Room lemon: care at home, growing, photo, disease, bloom, reproduction

Room lemon is one of the most spectacular and beautiful ornamental plants. Pleasing their owners with bright foliage and fragrant flowers, this citrus, however, belongs to a group of very whimsical. Care for a lemon at home should be done correctly. At the slightest violation of technology, the tree will not only not bloom and bear fruit, but it may even lose its leaves and perish. In order for the plant to develop well and have a lush crown, it should be properly watered and fertilized.

What do I need to know about?

Further in the article, in all details, we will deal with the way in which a plant such as a room lemon, home care is carried out. The flowering and fruiting of this citrus fruit is possible only if:

• Correct choice of location;
• Use of suitable soil;
• Regular watering and feeding;
• Periodic pruning.

Bloom

The main decorative value of lemon is represented by its dense leaves of saturated dark green color. White with yellow stamens stellate flowers of this citrus are quite effective. However, they grow in the depths of the crown, in the axils of the leaves, and almost unnoticeable from the outside. Therefore, a group of beautifully flowering indoor plants can not be taken as a lemon. But although the flowers of this citrus are not his main decoration, they smell very nice. And the aroma is distributed literally throughout the room.

Abundant emergence of buds is possible only if the correct for such a plant as a room lemon, care at home. This citrus fruit does not bloom most often because of a lack of nutrients in the soil and irregular irrigation. Also, the lack of buds and fruits can be affected by the lack of sunlight.

How to choose a variety?

In the wild, a roomy lemon, home-care for which is really complex, grows in hot India. As a cultural this plant has been cultivated for a very long time, including in Russia. Brought to our country lemons were still in the time of Peter the Great. Over the years of cultivation, many varieties of this citrus fruit, harvested and unpretentious have been bred. But of course, not all varieties are suitable for cultivation in confined space. The most popular among fans of indoor plants are varieties:

1. Pavlovsky. Such lemons under favorable conditions can reach a height of even up to 2 meters. The advantages of this variety are, first of all, that it reproduces very easily. Pavlovskiy lemon, cultivation and care at home, which - procedures, in comparison with other varieties, are relatively simple, well suited not too experienced a floriculturist. The fruit is very fragrant and fragile. The variety does not like too much sunlight.
2. Meyer. This variety is good early fruit and unpretentiousness. From most other species it is distinguished by more acidic fruits. Also, Meyer's roomy lemon, home care for which is produced about the same as for any other varieties, is compact. This variety grows very low.
3. Novogruzinsky. This lemon is easy to force to harvest all year round. The fruit does not have seeds and smells very good.

How to choose a place?

To the peculiarities of the lemon, among other things, it can be attributed to the fact that he does not like changing the situation. Therefore, the place for him should be chosen carefully. Most varieties prefer good lighting. But direct sunlight does not suffer from this.

They put a lemon, cultivation and care at home which will be successful only if the place is chosen correctly, most often on the eastern window. Bright, but quite scattered morning light for good development of this plant is quite enough.

You can also put lemons on the southern window. However, in this case, you should definitely take care of the shading. Direct sunlight will definitely cause burns in the plant. In addition, the lemon will react to the excess of light by the appearance of a large number of small whitish leaves. Thus, citrus simply tries to reduce the area of contact with UV rays and will lose in effectiveness.

Choose a place for the lemon should also taking into account that the pot is not cooled by a draft. This is especially true of the cold season. If the ground temperature in the pot is below the ambient temperature, the plant will discard the leaves.

How to propagate by cuttings?

This is the easiest way to get some new lemons at home. Cut the cuttings from an adult plant in early spring. The sprig should be mature, about 4-5 mm thick. Lower leaves from the cuttings are removed. Plant the sprig is best in a greenhouse made of a conventional plastic bottle.

Excellent capacity for 2 liters. The top of the bottle is cut, and in its bottom, several holes are made to drain water. Then a layer of steamed sand is poured onto the bottom. Above lay a nutritious primer with acidity of 6.5-7 pH. The substrate for a lemon can be bought in a store or prepared with your own hands. In the latter case, take:

• Leaf ground - 1 hour;
• Humus - 1 hour;
• Sod land - 2 hours;
• Sand - 1 hour.

All components should be thoroughly mixed and put into a bottle.

The butt of the cut cut is sprinkled with wood ash, powdered with a heteroauxin stimulator and immersed in the soil for 2-3 cm. Then the plant should be thoroughly poured and the bottle covered with a polyethylene film. In the future, it is not recommended to moisten the soil in the tank before rooting. The roots of the branchlets are released about a month later.

When using cuttings as a planting material, it will be easiest to carry out after such citrus, as a room lemon, home care. Reproduction by this technology allows you to quickly get a lush, healthy, fruitful adult plant.

Using Seeds

Planting material with this growing method should be chosen as carefully as possible. From the fruit of an even shape you need to get the largest seed. Plant it immediately. As a container in this case, you can use a usual plastic cup with the drainage holes made in it. On its bottom should pour a little sand. The soil in this case is used the same as for the cuttings.

It is best to plant a few seeds at once in different cups, and then choose the strongest plant for growing. Deepen the seeds in the soil for 2-3 cm. Immediately after planting, watering is performed. In a larger capacity, 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 rootlets of the lemon grass are damaged, it will discard the foliage.

How to water?

Moisture is something that very much likes a roomy lemon. Care at home for him, as well as for all citrus, is, including, and frequent watering. In summer, the soil under the plant is moistened once a day - two. In winter, the lemon is watered once a week. With a lack of moisture leaflets in this plant change color to yellow-brown.

If this happens, in no case can not pour a lemon immediately with a large amount of water. Otherwise, the root system will die. To correct the state of affairs in this situation it is possible, slightly moistening the soil under the plant and copiously sprinkling it. It will also be useful to wrap the stem with a damp cloth.

How to fertilize?

To feed a lemon also follows quite often. In summer, once a month, the plant is watered with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Do it best at night. Also, once a month it is useful to water the lemon with iron sulfate solution . The best organic fertilizer for this citrus fruit is normal cow dung.

You can also purchase in the store a complex top dressing containing nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. This means lemon is fed twice a month. Very useful for this decorative culture is also the wood ash, which contains a huge amount of microelements.

Care of the lemon at home in terms of fertilizing can also be carried out using purchased formulations designed specifically for citrus fruits. Sometimes lovers of indoor plants also replace the top layer of soil in a pot with a lemon on a pond sludge containing many useful substances. In winter, in the event that the plant is fruitful, fed with complex fertilizer or organic it should be once a month.

Crown formation

Periodic pruning - this is also something that necessarily requires a roomy lemon. Care at home for 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 right after the lemon grows to a height of 20-30 cm. At this time, the tip is carefully removed in such a way that 3-4 buds remain on the stem.

Of these, about a year later shoots of the first level are formed. After they reach a length of 20-30 cm, they are also pinched. Next, on the branches, shoots of the second, third, etc. levels will begin to form. Each new "wave" should be plucked so that it was 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, lemon should be watered and fertilized on time. It is also necessary to do the shaping of its crown. What else is waiting for the florist, who performs for such a plant as a room lemon, home care? Diseases affect this type of citrus fruit, unfortunately, often. Therefore, a lemon may need to be treated from time to time.

The trees of this variety can be affected both by fungi, and by microorganisms or insect pests. Most often, lovers of indoor flowers have to fight with scabbards, flour worms and aphids, damaging lemons. All these types of pests are engaged in the fact that they suck the juice from the leaves. They can be combated with soapy water or tobacco infusions (50-60 g per liter). Sometimes shchitovok, aphids and mites are expelled from plants and with the help of a chlorophosic solution (30 g per 10 l).

Diseases

Gummosis is also one of the problems faced by many fans of ornamental plants growing indoor lemon. Care at home for this citrus involves, including, and periodic inspection of leaves and stems. In the diseased plant in the lower part of the trunk, cracks appear, from which the gum begins to form. Treat the tree with a garden or clay. Cracks are previously disinfected with a solution of copper sulfate 3%. Then the wounds simply carefully cover with varnish or clay.

Here and so it is carried out for such plant, as a room lemon, care in house conditions. Photos on the page clearly show all 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.