How to grow lemon at home - indoor citrus fruits from seedlings and seeds
Among indoor ornamental plants, it is worth highlighting lemon trees. Thanks to the glossy dark foliage and easy-to-shape crown, they look very beautiful. In addition, with proper care, they will also delight you with fragrant vitamin fruits. Of course, lemons is always on sale, but homemade ones are tastier, and even more so - healthier. There is nothing complicated in how to grow lemon at home. After the next purchase of exotic fruits, simply do not throw away the seeds, but plant them. And you can make it even easier - if possible, buy a young seedling in a flower shop and surround it with care and attention.
In indoor conditions, undersized lemon varieties are most often grown. Among them are Canadian lemon, Chinese dwarf and Genoa. Their height does not exceed 1 m, moreover, the fruits are delicious, because they are lemon-orange hybrids. Slightly higher and sour lemons are Lunario, Maikop and Pavlovsky.
Growing homemade lemon from a seedling
The fastest way to get a beautiful tree and drink tea with the first sour fruits is to buy a ready-made seedling in the store. The first step is to transplant it from the shipping soil into nutritious light soil. For the first time, a pot with a volume of up to 2 liters is enough. Don't forget about drainage - it will keep the roots from rotting.
Lemon soil can be made at home by mixing sand, humus and turf soil in equal proportions.
Lemon loves the sun, but it is better to choose a place where the lighting will be diffused. But in winter, when the day is shorter, the plant will feel better on the window.
Caring for indoor lemon is simple and includes:
- Daily watering in summer and more rare (once a week) in winter. Do not use cold water to avoid provoking illness. Spray the crown often in summer, especially if you take the lemon outside. In winter, simply wipe the foliage with a damp sponge.
- Regular seasonal feeding. Purchase a special mineral complex - it contains the full range of nutrients needed by citrus plants.
- Annual transplant. Transfer the bush along with a lump of earth into a larger pot, but you do not need to take too large dishes. In it, the soil remains moist longer, which is fraught with the occurrence of fungal infections.
- Pruning. In spring, shorten the long shoots and cut the branches that grow deeper into the crown. This will help the tree look beautiful.
How to grow lemon from seed at home?
If you decide to go through all the stages on your own and nurture your citrus pet, choose large seeds from a large lemon. Then everything is simple:
- pour the substrate into small pots with drainage holes;
- moisturize it;
- plant a bone, but do not bury it too much - 2 cm is enough;
- if desired, cover the container with foil, but you can do without it;
- place the flowerpot on a light and warm windowsill.
After about a month, you will see a green sprout emerge from the ground. When the seedling grows to 4 leaves, transplant it into a large bowl and care for it as you would for a store seedling.The only thing worth considering is that a lemon grown from a stone will not begin to bear fruit soon. If you don't want to wait 5 years, or even 3 times longer, it is better to plant your lemon.