How to grow a lemon from a seed at home: planting, care, nuances and mistakes

Lemon is one of the most popular tea additives. Many perceive it only as a fruit lying on store shelves, without thinking about how beautiful the tree on which it grows is. The plant is appreciated not only for its aesthetic appearance, but also for its pleasant aroma; it is even capable of purifying the air from harmful microorganisms.

In flower shops, lemons are expensive and rare. But you can collect seeds from the purchased fruit and grow a beautiful tree yourself. How to do this and what nuances to consider when growing lemon at home, read on.

Is it possible to grow a lemon from a seed at home

It is possible to grow a lemon from a seed. This process is longer than propagation by cuttings, but allows you to get a strong and hardy tree.

Indoor lemon - perennial evergreen low-growing tree... It has powerful greenish-brown thorny branches. Young shoots are purple-purple in color.

The leaves of the plant are leathery, dense, green, oval with denticles. They contain many glands with essential oils. Thanks to this, the tree exudes a citrus aroma and has a positive effect on the air quality in the apartment.

Lemon flowers are pink or purple on the outside and white or light yellow on the inside. The buds develop within 4-5 weeks. The opened inflorescences do not fall until 9 weeks, all this time exuding a pleasant delicate aroma.

Lemon is not only decorative, but also a fruit tree. Non-grafted indoor plants also bear fruit. However, grafting speeds up the growth of the plant and allows you to harvest much earlier.

The tree begins to bloom in 2-3 years, and it will be possible to get a full harvest only after 4-7 years.

From the moment the ovary appears until the fruit ripens, it takes about 9 months. Indoor lemons grow smaller than trees growing in a greenhouse or open field.

Note! Lemon is propagated not only by seeds, but also by cuttings.

Planting lemon seeds at home

Growing a lemon at home is easy. It is important to choose and plant the material correctly. It depends on whether the seeds will germinate and whether the plants will take root after transplantation.

Selection and preparation of planting material

Lemon seeds are bought in specialized stores or harvested from ripe fruits. The second option is less expensive and is used more often. However, in this case, it will not be possible to accurately identify the type of tree being grown.

In the store, ripe fruits are selected without green spots, damage, rotten areas and signs of disease. It is important that the lemon is as smooth and beautiful as possible.

The thickness of the skin and the color of the fruit do not affect the quality of the seeds. These indicators speak about the lemon variety and allow you to determine what fruits the future tree will have.

The seeds are removed from the fruit. For planting, large, even specimens are used without damage and traces of diseases.

Lemon seeds are not dried, otherwise they will germinate for a long time. To reduce the likelihood of infection and accelerate germination, they are treated with:

1. Disinfection. The seeds are soaked for 30 minutes in Fitosporin, a light pink solution of potassium permanganate or hydrogen peroxide.
2. Growth stimulation. Lemon is soaked for 12 hours in Epin, Solution or other growth stimulant. Some people use folk remedies, such as ash solution or aloe juice diluted with water in a 1: 1 ratio.

Sometimes the seeds are additionally heated. To do this, they are left near the battery overnight.

Preparing soil and pot

Before planting and growing a lemon, prepare the soil. A universal seedling mix or special citrus soil is suitable for it. Everything you need is sold in flower and gardening shops.

Many people prepare the soil mixture on their own. To do this, take 2 parts of humus and garden soil, 1 part of sand or peat and 1 tbsp. ash.

Self-prepared and purchased soil is disinfected in one of the following ways:

• calcined in the oven;
• watered with a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate;
• poured with a solution of copper sulfate (1 tbsp. l for 5 liters of boiling water).

When growing lemon in a pot, drainage must be used - crushed ceramics, coarse sand, expanded clay, fine gravel, special glass pebbles. Drainage is disinfected in the same way as soil.

Lemon seeds are planted in a common box, pots, cut bottles, etc. Since the planting material will have to dive, it is more convenient to use a common container.

The containers are also disinfected: they are poured over with boiling water or soaked for 30 minutes in a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate.

Important! If homemade containers are used, holes are made in the bottom.

Step-by-step planting instructions

Procedure:

1. A 1 cm thick drainage layer is poured onto the bottom of the container.The rest of the volume is filled with soil so that 2-4 cm remain free to the edge of the container.
2. The soil is moistened with warm water from a spray bottle.
3. The seeds are planted in the ground to a depth of 2 cm.A distance of at least 5 cm is left between the seeds.
4. The soil is compacted and moistened again with a spray bottle.
5. The boxes are covered with foil and put away in a warm place.

Instead of a box and film, cut bottles covered with a top are often used.

It is interesting:

Potato variety Limonka: description, characteristics and reviews.

Useful properties of a medicinal mixture based on honey, lemon and celery root.

We cook delicious and healthy carrot jam with lemon for the winter.

Growing a lemon tree at home

When grown at home, lemons often remain without leaves, do not bloom, do not yield, and die quickly. This is due to improper care. Cultivating citrus is very different from cultivating common indoor plants.

In order for the tree to please for more than a dozen years and give a rich harvest, it is important to provide it with regular care.

Leaving before the first pick

The seeds germinate 2-4 weeks after planting. Plants are transplanted after 3-4 true leaves appear. Prior to this, it is important to provide seedlings with proper care.

Step-by-step instructions for caring for lemon before transplant:

1. Lemon is a tropical plant. Its fragile sprouts need high humidity. To provide the necessary conditions, the seedlings are kept under a film until 2 true leaves appear.
2. Seedlings are watered from a spray bottle 2-3 times a week. The soil must be kept moist at all times. For irrigation, use settled water at room temperature.
3. It is important to provide the plant with a moisture content of at least 80%.
4. Lemons are aired daily, opening the film for 30-60 minutes.
5. Lemons are not placed on the windowsill. Direct sunlight is detrimental to immature plants.
6. Weeds should not be allowed to grow near lemon sprouts.
7. The temperature in the room where the lemon is grown should not be higher than + 22 ° C.
8. At the stage of growing seedlings, lemons are not fed.

Selection of seedlings and transplanting

When 3-4 real leaves appear on the seedlings, they begin to transplant it into individual containers. The strongest and healthiest seedlings are chosen according to the following criteria:

1. Crown density... Take plants with a small distance between the buds.
2. Needles. Seedlings with a minimum number of needles are selected.
3. Leaves. The more leaves the better. They should be bright green and not crumble when shaken.

All shoots with dull, weak leaves and undeveloped stem are discarded.

Shoots suitable for transplanting are removed from the soil with a fork. It is important not to damage the roots and leave a clod of earth on them.

Clay pots with a diameter of at least 10 cm and a height of at least 20 cm are best suited for transplanting. The pots are disinfected. Then a 1 cm thick drainage layer is poured onto the bottom. The rest of the volume is filled with soil, which is watered with warm water. Lemons are planted in individual pots without deepening the root collar. Until the plants take root, they are protected from the sun's rays.

Further care

When growing lemon at home, it is important to pay sufficient attention to caring for it. After transplanting seedlings into individual pots, the following agricultural technique is used.

Lighting

In summer and spring, natural light is enough for the lemon, provided that the pot is on the balcony or windowsill. The pot is turned in relation to the window a few centimeters weekly.

When the days get shorter, there isn't enough natural light. In winter and late autumn, at 5 o'clock, a phytolamp is turned on, located at a distance of 20 cm from the plant.

Spraying and watering

To create optimal moisture, the lemon is sprayed with standing water at room temperature. In the summer, this is done 3 times a week. In winter, if the plant is near the battery, every day.

From late spring to early autumn, lemon is watered every other day. In the cold season, it is enough to moisten the soil twice a week. For irrigation, use settled water at room temperature.

Once a week, dust is removed from all the leaves of the plant with a damp cloth.

Loosening the soil

The next day, after each watering, the soil is loosened. To do this, use a special rake for houseplants or a regular fork.

Top dressing

For the first 2 years, the plants are fed once a month and a half. Adult lemons in the spring, summer and autumn periods are fed once every 2-3 weeks, in winter - once every 1.5 months.

For feeding, an infusion of birch leaves and ash, rotted manure diluted 1:10 with water, superphosphate and special complex fertilizers for citrus fruits are used.

Transplants

Up to 3 years old, lemons are transplanted into a new pot once a year. Older lemons are transplanted once every 2-3 years. Each time they take a pot 5-7 cm larger than the previous one.

Temperature

The comfortable temperature for a citrus tree is + 15 ... + 18 ° С. It is especially important to observe the indicators during flowering, because at temperatures above + 22 ° C, the plant discards the inflorescences. In winter, lemon is comfortable at a temperature of + 12 ... + 14 ° С.

Formation

Special attention is paid to the formation of the crown. Otherwise, there will be no harvest.

Use the following scheme:

1. When the plant reaches a height of 20-30 cm, the main (zero) branch is pinched.
2. The next shoot is pinched at a height of 15-18 cm from the place of the previous pinching. At least 4 developed buds should remain on it.
3. The shoots that have grown from the buds are pinched at the level of 20-30 cm and cut after ripening at the level of 5 cm from the previous pinching point.
4. Each next shoot should be 5 cm shorter than the previous one.

Formation is completed on branches of the 4th order. On shoots of the 3rd and 4th order, fruits are formed.

Difficulties and nuances

When caring for a lemon, you need to know a few nuances and be prepared for problems that may arise:

1. If a lemon blooms in the first year, all inflorescences are cut off, otherwise it will spend all its energy on flowering and die.
2. In the second and third years, 2-3 buds are left on the tree, the rest are cut off. From the fourth year of life, the flowers on the lemon are not touched.
3. To increase the yield, in the second year of life, the trunk is tied at the base with copper wire.Gradually, the bark of the plant will close the ringing.
4. If the leaves of the plant turn yellow, then the reason is a lack of moisture or nutrients, stagnant liquid, dry air.
5. In winter they watch how the lemon grows. If the size does not increase, he is allowed to rest without feeding during the cold period.

Diseases and pests of indoor lemon

Houseplants are susceptible to fewer pests than those growing outdoors. At home, lemon trees infect worms, aphids, spider mites, scale insects.

They fight them with the following methods:

1. Mechanical way of fighting... A soft toothbrush or cotton swab is moistened in a solution of laundry soap. The tool is used to remove pests from leaves and branches. After a day, the soap solution is washed off with a cotton swab dipped in clean water.
2. Traditional methods. Lemons are sprayed with orange peel infusion, herbal decoction, tobacco infusion. Laundry soap is added to each product.
3. Chemicals and biological products. Purchased funds are used if home and mechanical ones do not help. An example of a biological product is Fitoverm.

At home, lemon is sick with fungus or gommosis. In the first case, the leaves are covered with a gray bloom, in the second, gum forms on the branches. Without timely treatment, the plant dies.

Fight disease with the following methods:

1. The bark with signs of defeat is cleaned. The problem area is treated with copper sulfate.
2. Sore spots are smeared with RanNet plant medicine or garden varnish.
3. Leaves affected by the fungus are cleaned with a damp piece of cloth.

After treatment, the plants are fed. This will help them recover and not get sick again.

Conclusion

It is possible to grow a lemon from a seed in a pot at home. If you choose the right planting material and follow the maintenance standards, in 4-7 years you will have not just a beautiful ornamental plant, but a tree that gives a rich harvest every year.