It's no secret that most lovers of indoor plants dream to grow a lemon tree at home. True, many are afraid of the difficulty in caring for him. A tropical lemon plant in room conditions and in the hands of an inexperienced grower can get sick, discard foliage or, on the contrary, “fatten”, refuse to bloom.
The owner needs to learn to understand the wishes of his green pet, creating the most comfortable conditions for him, and know how to care for the lemon at home. Pruning is vital to him. If you want to not only grow a tree, but also get fruits - you will have to work hard. In order for the plant to look well-groomed and neat, it is necessary to correctly trim to give a decorative shape to its crown. Features of this procedure we will discuss in this article.
Is cropping necessary?
There are a number of reasons indicating that pruning a lemon in a pot at home is necessary:
- This procedure rejuvenates an old tree. If this is not done, then the lemon will go up and refuse to bear fruit.
- Pruning significantly reduces the risks of plant diseases.
- A correctly formed crown will increase the life span of the plant and the fruiting time.
- Even the crown should be shaped even if it is not planned to obtain fruits. Otherwise, the tree will look unkempt.
Basic rules for pruning a lemon at home
It is important to carry out this procedure so that it does not harm the plant, so some rules must be observed:
- The procedure is carried out during the resting period of the plant.
- All fruits are removed from an adult fruiting plant.
- The shoots of the first level are cut by 25 cm, the second - no more than 10 cm. The branches following them shorten by a maximum of 5 cm.
At first glance, the procedure is simple, but it should be approached responsibly, since incorrectly pruned lemon at home will set the tree in the wrong direction of growth. Errors made during an unsuccessful procedure can often be corrected only by removing many branches, so you should act clearly in full accordance with the recommendations of specialists and experienced owners of these plants.
Trimming Dates
Regarding when to cut indoor lemons best, experts were divided. Some of them believe that the most suitable time for such a procedure is the beginning of spring, before the formation of new shoots begins. For fruiting, pruning of lemon at home is carried out in late autumn. Others argue that in winter you can adjust the crown.
First pruning
In home care for lemon pruning is of particular importance. It is very important to carry out the first procedure in a timely manner. If it is carried out correctly, the owner can expect to receive fruits.
This is a rather lengthy process - the formation of a young tree crown. It can take up to four years. Having completed it, it will be enough in the following years to slightly cut the shoots so that the plant does not lose its attractive appearance. The first pruning should be done in the first year of the tree's life. The trunk is cut at a height of 20 cm from the soil surface, keeping 3-4 buds on it, from which shoots will later form. It is desirable that they are on the same level, but from different sides of the trunk.
When pruning a lemon at home (you can see the photo in the article), remove all branches growing vertically. This pruning is best done in February. The height of the plant depends on the place where it is planned to place the plant. If, for example, the lemon stands on the windowsill, the plant should not be too tall, and if on the floor, then you can let it grow in height. This should be considered when forming the crown.
Subsequent cropping
In the second year of life, a seedling expels lateral branches, which experts call first-order branches. They should be 3-4. As you remember, 3-4 kidneys were left during the first pruning. To form third-order shoots, it is also necessary to trim. After this, the tree will form a crown itself, and fruiting will occur after the appearance of branches of the fourth order.
Typically, two methods are used:
- full - old or dead tree branches that can cause various diseases are removed;
- partial - a decrease in the length of non-flowering branches by 25 cm.
Removal of shoots is also carried out in the case when they interfere with each other. In this case, the strongest shoot is left, and the weak one is removed. A strong shoot, but growing vertically, needs to be cut, leaving at the same time, even if less strong, but growing horizontally. At the top of the head, you must first cut off the shoot, which grows up.
The complexity of the procedure
When pruning a lemon at home, beginners may experience some problems.
Sometimes at the place of pruning a single shoot is actively formed, while at least three should develop. In this case, it is completely removed (broken out) under the base. Quite often, this procedure has to be repeated several times.
The so-called spinning tops sometimes appear on the plant - shoots that are unable to bear fruit and also grow vertically. They grow much faster than fruit branches. Removal is the easiest and most effective way to deal with them.
Experts warn that at home lemon pruning should be carried out very carefully, since it is very difficult to correct its result.
Tips from experienced gardeners
For the successful formation of the crown of homemade lemon, it is necessary to adhere to the advice and recommendations of experienced gardeners.
- Be sure to process the slices after the procedure. For this, a garden var is usually used. But if very thin branches were deleted, then such processing is optional.
- The annual pruning of a tree will help to form a beautiful crown of a room lemon, during which branches that grow vertically and weak shoots are removed.
- It is necessary to pinch the top of the working shoots so that the fruits begin to be tied to them. Do this after the appearance of seven leaves.
- Quite often, it becomes necessary to adjust the crown of an adult tree that grows in a pot. Such pruning is carried out in April or in early May, when shoot growth occurs. In an adult plant, crown formation is carried out for an aesthetic purpose.
- It is important to timely remove diseased and dead branches.
- Tops should be cut off throughout the year, as they appear.
Flower removal
If you grow lemon at home for fruit, then removing excess flowers will allow you to control this process. This procedure will allow to direct all the forces of the tree to the full development of the remaining flowers of the ovaries. The number of buds left depends on the age of the young tree. Three-year-old lemon, remove half of all formed buds, and then leave 2-3 fruits. For a five-year-old tree, the number of fruits is increased to seven. Up to 10 fruits are left for a seven-year-old lemon.
The weakest flowers should be removed. If the whole branch does not bloom well, it is advisable to cut it completely. The more you remove empty flowers and weak flowers, the more quality ovaries will remain on the branches and, accordingly, the harvest will be richer.
Cropping for rejuvenation
Sooner or later, every owner is faced with a situation where the plant is aging. What kind of room lemon is needed at home in this case? Pruning to rejuvenate the plant will not only improve the appearance of the lemon, but will also significantly increase fruiting.
When the tree is 15-20 years old, it is time for this procedure. Pruning is carried out in the spring, cutting off all branches to the fifth order. This will cause the active growth of sleeping buds and the appearance of young, strong shoots. After this procedure, the tree should be transplanted into a new container, very carefully shortening the roots by about 30%. At the same time, the roots that are inside the earthen coma cannot be affected.