Contents
Pavlovsky lemon can be considered a symbol of home citrus growing. History says that in 1860, the Nizhny Novgorod merchant Karachistov brought a lemon seedling from Turkey to the village of Pavlovo and planted it in a tub. Years passed, the lemon gave offspring, and over time, almost every window in the village was decorated with lemon trees with golden fruits. That line of trees became known as the Pavlovsk lemon.
But in fact, lemons were grown in tub culture before. And not only in the greenhouses of kings and shahs – in Our Country, a rare landowner’s estate did not have its own greenhouse, where lemons ripened.
The lemon is believed to have originated from the natural hybridization of other citrus fruits. According to some reports, it is a hybrid of citron and bitter orange. Already in the XII – XIII centuries, it was grown in India and Pakistan and quickly won sympathy in countries with a tropical and subtropical climate. And the ability of a lemon to adapt to closed ground today allows you to grow lemons even beyond the Arctic Circle.
Lemon (Citrus limon) from the Rutaceae family is an evergreen tree or shrub with thick shoots covered with rare thorns. The leaves are oblong, oval, dark emerald in color, glossy.
Flowers solitary or paired, 2–3 cm in diameter, pure white or creamy white, strongly recurved, with a delicate aroma. The buds and outer side of the flowers are pinkish. Budding lasts about 1 month, and flowering – up to 1,5 months. Egg-shaped yellow fruits with juicy greenish-yellow pulp, sour-tart taste, ripen 8-9 months after the end of flowering. Most varieties have seeds.
The leaves and peel of fruits contain a large amount of phytoncides, thanks to which lemons growing at home heal the atmosphere of rooms, protecting against staphylococcus and E. coli, its essential oils increase human efficiency. By the way, among all citrus fruits, lemons and grapefruits purify the air the best. Oranges and tangerines to a lesser extent (1).
Self-grown fruits contain the maximum amount of nutrients. They strengthen the immune system, have a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system. Water or tea with lemon is an excellent remedy for colds, vitamin deficiency and poisoning.
In open ground, lemons are grown in subtropical regions. However, this citrus has long been grown in tub culture. Moreover, in the summer, these plants are traditionally taken out into the garden under the canopy of trees. It is important to return the plants to warm rooms in time, because during short-term frosts (-3 ° C), the shoots freeze, and the fruits are even more sensitive.
An adult tree in room conditions can produce 10 – 20 lemons.
Indoor lemon varieties
To grow a lemon at home, it is important to choose the right variety. The best option is varieties that have long been adapted for such conditions or specially created, which do not exceed 2 m in height, shade-tolerant. If there is a choice, then it is better to buy a seedling grown from a cutting, because sellers of grafted lemons do not always indicate the stock. And this is important, because these can be seedlings for open ground.
Traditionally, Pavlovsky, Meyer and Lunario lemon varieties are grown in homes. However, the range of lemon seedlings is wider, so you can choose the most suitable for a particular living space. Particularly interesting are remontant varieties that bloom and bear fruit 2 to 4 times a year.
Pavlovsky. An old variety with a rounded compact crown up to 1,5 m high. The fruits are large with a thin smooth skin, juicy sweet and sour pulp and a large number of seeds.
The variety is early-growing – blooms for 3 years after the rooting of the cuttings, remontant, blooms 2 times a year – in spring and autumn.
Meyer. One of the best high-yielding varieties of Chinese origin with a rounded crown, up to 2 m high, relatively small leaves, multi-flowered inflorescences, rounded bright yellow fruits with thin shiny skin – they are very juicy, sweet-sour, with a special aftertaste.
Remontant variety, blooms 4 times a year.
Lunario (OvenSeasons). An old Sicilian high-yielding variety with a beautiful crown shape, barely reaching 1 m in height. Very characteristic elongated fruits with a pronounced neck and “navel”, thin smooth light yellow skin. The taste is weak, not strongly sour, but with a strong aroma. The pulp is low-juicy.
The variety is remontant, it blooms every new moon, therefore there are almost always ripening fruits and flowers on the tree.
Villa Franca. American variety with oval smooth fruits, yellow juicy sweetish flesh and dense skin. Differs in large leaves of emerald color and a small number of thorns.
Genoa. Italian high-yielding variety up to 1,5 m high with a lush crown. The fruits are round, medium in size with a yellowish-green rough skin, juicy and aromatic pulp of a sour taste.
Kursk. Early maturing, high-yielding variety with oval fruits weighing up to 140 g with a thin skin. It tolerates shading and low temperatures well.
Lemon 008. ROssian high-yielding variety up to 1,5 m high with rounded fruits. The peel is of medium thickness, slightly wrinkled, yellow. The pulp is very juicy, sour.
Remontant variety – blooms and bears fruit at the same time all year round.
Maykop. High-yielding variety with oval oblong fruits weighing up to 150 g. Peel of medium thickness, glossy, ribbed. The variety is early-growing – blooms for 2 – 3 years.
World. High-yielding domestic variety with beautiful round fruits weighing up to 400 g, bright yellow, with a thin skin. The pulp is juicy, with a strong special aroma. A distinctive feature of the variety is that the fruits can be collected in bunches of several pieces.
Novogruzinsky (New Athos). Productive variety up to 2 m high with a spreading crown, round or elliptical fruits with a thin yellow skin, juicy sweet-sour pulp. A characteristic feature is quite a lot of spikes.
Tashkent. Uzbek early-growing and early-ripening variety with small (up to 85 g) fruits, with a thin orange peel. Differs in small leaves and flowers, double flowering during the year.
Anniversary. Uzbek early ripe variety with round fruits, dense yellow skin. It has a high degree of shade tolerance.
In general, the lemon does not impose any incredible requirements for care, but there are nuances that must be taken into account.
Care for indoor lemon at home
In general, the lemon does not impose any incredible requirements for care, but there are nuances that must be taken into account.
Ground
Lemons are fairly large and fast growing plants, so they need nutrient-rich soil to grow in a small pot. It should be loose, water and breathable. The ideal soil is loamy with a neutral reaction (pH 6,5 – 7,0)
Most often, a special primer for citrus fruits from a reliable manufacturer is used.
You can prepare the soil for the lemon yourself. One of the recipes is as follows: take equal proportions of soddy and leafy soil, rotted horse manure, peat and washed river sand. For specimens older than 5 years, the proportion of sod land is increased by 2 times. Be sure to pickle the mixture and check the level of acidity (2).
Lighting
For successful cultivation of lemon, it is important to provide the plant with good lighting. The best option is a window sill southeast. Despite the love of light, from direct sunlight in summer, the lemon must be shaded. By the appearance of the tree, it is easy to determine when it lacks light: the new leaves are small, pale, the shoots are weak, there are few flowers. In this case, it is necessary either to move the plant to a brighter place, or to turn on additional lighting with phytolamps, especially in winter.
When kept in cool conditions in spring, the lemon wakes up early and begins to grow actively. At this time, it is necessary to increase the illumination, and with the onset of heat, transfer the lemon to the balcony or garden. In the garden, a lemon tree is placed under a light diffused shade of trees.
Temperature
Lemon is a subtropical culture, so the comfortable temperature for it is 14 – 16 ° C. But it easily tolerates both lower temperatures in winter and summer heat. However, it is important for him that the difference between day and night temperatures should be no more than 6 ° C. Especially during the flowering period.
Under room conditions, some varieties of lemon bloom even in winter, so on a cold windowsill under the pot, you need to put a piece of foam or thick cork, fence off the cold glass with a film. But the plant also needs to be protected from the heat of the battery, for example, hang a damp cloth on it – this will increase the humidity of the air at the same time.
Lemon loves fresh air, but not drafts. Therefore, regular ventilation must be carried out carefully so that the plant does not fall under the jets of cold air.
Humidity
Humidity plays a critical role in successful lemon growing. If in the warm season a lemon is often taken out to the garden or to the balcony and there are minimal problems with air humidity, then during the heating season dry air causes great harm to the plant.
The optimum air humidity for lemon is 60 – 80%. If it is lower in summer and the temperature is high, then it is recommended to spray the plants with clean soft water at least once a day. In winter, indoor humidity is always low, and the temperature is above 1 ° C, so it is recommended to use air humidifiers or spray plants 20-2 times a day, put the pot in a deep pan with wet expanded clay, and next to the pot – a wide vessel with water.
It is also important to regularly wash the plant, removing dust and dirt from the leaves.
Water the lemon rarely, after the top layer of soil dries to a depth of 1,5 – 2 cm), but plentifully, draining the water from the pan after 3 – 5 minutes. Water should be settled and at room temperature.
For watering, spraying and a full shower, it is recommended to use rain or filtered water at room temperature with the addition of a pinch of citric acid per 3 liters.
fertilizers
Lemon nutrition should be balanced. Experienced citrus growers prefer to use special complex fertilizers, or fertilizers like Ideal or Zdraven. The composition of complex fertilizers must necessarily contain boron, manganese and zinc.
Practice shows that lemons respond well to fertilizing with infusions of wood ash and biohumus.
Feeding
At home, lemons rarely have a dormant period, so plants are fed all year round. From March to October, fertilizing watering is done once a week using Ideal type fertilizer. From November to February – once a month.
To stimulate the formation of fruits and prevent shedding of the ovaries, the drug Bud is used.
During the period of growth and ripening of fruits, 2 times with an interval of 2-3 months, the lemon is fed with a solution of wood ash – 1 tbsp. spoon for 1 liter of water.
When transplanted into water for irrigation, a root stimulator is added.
Trimming
As a result of pruning, it is important to get a tree with a low trunk, a harmonious fluffy crown. This will allow you to get a good and stable harvest. The process of forming a lemon crown is long and unhurried.
Lemon pruning is best done at the end of winter or in the first days of spring – this increases the chances of active fruiting.
They start pruning from the first year of life: the trunk is shortened to a height of 20 – 25 cm. However, it is important that 4 buds remain on it for the growth of side branches.
In the second year of life, a crown begins to form in a lemon. Cut off the crown and long side branches, cutting off about 10 – 20 cm of the shoot. Do it in the second half of February. The pinching of the shoots is carried out during the spring, shortening the rapidly growing young shoots. But do not get carried away with pinching, as it is at the tips of the branches that inflorescences appear.
In addition to forming pruning, lemon also requires sanitary pruning. Some branches may dry out. But you should not rush to remove them, because even on an outwardly dry shoot, dormant buds can come to life.
Reproduction of indoor lemon at home
Lemons are propagated by seeds, cuttings and layering. However, the seed method is used only for further grafting, because without it the seedling will give the first fruits in 20 years. Lemon can be propagated by layering only if you already have an adult tree.
The most affordable way to propagate lemon at home is cuttings. The best time for cutting cuttings is from April to July, when flowering is over and the development of the tree has slowed down. At this time, the most favorable conditions for rooting are warm and light.
You need to cut and trim the cuttings with a sharp and disinfected tool.
The shoot from which the cutting is removed should be semi-lignified, green in color and easily bent. For rooting, a cutting with 2 to 4 leaves is enough. The bottom cut is made oblique right under the bottom sheet, the top one is 1 cm above the sheet, the bottom sheet is removed. The remaining leaves are shortened by half to reduce the evaporation of moisture. The lower cut of the cutting is soaked in a root formation stimulator for 8-10 hours.
To root the cuttings, you need a pot with drainage holes. A layer of fine expanded clay is poured, then soil (approximately 2/3 of the height of the pot), consisting of equal parts of leaf and sod land with the addition of vermiculite or coarse sand. Then sand and vermiculite are poured in 2 layers. Watered with settled warm water with the addition of trichodermin.
Cuttings are planted, deepening by 1,5 – 2 cm. If 2 – 3 cuttings are rooted in one pot, then they should not touch each other with leaves.
Planted cuttings are sprayed with warm water (2 – 3 ° C above room temperature), covered with a glass or plastic cap, or placed in a greenhouse. The rooting process takes place in a warm and bright place, but without direct sunlight. Cuttings are regularly shed, aired daily and sprayed with water.
In favorable conditions, after 1 month, roots will appear and the cutting will begin to develop. After that, gradually, within 10 days, the shelter is removed.
In the same pot, cuttings are grown, adding fertile soil and providing regular fertilizing watering. And only the grown cutting is transplanted into a separate pot with special soil.
Rooted lemon cuttings can bloom in 1 year, but the flowers must be removed.
Indoor lemon transplant at home
Lemon transplantation is carried out for the first time after you have purchased a seedling. Then it is done annually at the end of February until the age of 5, and then only when the root system outgrows the pot (the roots penetrate the drainage holes). But every year you need to remove the top layer of soil and add fresh soil.
To transplant, the lemon is taken out of the pot, the soil is slightly shaken off, the damaged roots are cut off, the slices are sprinkled with charcoal.
One-year-olds are planted in pots with a diameter of 10–15 cm, two-year-olds in pots with a diameter of 15–20 cm. Further, with each transplant, the diameter of the pot should be 4–5 cm larger than the old one. For an adult fruit-bearing lemon, a pot with a diameter of about 50 cm is sufficient.
A pot for a lemon should have a classic conical shape, smooth inner walls, with a diameter equal to or slightly less than the height, and good drainage holes. First, a 2 cm layer of drainage material is poured into the pot, then 2 cm of river sand and 6–7 cm of prepared soil.
The seedling is lowered into a pot and, slightly compacting, fresh soil is covered. Then watered, excess water is drained from the pan.
When transplanting, it is important not to bury not only the grafting site, but also the root collar.
For the prevention of diseases, 2-3 tablets of Glyocladin are added to the soil.
Lemon Room Diseases
The lemon tree is most often affected by late blight, horse rot and scab. However, in recent years, viral diseases have also become common.
Phytophthora. It causes abscission of flowers, dark spots on leaves and drying of twigs.
When signs and symptoms of the disease appear, it is necessary to remove the affected shoots and spray the plant and soil in the pot with Bordeaux mixture (3).
Scab. The causative agent of scab causes the appearance of round spots on the leaves, shoots and fruits, which eventually turn brown.
When a disease is detected, the first step is to remove the damaged parts, and then treat the plants with Bordeaux liquid or Strobi preparation.
Root rot. It causes shedding of ovaries, leaves and drying of branches.
First of all, it is necessary to inspect the root system, remove the affected parts, sprinkle the cuts with crushed coal and transplant the plant into a new soil. And to a depth of 1 – 2 cm, add Gliocladin tablets.
Viral mosaic. It manifests itself in the form of yellow spots and twisting of the leaves. The disease causes stunted growth and inhibition of the plant.
It is impossible to cure the plant – the affected lemon is destroyed. For prevention, it is necessary to observe agricultural technology and destroy pests in a timely manner.
Tristeza. This disease corrodes lignified shoots, causes yellowing of leaves and drying of branches. The virus is spread by aphids.
The plant is not subject to treatment – the plant must be burned.
Gum disease. A physiological disease provoked by a sharp fluctuation in temperature, an excess of nitrogen in the soil and a lack of trace elements.
Treatment consists in cleaning and treating damaged areas with a solution of potassium permanganate, replacing the soil, balanced nutrition, and watering with warm water.
Indoor lemon pests
Mealybug. The appearance of a mealybug can be seen by the “snow” bloom on the leaves and sticky drops.
If you do not take action, the plant will slow down and even stop growing. The easiest way to prevent is moist air and regular wiping of the leaves with a damp cloth. However, if the infestation is severe, pesticides must be applied. At room conditions, it is better to limit yourself to Bitoxibacillin or Fitoverm. In warm weather, you can take the plant outdoors and use Aktara or Bankol (3).
Shchitovka. It affects the trunk, branches and leaves, its colonies look like dirty drops, sticky to the touch. The activity of scale insects leads to yellowing and shedding of leaves, flowers and ovaries, inhibition of the plant.
At the beginning of infection, washing the plant with a sponge and soapy water gives a good effect. From the trunk and branches of pests, they listen with a cotton pad dipped in alcohol, then washed with water. You can completely destroy the scale insects by using Aktellik or Fitoverm (3).
Spider mite. Damages the leaves, which as a result curl up into tubules and fall off. It breeds most aggressively in a dry atmosphere.
To destroy the spider mite, an increase in air humidity, daily spraying with clean water and treatment with sulfur preparations – colloidal sulfur or Thiovit Jet (3) are used.
Popular questions and answers
We asked about lemon agronomist Oleg Ispolatov – he answered the most popular questions of flower growers.
How to choose indoor lemon?
What kind of pot is needed for indoor lemon?
You need to transplant a lemon regularly, so the shape of the pot should be classic, strict, without any protrusions and embellishments.
Why does indoor lemon turn yellow?
Why do indoor lemon leaves fall?
Why do indoor lemon leaves curl?
– copper – the leaves darken and begin to curl from the tip of the sheet;
– magnesium – the leaves turn pale and curl;
– potassium and boron – the leaves turn pale and twist.
The introduction of these batteries will stop the process.
Why do indoor lemon fruits fall off?
But it often happens that the shedding of the ovaries is caused by a lack of light and nutrition. Pests can also weaken the plant.
Sources of
- Leonov P.P., Radjabov A.K., Tsitsylin A.N., Aiba L.Ya. Phytoncidal activity of some representatives of the citrus family // Achievements of Science and Technology of the APK
https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/fitontsidnaya-aktivnost-nekotoryh-predstaviteley-semeystva-tsitrusovye
- Dadykin V.V. Citrus garden in the room. // M.: Agropromizdat,. 1988
- State catalog of pesticides and agrochemicals permitted for use on the territory of the Federation as of July 6, 2021 // Ministry of Agriculture of the Federation
https://mcx.gov.ru/ministry/departments/departament-rastenievodstva-mekhanizatsii-khimizatsii-i-zashchity-rasteniy/industry-information/info-gosudarstvennaya-usluga-po-gosudarstvennoy-registratsii-pestitsidov-i-agrokhimikatov/