Indoor lemon is a beautiful useful tree. With proper care, it can bear up to thirty fruits a year. To grow this plant at home, certain conditions are necessary, it is especially difficult to choose the right soil for a lemon. It should be light, moderately enriched with minerals. It can be purchased at the store or made independently, taking into account all the requirements of the plant to the composition of the soil.
General Requirements
Lemons begin to bear fruit in their second year of life. A plant can bloom and bear fruit only if optimal conditions are created. And the most important of them is the right soil. For a lemon it should be:
- Lightweight, have high air permeability, moisture. The root system of the tree is devoid of hairs, because of this, it is more difficult for a lemon to extract nutrition from the soil.
- Neutral acidity level. The soil for a lemon with an indicator is considered optimal.pH 5.5-7. Higher levels cause leaf fall.
- There should be no large earthen lumps in the mixture, as they interfere with the normal absorption of nutrients from the soil.
In heavy soil, lemons do not take root, as moisture is poorly distributed there and greenhouse processes occur inside. In such lands, the root system can dry out and rot.
Lemons quickly draw minerals out of the soil, so it is constantly enriched with mineral fertilizers, transplanted. Young plants change the soil once a year, and adults - every three years. The younger the tree, the more sand and peat should be contained in the soil.
Ready-made substrates
When choosing soil for a lemon, novice citrus growers often pay attention to store options. If there is no experience in growing lemons, then it is best to use a ready-made soil mixture. It contains everything necessary for the growth and development of the tree. However, after some time, flower growers notice that the plants begin to wither in the purchased land. When transplanting, you can see that after this stage, the roots of the lemon did not grow, but remained all the time in an old coma. This suggests that the composition of the soil for the lemon was not chosen correctly.
Soils offered in stores consist of the following components:
- river sand;
- moor peat;
- peat humus;
- mineral fertilizers.
Peat is the decayed remains of marsh plants. This is a very valuable productexcellent breathability and containing all the components necessary for growth. However, not all plants can take root in this substrate. This is due to the fact that not all of them are suitable for peat.
The problem of survival may be due to improper storage of the soil mixture. Manufacturers pack it in bags where moisture is retained. In such packages, an ideal environment is created for the reproduction of anaerobic bacteria that release toxic substances into the soil. Lemons don't do well in this kind of soil.
Choice of finished soil
So what soil for lemon to choose? When reviewing store products, each citrus grower experiments, choosing the most optimal option. When buying soil, you should pay attention to the following:
- date of manufacture, shelf life of the composition: the fresher the soil, the less anaerobic microflora is developed in it, the more useful elements are preserved;
- mineral composition: lemon needs nitrogen/phosphorus/potassium in the ratio 1/1.5/2;
- particle size: if there are large elements in the soil, then this composition leaves much to be desired.
Preparation of soil mixture
The best soil for indoor lemon is considered to be prepared by yourself according to all the rules. For its manufacture use:
- Low peat. It can be purchased at a garden store. Before applying this type of substrate, it is aired for a couple of days. Lowland peat is added to the mixture in a volume of no more than 10%.
- Garden soil. Add to the mixturecleared land from the garden, from which the roots, large fractions are removed.
- Sod. The land from the lawn where clover or nettle grows has excellent qualities. Such soils have an optimal pH and chemical composition, ideal for lemon growth. To prepare the soil, it is necessary to remove about ten centimeters of the top layer of the earth, clean it from roots and sift from large particles, lumps.
- Leaf humus. The best one is from under the linden. To get it, they remove about five centimeters of soil, sift, remove large particles. Land from under willow, oak, coniferous trees is not suitable. It is acidic and contains tannins. It is well suited to other indoor plants.
- Sand. When composing the soil for a lemon at home, coarse river sand is used.
- Manure humus. Horse is considered ideal, but if there is none, then it is quite suitable after cattle.
- Charcoal. Birch or alder charcoal is ground into powder.
Composition of the mixture
All prepared components are mixed in equal proportions, except for charcoal. It is added directly to the pot.
When planting young citrus fruits, you can use a mixture of peat and soddy soil, leafy humus, taken in equal parts. For friability, a little sand is added to the mixture. The substrate for transplantation is prepared in advance.
Quality evaluation
The quality of the prepared soil should be checked beforehand. Using litmus paper, you can independently determinepH level. To do this, take a lump of wet soil and press it tightly against the paper. Green and yellow colors indicate a normal pH level (6-7). With increased acidity, the indicator will be red, and blue if the soil has an alkaline environment.
You can test for the content of impurities of petroleum products. To do this, take a container with clean water, add soil there, mix thoroughly. The soil is then allowed to settle. After that, they look to see if there are stains on the surface of the water. If there are any, then this indicates the presence of oil products, such land cannot be used for planting indoor plants.
Feeding
When composing the soil for a lemon at home, it is important to add mineral fertilizers to it. Top dressing is carried out when growing a tree throughout the growing season.
Nitrogen-containing fertilizers are used from January to August. For lemons, it is recommended to use horse manure tincture. To prepare it, you need to dilute one hundred grams of manure in a liter of water and leave for two weeks.
Urea contains a lot of nitrogen. To prepare a working solution, it is necessary to dilute one and a half grams of the substance in a liter of water.
During the flowering period, citrus fruits are fed with fertilizers with a high content of potassium and phosphorus. They are applied until the fruits of 2 cm in size appear.
When growing citrus fruits, plants must be prepared for a dormant period. To do this, from August to September, the tree is fed with potash fertilizers.
Transfer
Plants need to be repotted regularly. Knowing what kind of soil a lemon needs, you can ensure that the tree has constant access to nutrients, which will help accelerate its growth and development. It also helps to change the acidity of the substrate to the one that the plant needs.
Clear signs that a plant needs to be repotted are:
- immature branches;
- plant stops growing;
- lemon development is slow;
- roots coming out of the drain hole of the pot.
It is necessary to replant the plant during the period when there are no buds, fruits. Prepare for the transplant. Lemon is watered for several days to completely wet the earthen ball, but without stagnant water. The tree is carefully removed from the pot along with an earthy clod. If dried, damaged roots are visible, then they are removed.
Lemon is placed in another pot of larger diameter so that the existing earthen ball does not collapse. The plant is sprinkled with new soil.
Regular transshipment allows you to form a strong tree. After transplanting, the tree is well watered, covered from direct sunlight for a couple of weeks, until the plant adapts to new conditions.
Drainage for lemon
When transplanting a plant, it is important to ensure a good outflow of excess moisture during watering. To do this, drainage is organized at the bottom of the pot. It can be made by laying a layer of expanded clay, pebbles, rubble, broken bricks, broken pottery at the bottom of the pot.
The most commonly used expanded clay. It can be purchased at any garden store. Before use, the drainage material is treated with boiling water. After complete cooling, the drainage is laid out on the bottom of the pot, a little freshly prepared soil is poured on top. Then the lemon is transshipped.
Properly prepared soil will help grow a powerful tree with a big harvest.
