Indoor lemon is one of the most spectacular and beautiful ornamental plants. Delighting its hosts with bright foliage and fragrant flowers, this citrus, however, belongs to a very moody group. Care for lemon at home should be carried out correctly. At the slightest violation of technology, the tree will not only not bloom and bear fruit, but may completely discard the foliage and die. In order for the plant to develop well and have a lush crown, it should be properly watered and fertilized.
What do you need to know about?
Further in the article we will fully understand how it is carried out for such a plant as indoor lemon, home care. Flowering and fruiting of this citrus are possible only if:
- the right choice of place;
- use of suitable soil;
- regular watering and top dressing;
- periodic cropping.
Bloom
The main decorative value of a lemon is its dense leaves of a deep dark green color. The stellate white flowers with yellow stamens of this citrus are quite spectacular. However, they grow in the depths of the crown, in the axils of the leaves, and are almost invisible from the outside. Therefore, lemon cannot be attributed to a group of flowering indoor plants. But although the flowers of this citrus are not its main decoration, they smell very nice. Moreover, the fragrance spreads literally throughout the room.
The abundant appearance of buds is possible only if the right care for such a plant as room lemon is carried out at home. This citrus does not bloom most often precisely because of a lack of nutrients in the soil and irregular irrigation. Lack of sunlight can also affect the lack of buds and fruits.
How to choose a grade?
In the wild, indoor lemon, really difficult to care for at home, grows in hot India. As a cultural plant, it has been cultivated for a very long time, including in Russia. Lemons were brought to our country back in the time of Peter the Great. Over the years of cultivation, many varieties of this citrus, fruitful and unpretentious were bred. But of course, far from all varieties are suitable for growing in confined spaces. The most popular among indoor plant lovers are the varieties:
- Pavlovsky. Under favorable conditions, such lemons can even reach a height of up to 2 meters. The advantages of this variety include primarily the fact that it is very easy to breed. Pavlovsky lemon, cultivation and care at home for which - the procedures, in comparison with other varieties, are relatively simple, well suited not too experienced florist. Its fruits are very fragrant and fragile. The variety does not like bright sunlight too much.
- Meyer. This variety is good for early fruiting and unpretentiousness. It differs from most other varieties by more acidic fruits. Also, Meyer's indoor lemon, which is treated at home in much the same way as any other varieties, is compact. This variety grows very low.
- Novogruzinskiy. This lemon is easy to make year-round. Its fruits have no seeds and smell very good.
How to choose a place?
Among the features of the lemon, among other things, can be attributed to the fact that he really does not like a change of scenery. Therefore, the place for him must be carefully selected. Most varieties prefer good lighting. But it does not tolerate direct sunlight.
They put a lemon, cultivation and care at home which will be successful only if the place is chosen correctly, most often on the east window. Bright, but rather scattered morning lighting for a good development, this plant is enough.
It is allowed to put lemons on the south window. However, in this case, you should definitely take care of shading. Direct sunlight will certainly cause burns to the plant. In addition, the lemon will respond to excess lighting by the appearance of a large number of small whitish leaves. Thus, citrus will simply try to reduce the area of contact with UV rays and lose in effect.
Choosing a place for lemon should also take into account that the pot is not cooled by draft. This is especially true of the cold season. If the temperature of the earth in the pot is lower than the temperature of the surrounding air, the plant will drop the leaves.
How to propagate by cuttings?
This is the easiest way to get some new lemons at home. Cuttings from an adult plant are cut in early spring. The twig should be mature, about 4-5 mm thick. The lower leaves from the stalk are removed. It is best to plant a twig in a greenhouse made from an ordinary plastic bottle.
A 2 liter capacity is perfect. The top of the bottle is cut off, and several holes are made in its bottom for water drainage. Next, a layer of steamed sand is poured onto the bottom. Nutritious soil with an acidity of 6.5-7 pH is laid on top. The substrate for lemon can be bought at the store or made with your own hands. In the latter case, take:
- sheet land - 1 hour;
- humus - 1 hour;
- turf land - 2 hours;
- sand - 1 hour
All components should be thoroughly mixed and put in a bottle.
The end face of the cuttings is sprinkled with wood ash, powdered with a stimulator heteroauxin and immersed in soil 2-3 cm. Next, the plant must be carefully watered and the bottle covered with plastic wrap. In the future, it is not recommended to moisten the soil in the tank until the plant takes root. The roots of the twig are released after about a month.
When using cuttings as a planting material in the future it will be easiest to carry out such a citrus as room lemon, home care. Propagation by this technology allows you to quickly get a lush, healthy, fruiting adult plant.
Using seeds
Planting material with this method of cultivation should be chosen as carefully as possible. From the fruit of an even shape, you need to get the largest seed. It should be planted immediately. In this case, you can use a regular plastic cup with drainage holes made in it as a container. At the bottom should be poured a little sand. The soil in this case is used the same as under the cuttings.
It is best to plant several seeds at once in different glasses, and then choose the strongest plant for growing. Sunflower seeds are buried by 2-3 cm. Watering is performed immediately after planting. In a larger container, the selected lemon will need to be transferred at the age of 3-5 months. Transshipment should be done as carefully as possible. If the roots of lemon are damaged, he will discard the foliage.
How to water?
Moisture is what indoor lemon loves very much. Home care for him, like all citrus fruits, consists, among other things, in frequent watering. In summer, the soil under the plant is moistened once a day - two. In winter, lemon is watered once a week. With a lack of moisture, the leaves of this plant change color to tan.
If this happens, in no case should you pour lemon immediately with plenty of water. Otherwise, the root system will die. To correct the situation in this situation, you can slightly moisten the soil under the plant and spray it abundantly. It will also be useful to wrap the stem with a damp cloth.
How to fertilize?
Lemon should also be fed quite often. In the summer, once a month, the plant is watered with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. This is best done at night. Also, once a month it is useful to water the lemon with a solution of iron sulfate. The best organic fertilizer for this citrus is ordinary cow manure.
You can also purchase in the store a comprehensive top dressing containing nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. With this tool, lemon is fed twice a month. Wood ash containing a huge amount of microelements is also very useful for this decorative culture.
Lemon care at home in terms of top dressing can also be carried out using purchased formulations designed specifically for citrus fruits. Sometimes lovers of indoor plants also replace the topsoil in a pot of lemon with pond silt, which contains many useful substances. In winter, if the plant bears fruit, it should be fed once a month with a complex fertilizer or organics.
Crown formation
Periodic pruning is also what room lemon requires without fail. Home care of this plant in terms of crown formation should be periodic. Otherwise, it may happen that the tree will not bear fruit. For the first time, pruning is done immediately after the lemon reaches a height of 20-30 cm. At this time, the tip is carefully removed from it so that 3-4 buds remain on the stem.
About a year later, first-level shoots form from them. After they reach a length of 20-30 cm, they also pinch. Further on the branches, shoots of the second, third, etc. levels will begin to form. Each new “wave” should be pinched so that it is 5 cm shorter than the previous one. That is, the branches of the second level should have a length of 15-25 cm, the third - 10-20 cm, etc. Of course, you need to remove diseased shoots growing inside the bush, etc.
Pests
Thus, the lemon should be watered and fertilized on time. It is also necessary to tackle the formation of its crown. What other difficulties await the florist, carrying out such a plant as indoor lemon, home care? Unfortunately, diseases often affect this type of citrus . Therefore, the lemon may have to be treated from time to time.
Trees of this variety can be affected by both fungi and microorganisms or pests. Most often, lovers of indoor flowers have to fight with scale insects, flour worms and aphids that infect lemons. All these types of pests are engaged in sucking juice from the leaves. You can fight them through soapy water or tobacco infusion (50-60 g per liter). Sometimes scabies, aphids and ticks are expelled from plants and with the help of a chlorophos solution (30 g per 10 l).
Disease
Gommosis is also one of the problems that many lovers of ornamental plants growing indoor lemon are faced with. Home care for this citrus fruit involves, inter alia, periodic inspection of the leaves and stem. In a patient with gummosis, cracks appear in the lower part of the stem, from which gum begins to stand out. Treat a tree with a garden var or clay. Cracks are pre-disinfected with a solution of copper sulfate 3%. Then the wounds are simply carefully coated with var or clay.
This is how it is carried out for such a plant as room lemon, home care. The photos on the page clearly show the beauty of these citrus fruits. If you grow your lemon, guided by the rules described in the article, you will grow the same spectacular fragrant tree with bright green leaves and a lush crown.