Indoor lemon is a perennial evergreen plant that is grown at home as a decorative and fruitful crop. Compared to other indoor plants, it has several advantages: it releases healthy essential oils, perfectly cleans the air in the room and gives aromatic fruits.
But it should be recognized that it is not easy to grow a full-fledged lemon, giving a generous crop, because for this you need to know about the basic biological characteristics of the culture. Consider how to care for homemade lemon so that the plant fully develops and stably produces fruit.
Features of indoor lemon
Lemon tree at home reaches a height of 1.5 m, but there are dwarf varieties that grow up to 80-100 cm and form a bush. The plant is distinguished by large spiny shoots. The tops of young branches have a purple-violet hue.
The leaves are large, oblong, oval in shape with small denticles along the edges. They contain a large amount of essential oil. Having broken the edge, you can feel a pleasant lemon aroma.
The plant is evergreen, therefore, the replacement of foliage occurs gradually. The life expectancy of one leaf is 2-3 years. For abundant fruiting, it is important that the tree has a sufficient number of leaves, at least 20 pieces.
The flowers on the plant are bisexual, located mainly in bunches. Fruits are tied regardless of the fact of pollination. The diameter of the flowers is 4-5 cm. They have a steady refined aroma. The buds ripen within 4-5 weeks, flowering lasts 40-50 days. On one plant can be at the same time buds, flowers and fruits.
The period from the moment of ovary to the ripening of the fetus is 230 days during spring flowering, in the summer its duration is reduced to 180-200 days.
When the indoor lemon blooms in the first year after grafting, the buds are recommended to be removed, since all the forces of the plant will go to them at the expense of the development of the plant.
Subsequently, room lemon itself regulates the optimal number of buds, it simply discards the excess ones.
The number of leaves and fruits is interconnected. For the full ripening of one lemon, 9-10 leaves are needed. And the more foliage on the tree, the more fruits you can collect. It is important to know how to properly care for homemade lemon throughout the year, so that the plant can grow green mass in the warm period and keep it in the winter.
The fruits of a room lemon can be large (up to 0.5 kg) with a thick peel and small (100-120 g) with a thin skin, depending on the variety selected. When ripe, they do not fall and continue to hold tight to the branches.
If they are not removed, they continue to grow, but at the same time the taste worsens, the peel becomes thicker, the color gradually changes from yellow again to green. Therefore, it is recommended to remove them in a timely manner, which will allow the plant to recover quickly and prepare for a new stage of fruiting.
Care Rules
In order for the plant to fully develop and regularly bear fruit, you need to know how to care for homemade lemon in the summer and winter. Compliance with the basic requirements guarantees a stable crop annually.
When growing, it is important to understand that indoor lemon is not a familiar house plant, its growth phases are closely related to the periods of the year. In accordance with this, conditions of detention should be adjusted.
Indoor lemon blossoms and grows periodically; during the year, 4 active phases can be distinguished. It is not worth counting on the fact that the plant will constantly form new leaves and shoots. Therefore, it is important to ensure full conditions for maximum foliage growth during these periods and to ensure good rest in the winter so that the leaves do not completely fall off before the new growing season.
Knowing how to care for lemon in the winter and in the warm season, you can achieve the desired results. This is not at all difficult. You just need to familiarize yourself with the basic rules for caring for this unusual indoor plant.
How to care for homemade lemon: lighting features
Indoor lemon is recommended to be placed on the southeast or east side. In this case, direct sunlight should be excluded. The plant should be shaded during the active sun, as this can provoke overheating of the roots in the pot and burns on the foliage.
And how to care for homemade lemon in winter, when daylight becomes short? During this period of the year, the plant is at a dormant stage, but backlighting in the evening is necessary to maintain vitality. A fluorescent lamp should be used, placing it 60-80 cm above the plant. It must be turned on for 4-5 hours, so that the daylight hours are 10 hours.
Over time, all the leaves of the plant turn towards the light source. And so that the lemon does not grow one-sided, it is recommended to turn it occasionally. This should be done gradually, since the plant is very sensitive to changes in lighting and location, such rearrangements lead to slower growth of shoots and leaves. After adaptation, the plant resumes active growth.
Watering and humidity
Watering a room lemon is moderate as the topsoil dries out, avoiding drying out and waterlogging. Water needs to be defended, it is recommended to heat it to a temperature of 30-35 degrees before watering.
Irrigation in summer should be carried out 2 times a week, and in winter 1 time in 7-10 days, depending on the rate of moisture evaporation.
There is one secret: if it is possible to mold a lump from the top layer of the soil that holds its shape, then it is too early to water, if the soil crumbles, then it is time.
After irrigation, the water in the pan should remain for 1-1.5 hours to absorb. Then the residues should be poured.
High humidity is also important. But how to care for homemade lemon, if in the winter heating appliances work? To fix this, it is necessary to spray the leaves with warm water once every 5 days. In addition, additional containers with water should be placed next to the pot, which will increase the evaporation area and prevent the discharge of foliage.
Content temperature
To grow a full-fledged fruit-bearing tree, you need to know how to care for a house plant. Lemon needs the optimum temperature of the content depending on the period of the year.
The temperature regime from late February to early September should be at least 18 degrees. During the flowering and ripening period, this indicator should be increased to 21-22 degrees.
Lemon will respond to an elevated temperature (27-29 degrees) by slowing growth. But it is necessary to ensure high humidity. Otherwise, the leaves will curl as a result of excessive evaporation of water.
In the period from early October to late January, the plant needs peace. It is important that during this period the temperature of the content is not lower than 5 degrees and not higher than 10-12. This will allow room lemon to fully relax and recover.
Warm wintering negatively affects the immunity of the plant. As a result, the susceptibility of lemon to diseases and pests increases.
Top dressing
The next important moment is the fruiting lemon. How to care for a plant so that it can fully develop? To do this, it is necessary to feed regularly.
Mineral fertilizers can be purchased in specialized stores. During the period of active growth of shoots and foliage, preparations with a high nitrogen content should be chosen, and during the formation of buds and flowering with a high concentration of phosphorus and potassium.
Opponents of chemicals can use the following types of biological fertilizers:
- Infusion of manure. 100 g of the component in 2 liters of water, insist 10 days.
- Extract from wood ash. 50 g of ash pour 12 liters of boiling water, leave the solution for 24 hours.
- Fish broth. 100 g of fish pour 1 liter of water, cook for 1 hour. Insist the solution for 3 hours, peel and use to water the lemon.
- Eggshell. Insist the shell of 2-3 eggs in 1 liter of water for 12 hours.
Feeding is recommended at intervals of 1 time in 7 days in the summer and 1 time in 20 days in the winter.
The nutrient solution should be added to the water for irrigation at the rate of 30 ml per 1 liter.
Pruning
How to care for a room lemon so that the crown of the tree has the correct shape? For this it is necessary to carry out the formation of shoots, before the active period of growth.
For a one-year lemon, the central shoot should be shortened at a height of 30 cm, and pinch the tops of the side ones. This stimulates the growth of a lush crown.
Subsequently, the tree should be cleaned annually of thickening, damaged and old branches. And shorten the side shoots, leaving 3-4 sheets on each.
Knowing how to care for homemade lemon in a pot, you can grow a strong fruiting plant without any difficulties.
Transfer
A room lemon does not need an annual transplant. It is enough to regularly change the top layer with a depth of 2-3 cm to a new nutrient substrate.
A full-fledged plant transplantation should be carried out once every 3-4 years by a transshipment method, without violating the integrity of the earthen coma, but only filling the resulting voids in the pot.
To prepare the earthen mixture, you must mix the following components:
- 2 parts of soddy soil;
- 1 part of sheet land;
- 1 part humus;
- 0.5 part of river sand;
- 1 part coconut fiber
- 1 part perlite.
conclusions
Information on how to care for home-made lemon will help you get a generous harvest of fruits without much hassle. But it is worthwhile to understand that caring for the plant should be regular, any oversight in the care leads to the loss of leaves, which are so important for its growth and development.
Strict adherence to the above recommendations will help to avoid critical errors.