How to germinate lemon seeds at home?

Everyone knows about the benefits of lemon for health and immunity. Many consider it an overseas fruit that cannot grow in the middle lane. But everyone can sprout a lemon seed at home: all you need is a pot and a little patience.

What is a lemon tree?

Under natural conditions, lemon is an evergreen citrus tree growing up to 2-3 meters. It has a branchy crown, dark green glossy leaves with the same smell as the fruits. It blooms in small white flowers with a delicate pleasant smell. Fruits usually abundantly, the pulp in the fruits is soft, light yellow and very acidic.

Lemon grows in countries with a subtropical climate. Its homeland is considered the territory of India, China and Pakistan. It is common in Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, grown in the Caucasus and Crimea. It also grows in Mexico - this country is a leader in the production of citrus fruits.

Growing at home

So, to get this versatile healer, you need to follow simple landing tips.

It is better to grow a lemon from a seed rather than from a cuttings. So he will become more resilient and adapt to room conditions. Fruiting should begin in 3-4 years.

Landing algorithm

To successfully grow a lemon tree, you need to choose high-quality seeds. Ripe fruits are suitable without signs of disease, dark spots and mold. Seeds must be intact and intact. In addition, it is better to plant 10-15 seeds at once, because fruits from markets and supermarkets have low germination. Of this amount, 40-60% will rise, and only half of them will survive the vaccine. Thus, 3-5 adult lemon trees will turn out.

After selecting the seeds begin to plant.

1. In the store you need to purchase universal soil or find special soil for citrus fruits. It can also be prepared from sand, humus and chernozem in the proportions of 1: 1: 2. The earth is placed in pots or plastic cups with a perforated bottom.
2. Before planting, you need to water the soil and immerse the seed in it. The landing depth should be 2.5-3.5 centimeters.
3. The holes are sprinkled with earth and put the pots in a warm, but not hot place. In winter, you can place it near the batteries, but prevent overheating. In summer, a window on the sunny side is suitable.
4. Before germination, the pots can be covered with cling film to prevent drying out.
5. Seeds are watered about once every 5-6 days, if necessary more often or less. Do not allow the complete drying of the soil, as well as excessive moisture.

Shoots should appear in 20-25 days. Pots with non-germinated seeds are removed. The cling film must be removed immediately after the sprouts appear so that they can breathe. If two shoots have grown from one bone, you need to wait until a stronger shoot is formed, and remove the weak shoot.

Seedling Care

After germination, small lemons are very vulnerable and require careful care. They need to provide comfortable conditions for growth.

1. Watering seedlings need 2-3 times a week. In the cold season, moisturize less often, in the warm - more often. If the ground is still wet, watering is strictly prohibited: the roots can rot.
2. When lemons grow to 6-7 centimeters and get stronger, the leaves need to be wiped from dust. This is best done with wet cotton pads. The procedure must be carried out extremely carefully so as not to damage the sprouts.
3. 2-3 times a week you need to spray the bushes from the spray gun to moisten the air.When central heating batteries work, spraying should be done more often - lemons do not like dry air.
4. When the seedlings grow to 12-15 centimeters, they need to be transplanted into a new pot. It should be slightly larger than the previous one - it is impossible to sharply increase the size of the "home". A transplant is best done in the spring, in extreme cases - in the fall.
5. A month and a half after germination, you can make the first top dressing. Its amount should be minimal. Fertilizers with zinc and manganese are suitable. In the store you can buy special additives for citrus fruits.

To make the lemon look beautiful and not turn into a bush, you need to cut it and pinch it. The main shoot is cut with a sharp secateurs at a height of 15–20 centimeters. The processes are removed again when they grow to 10-15 centimeters. This is repeated two more times, after which flowering shoots will appear on the tree.

Graft

To lemon began to bear fruit faster, it must be grafted. To do this, you need a small branch of an adult lemon that has already yielded a crop.

1. A scion is carefully cut with a sharp knife - a branch of a fruiting tree.
2. The seedling, whose trunk diameter is 5-7 mm, is wiped with a cotton pad so that the infection does not get into the incision.
3. The bark is cut with a knife in the shape of the letter T. The horizontal incision should be longer.
4. The edges of the incision are gently bent.
5. A bud is cut off on the scion so that a little bark of a branch remains around it.
6. The peephole is inserted into the incision and pressed against the bark.
7. After that, it is wrapped with a special vaccination tape. A small strip of natural fabric is also suitable, but in this case it cannot be tightened too much.

After the procedure, you need to pour plenty of lemon and provide it with comfortable conditions:

• a greenhouse from a can or bag in the first week (you need to air it daily);
• regular top dressing;
• humidity;
• temperature + 20-25 degrees.

When the scion takes root and the eye grows, the seedling can be cut at a height of 10-12 centimeters above the vaccination site. In order for the grown shoot to settle down correctly, you can put a branch or stick in the pot and tie a lemon to it. In this position, he needs to stand 3-4 months until the trunk is leveled.

If everything is done correctly, fruiting will begin in 1-2 years.

Pests and diseases

Despite the fact that indoor lemons are unpretentious and resistant to environmental conditions, sometimes they are affected by pests and diseases. In order for the seedlings not to die, you need to know the signs of the disease, identify them in time and begin treatment.

Basically, 3 varieties of pests can live on lemons:

• Aphid. Small black or green insects gather on the back of the leaves and release a sticky liquid. They suck out vegetable juices, which is why lemons wither. Affected plants stop growing, their leaves drop.
• Whitefly White moths and their larvae live under foliage. They love to attack blooming lemons. They suck the juice from the stems and ovaries, so the plants cease to bear fruit. The leaves become stained, yellow and fall.
• Spider mites. A spider web appears on leaves, cuttings and stems, in which small brown insects sit. They pierce the leaves and drink the juice. Holes rot, become yellow, lemons wither, leaves fall off.

When these pests are detected, you must adhere to the treatment algorithm:

1. remove pests from the branches with cotton pads and soap solution;
2. rinse lemon trees with a spray gun;
3. treat them with infusion of onions, mustard, tobacco or garlic (80-100 grams of dry matter per liter of water);
4. in severe cases, resort to chemical insecticides: "Health", "Rembek", "Confidor";
5. repeat flushing every 5–7 days until insects disappear.

Lemons are also sometimes affected by viral and fungal diseases.

• Sheet mosaic. The leaves become stained, growth slows down.A diseased plant should be isolated from healthy plants as soon as possible, remove damaged leaves and provide him with watering and nutrition.
• Cancer of citrus. Leaves, stems and fruits become stained and change shape. It is impossible to cure the disease, but for prevention, you need to spray lemons with a solution of liquid copper.
• Scab. The leaves become covered with spots, then gray growths appear on them. The defeat quickly spreads to the shoots and fruits. Sick parts of the plant are removed and treated with an antifungal solution.

It should be noted that lemons are extremely rare. To keep them healthy, it is enough to regularly water them and make top dressing.

The benefits of lemon fruit

Lemon is valued as a medicinal plant. It contains a large number of useful substances:

• vitamin C;
• vitamins B1, B2, B4, B5, B6, B7, B9;
• vitamins A and E;
• potassium, calcium, copper, iron;
• beta carotene;
• amino acids;
• flavanoids;
• citric acid.

The fruit of a lemon tree has many useful properties:

• strengthens the immune system;
• treats a runny nose, a cold, sore throat and cough, SARS;
• reduces the amount of cholesterol, normalizes the level of bile;
• lowers blood pressure, strengthens blood vessels and nourishes brain cells;
• cleanses the intestines from toxins and helps detoxify the body;
• strengthens bones, prevents and stops the development of arthritis and osteoporosis;
• Helps relieve symptoms of urolithiasis, helps in its treatment;
• stops the development of cancer cells.

In addition, lemon is widely used in cooking. It improves the taste of many dishes: fish, meat, salads, fruit and vegetable juices.

Fruit juice is part of the smoothie, cocktails, it is added to the compote. Zest makes pastries and pastries much tastier. Lemons are an integral part of many detox diets for fast weight loss.

Citrus fruits allow you to maintain and restore health. It is not necessary to wait when they are brought from hot countries - you can sprout a lemon seed at home. It takes a little patience and care, and you can get tasty healthy fruits from your windowsill.