Tips for caring for your lemon to keep it fruiting

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Growing a lemon is half the battle. After all, it is necessary that it grow, develop and bear fruit. At home, dwarf lemon varieties are usually grown, which feel great even on the windowsill. But in order for the bush to please the owner with lush flowering and tasty fruits, you need to know how to care for it.

Home care for lemon

You can plant one of the following types of houses:

• Pavlovsky;
• Meyer;
• Lunario;
• Lisbon.

Lemon, like any other cultivated plant, when grown at home, requires some care. In order for it not only to develop well, but also to bear fruit, it is necessary to follow several rules regarding watering, lighting, fertilizing, transplanting and treatment.

I must say right away that the indoor tree needs to form a crown, so the excess branches need to be cut off.

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A lemon can be grown from a seed, but it is better to purchase a ready-made seedling and then in 2-3 years the tree will delight the owner with delicious aromatic fruits.

With good care, a lemon bush can live for about 30 years. After flowering, the fruits are poured within 9 months. It is not worth keeping them on the tree longer, because as they increase in size, they become thick-skinned and lose their taste.

It is very important to monitor the condition of the plant and in no case should you pick off the buds until 20 leaves grow on the tree.

Experts have found that 9-10 leaves are needed for the full development of one fetus. Therefore, the harvest must be left, depending on their number on the tree.

In addition, leaf fall, which occurs due to insufficient care, should be controlled. In this case, the lemon will also stop bearing fruit due to loss of foliage.

Primary requirements

More recently, it was believed that lemon cannot bear fruit at home and this quality is inherent only in garden culture. But it is not so.

Fruiting can be achieved from the room variety, but for this you need to know how to care for it so that it develops normally and bears fruit:

1. Lemon is best planted immediately in a permanent place, since it does not tolerate movement. But at the same time, the bush must be regularly (once / 1, 5 weeks) turned 25-30 degrees, which will help its uniform development.
2. The distance between the ceiling and the stand should be at least 200 cm, otherwise the plant will feel uncomfortable.
3. In summer it is recommended to take it out in the sun, but not leave it there for more than two hours. Sunbathing is very beneficial for the indoor tree.
4. In winter, be sure to organize backlighting for at least 5-6 hours.
5. Lemon is a thermophilic plant, so the air temperature in the room should be kept in the range of + 14-27 degrees. During the flowering period, the bush is placed in a cooler room. The same applies to the winter season, when the plant is resting, otherwise in the future the bush will not be able to develop and bear fruit normally.
6. Citrus grows well and bears fruit indoors, where the air humidity is at least 70%. Therefore, in order to ensure optimal conditions, a humidifier or just an aquarium is placed next to it. For the same reason, the tree should not be placed near heating appliances.
7. In spring and summer, watering should be abundant - twice a day, the tub is spilled completely so that the earthen lump is completely saturated with moisture. In this case, a drainage system should be organized in order to prevent stagnation of water. Be sure to put a pallet below.

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Fertilization

Lemon absorbs nutrients very actively, so regular feeding is required.

From March to October, the phase of intensive development begins, so the plant especially needs fertilizing, which are carried out once / 14 days. In winter, once a month will be enough.

In the spring, citrus is fed with nitrogen, in the rest of the period - with phosphorus and potassium. Lemon also reacts well to the introduction of organic matter. As a top dressing, you can use bird droppings or humus, having previously dissolved one of the components in water. All this will help the tree to grow, develop and bear fruit abundantly.

Pruning and shaping the crown

At home, lemon is actively growing, so the growth of foliage must be controlled. To do this, it is necessary to properly care for the plant and carry out regular pruning in order not only to give the bush a decorative look, but also to ensure its ability to bear fruit.

Pruning is generally not carried out for young trees. For uniform formation of the crown, they are only systematically rotated around the axis (by several degrees) so that the sun illuminates each side.

How to properly prune lemon at home:

1. When the citrus reaches a height of 25-30 cm, it can be carefully trimmed using a pruner. To add decorative effect, the bush is cut at a height of about 20 cm. In this case, the base will turn out to be low, and the branching process is activated.
2. After the performed manipulations, the side shoots begin to grow intensively in the lemon, which must also be cut off the next year.
3. In indoor plants, the growth of shoots is slowed down, on which ovaries are formed. Often they dry up altogether, therefore, at the end of the fruiting period, such branches are cut into 2-3 leaves.

Bonus

1. Lemon belongs to tropical crops, so you need to keep it in a warm room. The exception is periods of rest and flowering.
2. The constant change in the place of detention leads to a slowdown in the processes of flowering and fruiting.
3. The air humidity must be at least 70%, otherwise the tree will drop its foliage and stop blooming.
4. Regular pruning will help to form the crown and stimulate the growth of new shoots.
5. The lemon tree needs regular feeding, as it has the ability to intensively absorb nutrients from the soil.