Growing citrus plants at home is not a difficult process, but it should be approached correctly. Lemon, tangerine, orange and other exotic plants are, as a rule, natives of tropical latitudes, cultivated and adapted for home cultivation. In order for plants to form correctly, they need systematic top dressing, correct watering and optimum crown illumination. About lighting for indoor lemons and tangerines we will talk in this article.

On the importance of lighting citrus plants

Light is one of the key factors for plants, which allows them to exist. If there is too much or too little of it, this will immediately affect the nutrition of the plant, since they consume energy only in this way. Light allows the process of photosynthesis to proceed, in which organic substances are produced in plant cells from inorganic compounds consumed by plant roots, which are used to form leaves, shoot growth, flowering and fruiting. Too much light and too long a period of illumination disrupt the natural processes in the cells of the leaf and negatively affect development.

Optimal lighting for citrus plants is considered to be 5000 lumens and a duration of twelve hours.

How to get the lighting right

A very large number of factors affect the amount of light received by a home citrus plant.: this is the orientation of the windows in the direction of the cardinal direction, their size, the number of storeys of the house, and indeed whether they are washed or not.

And, since light is critically needed for indoor lemons, tangerines, citrons and other citrus fruits, and in order for them to receive it in sufficient quantities, the habitat for them should be properly organized.

Many people remember from school that the intensity of light decreases very much with distance from the light source, namely, in proportion to the square of the distance to it. And if you don’t remember, then it’s okay, for us it only means that the plant needs to be placed as close to the window as possible. If, for example, a pot is carried away at a distance of 3 meters from the window, then only 4% of street light can reach it.
You should also know that the most dimly lit places in the house are the corners. There you need to be very careful to ensure that the light is sufficient.

But there can be not only little light for a plant, but a lot, and in this case it becomes not a friend, but an enemy. Direct scorching rays of the sun, especially on the south side at noon, can cause severe burns on leaves of both lemon and tangerine. If there is no other option where to place the pot, then you should shade your citrus by building an obstacle in the form of gauze or a mesh that scatters direct rays. This should be seriously monitored, even an adult plant can die from heavy burns on the leaves. But if you suddenly didn’t watch and the leaves were damaged, then you must definitely spray them with soft water, adding a small amount of stimulant - Epin.

In addition to leaves, the roots of plants can also suffer from overheating, especially if they are grown in dark pots. In this case, it is recommended to shade the pot, for example, with a sheet of cardboard, or to place the plants below the level of the windowsill so that the crown is illuminated, but the plant is not.
If everything is organized correctly, then spring and summer will become the most intensive period for growth and development for a home citrus plant, since at this time it receives enough light and can fully grow, bloom and bear fruit. At the same time, do not forget about complex top dressing so that he has something to eat.

Lemon lighting by seasons

But in autumn-summer period, when natural light is reduced by reducing daylight hours in our natural zone, it is also possible to allow a citrus plant to fully grow and develop. Indeed, in conditions of lack of light, plants start the processes of consuming stored nutrients, which will significantly slow down the development and growth of the culture.

To support a homemade lemon, tangerine or other exotic plant, use artificial light. For this, special lamps for plants with a specially selected spectrum are used. Typically, their light looks like pink, but is actually a mixture of red and blue light.

Citrus plants require 5,000 lumens of light and a daylight cycle of 12 hours of light and 12 hours of rest. Lumens can be measured either by pointing the camera at the surface of the sheet - many digital cameras have such a function, or by installing a special application on a smartphone and measuring the illumination through the phone's camera. To manage this, you should purchase a special timer that will turn the light on and off at the right time.

A homemade lemon tree is a godsend for many gardeners. Not every plant can simultaneously please with decorative foliage, fragrant flowers, growing and already ripe fruits. The advantage of homemade lemons is absolute naturalness. And although getting a harvest does not always come out quickly, indoor citruses grow tastier and juicier than store ones. If the grower wants to harvest a decent harvest, one must responsibly approach the cultivation of a homemade lemon: how to care for the plant, when to mold and feed - everyone who has purchased citrus should know this.

The citrus guest comes from subtropical regions, so it does not take root well in open ground in cold winter conditions. However, growing it indoors can be successful. To do this, you must initially organize competent care for homemade lemon: maintain a constant humidity of the air, soil, provide a sufficient amount of light and heat.

In flower shops or nurseries, it will not be difficult to purchase seeds or seedlings of varieties that are adapted to adverse conditions. AT wild nature the plant can reach an impressive size, and for growing in a room, samples are taken no higher than 1.5-2 m. For the winter, the foliage of a subtropical guest does not fall, so it is called evergreen. Leaf plates last 2-3 years, so they must be protected. - a solid competitor for lemon, he also boasts elegant decoration.

AT room conditions flowering is possible twice a year: in early spring and late autumn.

The best varieties of citrus trees for the home are dwarfs and semi-dwarfs:

Dwarf varieties do not differ in yield, they are grown mainly for decorative purposes. Taller trees can reward the grower with large fruits in large quantities.

How to care for indoor citrus?

Lemon tree care consists in constant monitoring of humidity, temperature and lighting. He needs the right selection of the composition of the soil, its friability. Do not ignore the formation of the bush. The gardener must initially know how to cut a lemon so that it develops harmoniously and produces more fragrant fruits.

• Lighting and temperature regime summer and winter

South windows and other places with good lighting. Lemon prefers bright light and long daylight hours. Young specimens are best shaded from the midday sun, as fragile leaves will get a serious burn. Organizing, cypress, variegated ficuses also take into account this rule, despite the fact that these plants are photophilous.

The temperature in the room where the lemon is kept should be moderately warm. Sharp drops are contraindicated, therefore, during winter ventilation, the pot must be removed from the windowsill without changing the position of the crown to the light. In summer, the plant can be sent to the garden or to the open balcony.

The crown develops better if it is not often turned over in different directions to the light.

Lemon care in winter is moderate. The room should be cooler - from 10 to 14 ° C warm. Perfect option accommodation - insulated loggia. If the tree has not gone into the dormant phase, then the temperature is maintained at about + 18 ° C, while it is necessary to extend the daylight hours up to 12 hours with the help of a lamp.

• Watering a lemon without errors

Depending on the air temperature, the amount and frequency of water application is changed. In hot weather, moisture is applied daily. Water is taken warm, settled for at least 7-8 hours. From September to March, one watering per week will suffice. After each introduction of liquid, the soil must be loosened so that air flows freely to the roots. The plant does not tolerate both drought and waterlogging. It is necessary to focus on the volume of the pot, the temperature regime.

The smaller the pot and the looser the soil, the faster it dries out. In rooms with central heating, you need to water more and more often. Humidify so that the liquid penetrates through the drainage hole onto the pan. Excess water is removed after 20 minutes. In this way, it will be possible to wet the entire earthen lump, and not just its upper part.

Lemon care involves spraying in hot weather. Foliage is processed from a spray bottle 2-3 times a week. Spraying is carried out both in summer and in winter, when the heating radiators are operating at full capacity. To increase the humidity of the air will help placing a tray with water or a humidifier next to the tree. If there is a practice of caring for this plant, then it is possible to grow wild for a bountiful harvest.

When caring for a lemon in a pot, it is important not to forget about fertilizing. During the growing season, feed every 10 days. Fertilizers are suitable for both mineral for citrus fruits and organic ones, for example, mullein solution. Before applying fertilizer for 2-3 hours, the soil is watered. It will secure root system from a burn. In winter, fertilizers will also be useful, but the frequency of their application is once a month. If the tree has a healthy appearance, it blooms and forms fruits, then for a while you can refrain from applying fertilizers.

Rules for transplanting and pruning

When transplanting citrus, a drainage layer of broken brick, expanded clay or coarse sand must be laid at the bottom of the box. Drainage holes must be made in any container to drain water. Liquid stagnation must not be allowed. The soil in the pot should be loose, without lumps. The reaction is neutral or slightly acidic. Lemon develops well in soil of medium nutritional value: humus, sand and leafy soil are taken in equal proportions. A container for transplantation is needed 3-4 cm larger than the previous one in diameter.

Pruning is necessary to approach the flowering period. The shoots are also shortened in order to create a neat crown. It is pinched, removing the apical kidney. At least 4-5 leaves should remain on the shoot. The lemon tree is pruned in the spring at the beginning of flowering.

Pruning homemade lemons play an important role. If it is ignored, then the tree will not give enough fruit or will not bloom at all. If in one year the lemon has formed much more ovaries than usual, then the weakest branches with buds must be removed. Too many fruits will deplete the plant.

As soon as the lemon peel turns yellow, the lemons must be harvested. If you are late with the collection, they will become too sour and dense.

Video about cropping rules.

How to increase productivity?

First harvest indoor lemon gives depending on the method of reproduction. If a tree is grown from a seed, then it is not worth waiting for fruits before 5-7 years. Sometimes it takes at least a decade before fruiting begins. A bush obtained from a cutting, with proper care, begins to bear fruit for 2-3 years.

Secrets of a bountiful harvest:

Growing problems

What difficulties can be encountered in growing? There are several problems:

1. Falling leaves and buds occurs when there is a lack of moisture, drying out of the soil, excessive dryness of the air. Leaf loss can also be caused by waterlogging. It is recommended to transplant the tree by taking out the roots with a clod of earth and pre-drying on a newspaper sheet.
2. The leaves become pale with a lack of lighting, a minimum amount of nutrients.
3. Lack of flowering - a cramped or overall pot is to blame.
4. The tips of the leaf plates turn brown due to lack of moisture and dry air.

As a prevention of fungal diseases, the soil is watered every 2 years with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.

If no mistakes were made at all stages of cultivation, then after a few years the florist can be content with mouth-watering lemon slices for tea throughout the year. In addition to fragrant and tonic supplements, they will be useful during the cold season.

It is not a pity to realize this, but summer is ending and our pets have not the best better times. In the group, questions are increasingly being asked about wintering and the use of lamps to light up citrus fruits. This prompted Ivan Kuznetsov, an active member of the group, to write this article. As the author of the blog, I express my deep gratitude for this work, since I myself am interested in the issue of supplementary lighting and suggest that you, the readers, familiarize yourself with it below in the original.

To begin with, let's figure out why do we need additional lighting. Lighting- artificial improvement of lighting and extension of daylight hours. It's no secret that citrus fruits need 12 hours of daylight, and in winter we have at best 8 hours of daylight. And if the plants overwinter in warmth, they will obviously lack light, which can lead to leaf fall, an oppressed state of the plant, and in the worst case, it can cause its death.

To date, there are a huge number of lamps on the market that can be used for supplementary lighting. The most commonly used in citrus growing are: fluorescent lamps, sodium DNAT and DNAZ, DRI metal halide lamps, and LED lamps; and in almost every one of these categories, there is a series of phytolamps. Phytolamps are lamps whose spectrum is adapted to the needs of plants - at least that's what the manufacturers say. The cost of these lamps is somewhat higher than the cost of "ordinary" analogues, their light is unpleasant for the human eye, since they lack the middle part of the spectrum. Reviews about these lamps are divided 50/50: some claim that their efficiency is very high, others that they are even inferior to "ordinary" counterparts.

Which lamp to choose is up to you. It all depends on the number of plants, which side the window faces, the distance of the plant from the window, etc. Sodium lamps (DNaT or DNaZ) are considered the most effective. They give the most powerful luminous flux. But it is advisable to use them with a large number of plants. If there are few plants, it is quite possible to get by with fluorescent lamps.

Highly important point when choosing any lamp, is its power (Watts). The more watts - the greater the luminous flux and the greater its efficiency.Many houseplants receive a fairly significant amount of light without the presence of lamps. It follows from this that the lamps themselves, for some plant species, can be relatively low-power. But citrus fruits are light-loving plants and, of course, without the help of lamps, we will not be able to provide them with enough light. For illumination on the southern windows in winter, you can get by with one standard fluorescent lamp with a power of 40 watts per meter of the length of the window sill (30 cm wide). For the north window, you will need up to three 40 watt lamps per meter.

If citrus fruits are grown under completely artificial light, we need much more power. That is, either you have to use a lot of fluorescent, or (which is much more convenient) use lamps high pressure giving a lot of light.To illuminate a large number of plants on a loggia or in a winter garden, it is also much more convenient to use high-pressure lamps.

Lamps should be placed as close to the plants as possible. But the main thing is to find out at what distance from the lamp the temperature will not be too high. This can be determined by simply raising your hand to the lamp. If it is too warm, the lamp should be placed higher. Fluorescent lamps can be located at a height of 15-20 cm above the plants, then their efficiency will be maximum, with each subsequent cm the lamp efficiency will decrease. DNAT and DNaZ should not be placed closer than 50 centimeters from the upper leaves.

Illumination is advisable from mid-October to March.Last year at my citrus

Lamps for plants (phytolamps sodium, LED, fluorescent, ultraviolet, gas discharge and others) buy in the PhytoTechnologies online store at competitive prices! Suitable lamps are needed for plants, consult a company consultant and specify which phytolamp is suitable for you, then place an order and the very next day your vegetation will delight you with growth and flowering! Managers will professionally select a suitable phyto-lamp for your needs, taking into account the location of your garden (the type of lamp attachment depends on this, or a phyto floor lamp may be suitable for you), and depending on the lighting area, we will help you determine the power (70W, 100W. , 150W, 250W, 400W).

Why do we need lamps for plants (phytolamps) and how to choose the most effective one?

Various modifications and designs intended for lighting plants are commonly called phytolamps, by adding two words phyto (from Greek) plants and lamps. The difference between phytolamps and incandescent or fluorescent lamps is that phytolamps generate photons in a narrow color range, which is necessary to create favorable artificial conditions similar to natural ones.

In the winter-autumn period, produce plants in industrial scale was not possible until recently. For the first time, experiments on this topic were carried out by the Russian botanist Andrei Sergeevich Famintsy in 1868, he used a kerosene lamp for the artificial cultivation of plants. Everything changed with the invention of phytolamps, now, with the creation of appropriate conditions (heat, humidity) and the main lighting, almost any plants are grown. all year round regardless of weather and time of year. Experiments have proven that the blue spectrum stimulates plant growth, and the red spectrum stimulates fruit ripening. At home, it is easy to grow seedlings and prepare strong seedlings for growing plants in country or garden beds. In addition, it became possible to grow exotic plants, such as lemon or Indian plant Tulasi, at home!

Well, we figured out why we need lamps for plants, and now let's move on to each of them separately.

Energy saving lamps for plants or housekeeper

The Internet is replete with connoisseurs who advise using housekeepers instead of phytolamps for plants and seedlings, however, their effectiveness is easily disputed by comparison with fluorescent or sodium lamps. The light output of housekeepers is low, which is ineffective for plants, such lighting is used as an additional and not so powerful resource, so we will not pay much attention to it.

Fluorescent lamps for plants

Phytolamps of this type were used first, due to the lack of analogues. As we have already read above, the first lamps were incandescent and fluorescent, incandescent lamps are not suitable for artificial lighting of plants due to the luminescence spectrum (it is far from solar) and inefficient use of efficiency. 95% ratio useful action goes to heat recovery, which is suitable for heating, but not for supplementary lighting of plants.

Fluorescent phytolamps win in the fight against incandescent lamps, the first advantage is the economical consumption of electricity, the second is the proximity of the light flux to solar radiation, pay attention not to light, but to radiation, which is harmful to people. Fluorescent lamps are also called fluorescent lamps.

Luminescent phytolamps of the Osram Flora type are designed in such a way that they do not create ultraviolet and infrared radiation harmful to green plant cells (not for humans), but at the same time they generate photons in the red and blue luminous spectrum.

It is worth noting the low cost relative to other phytolamps for plants and seedlings. Of the advantages of this lamp, probably everything.

The main disadvantage of fluorescent lamps for plants is the hazard to human and animal health.

The spectrum of the glow of these lamps greatly affects vision, and causes headaches with frequent use, in addition, some people experience allergic reactions on the skin in the form of a rash. These phytolamps are used in industry, observing safety standards (robe, headgear and goggles). An important disadvantage is their fragility relative to other phytolamps 8000 - 10000 hours of burning and a decrease in efficiency as they age, the luminous flux drops (is lost).

Light-emitting diode (LED) lamps (phytolamps) for plants

LED lamps for plants are a separate topic, due to the incredible PR on the Internet. If you are reading this article, then you know that by going to most online stores you will be offered to buy LED phytolamps. In the PhytoTechnology online store, LED phytolamps are presented, as we offer a wide range of products for growers and, as they say, everyone has their own opinion. Let's start with the pros, the advantage of LEDs is their long service life and low power consumption (economical).

As for the effectiveness of LED lamps for plants (phytolamps, modules and spotlights), it certainly is, but it is worth noting that LED phytolamps are different, and if you expect a miraculous effect from a purchased LED bulb for 1500 rubles in Leroy Merlin, OBI or Eldorado, and in our store, we are in a hurry to disappoint you, this will not happen, but we would like to. However, it is worth turning on the logic and thinking, would large manufacturers really begin to purchase expensive phytolamps, phytolamps and structures with higher energy consumption than LEDs for growing argo crops? Isn't it easier to buy a lot LED light bulbs and save on the cost of phytolamps and electricity bills. No, it’s not easier if it doesn’t give any effect, it’s money thrown to the wind, so experiments are being carried out that are designed to identify the pros and cons of certain phytolamps for plants. So smoothly we moved from pluses to minuses, and the last not unimportant minus of LED lamps for plants is their harm to human health. LED phytolamps essentially imitate fluorescent ones and shine in the blue and red spectrum, and as we remember, this kind of radiation negatively affects a person and requires special conditions for use. It is not recommended to be near these phytolamps to an unprotected person, with open areas of the body and eyes.

Sodium lamps for plants

Sodium phytolamps are gas-discharge, visually the luminous flux looks in yellow-orange shades, very reminiscent of sunlight. Today we can safely say that sodium phytolamps are the most efficient, economical, and popular among industrialists. We are being bullied with stories about miraculous LED lamps. But smart people will easily find information on the forums and websites of manufacturers, on YouTube and other places of information about how effective and popular they are. Some of the most attentive will have a question: - Stop, but what about the blue and red spectrum, which is so important for plants, and here yellow is on you, effective! It's simple, the fact is that sodium lamps, like LED and fluorescent lamps, have a blue and red light spectrum, but it is not visible to the human eye. Also, the advantage of sodium lamps for plants is a long service life, not like that of LEDs, but 25,000 hours of burning is not a little, 4-6 years.

In addition, during operation there is no decrease in light output and the lamp does not lose efficiency over time, such as a fluorescent lamp. Well, perhaps the last and not unimportant plus of sodium lamps is that they are harmless to people and animals, this is important for people who grow plants at home, and not in greenhouses. In Russia well-known manufacturers sodium and metal halide lamps are companies Reflux and Ecolum.

Metal halide phytolamps

Metal halide lamps for plants, like sodium lamps, belong to the category of gas discharge lamps. The main difference between metal halide lamps and other gas discharge lamps is the addition of a metal halide to enhance the light output effect. Such lamps have a color temperature of 3,000 to 6,000 K. The color rendering index of such lamps ranges from 65 to 85. They come with ceramic and quartz burners. Abbreviations for such lamps are DRI, DRIZ, DRIKZ.

Information from the PhytoTechnology store to buyers of lamps for plants

We sell products presented on the international market for crop products, and describe in detail the characteristics of each of them.

To get the effect of phytolamps, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the information on the varieties of lamps for plants and with information about a particular plant, the method and conditions of its cultivation.

Turning only to special sources so that you are not misinformed, Answers-Mail will not work better to look for information in textbooks or on high-quality Internet resources! For this purpose, this article was created about lamps for plants, for a brief introduction and overview of phytolamps on the market and with us today.

What are the lamps, and which ones are suitable for plants

You need to start with the history of the emergence of lamps as such and their evolution, the first incandescent lamps were invented in the early 1800s, many inventors tried to make it as durable as possible but failed.

The sources of information vary, so let's focus on the Russian engineer and inventor Alexander Nikolaevich Lodygin, who in 1872 invented at that time the most durable lamp that burned for half an hour. After they began to pump out air from the flask, the lamp became more durable, and in 1873 these bulbs lit up in the lampposts of St. Petersburg.

Incandescent lamps emit light from a hot metal filament, platinum acts as the metal. Everyone knows Thomas Edison. a little later, a strong bamboo (coal) thread began to be used, but before succeeding, he had to lead 6000 experiments, which allowed the lamps to burn for hundreds of hours.

The next breakthrough was fluorescent lamps, however, at the time of their invention, they, like incandescent lamps, were not as durable, the first use of mercury vapor was suggested by Peter Cooper Hewitt, but we will talk about mercury lamps a little later. And only in 1927, Edmund Germer with colleagues Friedrich Meyer and Hans Spanner, covered ultraviolet lamp layer of phosphor, it turned out that such a lamp is capable of emitting natural and bright light, and mass sales of such lamps began in 1938.

After that, LED lamps were invented, the description occurs in this sequence based on mass sales, the first mention of diodes was described in 1907 by a British, and invented, it is considered in 1962.

Now let's go directly to the plants and what kind of lamps are produced directly for them.

What are the requirements of plants for light

Each plant has its own requirements for light, depending on what kind of plant it is and what its usual habitat is. Our task is to create conditions similar to natural ones for a particular type of plant. As the plant grows, it needs more and more light, but how to solve this problem with only one phytolamp in stock? For full illumination of plants, it must be periodically rotated by 15-20 degrees in front of the phytolamp, since in natural conditions this is done by the sun moving across the sky and covering the maximum area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe plant. With a lack of lighting, plants stop growing, regardless of various kinds of top dressing and other conditions. Also, do not forget about the darkness, in no case should the plant be illuminated around the clock, unless we are talking about seedlings during the first weeks, in other cases it is important to observe the dark and light phytoperiod, turn the plant lamp on and off, depending on the vegetative stage of the plant and its requests for light.

Which grow lights are best?

Where to buy lamps for plants and how much?

The listed options for phytolamps for plants are presented in the PhytoTechnologies online store. You can buy lamps for plants of any modifications from us: fluorescent, LED, sodium and metal halide. We deliver to the regions Russian Federation in ways convenient for you.

Now about the price. Prices are listed on the site, and as you noticed, you can buy a lamp for plants for 900 rubles and 80,000 rubles. Why such a difference in price? Well, firstly, not every phytolamp works autonomously, meaning you cannot screw any plant lamp into a standard e27 cartridge and enjoy its glow, for most phytolamps to work, component parts are needed, this is a lamp, choke or trigger, mount, reflectors and others. Among other things, most of the lamps for plants are of an unpresentable appearance; until recently, they were used primarily only by industrialists. What does it mean? This means that the structures are bulky, rough soldering or welding is visible, electric wires stick out, unpolished materials, and a rough industrial look. This is not suitable for everyone at home, if the interior is made in some style, or you have an expensive winter garden. But in our online store there are solutions for any customers, you only need to know what you want and tell us about it, and we will offer best option for solving problems.

If a lemon has “settled” in you, caring for it at home will require a lot of work. It belongs to remontant plants, therefore, under certain conditions, it is able to bloom and bear fruit all year round. But not everyone succeeds not only in tasting the fruits of their citrus, but also simply admiring the flowering. What is the reason? Let's figure it out.

Variety selection

First of all, for planting in the house, you should choose varieties specially bred for this purpose. They do not grow to gigantic dimensions, but at the same time they are characterized by high yields. Pay attention to these varieties of dwarf and semi-dwarf lemons:

• Meyer
• Pavlovsky
• Novogruzinsky
• Maykop
• Eureka
• Genoa

Among the most common varieties in our latitudes is the Meyer lemon, caring for it is the least troublesome compared to other species. This variety is sometimes referred to as Chinese Dwarf and its fruit is not as acidic as other varieties. Dwarf lemons do not have a rich harvest, but they will add comfort to the interior of the apartment.

Video about room lemon

Tall lemons will certainly please you with tasty and large fruits, but at the same time they require a lot of time for care, because in addition to the usual activities, they need more frequent pruning, tying and crown formation. If you are interested in such citruses, choose among the following varieties:

• Novogruzinsky
• Kursk

How to care for a lemon in an ordinary city apartment, when there is no heating, then windows to the north, then the air is too dry for citrus? You will have to provide the tree with comfortable conditions for growth and development.

The first thing that is important for a lemon is light.

Homemade lemon photo

For the arrangement of pots, it is better to choose south-east windows with moderate lighting, if you are lucky, of course, and you have them. But what to do if all your alternative is the north or south side.

On the northern windows, the lemon will noticeably lack light, so you will have to use fluorescent lamps, extending the daylight hours for the plant up to 12 hours. This is especially true for the winter period.

On the south side of the house, there is always plenty of light, and for a lemon, even in excess. Therefore, at noon it is necessary to shade your citrus, saving it from the destructive effect of direct sun rays, they are able to leave real burns on the leaves.

Lemon is a native of the Pacific tropics, so it is not surprising that the tree is demanding on thermal conditions.

In spring, during the budding period, the temperature in the room should be 14 - 16 degrees. A high degree contributes to the drying and dropping of buds, and a low degree slows down or even stops this process. During the dormant period, room temperature up to 26 degrees is sufficient. If possible, move your pet to a glazed balcony for the summer. Fresh air will benefit the lemon and the question of how to care for the lemon will not be so acute. However, you should be wary of both sudden changes in temperature and drafts. Like a true southerner, indoor lemon requires scrupulous care.

Pictured is homemade lemon

Moisture. This parameter is very important for a lemon. Therefore, it is necessary to control that the soil in the pot is constantly slightly moist. In summer, it is reasonable to increase the number to 3 waterings per week, and in winter you can reduce it to 1 time, but spray the air around the tree. This is provided that heating appliances stand far from the plant. It is imperative to water the lemon with non-cold water, which has settled for 5 hours. Water should not be poured directly under the root, but evenly over the entire surface of the soil. The air around the tree should also not be dry - at least 60% humidity. Otherwise, you risk seeing twisted, browning leaves on the lemon.

Lemon, like the rest of the plants in your home, needs support, so it needs to be fed periodically.

Young lemon trees do not need additional stimulation; lemons that have reached 3-4 years of age need to be fertilized.

Pictured is a lemon tree

You can purchase specialized mixtures of organic fertilizers, or you can use folk methods:

• For abundant fruiting, sometimes ordinary watering is replaced with an infusion of eggshells. But you should not get carried away in this way, so as not to reduce the acidity of the soil with an excess of calcium.
• If the plant develops normally, has a healthy appearance and pleases with flowering, fertilization can be abandoned.
• During the growing season, it is worth feeding the lemon twice with superphosphate (50 grams of fertilizer per 1 liter).
• Ammonium nitrate is highly recommended to improve growth. It is taken in a proportion of 30 grams per liter of water. You can irrigate with this fertilizer monthly.
• Periodically water your lemon with a 7-day infusion of horse manure, ten times diluted.
• Lemon requires trace elements for normal development: magnesium, phosphorus, nitrogen and others. To make up for their deficiency, you can use the Citrus Mix fertilizer once a quarter. 2-3 grams of this fertilizer is diluted in a liter of water and used instead of the main watering.

Pruning and transplanting indoor lemon

Young lemon trees should be transplanted at least once a year.

Instances older than 3 years - with a frequency of 2-3 years. However, the need for a transplant may arise "unscheduled", for example, due to illness or deterioration of the lemon.

Pictured is a lemon transplant

1. The soil around the trunk is watered abundantly so that it softens, then the tree is carefully removed. In this case, extreme caution must be exercised so as not to disturb the earthen ball and not to hurt the root system.
2. If you find spoiled roots, cut them with a sharp knife or blade.
3. For transplanting, take a container 30-50% larger than the previous one. Too big, as well as too small a pot, contributes to growth retardation. Give preference to a cone-shaped container.
4. At the bottom of the pot, on the drain hole, place the shard in such a way that its convex side is on top. Then a drainage layer is laid (small pebbles, pebbles), a thin layer of dry manure and earth mixture.
5. Closer to the center of the pot, a tree is set along with a clod of earth. Slowly begin to fill the container between the lump and the walls of the pot with soil. You can lightly press the laid soil, but it is not necessary to compact it tightly.

Lemon pruning is done in order to form a beautiful crown and improve fruiting.

At a tree height of 20-25 cm from the ground, pinch the stem, allowing the side branches to develop. Please note that the first fruits appear on the branches of the 4th-5th order (row from the bottom) and until they are formed, there is no need to wait for the fruits.

Vertically grown branches should be pruned without pity.

To form the correct shape, the flower pot must be gently rotated relative to the sun every 10 days. Gardeners sometimes improve the crown using copper wire - they fix individual branches with it, giving them the desired direction of growth.

The formation of the crown is also carried out at the time of picking the fruit. A ripe lemon is cut not only with the stalk, but also with a section of the branch itself with 1-2 internodes. Thus, the growth of the branch is stimulated.

Lemon is very whimsical to the environment and reacts instantly to the slightest fluctuations in temperature or humidity. Measures must be taken to save the plant.

Dried citrus needs watering. By appearance foliage - it becomes yellowish-brown and rare - it is easy to guess the cause of the disease. But do not rush to irrigate the soil abundantly, you can spoil the root system. It is better to pour a little settled water under the root, and spray around the crown. You can wrap the trunk with gauze, folded in several layers and soaked in water. Let the tree stand in such a "dress" for several hours, but do not leave it overnight.

Excess watering will quickly make itself felt with sudden leaf fall. Healthy-looking leaves suddenly fly around en masse. As soon as a symptom is identified, immediately transplant. Carefully remove the tree from the pot, place it along with the earth clod on newspaper or cardboard so that the roots dry out. You need to plant in the soil, slightly moistened and continue to water sparingly.

Pictured is a homemade lemon with fallen leaves

A frozen lemon is very difficult to save. In conditions of a sharp cold snap, the vital activity of the plant may stop. In addition to falling leaves, the trunk darkens when frosting. You can try to resuscitate. To do this, move the lemon to a warmer room, extend the daylight hours with the help of artificial lights. It makes sense to transplant into another pot. When excavating, be sure to inspect the rhizome, remove dead and rotten parts. Remove dead branches.

Overheating is no less dangerous for citrus. Appeared brown spots on the leaves clearly indicate overheating. Therefore, in hot summer days remove the container with the plant deep into the room. Make sure that the air from the air conditioner does not get on the crown. Additional watering or cooling is not required.

Important! You can not often change the place and habitat, it takes a long time and poorly adapts to new circumstances. Therefore, it slows down growth and fruiting, and may even show signs of illness. Both drafts and unventilated rooms are equally detrimental to him.

Photo of a lemon tree

Pests and diseases of lemon

Appearing white flies may indicate congestion. Their larvae feed on roots and cause significant damage to the plant. Insecticides are used to control them. various kinds- solutions for irrigation and aerosol forms for the destruction of insects that have managed to hatch. Karbofos and Aktelik are quite effective in the fight against these insects.

It is necessary to regularly look at the leaves of the lemon, on which mites and scale insects can settle. Outwardly, ticks look like tiny spiders. They are given out by an orange or brown color that stands out noticeably against a green background. back side leaves. They tighten the damaged areas with a thin cobweb, by which it is easy to recognize pests. Rinse the twigs and leaves on both sides several times at intervals of three to four days under a shower head with strong water pressure. Effective multiple spraying infusions

• garlic (1 medium-sized head insist in 0.5 liters of water),
• onion (1 onion, grated on a fine grater, poured with a liter of water),
• bay leaf (2-3 leaves per 0.5-liter jar of water)
• strong tea leaves green tea(for 2 cups of boiled water 2 tablespoons of dry tea leaves).

Attention! It is not recommended to water the soil with these means.

Scale insects look like small brown turtles, motionless and tightly attached to the leaves. It's hard to fight them. Three times at weekly intervals, thoroughly wipe the plant, including leaves on both sides, twigs and trunk, with a mixture of soap and kerosene, taken in a ratio of 1 / 0.5. Cover the ground with cardboard or polyethylene, wrap the trunk at the very bottom with a narrow bandage to prevent liquid from penetrating into the root system.

Often lemons "get sick" from improper care. Browning leaves on an outwardly healthy plant, and even during the flowering period, is one of the ailments. In this case, reconsider the conditions for keeping the flower, it may make sense to transplant it. But in this case, choose a soil other than at present. Maybe it was the acidity of the soil that caused the disease.

Video about indoor lemon pests

As for the human body, disease prevention is important for citrus fruits. To prevent diseases, follow the regimen, transplant, trim damaged areas. Sometimes a sudden disease can be dictated by the depletion of the plant itself. In this case, limit flowering to a few buds, and, no matter how sorry, remove the rest. Each house has its own separate microclimate, not always suitable for lemon. The task of the owner of the plant is to gradually adapt it to the existing conditions.

Sometimes the process of caring for a lemon at home is comparable in terms of trouble to caring for young children - it is difficult at the beginning, but all work is rewarded when the tree begins to grow actively.

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