Lemon on the windowsill - tips for beginners
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LEMONARIUM ON THE WINDOWSILL
I come from the sunny city of Alma-Ata, and therefore, when I had to move to Kamchatka, there was a lack of warmth and bright southern fruits. Once I watched a TV show about growing lemons at home, I really wanted to start citrus fruits. Now the weather outside the window, and on the windowsill delicate flowers are fragrant and fruits shine like the sun.
LEMON ON THE WINDOWSILL - TIPS FOR BEGINNERS
For planting lemon, I make up a substrate of sod land, organic matter (rotted horse manure or garden humus) and river sand (1: 1/2: 1/2), having calcined the mixture in the oven.
I provide at least 10-12 hours of daylight. Lighting should be diffused, otherwise burns on the leaves may appear.
I do not rearrange the tree once again to a new place. For uniform crown formation, I turn the pot around its axis every other day by no more than 10 degrees.
It is important that the topsoil is always moist. I water my pets daily with warm, settled water, and in hot summer - twice a day. If the soil is dry, it is necessary to spill it several times in order to saturate the entire earthen lump with moisture, draining the excess from the pallet each time.
For feeding citrus fruits I use granular horse manure "Orgavit" (according to the instructions), sometimes vitamins "Revit" (I dissolve 2-3 tablets in 1,5 liters of water, spill the soil after the main watering).
Timely pruning of the lemon during the dormant period (November-February) contributes to better ventilation of the crown and distribution of the load between the branches. In the second year, 3-4 lateral shoots (branches of the 1st level) are formed in the seedling, which are cut by 25 cm, the next year the branches of the 2nd level are shortened by no more than 10 cm, after another year (and henceforth) branches 3 th level is cut by 5 cm. Also weak shoots and growing vertically are always completely removed.
When the first flower appears, be sure to remove it. And I do this until the rooted cuttings are 2,5-3 years old, otherwise it may die.
Plants up to 2-3 years old every year in early spring I transfer into large pots by 2-3 cm, adding fresh soil around the perimeter. Too large a flowerpot is not needed so that the plant does not waste energy on the formation of the root system, but it is important that its base is not narrow and has drainage holes. Do not transplant lemon during flowering or fruiting.
In the fall, the temperature of the content is gradually reduced. My handsome men spend the winter at +15 degrees.
See also: Lemon at home for beginners (+ video)
LEMON ON THE WINDOWSILL - FROM A CUT OR SEEDS?
It is better to grow a full-fledged tree from a cuttings - it will quickly begin to bear fruit, and with proper care, the yield will increase every year. Waiting for fruit from a lemon seed seedling is useless. If a strong and branched specimen grows (height at least 15-30 cm, trunk diameter 0,5-1 cm), at the age of 1,5 to 3 years, it must be grafted. The graft is harvested from a plant with good immunity and high yield, when the fruits on it are fully ripe.
HOME LEMON – PLANTING AND CARE, TIPS AND REVIEWS
LEMON IN THE APARTMENT – PRINCIPLES OF CARE
They gave me a lemon, and I am a beginner gardener. Therefore, I would like to ask you to tell me how to properly maintain a tree in an apartment. I would like to wait for fruiting.
N. Krasina Ryazan region
The most difficult time for lemon in a city apartment - autumn and winter, or more precisely, the period from October to February, when heating radiators work, drying out the air, and there is almost no sun outside the window.
If you have the opportunity to provide the lemon with a temperature of about 5-10°, then be sure to do so. You can take the plant to an insulated balcony or place it between window frames (if the window design allows), or find another cool and bright corner. At this temperature, water the lemon rarely, just so that the soil does not dry out completely. The lemon will go into a state of rest, growth will stop, and such rest is very favorable for the lemon.
But even if you don’t have the opportunity to place your pet in optimal conditions, that’s okay. Leave it on the windowsill. Move the pot closer to the glass, as it is cooler there. It is advisable to place the plant on a south window, where the lighting is better. But additional lighting will still be needed, up to 12 hours a day. It is better to provide additional illumination with special phytolamps.
To increase humidity, mist the plants regularly. You can also place the pallets on the windowsill, pour expanded clay on them and pour water. It evaporates and humidifies the air around the tree. It is also good to use a humidifier.
Watch to see if a mite has appeared on the lemon, since this happens due to dry air.
often. For the purpose of prevention, increase air humidity, as mentioned above. If a tick does appear, treat with acaricide according to the instructions.
Give the lemon a shower once a month. Wash all leaves to remove dust and freshen the plant.
If the window sill itself is cold, place the pot on a raised surface with a piece of foam or other support underneath it. This is necessary to ensure that the root system does not become overcooled. Otherwise, my plant may get sick and lose its leaves.
Water regularly with water whose temperature is 3-5° higher than room temperature. Do not fertilize until spring.
© Author: N. ROMANENKO, agronomist
ROOM LEMON - CARE SECRETS
The green pet is not too demanding on growing conditions, but caring for it has certain subtleties. So, the plant needs sufficient lighting, does not like drafts and shadows, and close proximity to a heating radiator. On my balcony it receives at least 6-8 hours of sunlight a day (if necessary, you can use backlighting), the glazing protects it from gusts of wind. Lemon in winter lasts up to +10 degrees, which is easy to achieve on a glazed loggia, and in summer the tree will tolerate heat even at +30 degrees.
Lemons need regular watering, especially in hot weather. I maintain soil moisture, preventing the roots from drying out, while avoiding waterlogging. Watering once or twice a week in the summer and once every two weeks in the winter is suitable. The water should be soft - settled, filtered, melted, its temperature should be slightly higher than the air on the balcony. Watering with cold water stresses the root system and increases the risk of rotting.
The plant intensively consumes minerals from the soil, so it needs to be fed regularly. I do this from March to October - during the period of active growth - in small portions every 2 weeks. In winter I fertilize once a month. It is advisable to purchase special preparations for citrus fruits.
I replant the lemon if necessary, in cases where the root system has grown and crawls out of the pot, the soil dries out quickly after watering or the tree withers. A favorable time for work is spring, before flowering, or late autumn, when the tree enters a dormant period. The new pot should be slightly larger than the previous one. I replant the lemon using the transshipment method while preserving the old soil.
It should be noted that the pet prefers light, fertile and well-drained soil. You can mix citrus soil with sand. You can also add a little organic fertilizer or compost to the substrate.
Indoor lemon is generally resistant to diseases and pests, but some ailments make themselves felt. Thus, dark spots are characteristic of a fungal infection, yellowing and falling leaves are a violation of the temperature regime or lack of lighting. Among the pests, lemons are most often attacked by spider mites, whiteflies, aphids, and scale insects.
© Author: Evgenia KOVALEVSKAYA Photo by the author
EXPERIMENTS WITH LEMON
One day I came across an interesting lemon in a store. Its peel was very thin, and its color and the shade of the pulp were orange. The fruit itself had a tart, unusual aroma, more like an orange one. It turned out that this is an old Uzbek variety called Tashkent, bred in the 60s by breeder and citrus grower Zainiddin Fakhrutdinov. They say about these fruits: “the sourest of oranges and the sweetest of lemons.”
The experimenter in me woke up. And given that by the end of winter flower growers are especially itchy, I decided to sow seeds from the fruit.
Seeding on seedlings
I got down to business in early March.
I washed the lemon seeds and immediately sowed them in a pot filled with soil for seedlings to a depth of 1-5 cm.
I slightly moistened the soil and placed the container in a bag so that the substrate did not dry out.
The first shoots appeared almost a month later. After another three weeks, the rest of the seeds sprouted. Germination was 100%.
The seedlings turned out to be unpretentious and quickly grew in indoor conditions.
After a month, the seedlings became cramped in the common pot, and at the beginning of May I planted the “babies” into separate cups.
They tolerated the transplant well, quickly recovered and began to grow.
Holidays in the greenhouse
At the end of May, I took the young lemons into the greenhouse and shaded them. During the season they grew to 20-25 cm. I cared for the plants, like other flower seedlings: watered them, fed them.
Waiting for a miracle
The experiment drew me in. I learned that lemons grown from seeds retain varietal characteristics, but begin to bloom and bear fruit only in the 6-7th year. Nevertheless, I continue to watch the trees and look forward to flowering, because they are already 4 years old.
By the way, since then I have been sowing Tashkent lemon seeds every year. I share the seedlings with enthusiasts or citrus growers.
FOR THE NOTICE
Lemon trees grown from seeds can be used as rootstock by grafting cultivated varieties onto them. The grafted plants begin to bloom and bear fruit in the second or third year.
HOW TO GROW A LEMON ON A WINDOWSILL - VIDEO
© Author: Larisa KOROBEINIKOVA, Kamchatka Territory. Photo by the author
Below other entries on the topic "Dacha and garden - with their own hands"
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- Cymbidiums: care and varieties. Aromas of orchids - cymbidiums
- Adenium (photo) - growing at home
- Cestrum - home care
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- Ground for senpolia and their correct transplantation
- What to choose pots for orchids, senpolias, succulents and room large-sized ones
- Lighting of indoor, flowers and ornamental plants in winter
- Fuchsia cultivation - varieties and species, planting and propagation
- Winter-bearing plants (description + photo)
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My lemon leaves turn yellow and fall. What can be wrong?
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Most often, in a room, lemon suffers from low humidity and heat. As a result, it is attacked by a spider mite. In this case, acaricide treatments will be needed. In order not to harm yourself and your family, process the lemon in the bathroom, and after spraying, put a large plastic bag on the plant and tie it up.
Leaves can turn yellow even with a lack of nitrogen, magnesium, iron. There is only one hint: carry out foliar dressing with complex mineral fertilizers, necessarily containing macro- and microelements.
It happens that the lemon suffers from direct sunlight, perhaps you just need to rearrange it.
In addition, leaf fall is associated with their natural aging.
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I have been growing indoor lemon for 8 years. This year it bloomed very profusely three times, but never gave any ovaries. What happened to him? And what to do?
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Your lemon just isn't pollinated. You need to play the role of a bee and pollinate the flowers. To do this, you can take a brush or ordinary mitten and touch the tip of the brush or mitten to each flower, so you transfer the pollen from the stamens to the pistil and there will be fruits. There is also an option - there are very few nutrients in the soil, the lemon does not have enough light, there is not enough moisture, or, on the contrary, there is an excess of moisture or a very cramped pot, but, most likely, there is simply no pollination.
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Recently bought lemon with polished foliage and several bright yellow fruits suddenly began to change. The handsome man stopped blooming, began to drop the leaves. I found out the reason from experienced florists.
Remember! Citrus fruits thrive in acidic soils. The soil in the pot is quickly alkalized. Although we water the plants with settled water, it still contains a lot of lime impurities.
I collected pine and spruce needles in a nearby park. At home, she kept it on a steam bath for 30 minutes and mixed a couple of handfuls with a potted substrate. The surface of the soil was also covered with pine needles. The result was noticed in two weeks - fresh green leaves appeared on the lemon tree.
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DIY winter haircut for citrus
Sowed lemon seed seeds in February 2020, and by December, decent-sized trees had grown. I had to start forming immediately.
1. Shortened the central stem by 15-20 cm.
2. Then I trimmed the side shoots so that they were below the stem, but removed no more than 15 cm.
Z. I also removed the twigs growing inside the bush and dried up.
I will cut the plants annually: the second-order shoots that appear on the lateral branches - by 10-15 cm, the third and fourth - by 5-10 cm. The result will be a tree with a beautiful, lush, but not thickened crown.
BTW
It is not recommended to cut a plant that is too young. I waited as long as possible, but when one of the lemons outgrew the height of my rather big window, I had to do pruning without waiting for the age of one year.
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I’ve been growing lemons for 15 years, and every year they bloom and bear fruit, and twice: in June and in November-December. Ripening fruits do not interfere with flowering.
It is not difficult to care for lemons: you need to transplant, feed, water and process from pests on time. Lemon love transplant. While they were small and actively growing, they transplanted each year. Now the trees are huge, almost human-sized, so it is difficult to replant them. I just change the top layer of soil, often feeding with a special fertilizer.
In summer, we take lemons out into the garden. Here they begin to grow actively, they clearly like the garden. I water directly from the hose, while I shower the leaves.
At the end of September, we return the lemons to the house. In the house I often spray lemons, and although they are in our living room, but close to the windows where the winter mini-garden is arranged, it is still not so hot here.