It has been widely known to the inhabitants of our planet for 8 centuries. Back in the 12th century, residents of the Indian state domesticated this citrus tree and began to use its fruits not only in cooking, but also in medicine.

Today, this beautiful plant can be grown for decorative purposes right in apartments. In the article we will talk about how to grow and plant lemon at home, how to care for it and treat it for various diseases.

Indoor lemon: choosing a variety for home growing

Lemon plants reproduce by grafting. This is a must and should be taken into account when purchasing.

You need to ask the seller if the plant was imported from Armenia, Georgia or Azerbaijan. After all, seedlings in these countries were separated from trees growing in the open air, and they will not survive in your apartment.

You need to buy a lemon plant grafted on Trifoliate, as this is the most the best option For ornamental cultivation in our climate zone.

You need to buy lemon seedlings only from trusted sellers, and ask them in detail for all the information about the seedling. For southern regions our country the most suitable varieties lemon will be “Lisbon”, “Genoa”, “Meyer”, “Maikopsky”.

If growing lemon at home will take place in northern regions, then you need to look for the following varieties: “Pavlovsky”, “Kursky”, “Lunario”, “Ponderosa”.

How to create the best conditions for planting a lemon tree at home

In order for the citrus plant not to feel discomfort and grow in the most optimal conditions, you need to plant it correctly, choose the best place in the apartment.

Choosing a seat in the room

Fate will depend on the right place in the home homemade lemon. If you place this plant on (many people place it there), then you need to carefully monitor temperature changes, which lemon Tree does not tolerate well.

Natural sunlight will fall on the crown of the plant only a few hours a day (in the morning or evening, depending on the side of the balcony), while the heat from the rooms will be regular, within +20 ° C.

Thermal mass from a heater or radiators will also only warm one part of the citrus plant. The result is a constant temperature difference, which can often cause leaves to drop or even die.

To avoid this, you need to maintain a stable temperature throughout the balcony on the balcony.
If you place an indoor lemon on the windowsill, then again, the sun's rays will illuminate only one part of the crown. In addition, summer heat can cause the root system to dry out.

To prevent this from happening, the citrus tree needs to be unwrapped regularly and daily. Of course, the most ideal option to place the tree there will be a bay window, where lighting will occur in a more or less normal way.

However, in winter, citrus plants require different conditions. From the beginning of November to mid-February, it is better to “slow down” growth, to create a so-called artificial dormant stage.

Due to the fact that in winter the sun’s rays no longer provide warmth, the tree should be kept at temperatures of +5–10 °C. Moreover, it is important that any sudden temperature change can negatively affect.

Therefore, if the lemon is kept on the balcony or in the bay window, then try not to open the doors there for longer than 5 minutes, otherwise the thermal masses will begin to fill the space of the colder room.

I would also like to note that the ideal place for the growth of a citrus tree would be a room with a glass roof, where a stable temperature of about +20 ° C is maintained and high humidity air.

How to choose a container for planting lemon at home

In order to properly plant a lemon at home, you need to know how to choose the optimal container. A pot for planting a lemon tree can be made of any material: plastic, wood, metal, ceramics, etc.

When purchasing a container, please note that its upper diameter should be no more than 15 cm, and at the very bottom there should be several small holes to drain excess water.

The height of the pot should be 15–20 cm. It is better not to buy particularly tall containers, since the lemon roots are small and will only take up a lot of space on the balcony.

What should the soil be like for a home harvest?

At the bottom of the pot you need to make a drainage 3–5 cm high. It is made from sand or. However, the best drainage will be ash combined with sand. The bottom of the pot needs to be filled 3 cm with ash, and then covered with a 2 cm layer of sand.

The soil for homemade lemon must be special, from your garden or it will definitely not be suitable. It is best to buy such soil in specialized stores. Just ask the sellers if they have them for indoor citrus plants.
If you don’t have the opportunity to buy soil, you can prepare it yourself. To do this, you need to take forest soil (the top layer, no deeper than 10 cm, preferably under old ones, except and), river sand, humus and wood ash(ash can be purchased at the store if necessary, just like sand and humus).

It is important to observe the proportions when preparing lemon juice: For two cups of forest soil you need to add a cup of sand, 3 tablespoons of humus and 1 tablespoon of wood ash.

The resulting mixture must be stirred with water until a creamy mass is obtained. Fill the pot with this mixture so that the lemon roots are completely covered. After 6 months, it is advisable to transplant the tree into a wider container (20–25 cm in diameter).

Features of planting lemon at home

Water that flows from faucets into multi-storey buildings, not suitable for watering indoor lemon, since it contains many alkaline metal macroelements, as well as chlorine ions. Such water can cause leaf chlorosis and other tree diseases.
It is best to take water from a well or well, let it sit for 24 hours, and then water the plant. But if you don’t have the opportunity to get some water from a well or borehole, then take hot water from the tap (it has minimal chlorine content) and leave it for 24–36 hours.

The water temperature for irrigation should be +30–35 °C, especially in winter time of the year.

The container for watering the lemon tree should have a narrow neck. When watering, tilt it close to the soil so that strong water pressure cannot expose it. root system plants.

There is no need to spare water; water the lemon until you see liquid flowing out of the lower holes. This will mean that all the soil along with the roots is saturated with water.

Excess water can be removed from the pan 30–40 minutes after watering. It should also be noted that the citrus plant in its natural range grows in tropical, humid climates where frequent precipitation in the form of rain is normal.

Therefore, try to spray lemon leaves with water 1-2 times a day. This way you can create optimal humidity.

How to fertilize lemon

In the fall, when the lemon is preparing for the dormant period, it can be watered with natural black tea 2-3 times at weekly intervals. During the period from November to February, the plant does not need feeding, as it is at rest.

How and when to prune a plant

There is a lot of information on how to rejuvenate and prune indoor lemons. Some recommend pruning the plant in the fall, others in the winter, and others in the spring.

Moreover, each of the “specialists” has a lot of positive arguments in favor of their own method of pruning.

Autumn pruning, which is carried out in November, allegedly increases the fruiting of the tree, winter pruning (in February) causes minimal damage to the tree, and spring pruning stimulates the growth of young shoots, accordingly, increases fruiting and strengthens the tree.
Therefore, from a professional point of view, the most optimal period for rejuvenating and pruning a citrus tree will be spring, when the process of budding and flowering begins.

You need to prune a lemon plant in order to form a crown, allow young shoots to grow and provide maximum possible lighting the whole plant.

Therefore, during the pruning process, you need to take into account the fact that a very dense plant will constantly need sunlight, in addition, a thick lemon will produce fewer fruits.

The first pruning of a citrus tree should be done only when it reaches a height of at least 20 cm. First, the zero-order shoot (the main trunk of the tree) is pruned at a height of 20–30 cm (4 developed buds are left).

Over time, lateral skeletal branches will appear there, on which beautiful lemon fruits will ripen. Shoots of the first and second order are cut to a height of 20–25 cm.
Only those that interfere with the growth of young shoots are completely removed. Shoots of the third order are cut at a height of 15 cm, the fourth - 10 cm. Shoots of subsequent orders are not cut.

Basics of Transplanting a Lemon Tree at Home

There are several reasons for replanting a lemon tree, and you need to be able to identify them in a timely manner:

1. The lemon has grown a lot and there is not enough room for it in the old pot. Water the plant generously, turn the pot horizontally and try to remove the tree along with the earthen lump. If roots stick out from all sides, you need immediate transplant into a wider and deeper container.
2. Lemon tree struck root rot. If the roots of the citrus tree begin to emit an unpleasant rotten smell, they need to be washed in potassium permanganate, and the plant should be urgently planted in a new pot with new soil.
3. A pot with a plant broke. In this case, you need to purchase a new container, and temporarily wrap the root system of the lemon tree with a wet rag (the tree cannot be stored in this form for more than a day). When transplanting, you need to add the drug to the soil.
4. The plant stopped actively growing and bearing fruit. This is a sign that it lacks microelements in the soil and space for normal growth and root development, so replanting is required, and the sooner the better.

If you find a reason to transplant your tree, you need to act immediately. The rules for replanting are very similar to the rules for planting, so you need to select a pot and soil for filling as described several points above.

But when replanting, you need to pay attention to the condition of the root system of an adult lemon tree. If some shoots are affected by rot and emanates from them bad smell, then carefully remove all rotten roots.

Then pour some soil into a new pot and add “Kornevina” there. Insert the tree with a ball on the root system and cover with soil to the required level.

Since in the first month the lemon root system will actively spread its roots throughout the container, try to feed the plant at least once a week.

In Russia, indoor citrus growing goes back almost three hundred years, because lemons were brought into the country under Peter I. And now we have many amateurs growing this evergreen fruit-bearing plant in a room or on an insulated loggia in pots or tubs.

Perennial lemon Tree It blooms quite profusely, but its flowers, as a rule, are not striking, since during this period they are usually completely covered with leaves. But you instantly feel that the air in the room is filled with a fabulous aroma. And even if you enter a room with a large set indoor plants, then in this case, the hard, leathery, shiny leaves of the lemon tree immediately attract attention, even if it has not yet begun to bloom. And even if this plant is “wild”, i.e. not grafted, it is still extremely decorative, because it has beautiful emerald shiny leaves.

And it is no coincidence, apparently, that in countries where citrus crops are grown, the bride at her wedding is decorated with a large wreath of flowering branches of lemon or orange. By the way, if we see blooming apple orchards from afar - three to four hundred meters away, then the fragrance of a blooming lemon grove, presumably, spreads for many kilometers.

It must be admitted that growing lemons at home is not easy. Firstly, for this it is desirable to have a sufficiently spacious room with good lighting. Secondly, homemade lemon requires more attention than ordinary indoor flowers. But at the same time, it has many advantages over them: it is more hardy and durable; the whole plant smells pleasant, releasing volatile essential oils that ozone the surrounding air.

IN room conditions the oldest trees reach a height of 1.5 m, although in large rooms with huge, bright windows, lemons grow to 3 m or more.

Growing lemon fruits is quite lengthy and painstaking process, so you need to be patient in advance to wait until the lemon tree finally gains strength and blooms, and the flowers form good size fruit.

When growing homemade lemon it is imperative to take into account its biological and varietal characteristics, know agrotechnical cultivation techniques, methods of its propagation and measures to protect against numerous pests and diseases.

We hope that after reading this article the number of people growing this at home magnificent plant, will increase significantly. Having started a lemon garden at home, in a few years you will be able to treat your family and friends with your own grown lemon fruit. After all, a normally formed five to seven year old lemon tree can give an amateur citrus grower from 15 to 50 fruits per year (depending on the variety).

Lemon is small tree or a shrub with strong, usually thorny, branches. The tops of its young shoots are purple-violet in color. The leaves are oval, oblong, toothed; have many glands containing essential oil. Their replacement on the plant occurs gradually (as they age): the leaf lives for about 2-3 years. Lemon flowers are bisexual, arranged singly, in pairs or in small racemes, they are large (4-5 cm in diameter). The bud grows and develops for about five weeks, the flower blooms for at least 7-9 weeks. The period of growth and development of the fruit from setting (falling of flower petals) to the beginning of ripening in room conditions under spring bloom plants can last up to 230 days. IN summer period(optimal temperature and better lighting) this period is reduced to 180-200 days. If in the first year a young, recently grafted tree produces flowers, you should cut them off (preferably when they are still in buds) so that the plant does not waste its energy and preserves them for later normal development. During secondary flowering, the buds are no longer removed; Most often, the tree itself decides how much fruit it can “feed” and how many “extra” flowers it needs to shed.

It is recommended to allow lemon to flower and bear fruit if it has at least 20 full leaves.

Fruits on lemons are formed both with pollination of flowers and without pollination - parthenocarpicly (in this case, seeds are not formed in the fruits). Lemon fruits are oval or ovoid in shape. When ripe, their skin acquires a light yellow color and a strong lemon smell. Their pulp is usually greenish, divided into 9-14 segments, very juicy and sour. The seeds are irregularly ovoid, white, covered with a parchment-like shell.

There is a close relationship between the number of fruits and the number of leaves on the tree. It has been established that for normal growth and development of each lemon fruit, there must be at least 9-10 mature (physiologically active) leaves in the crown of the tree.

When growing lemons, care for the plant should be such that the leaves do not fall off. Most often this happens in winter. The condition of lemon trees can be judged by the degree of their foliage: the more healthy leaves a tree has, the better it grows and bears fruit. Without leaves, the plant will not be able to bear fruit: if not favorable conditions If a lemon loses a lot of leaves, then next year it will not form fruit. Therefore, the main task in winter is to preserve the leaf apparatus of the tree.

The complete ripening of lemons is fully indicated by their characteristic intensely golden peel, the color of which is given by carotenoids - sources of vitamin A. After full ripening, the fruits, as a rule, do not fall off and continue to grow the following year. But, increasing in size, they at the same time deteriorate their qualities (the peel becomes very thick, the pulp dries out and becomes flabby, the juice becomes less sour).

Under normal conditions, a lemon grows, blooms and bears fruit within all year round, therefore, on the same plant there can be mature fruits, young ovaries, flowers and buds at the same time. The period required for fruit ripening, which begins from the moment of fruit set, largely depends on the period of flowering and setting. Fruit ripening during lemon blossom summer months occurs 1-2 months faster than in spring. The time from fruit set to fruit ripening can vary widely (7-14 months). Experienced amateur flower growers know how to regulate the timing of lemon flowering, skillfully using various techniques, for example, temporarily drying the tree. Thus, a tree that is dried (to the initial stage of wilting of the leaves) stops growth and flowering and enters into forced dormancy, in which craftsmen can keep it for some time. If after this you give abundant watering, then the lemon begins to grow vigorously and bloom profusely.

When growing lemon in a tub, it is very important to achieve dwarfism, especially since lemon tends to form very powerful, long (not branching only at the top) branches, so it will need to be trimmed regularly: without this, the shoots make the crown very voluminous. According to experts, it is advisable to prune all strong growths of a tree after 5-6 leaves, which makes the crown more compact, mechanically strong and productive. Systematic care is also required for the roots (this is usually carried out during transplantation), since they ensure the vital activity of the plant. If the root system develops abnormally, the growth of the lemon is inhibited, the color of the leaves changes, etc.

Lifespan indoor lemon under favorable conditions it can be quite large. For example, in the city of Pushkin I saw a wonderful almost three-meter 30-year-old tree, it grows in a greenhouse and is, one might say, in its heyday. Several hundred fruits hang on it at the same time.

Diseases and pests usually play a significant role in reducing the longevity of plants. If the owners treat their pet lemon with care, like a member of the family, then under favorable conditions the life expectancy of the tree can easily be 35-45 years.

Being a southern plant, the lemon tree will certainly produce a good harvest of fruits in indoor conditions if it is provided good care and all the conditions necessary for normal life. But I’ll note right away: it makes quite high demands on heat, moisture and light. Optimal temperature for the growth of leaves and shoots of lemon is about 17°C, and for the development of fruits 21...22°C. Very high air temperatures are harmful to lemon; the plant reacts especially negatively if the temperature rises sharply with simultaneous low relative humidity. This happens in the spring months and early summer - this is caused by sudden warming outside. Such a phenomenon can lead to the fall of flowers and ovaries, and a strong temperature drop in the autumn and winter months - and foliage.

The soil temperature should also be close to the air temperature; A sharp lag in soil temperature and air temperature is especially harmful. This happens when a tub of lemon standing long time in the summer and even in the fall in the open air, when it gets colder they are immediately brought into a warm living room. Sometimes he reacts to this by dropping leaves.

Lemon is sensitive to fluctuations in indoor air humidity. He reacts negatively to its deficiency, which is most dangerous (especially when high temperature) during flowering and fruit set. This causes flowers and ovaries to fall off. Some experts believe: the higher the air humidity, the longer the lemon leaves live.

Lemon is a short-day plant; he is quite reconciled with the disadvantage solar lighting. With a long daylight hours its growth is enhanced, and fruiting is delayed. Most favorable for indoor growing Windows on the south and east sides are considered. On the south side in summer it receives a lot of light, but it should be shaded with a gauze curtain from direct sunlight (this is especially important during the midday hours). Some experts consider the eastern side to be universal: its morning sun rays, although bright, are not so scorching, and plants have enough of this lighting.

To prevent a one-sided tree from growing, it is recommended to turn the box with the plant at a slight angle every half month. Although, due to this procedure, the growth of shoots and leaves is somewhat inhibited (lemon is very sensitive to changes in lighting and moving from place to place), but the plant is formed correct form. Other experts advise making turns of approximately 10° every 10 days: then it will take a year for the plant to complete a full rotation. It should also be borne in mind that lemon is sensitive to sudden changes in lighting: as its intensity decreases, the size of new leaves increases.

During winter period The lemon will benefit from daylight illumination (5-6 hours) with a fluorescent lamp (or an incandescent light bulb 100-150 W), which is placed at a height of 60-80 cm above the plant.

The period from October to March is the most difficult for plants; due to non-compliance with maintenance conditions during this period, they often die. In winter, with radiator heating, the air in the room is dry, so it is better to move the plants away from heating devices (sometimes the radiators are covered with damp cloth); You can spray the leaf surface with a spray bottle. However, we must remember that excessive spraying of the leaf surface, especially of the Meyer variety, can contribute to the development of fungal diseases. It also doesn’t hurt to keep water on the surface of the soil in a pot (or nearby) in a wide bowl for evaporation. In summer, it is advisable to wash the leaves at least once every 1-2 weeks in the shower or gently wipe with a damp cloth so that they are clean and breathe “deeply”.

A lemon tree is grown in the same soil for several years, so a properly selected substrate for it, as well as fertilizing with fertilizer mixtures, are of great importance for its normal life. We'll talk about this later.

Alexander Lazarev,
Candidate of Biological Sciences,
senior researcher at the All-Russian Research Institute of Plant Protection, Pushkin

If you want to have a tropical beautiful plant beneficial, then you can grow lemon from a seed at home. Growing lemon at home is not an easy task, it is quite troublesome and you need to be patient to get the desired result. A lemon tree at home will not only purify the air and decorate the room, but also bring delicious fruits, if grown correctly. In order for lemon seeds to germinate and grow well at home, you must strictly follow the growing recommendations.

How to properly grow a lemon from a seed

Seed preparation

Before planting and growing lemon at home, you need to carefully select planting material. To do this, choose ripe lemon fruits that are free from damage, spots of rot and deformation. First, the fruits are washed, then cut in half. Take the seeds out of the lemon and select the largest ones.

It is better to plant seeds selected at home immediately while they are still wet. If the lemon seeds dry out, then the seedlings will have to wait a very long time or they will not appear at all. To increase the germination of seeds, you can treat them with a growth stimulator such as Kornevin. To do this at home, the bones are soaked in it overnight, and in the morning a solution of Epin or zircon is prepared. Thanks to these drugs you can grow strong and healthy seedlings at home even in low light conditions.

Preparing containers and planting

To grow lemon from a seed at home, you need to choose the right containers and soil. The pots should be small; they can be made at home from plastic bottles or you can buy pots for seedlings in the store. In those pots that you make yourself at home, you need to make drainage holes. A drainage made of expanded clay or small crushed stone about 2 cm thick is placed at the bottom of each pot. It is better to plant lemon seeds with a reserve of about ten, so the likelihood that some of them will sprout will be greater. In addition, then from the emerging seedlings it will be possible to select fast-growing and healthy seedlings. The soil for planting can be taken ready for citrus fruits, or you can prepare a soil mixture at home from humus and turf soil, taken in equal quantities. The components are mixed in equal parts. The soil should be poured into pots, and then the lemon seeds should be planted to a depth of 2 cm.

Growing conditions

To grow a lemon from a seed at home, you need to provide good temperature and humidity conditions. The room where the planted seeds are located should be warm enough - not lower than +18 degrees. To create the required temperature at home, the pots can be covered with greenhouses. You can purchase special glass caps or use necks from plastic bottles. Greenhouses will protect seeds, and then seedlings, from the influence of drafts and temperature changes.

Watering

Planting lemon seeds at home is only a small part of the entire process of growing it. Often, inexperienced gardeners destroy plants that have not yet sprouted by improper watering. It is generally not recommended to water seeds planted at home. Such an abundance of moisture can cause the seeds to rot. Therefore, it is better to spray the soil in a pot with a spray bottle. Optimal mode spraying twice a week.

Sprout care

The appearance of the first shoots at home, if all conditions are met, can be expected from two weeks to a month. When four leaves appear on the seedlings, the greenhouses are removed and the pots are placed in a well-lit place. Water the seedlings as the soil dries. In the first months, you should not feed the plant with fertilizers. When the tree grows a little, you can plant it in a larger pot.

When transplanting, you can choose from all the seedlings one that can be used for fruiting. When choosing, first of all you need to pay attention to the root system. It should be well developed, and the roots should be even and without dry ends. The seedling should have at least two old leaves; they are denser, rougher, and the color is slightly darker than that of young leaves. Such a seedling proper care will grow well and bear fruit.

Caring for an adult tree at home involves forming a crown, regular watering and spraying, and maintaining temperature conditions and maintaining required humidity air.

To grow a beautiful lemon tree, you need to start forming a crown in the early stages of its growth. This procedure is carried out when the lemon tree reaches a height of 20 cm. At the beginning of spring, the top of the plant must be cut off, leaving 3-5 buds on the stem, from which, after some time, young shoots, called first-order shoots, will appear. They will also need to be trimmed over time. Then you can get a neat decorative bush.

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The fruit weighs 5 kilograms and 265 grams. Some will think that we are talking about a large child. Others will decide that it is medium watermelon or melon. Did anyone think about lemon?

Meanwhile, 5 kilograms and 265 grams are the mass of the world’s largest lemon. It matured in 2003 and was then included in the Guinness Book of Records. The fruit was formed in the private farmstead of the Israeli Aharon Shemoel.

The farmer's plot is located in Kfar Zeitim. The previous record was set by a resident of California. In 1982, he registered a lemon weighing almost 4 kilos. So, is there anyone to ask? how to grow lemon.

Only here they mostly keep it at home. The climate is not conducive to lemon gardens. Therefore, we will focus our attention on growing crops in pots.

How to grow a lemon from a seed?

Finding out how to grow lemon from seeds their growth prospects must be taken into account. It is customary to take grains from store-bought fruits. They are, as a rule, collected from a true lemon tree, that is, an ordinary garden one.

At home, it reaches 3-6 meters in height, and is considered. Outside the tropical environment, trees grow to a maximum of 3 meters. Not every apartment has such ceilings.

In private homes they are also lower. If there is room, or the expectation is that the lemon will grow lower, as usually happens in Russia, we proceed to choosing a seed.

We take the seed from a large and ripe fruit. Ripeness is expressed in the glossy shine of the peel. In unripe fruits it is matte. When planning to get fruits, pay attention to the original one.

Thick-skinned lemons contain more vitamins. Fruits with thin skins are less useful, but they are attractive in cross-section and easy to process. In general, we choose a lemon to our liking and look for the largest, smoothest and glossiest seeds in it.

We take a couple more fruits and do the same. Immediately plant the seeds into the ground. If you dry the seeds, they may not sprout or may take, as they say, 30 years and 3 years.

Why so many seeds? Not everyone will sprout, even with an attractive appearance. Another half will not tolerate the grafting well, because they want a fruit-bearing tree. From the remainder, you have the opportunity to choose the strongest and most attractive. The rest can be thrown away, sold or distributed to friends.

As a container for planting, we first use a glass, a cut from a plastic bottle. There should be holes in their bottom for water outflow and drainage. Stores offer expanded clay, that is, porous clay granules.

But shards from an old pot, egg shells or nut peels, crushed, of course, will also work. On top of them is soil for citrus fruits. It is made up of equal parts of leaf soil and humus. They are present with sand as impurities. We make it ourselves, or buy soil from the store.

The seeds are stuck one at a time into the glass to a depth of about 2 centimeters. Instead of watering - moderate spraying. Excess moisture leads to seed rotting. We maintain the temperature at least +18.

Greenhouse conditions We create it by covering the cups with film or pieces of plastic bottles. When sprouts appear, do not increase watering. Water is needed only when the earth is cracking.

We remove the film a couple of days after germination. Next, you need abundant, but not direct light. 5-7 leaves will appear, select your only one lemon. Is it possible to grow We decide which spectacular tree to choose by looking at the distance between the buds.

We take the minimum. The needles with which the lemon tree stands out should also be minimal. There is no need for needles in everyday life. We also pay attention to the density of the crown, the strength with which the leaves adhere to the branches. The greens themselves should be dense, glossy, without spots.

How to grow a lemon from a cutting?

How to grow lemon in an apartment from cuttings are of interest, since trees obtained from seeds bear fruit, on average, for 2 years. In addition, there is no need to plant several cuttings.

You can see from them what kind of strong tree it will produce. The length of the cutting should be 15 centimeters or more. The presence of several young leaves and partial woodiness is required.

They take cuttings from markets, garden stores, and from hobbyists. The main thing is to purchase and plant a tree in early spring. This is the beginning of the lemon's natural period. active growth.

To take root, the cuttings are placed in a plastic container with holes in the bottom and loose soil. Flower land mixed with sand. In the natural environment, we look for soil where nettle grows well.

Planting a cutting consists of sticking it into the ground, watering and covering plastic bottle. We take into account that ideal temperature for rooting is equal to +22 on the Celsius scale.

In addition, the culture does not like drafts. This is important, because many people are interested in how to grow lemon on a windowsill. So, the window sill should have no gaps. We do not open the windows until the cutting takes root. A bottle on top of the pot is required not only to retain moisture, but also to protect against air currents.

Watering the cutting is similar to wetting the soil above the seeds. We wait about 4 weeks for rooting. The first new leaf appears, remove the top bottle and ask the question: how to grow a lemon tree bushy.

This will make it attractive in appearance and prevent it from being pulled up to the ceiling. The shoots need to be trimmed. More branches - more beauty and fruits. Firstborns are quickly obtained from grafted plants. Otherwise, it will take 8-10 years to wait for fruits. Therefore, it is important to take cuttings from grafted lemons.

Lemon care at home

Lemons love clay pots. First, we plant the tree in a small flowerpot with a volume of approximately 1.5 liters. We replant every couple of years. Once a year we change the top layer of soil. We feed the lemon 3-5 times in 12 months.

Watering is carried out with settled water room temperature. The plant is tropical and does not like the cold. We acidify the water a little, with lemon extract. For 6 liters we take 1 gram of acid.

This reduces the hardness of tap water. The ideal watering for a lemon tree is rainwater. In spring and summer, the bush can be taken out into the garden, where the plant will drink enough.

In summer, the bush needs abundant watering up to 2 times a day. In winter, once a week is enough. Signals for adding moisture are: the ringing of the pot when tapped, leaves rolled into a tube and drooping shoots.

Doesn't like citrus and moving. Deciding how to grow lemon at home, it is important to give him permanent place. It has already been said that drafts will be unnecessary there. Heat and dry air are also harmful.

Lemons are hostile to them, but they cannot overcome them; they begin to hurt. During the flowering period, the bushes need air warming up to only 18 degrees. By the way, if there are an abundance of buds, it is better to cut off some of them. The tree's strength is spent on formation. How to grow lemon with fruits? Leave 2-3 buds on the branch.

Now, about the sympathies of lemon. The first of them is towards the light. It should be abundant, but dispersed. The tree can withstand direct sunlight only a couple of hours a day. Otherwise, burns appear on the leaves.

South-east windows are ideal. In winter, lighting will be required. Otherwise, in pursuit of the sun, the bush will begin to stretch and bend. It is also worth taking into account the ability of citrus to turn its leaves towards the light. To prevent the bush from coming out one-sided, the pot with it is sometimes turned.

Lemons like average humidity around 70%. in winter heating devices dry out the air. Therefore, you need a humidifier or spraying the plant with a spray bottle 1-2 times a day.

The soil for an adult lemon is no different from the substrate for. It is especially often added to it during the period of active growth, that is, from March to April. During these months, lemon is fed every 3 weeks.

Diseases and pests of lemon

Improper content weakens the lemon. It's no longer a question how to grow lemon fruits at home. The period of struggle for life is coming. In room conditions, it can “catch” only part of the extensive list of citrus fruit ailments.

These are mites, scale insects and scale insects. Pesticides help remove them. Each pest requires 3-4 treatments. Scale insects, for example, are called that way because they have chitinous shields that protect them from poison. It takes time and repeated treatments for it to penetrate the bodies of insects.

Chemicals can harm a person instantly, as well as spoil the earth. Cover the latter with film or cloth. We protect ourselves with gloves, a scarf and a respirator.

This will protect against chemical burns to the skin and mucous membranes. We cover the earth, women, rid the roots of the poison. Medicines against citrus pests are sold in gardening stores.

Beneficial features lemon

Besides water and citric acid The fruits of the plant contain vitamin C. It once saved sailors from scurvy. Going on a long voyage, people began to feel weak, ulcers appeared on the mucous membranes and legs.

The problem went away when citrus fruits, in particular lemon, were included in the sailors' diet. It turned out that scurvy is a disease caused by a deficiency of vitamin C, which was absent in the food of travelers.

In addition to vitamin C, lemons contain vitamins A, B1, B2 and D. The latter is rare and is supplied mainly by the Sun. D is rare in products. Lemon also contains vitamin P. It is found exclusively in citrus fruits.

Here, by the way, lies another cause of scurvy. Vitamin P strengthens the walls of blood vessels. Without citrus fruits they become thinner and break through. Here you have bruises on the skin and bleeding gums.

Even hair loss is sometimes associated with a lack of R. Hair follicles do not receive the necessary blood flow. Acne on the skin can also cause a deficiency of a rare vitamin.

In hot countries, the antiseptic properties of lemon were evaluated. It is used, for example, after scorpion stings. Rub half of the fruit onto the affected skin, and suck off the remaining lemon.

This way you can avoid poisoning. The fruit, of course, must be standard sizes. A five-kilogram fruit from the Guinness Book of Records can cure dozens of people who have been bitten.

Growing citrus plants at home has become very popular among gardeners. Especially for these purposes, breeders developed mini-varieties of grapefruit and lemon, as well as other species. This article will focus on the latter of these.

Lemon at home. Growing it can create a number of difficulties, as it small tree very whimsical. In order for citrus to delight you not only with its evergreens, bright leaves, but over time it began to bear fruit, it is necessary to adhere to some rules for caring for it.

Lighting

The largest number are light-loving, with the exception of only a few of them (Pavlovsky, Yubileiny). The north and north-west windows of the apartment are well suited for them. Other plant varieties can be placed near sunny southern and southeastern windows. However, even in this case, it is worth shading the lemon: growing it can be complicated by direct sunlight, as the leaves can get sunburned. When winter comes, citrus must be placed in the brightest place in the apartment, but you must remember that this tree overwinters in the cool.

Pots. Substrate

It will be quite comfortable to grow lemon at home, the cultivation of which is best done in spacious wooden tubs, this improves air access to the root system. Soil for plants can be purchased at the store; it should be loose, but at the same time very nutritious. In order to make soil at home, you will need to mix humus, turf soil and sand in proportions of 1:3:1.

Watering and air humidity

Citrus fruits do not tolerate dry air well, so you should not place them near radiators. If there is no other suitable place for plants, then the battery should be covered with a wet rag. Like all citrus trees, in the summer it is necessary not only to water it abundantly, but also to spray your lemon with water from a spray bottle. Growing such capricious plants at home always requires soft water: it needs to be boiled or left to stand for 24 hours, or even better - 2-3 days. Sometimes it is worth rinsing the trees under a warm shower (small specimens) or washing the leaves with water and a cloth (adults and large plants). In the winter season, watering is reduced, as this can lead to stagnation of water and rotting of the root system (an exception can be made if your trees bear fruit at this time of year).

Top dressing

It would be a good idea to fertilize mineral fertilizers. This should be done during the period of active growth of the tree, that is, from spring to late autumn. Feeding citrus is necessary not only for its healthy growth, but also for the start of fruiting.

Ovary and fruiting

If during flowering it is not possible to take the plant outside, then you can carry out pollination yourself using an ordinary one. For this, pollen is carefully taken on a brush from one flower and transferred to another. This should be done with all colors. Will lemons at home start bearing fruit soon? Growing took place according to all the rules - which means you can expect a harvest in the third or fourth year.

It is worth remembering that they bear fruit only in rare cases that plants grown from seeds form ovaries. And even then, most likely, these will be barren flowers.

Temperature

The optimal temperature for this plant in winter is 12-15 degrees. It is considered high already at 23 degrees, if the air is still dry and hot, the leaves begin to curl and dry out.

Transfer. Trimming

A young citrus tree is replanted two or three times a year, taking into account the growth rate, and older plants are replanted every few years (usually 2-3). This should be done at the very beginning of spring, making sure that new shoots and especially flower ovaries have not yet formed on the tree. When replanting, you need to take into account the location of the plant’s root system. The root collar of the citrus plant should be located slightly below the level of the pot.

Like many other plants, lemon requires good drainage at home. Its cultivation is carried out, as already mentioned, in a spacious container, on the bottom of which you can pour coarse sand, or put small river or sea pebbles.

With proper and careful care, this citrus will delight you with its fruits every year, and with its bright green foliage throughout the entire time you are in your apartment.