Evergreen perennial plant room lemon belongs to the family of rut, the genus of citrus. His birthplace is India, the foot of the Himalayas. At home on the windowsill to grow it is not difficult and very exciting. With proper care, the bush can bear fruit, its fruits are as tasty as those grown under the southern sun.
Types of room lemons
Domesticated citrus attracts with shiny emerald leaves and bright yellow fruits. Room lemon - description:
- the plant is considered undersized, the oldest specimens can reach a height of 1.5 m;
- the bush has thorny branches;
- leaves are leathery, elongated, oval, dentate, contain essential oil;
- Several times a year the plant forms small white rosettes (4-5 cm in diameter) with a multitude of stamens and a delicate aroma that cleans the room of unpleasant odors;
- bud develops 5 weeks, blossoms 50 days;
- fructifies the domestic citrus one to four times a year, depending on the variety, the fruit development period is 200-230 days;
- the fruit has a light yellow color and a perceptible lemon scent, the flesh is juicy and sour;
- at normal development the crop fructifies all year round - on a bush simultaneously can develop ovaries, buds, flowers and fruit.
Room lemons - varieties:
- Genoa, Panderosa are popular dwarf varieties that give large fruits regularly;
- Meyer - unpretentious, often called the "Chinese dwarf", the fruit is not as sour as the other species;
- Pavlovsky - the most famous variety, gives fruits year round, height - 1.5 m;
- Kursk, Novogruzinsky - tall fruiting lemons , rich in citrus, require more care in terms of crown formation.
Growing room lemon
To grow a room lemon is easier from a stone. To place a bush, it is better to choose the southern or eastern window sills with good lighting. Lemon is a thermophilic houseplant, the optimum temperature for it is + 15-22 ° C. Planting is carried out to a depth of 1-2 cm with a distance of 5 cm in small pots with a drainage of expanded clay or charcoal. Contain the crop in a bright place, it sprouts after 2 weeks. After the appearance of sprouts select a strong, cover with a jar. After a couple of real leaves sprout, the specimen is put in a 10-centimeter pot.
Soil for indoor lemon
Fertile soil for indoor lemons should be slightly acidic or neutral (6-7 pH), aerated. For self-preparation it is necessary to make a mixture of meadow turf, leaf earth, coarse sand, humus in a ratio (2: 2: 1: 1). You can use soil for citrus from the store, mixing it in equal parts with peat. Then the composition will be light and breathable.
Reproduction of indoor lemons
For indoor lemon, cuttings are a popular way of reproduction. For shoots in spring take shoots 10 cm in size with 3-4 buds and 2-3 leaves. The branch is treated with a stimulant to develop the roots and placed in water for 3 days. For cultivation is suitable soil from humus, coarse-grained sand and flower soil in equal shares. Cuttings are buried in 3 cm, moisten daily leaves, the substrate should not have water stagnation. Rooting occurs after 30-45 days, then the stalk can be planted in another pot.
Room Lemon - home care
Caring for a room lemon is a troublesome business. He likes good lighting, observing the temperature and watering regime. For leaf growth, he needs a minimum of + 17 ° C, during the development of fruit, the temperature should be increased to +22 ° C. Care for a room lemon involves the organization of good lighting. Direct sunlight should fall on the bush 2 hours a day. To the tree did not develop lopsided, every 10 days it should be rotated 10 ° around its axis. In winter, with a short daylight - organize the illumination with the help of lamps.
Pruning of indoor lemons
Regular pruning is recommended for the bush to form a beautiful crown. How to care for a room lemon:
- in the first year of life the plant gives an escape of 30 cm;
- for the second season in the spring the pruner should cut it off, leaving a height of 20 cm, while the tree will begin to release the lateral buds;
- Lower shoots must be cut off, leaving the top three - they will make up the skeleton of culture;
- the next year they do the same with the lateral branches - they are shortened to stimulate the development of the daughter shoots, then a few upper shoots are left;
- room lemon takes on a beautiful appearance with trunks up to 5-6 branching;
- In the future, enough pinching fast-growing shoots or removing them.
How to feed a room lemon?
Citrus at home needs fertilizing. Feed the trees when they reach 2-3 years of age. Complex fertilizers use complex mineral compositions in the spring-summer period twice a month. From the middle of autumn, make-up is carried out every 6 weeks. For two hours before applying fertilizers, the substrate in the pot is important to water with clean water.
From organic, the lemon tree prefers the extraction of wood ash, birch infusion (half a can of leaves is poured with water and aged for 2-3 days) diluted 5-6 times with fresh manure. Organic fertilizer for indoor lemon is introduced with the same frequency as mineral make-up. If there is an intensive growth of green mass to the detriment of the fruits, nitrogen should be removed from the feedings and a phosphorous component added;
Watering a room lemon
Before taking care of the lemon in the room, it is important to study the rules of its moisturizing. From May to September, the domestic citrus needs moderate watering every other day, in the winter it is reduced to once a week. The tree is moistened with non-cold water, kept for 5 hours. Pour it over the entire surface of the pot. The plant likes to sprinkle with warmed boiled water, especially in winter, if heating systems work around. For citrus, the "wet" air around the crown is more important than the excess moisture in the soil.
Diseases of lemons in the room
Different diseases of room lemon at home can be caused by harmful microorganisms and pests - fungi, viruses, bacteria, mycoplasmas, parasites. Affected bushes appear ugly defects - deformation, fretting of fruits and foliage, spotting, outgrowths, rot. Harmful pathogens of diseases are carried by wind, insects, drops of water during irrigation and watering. Often affected weakened trees, so when cultivating it is important to provide them with competent care, when a problem arises - to fight it.
Why do the leaves yellow at the room lemon?
Often, improper care leads to a disease of indoor lemons, the leaves turn yellow. There are several reasons:
- Lack of nutrients. Calcium is responsible for the root system, phosphorus helps in the formation of delicious fruits, nitrogen affects the healthy color of the leaves, and potassium promotes its normal absorption. Timely application of fertilizers with such elements will help prevent yellowing of the foliage.
- Lack of lighting. A room lemon needs a 12-hour day, if it is shorter - the backlight will help with a fluorescent lamp.
- Excess of light, direct sunlight causes burns on the leaves. The tree must be moved to a shaded place.
- Lack of moisture leads to yellow tips of leaves. It is necessary to carry out daily spraying of the plant with the aid of an atomizer. It is useful near the pot to keep water in a flat dish for evaporation. In summer, once a week, the plant is advised to rinse under a shower.
- Sharp temperature changes, drafts, the proximity of heating devices can also lead to yellowing of the foliage. Then you need to get rid of such unfavorable factors.
Why do the leaves fall at the room lemon?
Unfavorable conditions of keeping the bush lead to the fact that he begins to discard the leaves. Often this happens in the autumn-winter period. The more healthy leaves on the tree, the better it grows and fructifies, according to their number and judge the condition of the bush. In some cases, the plant is restored independently, but it is important to eliminate the cause of the unpleasant phenomenon. If the room lemon has discarded the leaves, what should be done:
- if there is a lack of moisture, spray the plant more often and do not allow the soil to dry out;
- if the plant has little light - apply additional lamps;
- Exclude the hypothermia of the roots, water the bush only with warm water;
- if a close pot - the bush should be transplanted into a larger container (2-4 cm);
- control that in the ground there is no excess of moisture, leading to decay of the roots;
- to inspect the tree for pests, if they are found, to conduct treatment.
Diseases of indoor lemon - sticky leaves
In some cases, the foliage on the shoots becomes sticky - as if it was sprayed with syrup, crystals may even form. The disease causes a scutellum, settled on a tree. At untimely treatment in a sticky liquid the sooty fungus which is shown on branches, trunks and leaves dark maculae is put, without treatment the plant perishes.
To eliminate the plaque foliage wipe with a solution of transformer oil (6 ml per 1 liter of water). After 5-7 days, the treatment is repeated. The solution removes the sticky coating and kills the young scab. You can use another way to treat the lemon - a room plant care in the form of spraying with carbofox or a solution of tobacco also helps. The treatment is carried out 2-3 times with an interval of 7 days.
Pests of indoor lemon
Citrus fruits can also be damaged by typical pests. To grow a room lemon, you need to know how to fight off:
- Shields. With their presence, the leaves fall off, the branches dry, the plant dies. The pests are cleaned with a brush, the leaves are washed with a soapy emulsion (2 tbsp of liquid solution per 1 l of water), garlic water (7-8 pounded heads are poured in a bucket of water for 24 hours).
- Spider mite. Located below the leaf, gradually enveloping the entire culture. In case of a lesion it is necessary to spray the tree with a solution of "Aktelika", repeat 3 times with an interval of 10 days.
- Mealybug. It feeds on greens, leads to leaf withering and cracking of the fruit. The plant must be examined and manually disposed of by its larvae.
- Aphid. Eats tops of shoots. The plant should be sprayed three times (every 10 days) with a solution of "Aktelik". Nearby you can put a pot of geranium. Will also help spraying with garlic water.
- Thrips. They look like small black dots, can fly, carry viruses. For destruction, the bush is washed under a shower, treated with a soapy emulsion.
- Whitefly. The larvae are located in the lower part of the leaves. The bush is sprayed with insecticides at least 5 times every three days.