Indoor lemon growing. Reproduction of indoor lemon

You bought a young lemon tree in the hope all year round harvest fragrant fruits for tea parties and strengthen immunity.

And it really will give a lot of fruit if you know how to care for a lemon: water it, feed it, replant it, etc. We learn all the subtleties of care lemon trees grown at home, including crown formation and fruit picking.

Lemon care consists in regular watering, sufficient lighting, fertilizing, observing temperature regime and air humidity. It is equally important to know how to transplant homemade lemon.

Having decided to grow a lemon tree at home, familiarize yourself with the intricacies of care:

Watering a lemon

How to water a lemon? In the cold season, from October until spring, we moderately water the tree once a week, using warm water. In the spring and summer months, as well as in September, we spill the soil well with warm water once a day. Periodically loosen upper layer earth.

The main thing in watering a lemon is to prevent stagnation of water in the soil, leading to rotting of the roots, and not to overdry the earthen ball: this is fraught with twisting of the leaf and falling leaves and lemons.

lighting for lemon

How to care for homemade lemon in terms of lighting? Lemons don't need long daylight hours if you want more fruit than leaves. The tree bears fruit well in bright diffused light: it is better to keep it on windows facing east. If the window is south, in the summer we must protect the plant from direct sunlight.

In order for the crown to grow evenly, 2 times a month we turn the lemon tree in the direction of the sun. And we do not allow low lighting: in partial shade and shade, the leaf grows slowly, and the fruits turn out to be too sour.

Temperature regime

Caring for a homemade lemon involves maintaining a certain air temperature.

• While the lemon grows and gains green mass, or blooms, we keep it in a room where 17-20 degrees of heat is observed.
• When the fruits appear and ripen, you need a temperature a couple of degrees higher.
• In winter, during the dormant period, a temperature of no higher than 14 degrees is required, or 18 ° C, if the plant is not “sleeping” yet - in this case, we provide it with a 12-hour daylight hours using fitolamps.

Do not keep the lemon in a hot room and do not allow sudden temperature changes.

In the summer, you can take the tree outside - the main thing is to have time to bring it home before evening (if cool weather is expected).

Humidity level for lemon

How to water a lemon, we figured out: we will find out what level of air humidity is suitable for growing it. He needs quite high humidity, especially during the hot season - in summer or during the heating season.

When it's hot, we spray the tree every day and give it a warm shower once a week.

To increase the humidity level, place a wide-mouth jar filled with water near the lemon pot so that it evaporates, or put the pot in a tray, placing moisture-evaporating material in it.

The third option: turn on a household air humidifier next to the plant.

Top dressing lemon

Indoor lemon needs regular feeding: in summer - every week, in winter - every month (if there are fruits).

What to feed a lemon? Mineral and organic fertilizers, watering the plant 2 hours before the procedure so as not to burn the roots.

• Fertilizer with minerals. For top dressing, you will need a ready-made product such as a “citrus mixture”, in which the proportions N: P: K are 14:16:18. Dilute it in water according to the attached instructions and water the soil.
• organic fertilizer. We make an infusion by mixing 1 part water and 1 part mullein ( horse manure) and, after waiting 7 days, dilute it with water: infusion of mullein - 1 to 15, infusion of horse balls - 1 to 10.

Twice a year we water the soil with a weak solution of potassium permanganate - to enrich and disinfect the soil.

Lemon transplant

Young lemon plants in a pot, which we will learn today, need to be transplanted 1 and 2 years after planting.

In the spring we buy soil for citrus fruits or make it ourselves from humus (1 part), earth from under deciduous trees(4 parts), calcined sand (1 part) and wood ash (1 tablespoon).

We simply transfer the plant, gently shaking off part of the old earth, into another pot with soil. The diameter of the new pot should be 4 cm larger than the diameter of the previous one.

Subsequently, we transplant the plant every two years, when the growing season begins. When transplanting, do not forget to put drainage (expanded clay + charcoal or a layer of sand) with a layer of 2 cm. Thanks to transshipment, you do not have to think about how to root a lemon. The main thing is not to transplant while the lemon is blooming or bearing fruit.

crown formation

As the lemon grows, the crown should be cut off - in the spring, on a low trunk of about 18 cm, before the green mass begins to grow. We cut off the shoots, leaving 5 leaves, so that by the beginning of fruiting the tree has branched.

A tree with a well-formed crown blooms in the second or third year.

Lemon blossom on windowsill and harvest

While the lemon is blooming, you can not leave all the flowers on the plant:

• At the first flowering, we cut off half of the flowers and leave no more than 4 fruits from the formed ovaries.
• At the second flowering, only 6 fruits are left.
• At the third flowering, we leave 8 fruits, etc.

Regulation of flowering is necessary to maintain a strong and healthy lemon tree: extra inflorescences will quickly deplete it. Each ovary should have at least 10 developed leaves.

Flowers do not need pollination and bloom for about 2 months.

Fruiting of lemons is possible up to 4 times a year: it depends on the variety. The development of the fetus and the beginning of maturation takes about 6-8 weeks. The peel of fully ripe lemons acquires a rich golden hue: it means it's time to harvest.

If you tighten it with the collection, the skin will become thicker, the slices will dry out and the juice will lose its characteristic acidity.

Now you know how to care for a lemon at home so that it grows strong and healthy, and gives a lot of fruit. Follow all content rules indoor lemon and it will delight you all year round beautiful flowering and abundant fruiting.

A subtropical climate is ideal for a capricious lemon, but we can often see it on the windowsills of cozy houses. There are many different varieties, which bloom and bear fruit year-round, but not every owner manages to achieve this from his own "sunny guest". How to care for lemon at home to achieve good harvest? Let's try to figure this out.

What are the best varieties of lemons for home use?

For growing at home, there are specially bred varieties that do not grow to large sizes, but at the same time, they are able to give excellent harvest. When choosing your ideal tree, you can pay attention to the varieties. There are many ways to propagate, so if you have chosen which variety you want to grow at home, do not rush to buy seedlings. You can grow a lemon from a seed or a prepared cutting, which is described in detail in a previous article.

Citro Fortunella Volcano

Dwarf lemon with small, but very tender and tasty fruits that can stay on the branches for months. Flowers and fruits on a tree of this variety appear all year round, sometimes at the same time.

Lemon Pavlovsky

This is a fruit with minimal home care, but it blooms almost all year round. The yield of an adult tree is up to 40 large and very tasty fruits per year.

Meyer

One of the easiest lemons to grow, popularly called the Chinese Dwarf. Remarkably tolerates intense heat and gives small fruits with juicy slightly acidic pulp and a pleasant bitterness.

Novogruzinsky

A lemon that grows up to 3 meters tall indoors. With proper care, the tree will give you 150-200 fruits 2-3 times a year. Tender and fragrant pulp - distinguishing feature of this variety.

Anniversary

High-yielding and completely unpretentious lemon. The tree adapts to low humidity and pleases gardeners with large and juicy fruits, even with a lack of moisture in the soil.

Undersized varieties lemon trees do not bring too rich a harvest, but they will certainly create a special atmosphere in a house or apartment and decorate the interior.

Tall trees, on the contrary, give larger and tastier fruits, but caring for them takes much more time and effort, because in addition to the usual activities, they need to cut, shape and tie up the crown.

Optimal growing conditions for lemons

Lemon, like any other culture, is very important comfort. If your home has windows that face southeast, great because during the day they always have a lot of light, which is good for citrus fruits. But what about those who have only the south or north side at their disposal?

On the northern windows, lemons will acutely feel the lack of sunlight, which means that you will have to additionally use fluorescent lamps to ensure a normal daily cycle for them. This is especially true in winter period.

There is always plenty of light on the south sides of buildings, which is also not very good for lemons. So, citrus should be shaded, saving it from burns, which can appear quite quickly under the influence of direct sunlight.

Do not be surprised that the lemon is so picky about lighting and thermal regime- such whims are forgivable for the indigenous inhabitant of the tropics.

Spring is a special period for indoor lemons. At this time, their buds are tied, and in order to prevent them from drying out or slowing down this process, it is important to maintain the temperature within 14-16 °. At any other time of the year, a temperature of 26 ° will be considered comfortable.

For the summer, it is better to move the tree to a glazed balcony - away from drafts, where at the same time there is required amount fresh air. This will benefit the tree, and make it much easier for you to care for it.

How to water indoor lemon?

Growing lemon trees provides for the presence of moist soil in flowerpots. In the hot period, it is advisable to water it up to 3 times a week, while in winter even one will be enough. Be sure to maintain a good level of humidity (about 60%) by spraying the air, even if your lemon is far from heating appliances.

For irrigation, settled water at room temperature is ideal, which should be poured evenly over the entire soil in a pot. Follow these simple rules, and the tree will certainly thank you for your care with beautiful green leaves and large fruits.

Indoor lemon care at home. Important Points

Lemon trees are very picky about environment, and even the slightest temperature fluctuations or a change in normal humidity cause leaves and buds to fall off. If appropriate measures are not taken in time, all of the above can even lead to the death of a lemon.

Insufficient watering and drying out of the soil

If the citrus is dry, its foliage becomes yellow-brown. But, even if you notice such signs, you should not abundantly irrigate the soil in a pot, as this leads to the death of the root system of the plant.

To help the lemon gain strength for further growth, try pouring a small amount of water under the root and abundantly spray the crown of the tree. It is also useful to briefly wrap the barrel with wet gauze.

Excess moisture

If, on the contrary, you overdo it with watering, the falling leaves will let you know about it. As soon as you notice this kind of leaf fall on your windowsill, you will need to immediately dry the roots and transplant the citrus into fresh, barely moist soil.

How to care for a lemon if it is frozen?

It is very difficult to save a frozen citrus, because it is the sharp cold that is the root cause of the cessation of its vital activity. When freezing, the leaves also fall off the plant, and sometimes even the trunk turns black.

For the so-called "resuscitation" of the tree, try to move it to a more warm room, and with the help lighting fixtures extend daylight hours. It also does not hurt to transplant to another flowerpot. Do not forget to inspect the rhizome well and remove dead parts from it.

The next danger is overheating of the plant

When appearing on the leaves of a citrus tree brown spot, remember that it is likely that the high air temperature contributed to this. Experienced gardeners recommend in the hot season to clean the plants away from the windows deep into the room. None additional measures in the form of cooling or watering is not required.

A healthy plant is the best gift for a caring owner

To make your citrus look as excellent as the lemon whose photo is in front of you, you should not forget that you can not change its environment and habitual habitat too often. Such stresses will not benefit the indigenous inhabitant of the tropics. It is very important to pay due attention to disease prevention, timely plant transplantation and cutting off damaged areas. To prevent depletion, during flowering, it is worth removing excess buds, limiting yourself to a small amount.

Each room has its own special microclimate, which, unfortunately, is not always suitable for citrus trees. Therefore, the main task of every gardener and owner is to provide his green friends necessary comfort and gradually adapt it to the existing environment.

Outcome

The very process of caring for lemon trees at home is often compared to caring for young children who constantly require attention and increased responsibility.

Maybe at first everything seems complicated, but soon you will see how beautiful the plants surrounded by care grow, more than rewarding the owner for all the work.

The popularity of the lemon is due to its medicinal properties. For example, due to the regular use of this fruit, the body's resistance to colds, tonsillitis, atherosclerosis, vitamin deficiency and other diseases increases. This is a good reason for growing the yellow sour fruit at home. How to make lemon bloom? This is exactly what is described in detail in the article.

Indoor lemons are evergreen stunted trees. Their homeland is Southeast Asia. look very impressive even without flowers and fruits. Their beauty is given by shiny leathery leaves. They contain essential oils. The lifespan of a leaf is about 2 years. Bud development takes a little over a month. The flower lives for the same amount of time, filling the room with a delicate aroma.

Fruits can ripen longer than 10 months. They contain juicy but sour pulp, consisting of lobules. The seeds of this fruit have a dense parchment shell.

So, lemon is a beautiful houseplant. Therefore, with the help of it you can make the room more attractive.

In addition, in the room during the flowering of lemon, there will always be a pleasant smell of this fruit.

Growing lemon at home

Before moving on to the issue of lemon flowering conditions, you should at least briefly get acquainted with the methods of growing it. There are 2 of them: from the bone or from the handle.

1. When using the first method, you should take some of the largest ones from a freshly cut lemon.
2. When choosing a cutting method, you need an annual planting material. You can either borrow it from friends or buy it.
3. The cutting should be about 10 cm long with 3 leaves.

Regardless of the chosen method, there are general rules landings:

• It should be carried out in April - June.
• The future plant needs a capacity of no more than 10 cm in diameter.
• At its bottom you need a hole to remove excess moisture.
• Before planting a lemon, it is necessary to make drainage from small pebbles or expanded clay.

For growing from seed, ordinary soil or special soil for citrus fruits is suitable. When planting a plant using a cutting method, it is better to put a layer of moss 1 cm thick on the drainage. Then fertile soil, leaving about 4 cm to the top of the pot. Then a layer of sand.

When planting, the stone should be deepened by 1 cm. Before performing this procedure, it is better to place the seedling for ½ day in a root former solution.

The future plant needs to choose a warm place. Otherwise, the pot with the bone planted in it should be covered with a film. To root a seedling, an inverted jar is placed on a container with it.

During this period, the plant needs regular moisture, warmth and light.

Usually the seeds germinate within a month or a little later. It will take a little longer to take root.
So, even an inexperienced grower can grow a lemon at home.

plant care

In order to achieve the flowering of this plant at home, it is necessary, first of all, to properly take care of it.
The secrets to good lemon care are as follows:

Thus, caring for a lemon is quite simple. The main thing is to carry it out with the soul.

Lemon Bloom Secrets

In no way should a lemon be allowed to bloom during the first year of life. Since this will deplete the tree so much that it may lead to its death. Even if it miraculously survives, it is unlikely to become able to give a good one.

How to get a plant to bloom? Of course, this can be achieved if you follow a number of important rules:

In winter, the tree should be placed in the coolest corner of the room to provide it with complete peace. This event will help to avoid the appearance of a meager amount of buds.

It is necessary to deal with excessive flowering, which can significantly weaken the health of the plant. Therefore, it is necessary to cut off its buds until the number of leaves on the tree is at least 20. It is believed that 10 adult leaves can feed 1 fruit. Therefore, the number of ovaries left should depend on their number.
Lemon blooms better in a cool room.

If it is grown from a seed, then a properly grafted will help to significantly speed up the onset of flowering. It can be of 2 types: budding (inserting a bud with a thin woody layer into the bark of a tree) and grafting with a cutting (a branch with several leaves is used).

In addition, the tree should be fed and pruned. The features of these events will be disclosed in the next part of the article.

Knowing the secrets of growing a lemon will help its owner to achieve a flowering plant and enjoy a decent harvest.

Tree pruning and top dressing

If necessary, the tree needs pruning. For the first time, this event is performed at 1 year of the life of a lemon. Its trunk is left about 20 cm long with 4 developed buds. It is desirable that they be on different sides of the plant, but at the same level. The procedure is usually carried out in the spring.

Subsequent pruning will help the tree develop new shoots needed to increase the number of leaves. But you can not abuse this event, as its frequent holding can weaken.

Lemons need nutrients. Their insufficient number will impair flowering, reduce fruiting or cause its absence.

Therefore, it should be remembered that the plant needs, in turn, nitrogen. In addition, it must be fed with phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, calcium and magnesium. These activities can be carried out using ready mixes. They are sold in specialized stores. In addition, it is advisable to add a small amount of fresh manure to the ground.

Feeding is possible and folk remedies. For example, a swan wood ash, used welding, etc.

So, pruning and top dressing of a lemon are important points in the system of care for this plant.

While watching the video, you will learn about growing a lemon.

The result of caring for given tree based on knowledge theoretical foundations and intuition, will become a flowering lemon. Its fruits will be admired by friends and acquaintances of the gardener.

Attention, super FLY!

Lemon is an evergreen citrus tree. The birthplace of lemons is the subtropics, so plants love warmth and moisture. AT open field the tree grows up to 8 meters, although there are also dwarf three-meter trees. Home varieties at good care fruit all year round.

Indoor lemon - a brief description

At home, lemons are grown in flower pots or tubs. Growing a lemon in a tub, you can get from 10-30 fruits from a young plant to 200 from an adult every year. Lemons that are not inferior in quality to southern varieties can be picked from a tree about one and a half meters high. You can grow a houseplant from lemon pit, but truly tasty fruits are obtained only from varietal plants. Lemon - perennial 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 the essential oils secreted by all parts of the plant.

Growing features

Growing a lemon at home is not as easy as other indoor flowers. A home tree requires a spacious, well-lit room and constant attention. But there are 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 be patient and wait until your tree blooms and gives you the first medium-sized lemons. Over time, the tree will get stronger, and will delight you with a more generous harvest.

When growing a room lemon, the following conditions must be met:

• Light room.
• Regular ventilation.
• Good drainage.
• Regular feeding.
• Cool winter.

Planting a lemon

If you decide to grow a lemon from a seedling, pay attention to the "pedigree". It will be difficult for a fruit-bearing tree from the subtropics to acclimatize. We recommend choosing seedlings from indoor plants or from a tree living 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 neck should be only 5 mm deep into the ground. The soil level is 1 centimeter below the edge of the pot. This is necessary so that the root neck does not rot, and the soil is not washed off when 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 sharply so that home flower could develop normally.

Optimal time

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

The soil

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

• Light loam (meadow turf) - 2 parts.
• Leaf land - 2 parts.
• Manure humus - 1 part.
• Coarse sand - 1 part.

On ordinary earth suburban area the lemon will bear fruit poorly.

If you can not assemble such a complex composition, buy at flower shop land "Lemon" or "Rose".

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

Features of care

Lack of sunlight should not kill the plant. When the days lengthen, the growth of the tree is activated, but fruiting is delayed. South and east windows are suitable for a houseplant. The most favorable place for a lemon is the windowsills of the eastern windows, on which the rays of the sun are bright in the morning, but not scorching. hot summer flower pot shield from the sun with a gauze curtain.

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

Advice. In winter, it is desirable to organize daylight illumination for 6 hours a day. Place an incandescent or fluorescent lamp 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 summer, it is useful to give the tree a cool shower once a week and wipe the leaves with a damp sponge. This is necessary so that the plant can fully breathe.

Important! The plant reacts painfully to changes in air humidity, dry air is especially dangerous when high temperature during flowering and fruiting. Flowers and ovaries may fall off. The more humid the air, the longer the leaves of the plant live.

Watering

In May-September, lemons should be watered daily, but sparingly. Waterlogged soil is categorically not suitable, but overdried soil can destroy a tree. In winter, water the lemon less often, but provide it with sufficient humidity.

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

Temperature

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

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 with the plant so that it can adapt to new conditions.

Top dressing and fertilizer

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

According to the condition of the leaves, shoots and fruits, one can judge what kind of nutrition a 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 coarsen - phosphorus deficiency.
• The leaves are growing, and the fruits are shrinking - 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.

In 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 planned top dressing 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 the formation of long branches. If the bush is not cut, the crown will become too large. When pruning, some of the branches are removed after the fifth leaf - the crown from such a haircut will become productive and compact.

Lemon transplant

The fact that it's 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. Circumstances occur, forced transplantation, for example, a pot may break or you will feel bad smell from the ground.

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

• Carefully remove the plant, cut off the broken and damaged roots, and sprinkle them with crushed coal or Kornevin. The earthen ball does not need to be completely shaken off.
• Put drainage on the bottom of the pot and pour a little river sand. Above is a layer of soil.
• Cut off some of the branches to make it easier for the roots to nourish the plant.
• Make a recess in the soil, set the clod so that the neck is just below the edge of the pot. If you need to raise, add earth.
• Pour the earth in layers around the edges, making sure that the trunk is located in the middle of the pot.
• Trample the soil with your hands so that there are no voids left.
• Pour with settled water and loosen the soil a little.

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

reproduction

Cultivation of lemons can be carried out by cuttings or seeds. A tree 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 lemon cub grown from a seed does not necessarily inherit the characteristics of a variety from the parent tree, and when cutting, identity is guaranteed. But trees and seeds are more resistant to disease and better adapted to life in captivity.

Reproduction by seeds

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

The soil for planting is well-drained peat and soil for flowers in a 1: 1 ratio. Bury the seeds 1 cm deep and make sure that the ground remains moist, but without overflow. At room temperature sprouts should appear in two weeks. Choose the tallest ones, and delete the rest. Cover the sprout with a jar and place in a well-lit place without direct sunlight. Every day, air the sprout for several hours by removing the jar.

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

Reproduction by cuttings

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

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

It is necessary to spray the cutting twice a day with water at about + 25 ° C until rooting occurs. At room temperature, the cutting should 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. After a year, you can transplant a lemon into a regular pot, and after 3-4 years it will begin to bloom.

Bloom

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

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

Care after flowering

Lemon grows all year round, blooms and bears fruit. On one tree there may be ripe fruits, ovaries, flowers and buds. It is not necessary to pluck faded inflorescences, as they turn into ovaries. If the lemon bloomed in summer, the fruits ripen faster than in spring flowering.

Problems, diseases, pests

Many diseases of ornamental lemons are caused by improper care. In the absence of light and nutrients lemon leaves are brightening. Buds and leaves fly around if there is not enough moisture. The dry air in the room is especially hard for the plant, flowering may stop, the leaves darken and fall off.

Pests also often settle on the plant:

• Shchitovki lead to the drying of branches, leaves and the death of a 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 web gradually envelops the entire tree. Spray with a 0.15% Aktelik solution three times, every 10 days.
• The mealybug leaves sticky secretions on the leaves. The fruits and leaves fall off. It is recommended to inspect the plant and collect the larvae.
• Citrus aphid. The Aktelik solution helps to get rid of this pest.
• Thrips and whiteflies also settle on lemons, which must be collected by hand, and the tree should be washed in the shower and treated with soapy water.

Popular types of indoor lemon

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

Answers on questions

Lifespan of indoor lemon

With care and proper care lemons live up to 45 years. indoor flower dies prematurely due to diseases and pests.

Why isn't the lemon blooming?

You probably planted the plant in a too cramped pot. Transplant it and feed it with complex fertilizer.

What to do if a lemon sheds leaves?

For a lemon, leaf fall is a reaction to stress. Perhaps after the summer you moved it into the room or, on the contrary, abruptly 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 to 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 a lemon shed fruit?

Lemon sheds fruit 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 winterize?

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

For seven years I have not bought lemons in the store. This is because I managed to grow several citrus trees at home in pots. There is really nothing complicated about this. In this article I will tell you how to care for a lemon at home.

Lemon is an evergreen perennial plant. It has strong spiny branches with purple tips, large leathery leaves and ovoid fruits. Homemade lemons bloom for 7-9 weeks, all this time delighting their owner with a pleasant aroma.

They can bear fruit in the third year after planting. The fruits ripen for several months. To taste, they practically do not differ from lemons grown in tropical countries.

Beneficial features

Lemon is not just ornamental plant is your reliable home assistant. It has many useful properties:

• Phytoncides, which are secreted by citrus leaves, purify the air of microbes.
• The aroma of lemon helps to increase tone, helps a person fight stress.
• Citrus fruits contain a lot of vitamin C, which is necessary for a person to quickly recover from colds and flu.

Lemon essential oil, which can be obtained from its leaves, has a beneficial effect on humans. It improves mood, relieves cold symptoms, relieves anxiety.

What varieties are suitable for home growing

At home, lemons of the following varieties grow well:

• Genoa - low-growing variety, has high yield, gives delicious fragrant fruits.
• Lisbon is a tall growing variety that tolerates high temperatures well.
• Pavlovsky lemon is a low variety that delights its owners with fruits with a thin peel.
• Meyer lemon is one of the most popular low-growing homemade varieties. Gives sour fruits.

Any of these varieties grows well in apartment conditions and does not require complex care. You need to choose the lemon that you like the most in terms of taste and appearance, and you can safely proceed to its landing.

Growing your own lemon

At home, lemons can be grown from cuttings or seeds. The first option is easier. To grow a lemon from a cutting, you need to do this:

1. Purchase a cutting of the variety of your choice. It is better to buy it from trusted people, as inexperienced gardeners often cut cuttings incorrectly, which is why young plants die before they have time to take root in the soil.
2. The stalk must be placed in water or in a mixture of sand and earth. It is deepened by 2 centimeters and covered plastic wrap, to provide required level humidity.
3. After 2-3 weeks, the plant that has taken root is transplanted into the ground. Deepen it into the ground by 2-3 centimeters. In order for a young lemon to grow well, it is placed in a room with a temperature of 20-25 degrees Celsius.

Since it is rather difficult to buy quality cuttings, growing a homemade lemon from seeds is more reliable, in my opinion.

For this purpose, the bones of any ripe lemon bought in the store are suitable. The process of germinating seeds is quite simple:

1. From a ripe citrus, you need to pull out the bone, rinse it thoroughly under warm water. After that, you should lower it into warm water so that it is only half deep. The container with the bone must be removed in a place that is hard to reach for children and pets.
2. Next, you need to monitor the condition of the bone, periodically changing the water in the container. As soon as it cracks and a small sprout appears on the surface, the future lemon will need to be transplanted into a small pot. At this stage, you can use ordinary universal soil to grow the plant, then it will need to be replaced with a special mixture, which includes two parts of dry clay and leaf ground, as well as part of the sand and part of the manure. The bone itself should be half-immersed in the ground, otherwise it will not grow.

After transplantation, a young lemon will grow rapidly and gain strength. In order for the plant not to die at this stage, it needs to be properly cared for.

How to care for lemon at home

Room lemon is pretty unpretentious plant. In order for it to grow well and quickly, it needs to provide:

1. Regular watering at least 2 times a week. For this purpose, it is recommended to use settled filtered water.
2. Top dressing. It should be carried out once every 3-4 weeks in the summer months and once every one and a half months in the winter. For this purpose it is necessary to use mineral and organic fertilizers. In order for the plant to form correctly, it is recommended to alternate such dressings. They need to be planted in moist soil.
3. Pruning. It is carried out in April, while the lemon tree has not entered the phase active growth. Its trunk is shortened to 5 true leaves. After that, the tree is pruned once a year at the beginning of spring.
4. Frequent spraying. It allows you to make lemon leaves juicy and fleshy, and the fruits more fragrant.

Flowering in indoor lemon usually begins in the 2nd year after planting. Its fruits are formed on the branches of the second, third, fourth order.

If you want to treat yourself to homemade lemons, in the third year of a houseplant's life, remove half of the flowers from it and leave 4 fruit ovaries. The next year, their number can be increased to 6, and a year later - up to 8.

With proper tree care, homemade lemons are juicy and fragrant. To taste, they do not step on their store counterparts.

Plant care in winter

Lemon does not tolerate cold. The plant needs to provide a temperature of +15 to +18 degrees in winter time. If possible, he should be provided with additional illumination with a UV lamp. To make the lemon feel better, it is recommended to slightly warm up the water for watering it in the cold season.

You also need to ensure that the air in the room with citrus does not dry out. If a central heating if it dries out too much, spray lemon leaves or use an automatic humidifier.

findings

In general, growing a homemade lemon is not as difficult as it might seem. To succeed in this business, it is enough to choose the right cutting or seed, as well as follow all the recommendations for caring for a house tree in a pot. Then, already in the third year, lemon can please you with its fragrant fruits.