1. Homemade lemon: home care and photo
2. Lemon diseases
3. Benefit and harm

There is not a single grower who has not dreamed of growing a lemon tree at home at least once.

Having a lemon tree at home is not only pleasant, but also very useful.

However, if you want not only to grow a plant, but also to get fruits, you will have to work hard.

Homemade lemon: home care and photo

Lemon is a subtropical plant and the climate of the apartment is ideal for it. Despite this, caring for a potted lemon is different from growing it naturally.

Let's take a look at how to care for a lemon at home to keep your plant healthy and fruitful.

Sapling selection

You should not rush to purchase a lemon sapling. Choose a healthy-looking plant with brightly colored, shiny leaves.

Look closely at the stem, the back of the leaf.

They must be clean, free from the visible presence of pests and traces of diseases.

Landing and seat selection

After planting the plant in open ground, be sure to water it abundantly, make sure that direct sunlight does not fall on it.

If the weather conditions are not very good (heavy rain, strong wind, etc.), it is better to build a small shelter and leave it for several days until the lemon tree takes root in a new place.

Outdoors, plants meet their needs through their natural surroundings. It is much more difficult to create favorable conditions for growing lemon at home.

Choose a place for the plant responsibly. Do not place indoor lemon in dangerous places:

• in a draft;
• near heating appliances;
• in an unlit corner or dark corridor;
• between closed curtains and a window in cold weather.

Features of care in different periods of the year

Consider how to take care of lemon at home, depending on the season.

In the spring, the plant wakes up and begins to grow actively. He needs more light.

On warm days, the lemon can be taken out into the fresh air.

The room must be ventilated, since an influx of fresh air is necessary for the good growth of citrus fruits.

By watching the video, you can find out how to help your lemon in the spring:

In summer, it is best to dig in a lemon tree in the garden or in the country. If this is not possible, you need to rearrange it on the balcony or terrace.

Having more than 25 years of experience in growing lemons at home, I note that such a "summer vacation" gives a powerful boost to plants for the whole year.

In the fall, before returning the lemon home, we take a good look at the whole plant, if necessary, treat it with chemicals. Be sure to arrange a warm shower, wash the leaves well, and the stems from dust and dirt.

We return to the usual place and continue caring for the indoor lemon in the pot. We gradually reduce watering and feeding of plants.

In winter, most often the plants are in a dormant period. But one of my lemons leaves with fruits in the winter and therefore the dormant period for it comes after the harvest.

I feed this plant for the entire fruiting period and, if necessary, organize the backlight for 2-3 hours daily. The rest of the plants rest in the winter.

The comfortable temperature for lemons during this period is within 14 - 16 degrees.

Winters in Siberia are long and cold. It is not always possible to preserve plants in winter. Some twigs dry up. Do not rush to prune such plants. Very often, a dried twig comes to life.

In the photo below you can see examples of dwarf lemons grown at home:

Crown formation

Maybe due to the fact that it is not easy to grow a lemon tree in our latitudes, citrus pruning is not practiced. But if desired, for better branching and crown formation, pruning can be done in early spring.

You can find out how to prune a plant at home on our website.

Why does the lemon not bloom and bear fruit?

Often novice flower growers are faced with the fact that the lemon does not bloom.

Why isn't the lemon blooming? There are several reasons: the first and most basic - the plant is planted with a bone and not grafted.

How to make lemon bloom at home? In order for a plant grown from a seed to bloom, many years must pass or it must be grafted.

Also, your plant can be planted in poor soil and lacks mineral fertilizers. Very dry air, pests, diseases ...

Observe your pet and the plant will tell you the reason.

I got my first lemon on vacation in Adjara. It was a grafted 3-4 year old Pavlovsky lemon sapling, all in bloom and with small fruits. It so happened that the plant had to be handed over to the storage room for a day. When the plant was returned to me, I almost burst into tears - the leaves, flowers, the ovary all fell off. I kept the lemon, but it bloomed only after 5 years.

Lighting

If your plant does not have enough light, it will have small and pale leaves, small flowers or none at all, the lower leaves are yellow, the plant practically does not grow, or the shoots are weak and very elongated.

Southeast windows with bright, diffused light and little direct sunlight are best suited for lemons. If there is no possibility of natural light, then for the normal cultivation of lemons, it is necessary to organize artificial lighting. It is best to use fluorescent lamps.

Lemon is not very whimsical to the air temperature - in winter 14-16 degrees is enough for it, in summer it can withstand 30 degrees of heat.

In winter, it is necessary to insulate the window on which the plant stands, on very cold days, remove the lemon from the windowsill, do not close the window curtains tightly. Warm air from the room must penetrate to the plant.

Air humidity

Air humidity is another important factor in growing lemons.

This problem is especially relevant during the winter months.

In apartments with central heating, the air becomes so dry that many plants are very difficult to tolerate such conditions.

The air in the room must be constantly humidified. Better to use industrial humidifiers.

If it is not possible to buy such a device, use the knowledge of experienced florists:

Spray your plants with warm water (always settled) 2-3 times a day;

Pour expanded clay into the pallet, moisten it with water and place the flower pot in this pallet. Keep expanded clay constantly moist;

Group several colors - humidity will increase;

You can transfer the lemon to the kitchen, where the humidity is much higher.

To carry out pollination, you need to take a cotton swab. Trying not to damage the flowers, carefully collect the pollen from one flower and transfer it to another, then to the third and all subsequent ones. However, in all the years of growing these plants, I have never used this method. Pollination happens somehow by itself.

Watering

Different people have their own drinking regimen. The same can be said for plants. All indoor plants need watering to one degree or another. Some people like rare watering, others we water often and abundantly.

If you ask novice florists about the most common cause of plant death, most of them will say: "Dry!" But much more often plants die from improper watering.

If we notice that something is wrong with our plant, we begin to water it abundantly. In response to this, the leaves droop and turn yellow, and we continue to believe that the plant does not have enough moisture, and water again.

Over time, in such plants, the earthen lump turns into a swamp, the roots rot and the plant dies.

How to water a lemon so that it grows healthy, develops and bears fruit?

The most important rule is to water the lemon abundantly, with settled water, the water temperature should not be lower than room temperature.

Water only when the top layer of the earth dries out no less than 1-2 cm. After watering, let the water drain, loosen the top layer of the earth and for the next days just spray the leaves.

Priming

In order for the plant to develop well and grow, it must be transplanted in a timely manner, and the soil must be renewed for it.

It is best to buy a special citrus planting mixture. You can find out how to prepare a soil mixture at home on our website.

Good drainage and proper soil composition are important for lemons.

If you did everything as described above, and did not get the result, then your pet lacks nutrients. The plant needs to be fed constantly. In spring and summer, once a week, in autumn once a month, in winter (if the plant is "resting") we do not feed, if the plant has fruits or it blooms, regular feeding is necessary.

How to care for a lemon tree with fruits at home and how to feed a plant at home, you can find out in the article on our website.

All for the sake of which we start this difficult path are the fruits of our tree (lemons). It's as if we have achieved its flowering, but there is no ovary, the fruits are not formed.

How to pollinate lemon at home and what else you can do:

Hand pollination with a cotton swab;

Use of the drug "Bud"

to stimulate fruit formation, preserve the ovary in adverse conditions;

Use of the drug "Kornerost, Heteroauxin"

to stimulate the growth of the root system, to strengthen the whole plant.

And so our lemon faded, an ovary appeared and - Oh, horror !!! The ovary falls off. Why?

There are several possible reasons:

• if the plant is blooming for the first time and there are only a few flowers, it will usually be barren flowers. Take your time, wait for the real bloom;
• if the lemon blooms profusely and there is a lot of ovary, the plant itself regulates the amount of fruits necessary for it;
• if already formed, grown fruits fall off, your plant does not have enough light, nutrition, or it gets sick (plants also get sick). Perhaps pests have appeared on the lemon.

If your lemon has faded, fruit has set on it - wait for the harvest.

Lemon ripening is not quick. Lemons grow slowly, be patient for a few months.

To know when to remove lemons from a home tree, just take a good look at the fruit. Well-ripened lemon fruits are bright yellow, uniform color.

If the lemon is ripe, it is easily separated from the stem.

TIP: Often gardeners ask the question: "The lemon does not grow, what should I do?" If your tree does not grow well or does not move at all in growth, pay attention to how the plant is planted.

Perhaps during the transplant, you buried the vaccination site in the ground. Remove the top layer of the earth urgently and release the growth point.

In order to speed up the fruiting process, a seedling grown from a seed must be grafted. If you are not proficient in this procedure, it is better to consult a specialist.

You can learn how to properly plant a decorative lemon by watching the video below:

Transfer

Lemon seedlings are transplanted in the spring as needed. Consider when a Lemon transplant is needed and what kind of care is needed at home.

I know three conditions necessary for a transplant:

• the root system has grown, and the roots have appeared in the holes of the pot;
• after watering, the plant dries very quickly;
• the plant withers.

Growing

Caring for indoor plants involves more than watering and feeding.

Lemon must be washed periodically to remove dust and dirt.

Dust not only spoils the appearance, but also hinders the normal development of the plant. It is also necessary to tie the branches with fruits to the support, in order to avoid breaking the branches.

Examine the plants regularly, clean the crown of your tree from dead leaves and dried flowers.

Lemon diseases

Where do plant diseases come from? More often than not, we ourselves are to blame for this.

There are several reasons. These are also unfavorable conditions for growing plants. We bought a sick plant, and, unable to stand the quarantine, were placed with other indoor plants and others.

Benefit and harm

Lemon fruits are a whole storehouse of vitamins. Eating food brings health and vitality.

By growing a lemon tree at home, we get the opportunity not only to have wonderful fruits. The scent of blooming lemon fills the entire apartment with a fabulous scent.

Is there any harm from growing lemon at home?

I would advise against keeping an abundantly flowering plant in the bedroom. There may be headaches. That's all.

You can watch a video with a detailed story about the benefits and dangers that lemon can bring:

In conclusion, I would like to say if you are for your lemon tree:

• create the required temperature regime;
• provide an appropriate light regime;
• ensure timely watering;
• you will maintain the necessary air humidity;
• give your seedlings the necessary mineral fertilizers;
• give them peace;
• provide fresh air;
• you will take care of the appearance of your plants;

And as a result, it will thank you with abundant flowering and healthy fruits.