How to Grow and Care for a Lemon Plant In the pot, Usually cultivated in tropical or subtropical climates, lemon trees may also be grown in pots if you live in a cooler climate and want to enjoy homegrown lemons. It’s really more simpler than you might think to grow lemon trees in pots. Lemon trees may be grown in any kind of environment when they are grown in containers. If they have the correct temperature, you may grow them outside all year round. Alternatively, you can bring them inside when the weather turns cooler and they make a lovely, fragrant houseplant.
Planting a Lemon plants in pots: A Guide
There are a few things to consider while growing a lemon tree in a container. First of all, lemon trees grown in containers won’t grow as big as those grown in the ground. Still, it’s preferable to look for lemon trees that are miniature types. When your lemon tree grows, start with a 5-gallon container and gradually expand the size of the pot. Six to eight hours of sunshine are required for lemon plants. Addition of a grow lamp may be necessary if you are cultivating a lemon tree inside. Maintain a damp but never waterlogged soil. Due to their strong feeding needs, lemon trees require an abundance of nutrients during their growing season.
If you are not experienced at growing fruit trees in pots, lemon trees are a great option to start. Their growth is not too difficult, and they don’t require too specific growing conditions. I promise it’s not as hard as you would think to learn how to cultivate lemon trees in pots.
Select Lemon Varieties That Are Dwarf Enough For Container Growing
Lemon trees planted in the ground will eventually reach a larger size than those cultivated in pots. Selecting dwarf lemon tree kinds will ensure ideal growth, even if you may grow any variety within your home. The conditions will restrict the size of the tree, however. In recent years, cultivating lemon trees in pots has gained popularity, and gardeners have discovered a few types that thrive in these environments. The best trees to start with are those that are two to three years old.
They are now old enough to bear fruit, though it may take another year or two before any fruit shows up. Despite their modest size, the trees will eventually develop to dwarf kinds.
For smaller trees, begin with a 12-inch container
Drainage is perhaps the most important consideration when choosing a container for lemon plants. Make sure the one you choose has several drainage holes since they need proper drainage. Ten gallon pots or similar receptacles with a 24 inch diameter and 24 inch depth are ideal for mature plants. Your roots have an abundance of room to spread out and grow at that size. Any kind of material will work well, but terracotta is a great choice as it lets air circulate. However, because you might want to store it atop a wheeled plant dolly so that you can transfer it easily.
Using light-colored pots would be ideal since they will not absorb as much sunlight. Unbelievably, lemon trees’ roots prefer a chilly climate despite their preference for heat. Your tree has to be repotted every few years or right before spring arrives. The optimum time to repot your trees in warmer areas is during the winter. A pot that is either too big or too tiny for your tree should not be used.
Place a pot in a sunny location
When the weather is mild and free of frost, you may leave your citrus trees outside. It is necessary to provide 6–8 hours of direct sunshine every day for potted lemon plants. It’s time to bring in your lemon tree indoors when the temperature drops and there is a chance of frost.
Keep your lemon trees close to windows that face the south or southwest when you’re indoors. You cannot leave your tree in the same location all year round since natural light changes with the seasons. It is true that you must relocate to areas with more sunshine when the season changes. Grow lights can help make up for a lack of sunshine if it occurs.
Put the well-draining planting mix into the container
For your lemon tree, you want to make sure the soil is correct the first time. Potting mixes for citrus trees, palms, and cactus are available in garden nurseries. These mixes are mixed with elements in a way that allows them to retain moisture while also allowing them to drain easily. Never plant in containers using dirt or garden soil. Use of a potting mix blend is required. It will not only lack the pH balance that is ideal for your trees, but it will also lack the minerals required for healthy development.
These trees were planted in slightly acidic to neutral soil, which should have a pH of 5.5 to 7. To assess the pH balance, utilise a soil testing kit. Incorporate more organic stuff at all times.
Plant your lemon tree in a container
Since you can only plant trees in a container once, it’s important to do it correctly the first time. Citrus trees require a lot of air movement, thus knowing the planting depth is essential. Examine your tree and note where the base flares out; this should be revealed to some degree. Leave additional space in your pot after filling it with your tree. After removing the roots from the root ball, plant the tree in the container. Grasping the stem firmly with one hand, evenly distribute the remaining dirt over the area.
Be careful to preserve part of the basic flare’s visibility. Water well until water emerges from the container’s bottom drainage ports.
Problems with lemon trees in pots:
Lemon trees thrive best when their roots are not waterlogged, so ensure your pot has adequate drainage holes. Proper watering is crucial; both overwatering and underwatering can cause issues. Water your lemon tree when the top four inches of soil are dry. Yellowing leaves often indicate a magnesium deficiency, common in potted plants due to faster nutrient leaching. To address this, feed your lemon tree with a citrus-specific fertilizer every couple of weeks during the summer. Leaf drop can occur if the tree is too pot-bound, needs feeding, or experiences extreme temperature changes.
Common pests like scale, whitefly, and spider mites can infest lemon trees. Look for signs such as cobwebs and wash your plant with tepid water to manage these pests. Root rot is another concern, occurring when the soil around the roots becomes anoxic, often due to poor drainage. Ensuring proper soil drainage can help prevent this issue and keep your lemon tree healthy and thriving.
Lemon tree care guide:
Remain wet and prevent the soil from drying out too much
Lemon trees like consistent, routine watering. If the soil dries out too much, the plant’s leaves will drop off. Ideally, their soil should be regularly moist but never soggy. Lemon trees also require high humidity levels. The easiest way to artificially generate this is to spritz your plants daily or set up a tray of pebbles with water next to your plant.
Wet the entire container until the drainage holes are completely dry, allowing two to three inches of soil to dry.
Lemon tree fertilizer requirements
Applying fertilizer is an essential component in cultivating a healthy lemon tree. Composting your soil before planting can help provide the first nutrients required for plant growth, but it’s not the only thing you need to do. To guarantee that your plants have a steady supply of nutrients, mix in some slow-release fertilizer into the soil. In general, citrus plants require large amounts of nitrogen together with trace nutrients.
Choose a citrus-specific plant fertilizer if at all feasible for regular feedings. Because watering removes excess nutrients from the soil, you will need to fertilize often. The frequency of fertilization also varies according to the tree’s development. For extra nutrition, you may, if you’d like, add kelp or manure made from fish.
Lemon tree fertilizer schedule: Fertilize lemon trees every 4–6 weeks during the growing season, which is spring and summer. Avoid fertilizing during the winter months.
Lemon plant pollination
In the winter, when there are fewer pollinators inside your home, lemon trees bloom. Because of your climate, you must hand pollinate your plant if you have to bring it inside for the winter. If you’re new to cultivating citrus trees inside, you may choose to utilize an electronic pollination equipment, but hand-pollinating each bloom is just as easy and frequently forgotten. To capture pollen, roll a q-tof over a flower’s stamens.
Next, roll that Q-tip into other blossoms to transfer pollen from one to another. You’re manually playing “The Birds and the Bees”!
Prune
Citrus plants are no different from other fruit trees in that they require pruning. Frequent trimming promotes bigger fruit and keeps the tree’s growth in check. You don’t want to take off your fruits, so wait until your tree begins to blossom before trimming. Citrus trees can be trimmed for balance, size, and form. It also gets rid of dead branches and keeps your tree fruitful. While some people believe that pruning is not necessary, it is an essential task if you wish to nurture your tree indoors.
When the chance of frost has passed but the tree has not yet shown signs of new growth, spring is the ideal time to trim your lemon trees. Pruning out suckers below the graft union is a good idea as they drain the tree’s vitality without bearing fruit. Dead, broken, and diseased branches should always be pruned off. Any thorns you detect should be cut off. Cut off any branches or roots that emerge close to the plant’s base. Pruning should be done carefully since any exposed bark might burn from the sun.
In such case, any visible bark can be painted over with water-based latex paint.
Pruning lemon trees in pots
- When to prune: Prune in February–April, avoiding the hottest part of the summer.
- What to prune: Remove dead or flagging branches, root suckers, and shoots that grow straight up from the bottom of the plant.
- How to prune: For soft growth, you can pinch the tip with your fingers. For other cuts, use pruning shears at a 45 degree angle right above the leaf.
- Why prune: Pruning promotes new growth and helps the plant hold its fruit without breaking branches. Click here to buy Nimboo, Lemon – Plant.
How to harvest Lemon Fresh at Home
The fact that certain varieties, like the Meyer lemon tree, produce fruit all year round is one advantage of producing fresh lemons at home. From mid-November until mid-April is when the primary harvest is completed. In cooler climates, the trees produce abundantly, extending the harvest season. Autumn and early winter are the busiest harvest seasons for those living in warm regions. Lemon harvesting season in india, Lemon harvest season is typically from late summer to winter, but the peak harvest time depends on the variety of lemon. Click here to buy Kagzi Nimboo, Lemon – Plant.
Typical Insect & Lemon plant diseases:
Although citrus trees are susceptible to several pests and diseases, cultivating them inside can reduce the likelihood of these occurrences. These are a few of the pests and illnesses that affect lemon trees most often.
Orange/citrus canker
Citrus tree leaves, twigs, and fruit develop scabs or halo-like sores due to a highly infectious bacterial illness. Tree dieback, blemished fruits, or even leaf loss may indicate a serious illness in your plant. Citrus canker can quickly become an issue since it is transmitted by the wind, insects, birds, and people.
Sooty mold
Although sooty mold seldom kills plants, the insects that create it can harm or even kill them. After taking care of your insect issue, use soap and water to remove the dark mold from the plants. For treating your lemon trees, you may also use Neem oil or a liquid copper fungicide.
Orange-colored Whiteflies
You most likely have citrus whiteflies if you encounter small, 1/12-inch-long insects with white wings. Insecticides are one method of controlling citrus whiteflies, although they require many administrations. These bugs secrete honeydew, which causes sooty mold, so it’s imperative to eradicate them.
Melanose
itis a fungal illness that affects citrus fruits that are still immature. Due to its preference for deadwood, melanose is more severe in older trees—those that are over 10 years old. Pruning on a regular basis can help prevent melanose from spreading. As a prophylactic measure, using a liquid copper fungicide is an additional choice.
Final Remarks:
Many people who garden don’t think of planting lemon trees in pots indoors, despite the fact that they are aromatic, attractive houseplants that also produce wonderful fruits. Pot lemon trees can be your best bet if you want to plant a lemon tree but live in a warmer area or just have limited space.
