How to grow lemon at home

Lemon grown in a pot on the windowsill will saturate the air in the house with volatile production and essential oils, protecting it from infectious diseases and bacteria. And so that a miniature tree regularly pleased not only with its appearance, but also with its fruits, it must be planted. You can buy seedlings in specialized stores, but it is more interesting and cheaper to plant a bone in the ground and wait until it turns into a young sprout.

Choosing planting material

Where can I get lemon seed? Go to the supermarket or market, choose the largest fruit of a rich yellow color and get a bone out of it. The main thing is that the citrus peel is not stained and other damage. In planting material taken from a bent or rotted specimen, there may be an infection or a disease that will destroy fragile shoots,spiked out of the ground.

Bought lemon gently cut, trying not to touch the shell of the seeds with a blade, and remove the bones. Planting material is immediately sorted: large specimens are left, small ones are thrown away, because they rarely sprout.

Seeds are preferably planted in pots immediately, while they are still wet. But if in the cabinet there are several dry lemon kernels, which are just over a month or two, the billet is soaked in warm water for several hours, and then buried in the ground.

Lemons are also grown from cuttings, which can be taken from acquaintances or neighbors. Cut a young twig from a fruit-bearing tree, put it into the water, add heteroauxin and wait 24 hours. On the handle should be at least 3 buds, and the parent lemon must necessarily give at least 6-10 citrus per year.

Soil and pots

Some home trees grow up to 8–10 m in height, others stop at around 3–4 m. Beginners who first practice lemons try to plant a seed or stalk at once into a huge pot or wooden box. The plant needs space, but when there is too much of it, the root system develops incorrectly.Therefore, in the first stage, a small clay pot or a disposable plastic cup will suffice.

You can create a container for growing lemon from the bottle:

1. Cut off half or third. Discard the top with the cap, leaving the bottom of the bottle.
2. Make a lot of small holes in the bottom to ensure air circulation.
3. Put a homemade pot on a plastic plate or tray so that excess water runs off on the stand, not on the window sill.
4. Fill the bottle with earth and plant lemon seed in it.

You can grow citrus seedlings in a flower pot, several at once, but there must be a distance between them. It is recommended to mentally draw an equilateral triangle on the surface of the earth and insert 1–2 grains in each vertex of the geometric figure.

Used for the cultivation of lemons and wooden rectangular boxes. Between the seeds retreat by 15–20 cm, so that the root system has room for development. Regardless of the chosen container, a drainage layer 1–1.5 cm high is placed on the bottom of the pot or box. If it is absent, moisture begins to accumulate, air circulates poorly and fungus appears in the ground. The lemon root system rots and the plant disappears.

As drainage use:

• small pebbles or pebbles;
• small pieces of pottery;
• grated foam;
• coarse sand;
• expanded clay or crushed wine cork.

Tip: In order to provide the plant with a nutrient medium, it is recommended to put a layer of peat, dried cow or horse manure, or some moss on top of the drainage. The top dressing height is 1.5–2 cm, the ground goes further.

Ideal soil
Lemon is considered an unpretentious plant that can take root in any land. The main thing is to be warm and have enough moisture. Often the seeds are planted in a mixture of turf soil, river sand and humus. More experienced gardeners add wood ash to the soil, which will feed weak sprouts.

Suitable for growing citrus trees and land intended for indoor plants. You can buy soil in flower shops, it is desirable to add a little peat to the soil. If lemon cuttings are planted in pots, a layer of sand is poured over the ground. This helps citrus to take root and settle down in a new place.

Landing process

In the ground, make a small depression, about 1.5–2 cm, slightly moisten the soil and stick a few seeds into it.It is recommended to take 2–3 grains per one well, because part of the planting material may be empty and unviable. If several sprouts have been proclaimed from the fossa at once, the most robust and healthy specimen is left, the rest are carefully pulled out or cut off to the very root.

How it all happens:

1. Put seeds into the moistened soil, sprinkle them with earth and lightly tamp the soil.
2. Sprinkle the ground with warm distilled or melt water using a spray bottle.
3. Cover the pot with a plastic bag that will create a greenhouse effect.
4. Put the lemons in a room where the temperature does not fall below +18. Until the first sprouts appear, the seeds do not need light, therefore citruses can be kept in any room.
5. Periodically open the film and ventilate the ground in pots, regularly moisten the soil with a spray bottle, but make sure that the ground is not too wet and damp.

With cuttings do a little differently:

1. A branch that stood for several days in a special solution, planted in the ground after the appearance of thin roots.
2. The plant is buried so deep that only two buds are left on the surface, the rest should be hidden under the ground.
3. At first, the stalk needs abundant watering, because the lemon does not have strong roots capable of pulling moisture out of the soil.
4. The plant feels comfortable at a temperature of + 18–20 degrees.
5. The citrus cutting will take about 1.5–2 months to finally take root in the pot and begin to grow actively.

Tip: If you overdo it with watering, and the earth can not dry out, do not wait for the appearance of mold. The pot is freed from wet soil and filled with new dry soil in which a lemon is transplanted.

Citrus sprout care

Plant pots should be kept away from drafts that citrus tolerates very poorly. Hatching sprouts watered twice a week, regularly exposed to the sun. When the seedlings appear full leaves, the film is removed.

Little trick
It is possible to cover the sprouted lemon shoots not only with a package, but also with an ordinary glass jar. Put the container neck down to create a greenhouse effect. Lemons are pulled out faster in humid conditions, reminiscent of a tropical climate.If citruses were planted in a pot in winter or early spring, the plant is placed next to the battery or heater, and watered 3 times a week.

Water is used rain or thawed, warmed to room temperature. The liquid for irrigation should stand for several days, so that harmful impurities precipitate.

Fertilizer and transplant
Every two weeks seedlings are fertilized. Such citrus feeds as “Ideal” or “Health” will be suitable for citrus fruits. You can buy special fertilizers created for lemons and other exotic plants, but they should include:

• boron;
• manganese;
• zinc.

Citrus leaves are regularly rubbed with a damp cloth, cleaning dust. A pot with seedlings should stand on a well-lit window so that the plant receives a lot of ultraviolet light. But in order to sprout evenly and not shed the leaves, the lemon should be rotated around its axis 1.5–2 cm every month. You can not turn the seedlings sharply, otherwise such unexpected changes may result in “baldness” of the young tree.

In early spring, the grown citrus is transferred to another, more spacious pot. In the first year, the lemon must "move" 4 times.An adult tree can live in its pot for several years, the main thing is to update the topsoil from time to time.

How to understand that a lemon needs a new home? If his roots are taken to the drainage layer and trying to crawl out of the pot, the tree became cramped. Move the lemon from one container to another carefully so as not to damage the base. On the root system, some land is left to adapt the plant to new conditions more quickly.

Tree formation
So that the sapling does not turn into a shaggy bush of an incomprehensible shape, you need to take care of it. When the central shoot becomes strong and begins to stretch upwards, acquiring branches and additional leaves, it is cut. A stump of 20 cm in height must remain. Further, second-order branches are formed on the central trunk, which are pinched when they reach 18-19 cm. Repeat the procedure once more until shoots of the fourth “generation” appear. It is on them that buds, flowers and fruits are formed.

If you do not cut off the extra shoots and branches, the lemon crown will become thick, and the tree will spend too much effort on feeding leaves and unnecessary shoots.

We grow fruiting citrus

When the stem of the seedling is as thick as a pencil, a lemon should be planted. You must ask your friends or order in a specialty store a two-year cutting, cut from a fruiting citrus. You will also need:

• well sharpened knife;
• a roll of electrical tape;
• plastic bag;
• garden pitch

First, cut a lemon branch, departing from the central trunk, leaving a stump 5–10 cm high. It should be carefully split into two equal parts. Sharpen the bottom of the handle in the form of a blade and insert it into the stump. Smear the open “wounds” with garden pitch, pull tightly with tape so that it covers the stump.

The tip of the scion is also trimmed, leaving 2 to 4 buds. Cut the cut with a garden pitch and cover the lemon with a package to create a warm, moist microclimate. In such conditions, wounds heal faster, and the stalk takes root better. Remove the cellophane after the first shoots. Grafted lemon will begin to bear fruit in 2–3 years.

For the first time leave 2 flowers that need to be pollinated with a cotton swab. Collect pollen from one cup and transfer to another. In the future, on a lemon can ripen as many fruits as the ovary will appear.

Recommendations

1. In late autumn, the temperature in the room where the pot of citrus is standing should be gradually reduced to 15 degrees in order for the plant to adapt to harsh conditions. At the same time, they increase the light day, otherwise the tree will start dropping leaves.
2. In winter, a lemon tub is recommended to wrap with insulation or thick blankets to protect the roots from hypothermia.
3. The soil is loosened every 5–6 irrigations in order to improve the flow of air into the soil and prevent the acidification of the soil.
4. In late spring and summer, it is useful to carry an adult citrus tree outside, but keep it away from direct sunlight.

Lemon, like other plants, needs regular care and care. The plant loves heat, moisture and the sun in moderation, sometimes it needs feeding and protection from pests. If you do not forget to water the tree, fertilize it and keep it away from drafts, it will live a long time and regularly rejoice with the fruits.

Video: how to grow citrus at home