Many amateur flower growers would probably like to know how to grow a lemon tree at home. Caring for this plant is relatively simple. However, in order for the lemon tree to grow lush and spectacular, certain recommendations regarding the technology of watering and fertilizing should be followed. This is especially true in the winter season.
How to care in October - April: general rules
How is a lemon tree grown in the autumn-winter period at home? Care in winter for him is carried out a little differently than in summer. This plant remains green all year round. However, in October - April, all vegetation processes in him, of course, slow down. In the warm season, lemon is usually fed twice. In winter, this operation is not performed. However, this plant needs watering, including during the cold period. In the wild, the lemon tree grows in humid tropics and subtropics. Therefore, it is very sensitive to drying out of the soil. The only thing is to moisten the soil in a pot in wintershould be less. In the warm season, the lemon tree is watered 2-3 times a week, in winter - no more than once.
What should be the air temperature
In urban apartments and houses in winter it is usually quite warm. The air temperature can fluctuate within 12-25 gr. In principle, lemon tolerates such a microclimate well. However, although the plant is not deciduous, its crown at such temperatures may thin slightly. Therefore, some amateur flower growers install a lemon in a separate room and periodically open a window there. The fact is that at a temperature of 10-12 gr. the process of photosynthesis is greatly slowed down in the tree. Its roots stop taking in nutrients and it stops growing. But at the same time, not a single leaf falls from the bush. The plant remains as showy as it was in summer.
Where is the best place to put a lemon tree
In terms of lighting, this plant is considered quite whimsical. The lemon tree feels best in a southeast window. Of course, the ability to arrange the plant in this way does not always exist. In principle, a lemon can be placed on both the northern and southern windowsills. However, in the first case, in the cold season (and preferably in spring and summer), the plant will have to be illuminated with an artificial lamp.
On the south window, the leaves and branches of the plant should be slightly shaded, including in winter. Otherwise, they may appearburns.
How a lemon reproduces
As you can see, it is actually not particularly difficult to take care of such a houseplant as a lemon tree in winter (and even in summer) at home. Reproduction of it - the procedure is also quite simple. You can grow a luxurious he althy citrus from:
- seedling;
- shank;
- seeds.
Selecting planting material
As for seedlings, they can often be seen in specialized stores. However, experienced flower growers are not advised to buy such material. Stores usually sell plants brought from Brazil, Greece or Holland. In these countries, young lemons are grown in greenhouses. This is done so that they are as lush as possible and have a marketable appearance.
Being transferred to a city apartment, such seedlings very quickly become unsightly and even stop growing. A change of scenery (especially for the worse) lemon tolerates extremely poorly. In this case, among other things, it will be very difficult to care for a plant such as a lemon tree at home. Diseases, stunting, shedding foliage - these are the problems that a lover of indoor flowers will most likely have to face.
Therefore, in an apartment, it is still better to try to grow a lemon from a cutting or a seed. The first is simply cut from an adult plant. If there are no lemons in the home greenhouse yet, you can ask for a stalk fromsome familiar florist.
It is also undesirable to write out such material by mail. The cutting, most likely, will be of poor quality and unviable. The fact is that in this way sellers usually just get rid of the lemons that go to the plantations for waste.
A good solution would be to grow a seedling from a seed. This technique is considered even simpler. However, unfortunately, in this case it is impossible to quickly get a fruit-bearing lemon tree. Care at home (a seedling grows extremely slowly from a seed) for a plant in this case for a long time will consist only in fairly frequent watering. But the fruits on such a seedling will begin to grow, most likely, not earlier than in 12 years.
Which variety to choose
From a seed you can grow, of course, only wild. As for cuttings, in this case there is a choice. Many amateur flower growers are interested in which is better to grow, high or low, a lemon tree at home. Care for compact and large plants is approximately the same. However, a tall lemon should still be chosen only if the grower has enough free time. Watering, cutting and feeding such a plant will have to be a little more often than a small one.
Tall varieties include, for example, lemon varieties such as:
- Novogruzinsky.
- Kursk.
Of the undersized, the most popular are:
- Meyer (Chinese).
- Genoa Lemon.
- Volcano.
Planting container and soil
Since the lemon is a rather capricious plant in terms of root rot, the pot for it must be selected as carefully as possible. Clay is best for a seedling. The walls of such containers pass air well, allowing the roots to breathe. Of course, the pot must have holes in the bottom. Clay shards should also be laid on these drainage holes. A layer of coarse sand is poured over them.
Soil for lemon also needs to be selected correctly. The best composition for this plant is:
- leaf humus - 1-2 parts;
- turf soil - 1 part;
- coarse sand - 1 part.
How to grow from cuttings
The planting material of this variety should have a length of about 10 cm. Beforehand, the cutting should be soaked in warm water for 2-3 days, immersed in half the length. Then it is buried in the prepared soil by 3 cm. The roots of the lemon cuttings appear after about 60 days. It is better to plant several in a pot at once. Then the chance to get at least one new plant will increase.
Until the lemons take root, they should be sprayed periodically (at least once a day). The soil in the pot should have moderate moisture.
Growing from seeds
This is also a very good way to get a luxurious lemon tree at home. Seedling care in thiscase would be even easier. An amateur florist will only have to make sure that the earth in a pot with a planted lemon does not dry out.
Seeds should be taken from he althy, large fruits. They must not be allowed to dry out. As soon as they are taken out of the lemon, they should be planted immediately. They are buried in the ground by 2 cm. The seed planted in this way is watered and covered with a jar on top.
Lemon transplant
Periodic transplants - this is what is required without fail for such an inhabitant of a room greenhouse as a lemon tree. Home care for him, even the best, otherwise will not be particularly effective. The fact is that the roots of a lemon, and especially a large one, consume quite a lot of nutrients. Therefore, the soil in the pot under the plant is quickly depleted.
Replant lemon in spring or autumn (later). Young lemons are transferred to other containers once a year, adults - no more than 1 time in 2 years. Actually, this procedure itself is performed as follows:
- The day before transplanting, the soil in the pot is thoroughly shed.
- The plant is carefully removed from the old pot, holding the stem.
- The removed lemon is placed in a new pot and the space between the clod and the walls of the pot is covered with pre-prepared soil.
After transplanting, the plant should be watered.
Fertilization
As already mentioned, in winter the lemon is notfeed. Do this only in spring and summer. Moreover, only adult plants are fertilized. Planted by cuttings or from the stone, lemons do not need to be fed at first. Trees that have reached the age of three or four? fertilize twice a season with double superphosphate (50 g per liter of water).
Diseases and pests
Subject to the cultivation technology, in this way, you can get a very beautiful lemon tree at home. Caring for this plant, however, can be not only in the form of watering and top dressing. Like all indoor flowers, lemons sometimes get sick. Most often, trees are hit:
- Late blight. They fight this disease either with a weak solution of copper sulfate, or with special antifungal drugs.
- Sooty fungus. The methods of struggle in this case should be the same as in the case of late blight.
- Homoz. In this case, a crack appears on the stem of a diseased plant. In order to help the lemon, the wound should be cleaned and smeared with a solution of vitriol.
- Malsecco. This is perhaps the most dangerous disease that an indoor flower lover can face when caring for a plant such as a lemon tree at home. The leaves fell off, the twigs began to dry out - which means that the bush most likely "caught" the malsecco virus. Unfortunately, there is no cure for this disease.
May affect lemon andinsect pests. Most often these are white flies, mites or scale insects. The former are usually fought with karbofos, the latter are destroyed with an infusion of garlic (1 head per half liter of water). Scale insects can be driven out by rubbing the leaves, twigs and trunk with a mixture of soap and kerosene in a ratio of 1: 0.5.
This is how such a tropical guest as a lemon tree is cared for at home. The photos presented on this page clearly demonstrate how effective it can be in case of compliance with irrigation technologies, periodic transplants, etc. Pay more attention to your tree, and it will delight you with lush foliage, he althy appearance, and eventually even fruiting.
