There lives in our houses a sunny guest fromsubtropics - lemon. Relative unpretentiousness of this plant allows to grow it at home even in winter. There are specially developed varieties that bear fruit almost all year round and differ in the small size of the crown. The most famous sort of home-made lemon is Pavlovsky. He gives a small but regular harvest, though. And if you decide to keep several trees at once, you will be able to supply vitamins all year round with your whole family. Our today's article is devoted to this amazing and very useful plant. We will tell you what a lemon care is at home. So, where do we start? Of course, with the methods of reproduction. 
Reproduction of lemon in the home
Lemon trees multiply in two ways: seeds and cuttings. With the first method of difficulties will not arise - go to the store and choose the most beautiful lemon. The main thing is that it must be ripe, therefore, it is better to propagate seeds in the warm season. In winter it is difficult to find a suitable specimen. How to understand that the fetus is suitable for reproduction? Here everything is simple - the color of the peel should be a homogeneous yellow color. Lemons grown from seeds are much stronger. They are resistant to temperature changes, successfully resist diseases and quickly build up the green mass. However, such a plant will differ significantly from the parent tree by biological indicators, while the tree from the cut assumes a 100% similarity with the parent. Another advantage of the cuttings is the rapid development of the plant: in 4-5 years your tree will bear the first fruits. But when multiplying by seeds, do not expect such a rapid result - the fruit will have to wait at least 8-10 years. As you can see, each method of reproduction has both pluses and minuses. Here the choice is yours. Well, we'll talk in more detail on each of them. Lemon from seeds If you decide to get a lemon tree in this way, remove all seeds from the fetus and set aside the most accurate and correctly formed ones. For accuracy, sow several pieces from different fruits at once. Seeds are planted in small pots or oblong boxes. As soil for planting, take a mixture of peat and flower soil in equal proportions. Do not forget to put drainage on the bottom of the tank. Seeds are immersed in the soil by about a centimeter. After that, moisten the soil from the nebulizer. Watering the seedlings should be regular, as the upper layer of the earth dries up. Choose a room with an optimum temperature of air - 18-22 degrees of heat. From the moment of planting to the first shoots, no more than two weeks should elapse. After the seeds are poured out, choose the strongest germ and give it to him. For successful growth and development of the plant, it is necessary to create greenhouse conditions for it. Cover the sprout with a glass jar, and pour it into the pan. Once a day, remove the jar for 5-7 minutes, so that the lemon can be saturated with oxygen. As soon as the sprout gets young leaves, the jar can be removed completely and transplanted the future tree into a separate pot with a diameter of 10-12 centimeters. The transplant should be carried out very carefully, so as not to damage the roots that have not yet become stronger. When the plant reaches 20-25 centimeters in height, transplant it again, changing the pot (should take a larger size) and the ground. The next migration will be necessary only with the growth of the root system. Reproduction by cuttings Cuttings are cut only from an adult and healthy plant. For successful rooting, their length should be 10 centimeters, width - 5 millimeters. The branch for cutting is selected according to the location of the kidneys: on the very cuttings there should be 3-4 formed buds and several leaves. You can additionally process the stalk with a stimulant for rooting and put it into the water until the roots appear. And you can root it right into the ground, consisting of sand, humus and flower soil, and to dig three centimeters deep. Then cover with a jar and wait for the appearance of young shoots. Considering that at first the root system is not sufficiently developed, it makes sense to regularly spray the leaves on the cuttings. The soil must be constantly moistened, but without stagnation of water. Finally, the rooting takes about a month. 
What are the conditions for growing lemon?
For growing lemon (both in winter and summer)It is necessary to soil with a good supply of organic and mineral substances. In principle, any mixture sold in flower shops is suitable. If you take the soil from the suburban area, it is better to enrich it with humus. Put a drain on the bottom of the pot. To do this, you can use either charcoal or expanded clay. Stagnant water will lead to the death of the plant, so it is important to monitor the moisture of the earth coma. The approximate watering schedule is 2 times a week, while letting the soil soak up with water and then dry. If the plant is flooded with water, then the soil is better to completely replace. As a container for growing, the clay pot is ideally suited. Due to its water-absorbing properties, it can slightly regulate the moisture content of the soil. Lemon is very fond of light. When the tree grows a little, arrange for it daily sunbathing. And it is best to choose a permanent residence for the plant, for example, the southern window sill, because the lemon does not favor the permutations too much. In winter, organize additional lighting with fluorescent lamps. To form a beautiful crown, turn the plant regularly with different sides to the light. Transplantation in a new pot is made as the roots grow larger, about once a year. The new pot should be more than the previous one for a couple of centimeters. It is not necessary to completely shake off an old earth clod, simply transfer it to a prepared container and fill the necessary amount of fresh soil. When the pot volume reaches 10 liters, the annual transplant can be stopped, simply changing the top layer of the soil. It is very important to avoid drafts, especially in winter. Several times a week, you can additionally spray the crown of the tree, this will help maintain the necessary humidity. In winter, with the beginning of the heating season, you can switch to daily spraying to avoid air dryness. To lemon tree looked aesthetically, it needs to form the crown. During the first year of life, the lemon grows by 30 centimeters. With the onset of spring and the period of active growth, it is necessary to cut off the upper part of the stem, leaving about 20 centimeters. So you will push the tree to release new lateral buds. It is important not to touch the top three buds, in the future they will turn into young twigs. The lower buds are removed. The next year the operation is verified, which will lead to the branching of already existing shoots. The tree looks beautiful, with several main branches and six branching levels. As soon as the result satisfies you, the trimming can be stopped and simply maintain the shape of the crown, pinching off unnecessarily overgrown branches. With proper care, the tree will bloom in a few years. If the flowering period occurs in winter, then the flowers can be pollinated independently with the help of a cotton swab. If too many fruits are involved, some will have to be removed, otherwise the plant may die from exhaustion. Calculate the allowable number of fruits easily - it is necessary that one lemon accounted for about 10-15 leaves. That's all the secrets. We hope that our article will help you grow a healthy lemon tree, which gives a rich harvest of useful fruits.
