Propagation of lemon by cuttings at home: how to plant a tree in a pot, what conditions are needed for rooting and growing a pet?

Many of us wanted to have a real lemon tree at home. And who did not try to plant a bone from a lemon into the ground at least once? But often the sprout that emerged from the seed died very soon.

There are more reliable ways to grow lemon with your own hands, although they require more skill than growing from a seed. The simplest and most popular among them is cuttings. How to plant a lemon in this way will be discussed further.

Advantages and disadvantages of cuttings

This type of lemon propagation has both obvious advantages and some disadvantages.

Of the pluses can be called a guarantee of fruiting, as well as relatively earlier dates for the appearance of the first fruits - with good care, the lemon will bloom and form an ovary already in the third or fourth year after planting in a permanent place, while grown from seeds, this will require at least eight to ten, and the probability of its successful bearing is small.

However, not all cuttings planted in this way take root, in addition, they require careful care over time - this is the main disadvantage of this method. Whether to stop on it or to hint another, more suitable - you decide.

The conditions necessary to grow a tree

As in any business, every detail is important here, and therefore we begin preparations for planting a new tree by choosing the time for preparing the cuttings. The tree must undergo a period of decay of the next growth cycle - There are about four such cycles per year, and by the time of the year they are little tied.

The best time will be the end of such a cycle in March-April, when the tree wakes up from hibernation and the flow of new juices begins in it. These indicators do not depend on the variety, so feel free to choose any tree that you like and feel free to proceed with further preparation.

The only thing you need to consider at this stage is that if you want to bear fruit from your tree, the lemon from which you cut the stalk must already be fruiting - an adult plant that has already yielded fruit. You need to thoroughly prepare both the planting material and the place for planting.

Tip. If you are planting lemon in open ground, then spring is also the best time, since lemon is a heat-loving crop.

Preparing the ground

For landing at home Experienced gardeners recommend preparing the soil for planting from several layers.

Lower - drainage, for which you can use small expanded clay, pebbles or shards.
Second - nutrient layer (a mixture of forest and soddy soil with a ratio of 1: 1).
Third - water-retaining, consisting of sphagnum moss. Suitable for this purpose and ordinary peat.

In order to root lemon cuttings in the open ground, properly preparing the soil is equally important.

For this:

We create a trench with a depth of about one and a half meters in length and in width. The soil in the process is divided into two parts: the more fertile upper layer - to the southern edge, the lower, poorer - to the north.
The north wall of the trench is made strictly perpendicular, and the south wall is cut off at an angle of 45 °, thereby narrowing the bottom of the pit to 80 cm.
On clay soils, sand or pebbles create drainage at the bottom.
On a steep slope, trenches create a shield from boards, slate or any other material, which is then whitened - this will allow directing the sun's rays to the sprouts.
Agrofibre or dense black film is spread on the southern slope to protect against weeds.
A shaft 40-50 cm high is poured from the north for protection from the wind. To do this, you can use the soil thrown to this side. A nutrient substrate is prepared from the folded fertile layer, for which it is mixed with compost, peat or humus.
A "gazebo" made of polycarbonate is installed above the trench.

Choose a pot

First of all, you need to pick up a small pot in which a new small lemon will grow. The best choice would be a ceramic or plastic vessel of small volume: remember that a year later you will need to transplant a tree, and in order for a small lemon to not feel uncomfortable, do not plant it in too large a container.

It is also not recommended to plant several sprouts in one pot, as they will interfere with each other's growth, obscuring the light and "drinking" water.

Preparing planting material

After you have decided on the mother tree, time and place for planting a new plant, you need to directly select the stalk. The sprout should be already woody, but still flexible: Ideally, this is a healthy twig with still green bark about ten centimeters long with 3-4 leaves.

Note! The twig should not be too long. These and the following rules apply to the planting of lemon at home, and in the open ground.

How to cut a lemon? In order to cut the stalk safely for the plant, you will need a very sharp knife (clerical will do) and a little garden var.

The knife must be sanitized. - You can simply calcine on fire or use special-purpose chemicals for processing. In no case should you allow infection of the sprout or tree on which it grew.
Then, carefully wiping the branch itself with a disinfectant solution, you need to use an oblique incision separate the stalk from the branch directly above the kidney. The cut branch should not be long - three or four leaves is quite enough.
The cut place on the mother tree is treated with a garden var, and the stalk for a day is placed in a solution of epin or another stimulant. In order for the plant not to waste unnecessary forces, the leaves on the selected branch should be cut - small by a third, large - by half.

How to propagate?

After all the preliminary procedures have been carried out, you can proceed directly to the landing. It is important to note that its first stages are the same for ground and domestic lemons.

We plant the sprout in the topsoil, which we moisten previously. Then, to facilitate rooting, it is worthwhile to create favorable conditions for him by placing it in a greenhouse - you can do this with a simple inverted can, or you can build it from wire and polyethylene directly in a pot with a handle.

The pot should be placed in a place that receives enough light during the day, but without direct sunlight. The place where the lemon will grow, you need to choose in advance and do not transfer the plant from place to place, because from this it can simply die.

The eastern window is best suited for such purposes. Every day it is necessary to carry out plentiful spraying with water and at all times make sure that the earth in the pot does not dry out.

Also, sometimes you need to open the greenhouse for ventilation: during the burial process for several minutes a day, after about two weeks, when the branch has taken root and it is time to fully open it, gradually increase the ventilation period so that the tree gets used to life outside of the greenhouse. In no case can you open it right away, because the sprout that you so carefully looked after may die or become ill, not adapting to the conditions of your room.

Important! In order to avoid death of the plant both during rooting, and later it is strongly not recommended to transport it from place to place and do this only in exceptional cases.

After a year of growth in a pot, there is a need for transplantation, and here the paths of ground and home lemons diverge. Homemade lemon should be transplanted into a new lemon. We choose a container two to three centimeters larger than the previous one.

We prepare the soil according to the same principle. During the transplant, you do not need to clear the soil from the roots - on the contrary, this transplant is more like transshipment. Next, transplant as needed.

Rooted cuttings intended for soil are planted in a fertile soil substrate, from where after a year or two it will be possible to transfer them already to an open space and a permanent place.

When to wait for the first harvest?

Indoor lemon can bloom already in the year of planting, but only three to four years later will please the fruits.

Compared with trees grown from seed, this is two to three times faster and with a much higher probability, and therefore, after planting a small stalk, do not doubt that you have chosen the correct method of propagation of indoor lemon.

The one that is planted in open ground, in its first year, will just finish rooting and, under good conditions, will be able to prepare for wintering. With flowers and fruits, he will delight the gardener a couple of years after planting in open ground.

Tips for rooting

In order for the cuttings to take root more actively, and the trees grow faster, you need to regularly spray them with water (once a day is enough in the cold season, two in the warm season), since this is the main source of moisture for the plant, as well as periodic feeding with special mixtures for citrus or any organic fertilizer - this applies to trees both grown at home and in the open ground.
Do not forget about ordinary watering. It should be borne in mind that only under the condition of proper top dressing can one expect fruiting and active growth of the tree.
Also, if you see that your lemon is clearly uncomfortable, then it is also worth feeding. If this is not done on an emergency rehabilitation basis, then it is better to carry them out from mid-spring to mid-autumn, when the plant is in the phase of active growth. Then the fertilizer will give him additional strength for him, and your tree will become noticeably higher and stronger, and the greens - brighter.

Thus, growing lemon with cuttings is not a simple process, but the result is definitely worth it. With proper care, the tree will thank you with lush green foliage, and after a few years you can proudly try the yellow fruit grown by your own hands.