Growing Lemon At Home

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

The lemon tree is not resistant to frost, as this plant is used to growing in the climate of the subtropical zone. In warm conditions, the lemon culture grows all year round. The size of the shrub is of medium size, the maximum that it can reach is eight meters. For home cultivation, there are undersized types of lemon - up to three meters in height

In principle, lemon is quite unpretentious in care, due to which this thermophilic plant can be grown in your home. In a room, a lemon tree can grow to a fairly large size and bear quality fruit if properly cared for. Most homemade lemon varieties can bear fruit throughout the year, although the crown size will be very small. The most famous indoor lemon is the Pavlovsky variety, which provides year-round fruit production.

Homemade lemon lighting

Like any other plant that has become a guest from the tropics, the lemon requires great lighting. However, the lemon tree should still be protected from direct, scorching sunlight. In the summer, the plant should be shaded using either paper or some "rare" fabric in the form of tulle or gauze on the window. In the winter season, the lemon should receive artificial lighting, which can be provided with the help of special illuminating lamps. It is best to place a lemon-shaped houseplant on the west or east side of the room. The southeast is also a good choice. Considering that the lemon does not like to drastically change its growing environment, then you should refrain from taking the container with lemon to fresh air in order to avoid the plant beginning to shed its leaves. To form a beautiful crown shape, the lemon can be rotated, again taking into account the fact that it does not like sudden changes, this should be done gradually, turning the pot at a small angle every day. This way, your pet will have time to turn its leaves after the light without stress.

Temperature rules

The lemon tree should be located in a room where the air temperature does not drop below plus eighteen degrees. In winter, the plant needs fourteen to fifteen degrees. As a result, if the apartment has an insulated balcony or loggia, then it is reasonable to move the container with lemon there for the whole winter. However, here it is important to take into account such a nuance that if the plant is constantly in a room with an eighteen-degree temperature, then the temperature of the water for irrigation should be higher. It is also necessary to observe a similar temperature range for the roots, that is, the soil must be well warmed up. Otherwise, the lemon will shed all its leaves very quickly. Protect it also from drafts!

Watering and humidity

The lemon plant is quite specific, since it does not tolerate either drought or excessive soil moisture. This crop loves watering in moderation. The procedure should be carried out with warm water about two times within seven days. To ensure air humidity, it is worth spraying the leaves with a spray bottle. As a result, the humidity in the room will rise to sixty to seventy percent. In winter, it is required to place containers with water next to indoor lemon, since the air is usually very dry during this season. Electric humidifiers are also a good option. To avoid dropping the fruit, the lemon tree can sometimes be moistened with water at the junction of the fruit and the branch.

Note: growing in clay pots is preferable, as this material can absorb excess water in the ground if the plant was accidentally watered with more water than necessary.

Reproduction and planting

Indoor lemon is propagated by one of three methods: using air layering, cuttings or seeds. When planting a plant by means of seeds, there is a significant drawback in the form of the fact that the owner will receive the first fruits only after ten, or even fifteen years. But if you graft the plant with a bud with a particle of wood and bark of an old lemon bush, then this period can be slightly reduced. In such a situation, you can get ready-made lemons after three years.

A more reliable method of obtaining fruit is by cuttings. For such purposes, cuttings should be chosen in the first part of spring from the growth obtained in the autumn from an adult and high-quality tree. With the help of a sharp knife, a stalk should be cut from a young branch that is no more than twenty-five centimeters in size, the width of which is five millimeters, and the length is about ten centimeters. It is important that there are about four or five leaves on it. The two bottom sheets need to be cut, and the top ones can be cut in half or left as they were. But it is worth remembering that the cut in the lower part should be carried out two to three millimeters from the kidney. The cut itself is made at an acute angle.