures

There are several simple preventive measures that will prevent the attack of parasites or damage to the tree by diseases:

• give a lemon tree a hot shower... The plant will not suffer from this, and unnoticed parasites will be neutralized and washed away;
• spray the leaves (especially from the bottom side);
• wipe the lemon leaves once a week with soapy water (it is better to use laundry soap).

"Fitosporin" is considered a good remedy for many diseases and pests. It is non-toxic and odorless. It can also be used well as a preventive measure.

The lemon tree is not geranium, it needs proper care and it is very difficult for a beginner to figure out what, how and when to do it.

With the effort and study of the rules for caring for lemon, you can get a pleasant result. Home-grown lemon will delight not only with its aroma, but also with delicious fruits.

Growing lemon from seed:

Evergreen citrus crops harmoniously blended into the interior of apartments and offices. Growing lemon attracts indoor flower lovers with its exoticism, combined with the ease of caring for the tree. Many have tried to plant a bone extracted from a sour fruit in a pot, but not everyone succeeded in achieving the desired result. In order for the plant at home to please with luxurious flowering, and fruits ripen on its branches, you will have to try. And the first step here is a careful study of the cultural requirements for conditions of detention.

Lighting and temperature

The subtropical origin of lemon makes it capricious in terms of temperature. The plant loves heat, but does not tolerate extreme heat, especially if the air is dry. At home, he will be most comfortable in a room where the air is warmed up to + 10- + 22 ° C. It is not easy to keep the lemon tree at a moderate temperature in the summer in the apartment. Many gardeners find a way out by placing a pot with a plant on the loggia. Owners of a private house can take it outside and leave it under a canopy until autumn. In winter, in the room where the indoor lemon grows, the temperature should not exceed + 14 ° C. But it is also impossible to allow it to fall below + 10 ° C.

All citrus fruits love light. But compared to its relatives, the lemon tree tolerates a lack of sunlight less painfully. You can even grow it at home on the northern windows, although it is better to choose the southeast side for the pot. An adult lemon is not afraid of direct rays of the sun. It can also be placed on a south-facing windowsill. If the plant is young, it will need shading care. The delicate leaves of the tree can suffer from sunburn.

In winter, when it gets dark early, indoor lemon needs additional lighting. It is organized using special phytolamps. Certain types of culture can easily tolerate short daylight hours and are able to do without additional care. These include the undersized Panderoza variety. If you add coolness (from +7 to + 14 ° C) to a short daylight hours, the plant will plunge into a dormant period. A hibernating lemon tree is rarely watered. You don't need to light it up.

Soil and pot

To plant a plant correctly, you need to take into account the characteristics of its root system. Citrus species have no root hairs. Soil fungi help lemon absorb water and nutrients from the soil. They can be seen on its delicate roots. They look like threads forming bulges at their ends. The roots of the tree and the mushrooms interact closely with each other. In the scientific literature, their symbiosis is called mycorrhiza.She is very sensitive to external conditions and can die in an unfavorable environment:

• prolonged drought;
• lack of air;
• a sharp drop in temperature (below -7 ° C);
• extreme heat (if the thermometer rises above + 50 ° C).

From this follow the basic rules for growing lemon:

• do not allow the substrate to dry out in the pot;
• do not flood the tree.

The plant grows well in loose soil rich in nutrients. Its reaction should be neutral (with a pH in the range of 5.8-6.5). The easiest way is to purchase ready-made soil for citrus fruits in the store.

To prepare a nutritious substrate at home on your own, three components are mixed:

• sod land (3 parts);
• humus earth (1 part);
• sand (1 part).

Advice

If you need to plant an adult lemon, the volume of humus in the earth is doubled.

You can fill the pot with a composition of sod land, deciduous soil and dung.

All components are taken in equal proportions. River sand will give the resulting substrate looseness, and crushed charcoal will enrich it with mineral substances.

For planting lemon at home, it is best to use a clay pot. If the plant is large, it will thrive in a wooden tub. Natural materials will facilitate the penetration of air to the roots of the tree. At the bottom of the planting tank, drainage is poured with a layer of 2 cm.You can make it from broken brick. From above, the drainage layer is covered with sand, and then the pot is filled with a nutrient substrate.

Reproduction methods

Indoor lemon can be grown from seed, cuttings, or cuttings.

The easiest way to propagate a tree that is already bearing fruit is at home by cutting cuttings from it. Young lemon branches with not yet coarse and flexible wood are suitable for their harvesting. They must be one year old or slightly older.

A correct stalk has the following characteristics:

• length not less than 10 cm;
• 3-4 developed kidneys;
• at least 3 sheets.

The cut line from above should be at right angles at a distance of 7 mm from the kidney. 1 cm recede from the lower kidney. The cut is made at an angle of 45 °. From above, the wound is smeared with garden pitch. It will protect the cutting from infection. It is advisable to apply shallow grooves to the lower cut using a needle. This will improve root formation. You can plant cuttings at home in sand or in a nutritious substrate. Having made a small depression, they put a cut branch in it. You do not need to press it into the soil.

Advice

Before planting, the lower part of the cutting is dipped into a solution of a drug that stimulates root growth, where it is kept for 1-2 hours.

Cuttings will take root faster if the leaves on them are cut with scissors by ⅔. This way they will evaporate less moisture. The planted stalk is covered with a jar. Lemon roots form slowly. In a warm place (at a temperature of + 25 ° C) and with a constant humidity of the substrate, they will have to wait 2-3 months.

Caring for cuttings is simple. They need to provide a lot of light, but the direct rays of the sun should not fall on them. With the appearance of the first leaves, the process of adaptation of the cuttings to the air of the room begins. The jar is lifted and a chip or other support is placed under it so that a small gap is formed. The size of the hole is gradually increased. You can do it differently - daily ventilate the future tree. First, the jar is removed from the handle for a couple of minutes, the next day this time is doubled. For the sprout to get used to the climate at home, it will take 2 weeks of airing. Then the shelter can not be returned to its place.

Professionals almost never use the generative way of breeding lemon. It is not difficult to plant a seed in a pot, but the plant obtained from it is unlikely to bear fruit, even if it is provided with proper care. There is only one way out - to plant a tree. It will take 2-3 years, and it will be possible to pick fruits from its branches. For grafting, cuttings from a fruiting plant are most often used.A good result is given by budding with an eye.

Watering

Lemon prefers moderate watering. The soil in the pot is moistened with water at room temperature, which is pre-defended. You can add a little vinegar to it (2-3 drops per 1 liter). The liquid accumulated in the pan is drained, not allowing it to remain in it for more than 2-3 minutes. In the summer, at home, the procedure is carried out every day or every other day. The condition of the soil will help to determine when the next watering is needed: if the earthy lump has dried out, it's time to moisten it.

Lemon responds well to spraying treatments. They are carried out daily, regardless of the season. Spraying is especially important for wood in winter, when the air becomes dry due to the operation of heating devices. But you cannot overdo it with them, otherwise the plant can be affected by fungal diseases. Spray the leaves with warm water, occasionally you can do this with a weak solution of potassium permanganate to strengthen the health of the plant. With the onset of cold weather, watering is reduced, but not much - up to 2 times a week.

Problems with growing citrus at home are most often due to irregular or too much moisture. When under-watering, the leaves on the tree turn yellow, wither, and mycorrhiza dies. Excessive moisture will lead to acidification of the soil in the pot and rotting of the plant roots. It is important to carry out the procedure correctly by distributing water over the surface of the substrate. If you pour it in one place, the earthy ball will get wet unevenly, and the roots may suffer from leaching.

At home, lemon is periodically "bathed". Such care is carried out once a month. The soil is reliably protected with a film, and a warm shower is arranged for the leaves of the tree, thoroughly rinsing them from all sides. This is necessary to clean their surface from dust and other contaminants. They accumulate on the leaves and interfere with photosynthesis, which weakens the plant and can cause health problems.

Top dressing

In order for the lemon to grow quickly at home and not lose its decorative effect, it will need regular feeding. It will not work to do with one drug. Fertilizers should be different and should be changed periodically. If you use the same nutrient for a long time, the reaction of the soil will change. It will become too acidic for lemon or alkaline. From such soil, the plant will not be able to receive the elements necessary for its development.

At home, they begin to feed the lemon in March. Until October, it is fed once every 2-3 weeks with either organic or mineral compositions. If the plant is young, fertilize it less often - once every 1.5 months. In the summer, top dressing is combined with watering. In spring and autumn, fertilizers are applied to the already moistened soil. At least 2 hours should pass from the moment of watering. Lemon suffers from an excess of nutrients in the soil even more than from a lack of them. Therefore, you cannot overfeed him.

From the middle of autumn, fertilization is started less often. A hibernating plant no longer needs feeding. If it hibernates in warmth and with good lighting, they are carried out every 1.5 months. Complex mineral compositions are suitable for lemon. Of organic fertilizers, it reacts well only to some types:

• wood ash hood;
• infusion of birch leaves or quinoa (filling the jar with chopped green mass by ½, add water; 2-3 days, and the natural fertilizer will be ready);
• weak (diluted 5-6 times) infusion of fresh manure.

Advice

If the leaves are actively growing on the lemon, and flowering is delayed, it is worth changing the fertilizer. Nitrogen-rich formulations are eliminated by feeding citrus with preparations with a high phosphorus content.

Pruning

You cannot do without crown formation when caring for lemon at home. Regular pruning has a decorative and sanitary function. Its scheme is determined by the purpose of growing the tree. Decorative lemons do not need a large crown, they are given a compact shape. In a fruiting citrus, the main branches must be balanced by the growing shoots.The formation of the crown is carried out by pinching. First, a skeleton of a tree is created, cutting off the side branches so that they do not outweigh each other and do not interfere with the development of neighboring ones.

When the lemon is 1 year old, the main shoot is shortened to 30 cm. Then the buds located on its sides will sprout, forming lateral branches. When they develop well, they are pinched, leaving 3-4 leaves on the shoot. Such care is necessary for a lemon, otherwise its branches will grow very long and bring a meager harvest, which will take a long time to wait. The tree is allowed to bear fruit after its crown is formed. If it blooms earlier, the buds are cut off. Otherwise, the plant will greatly weaken and may even die.

Old branches that interfere with the development of the lemon and will dry out sooner or later, it is better to cut them off so that they do not draw strength from the tree. They also remove weak, growing inside the crown or interfering with neighboring shoots. Pruning is usually done in March, but it can also be done after harvest. For a fruiting lemon, care is required in the form of removing excess buds. The plant blooms profusely, but the ovaries are normalized by the number of leaves. For each fruit, there must be at least 10 of them, otherwise the depleted lemon will not please the next harvest soon.

During the ripening of the fruit, the tree requires increased attention. They handle it very carefully, trying to completely eliminate factors that can lead to shedding of the ovaries:

• lack of nutrients;
• drafts;
• dry air;
• lack of light;
• disease.

Transfer

Novice growers often make a mistake that negates all their efforts to grow a lemon tree at home. It consists in trying to plant a young citrus immediately in a large pot. As a result, the growth of the tree is greatly slowed down, its roots rot, and the lemon dies. The planting capacity should be commensurate with the plant's root system. When it develops and fills the entire pot, the lemon is transferred to another container, the volume of which is slightly larger. It is better to do this in the spring, when the tree begins a period of active growth.

The bottom of the container is covered with a drainage layer. On top of it they put a lemon extracted from an old pot along with an earthen lump. The voids on the sides are filled with fresh substrate, prepared at home or purchased from the store. The plant is watered abundantly. After moistening, the soil will settle, then more earth is added. Lemon roots must "breathe". If the pot is firmly on a pallet, it is advisable to place small stones or chips between them to improve air circulation.

The transplanted tree is returned strictly to its original place, without changing its orientation. Lemon reacts sensitively even to minor turns, responding to them with stress and loss of decorativeness. The leaves of the tree follow the sun. To prevent its crown from being one-sided, you need to slightly rotate the pot around its axis. This is done every 10 days, very carefully, deviating from the previous position by a maximum of 10 °.

Lemon will take pride of place among the plants on the windowsill. But in order for it to become a real decoration of the room and a source of pride, you will have to pay attention to it. Taking care of a lemon tree is easy. His agricultural technique consists of procedures familiar to all lovers of indoor flowers. Only they must be carried out strictly in accordance with the requirements of the plant, because the lemon will not tolerate neglect. If you provide the tree with comfortable conditions, it will delight the eye all year round, either with its glossy leaves, or with an abundance of unusual flowers, or with bright shades of ripening fruits.

The agrotechnology of growing citrus fruits in a room is complex. You should start with lemon, growing and caring for it at home is easier for it than for other sissies. You can buy a young bush, or you can grow it, starting from sowing a seed or rooting a cuttings.Under all favorable conditions, a crop from a seed plant can be obtained in 20 years, from a cuttings in 7-8. But a lemon from a stone at home will be more fit, healthy, beautiful with its dark shiny foliage. It can be grafted with a shoot from a fruiting lemon, which will speed up flowering. The choice is for the amateur.

What kind of care does a room lemon require at home?

Lemon is a tree; it also tends to grow in indoor conditions. There are several varieties that breeders have accustomed to indoor keeping. But they rebel if the departure is wrong. Before planting a seed, you need to know that only indoor varieties can share a home with a person. These include:

• Pavlovsky;
• Anniversary;
• Mayer.

These varieties are distinguished by a quick entry into fruiting and high productivity when caring for lemon at home. When buying a ready-made varietal seedling, you need to wait for flowering in two or three years.

Indoor lemon with good care can live up to 30 years. Lemon after tying is poured for 9 months, but after it continues to increase in size, but becomes tasteless and thick-skinned.

It is important not to allow the flower to weaken and to cut off the buds until there are 20 leaves on the bush. Scientists believe that each fruit is fed by 9-10 mature leaves. Depending on the number of leaves, you need to leave the crop. For the same reason, you need to protect the leaves from shedding, with which the plant protests when it is uncomfortable. At the same time, pruning of the tops of the branches is obligatory in order to form new shoots, which means to increase the number of leaves. Therefore, plant care is carried out on the verge of knowledge and intuition.

Optimal conditions for lemon care

Only if you have a spacious, bright room can you count on creating a citrus garden. Even being in a constant place, the tree does not like to be moved. And for even development, it is rotated a few degrees after 10 days, so that a full revolution is obtained in a year:

1. There must be at least two meters from the stand to the ceiling.
2. Lemon cannot stand dry air. Optimum 70% humidity. This means keeping the plant away from the radiator, having a humidifier or an aquarium, equipping the moisture zone in any way possible, and often spraying the leaves with a fine spray.
3. In the summer, it is useful for a lemon to be under the sun for 2 hours, but not longer. Therefore, the morning sun on the east window is just right for him. In winter, when growing lemon and taking care at home, backlighting should be organized for 5-6 hours.
4. The content temperature for lemon should be between 14 and 27 degrees. During the flowering period, the lemon needs coolness.
5. The watering schedule in summer is very busy. The pot is watered twice a day, in the morning and in the evening, soaking the clod of earth completely. Due to good drainage, stagnation of water does not occur. A drip tray should be installed underneath. For irrigation, soft settled water is used.

The temperature should not change dramatically. If the plant is brought from a cold veranda into a warm room, it will shed its foliage. The ground in the barrel is cold, and the leaves are warm! In winter, you need to find the coldest corner of your home for a lemon. Without a full dormant period, flowering will subsequently be scarce.

Of great importance in caring for a lemon is its formation, keeping it in growth with systematic pruning and pinching of the green cone. The deepest pruning is done in the spring. 5-6 live leaves are left on the branches, the rest are removed, from which material is obtained for the propagation of lemon by cuttings.

Diseases and pests of lemon

When caring for lemon at home, and growing it, you need to know the signs of disease in order to quickly correct the mistakes made. Often the plant needs moisture, which can be determined:

• from above the earth is gray, in the hands of a lump crumbles;
• the pot, when patted, makes a ringing sound;
• the leaves curled up into a tube, and the tops drooped.

As a result, after a while, the leaves, flowers and ovaries will begin to fall off.

If the plant does not receive feeding, the leaves become light, flowering stops, the ovaries begin to fall off. But the same signs and with excessive fertilization. Therefore, it is necessary to follow the recommended doses and instructions on how to take care of lemon at home.

If the plant has not been transplanted for a long time and the land has not been changed, fertilizing watering may not save it. The earth has compacted, the irrigation water has made passages in the thickness and drains away without completely wetting the volume.

As a result of errors in care, a weakened plant is colonized by insect pests or fungal and bactericidal diseases appear.

Various citrus diseases are specific, they are called:

• xylopsorosis and tristera - viral incurable;
• gommosis - infectious when the trunk of a tree is affected;
• malseko - infectious, begins with reddening of the leaves, the tree dies;
• root rot is a fungal disease, it is required to remove damaged parts and transplant into new soil.

The cause of any disease is improper care of the plant. And even if the tree does not bear fruit, its diseases are the same.

How to grow lemon at home

The selection of the container for the plant and the substrate is of great importance. The container must have good drainage holes. The root system of the lemon is compact, the young plant treats the annual transplant well, therefore it is not worth creating conditions for acidification of the soil in a large pot. For older plants, the land is changed less often, but the upper fertile layer is renewed annually.

Composition of the earth:

• deciduous humus - 2 parts;
• humus from cattle - 1 part;
• washed river sand - 1 part;
• wood ash - 0.25 parts.

At the bottom, lay out a layer of charcoal mixed with expanded clay, add vermiculite to the substrate for friability. Transplant plants after the grown lemon roots are wrapped around a clod of earth, using the transshipment method.

When pruning a lemon tree, a lot of planting material and twigs remained. Cuttings will be made from them if you pinch off a couple of leaves from below and put a green twig in the water. Further, the cutting takes root in the substrate in a small volume. How to care for lemon cuttings? After the cutting has given a leafy growth, it is kept as an adult plant. At a height of 25 cm, the top of the plant is pinched, limiting growth. The formed central and lateral shoots in the amount of 4 pieces are left, the rest are cut off into a ring.

Lateral shoots are grown 25 cm and pinched again, repeating the operations as for the first time. A bush is formed twice more, as a result, enough leaves are obtained on a round tree, and flower buds are laid on the branches. The lemon is ready to bear fruit, it has gained enough strength to feed the pouring fruits.

Seed propagation of lemon is a lengthy process. The resulting seedling must be grafted in order to get a fruiting tree. The wildflower will develop for a long time, bloom little and the quality of the lemons obtained will be poor. Therefore, the grown plant needs to be grafted by budding or into splitting in order to get a cultivated tree.

A seedling without grafting will make an excellent ornamental tree with good disease resistance. It is necessary to form the crown so that the bush is neat and does not stretch with branches, taking up a large space.

Lemon planting and caring video