When to plant lemon seeds
The Best Time to Plant a Lemon Tree Anywhere in the World
Lemon trees provide you with a plentiful source of Vitamin C, magnesium, and calcium. Not only are they beneficial health-wise, but they are also beautiful trees with glossy leaves and fragrant white flowers. If you are thinking about adding lemons to your garden, you need to know when to plant lemon trees.
Keep reading to figure out the best time to plant a lemon tree based on your climate and the type of lemon tree!
The Best Time to Plant a Lemon Tree
Lemon trees are usually planted in early spring after the threat of frost has passed. There are a few factors that can change when to plant lemon trees, such as climate and type of tree, that I’ll discuss further in this post.
Why does it matter to know the best time to plant a lemon tree? Planting at the proper time allows the tree to establish healthy roots. When planting a lemon tree, you want to time it to where the tree is able to grow and establish itself before wintertime slows the roots’ growth.
Factors Affecting When to Plant Lemon Trees
Climate Conditions
Lemon trees are typically hardy in USDA zones eight through 11. They are tropical trees, so they prefer warmer climates. In these particular zones, the best time to plant a lemon tree is in springtime.
There are areas of Florida, Southern California, Texas, and Arizona (typically located in zones nine through 11) that have ideal temperatures for lemon trees almost year-round. If you live in these areas that don’t see heavy frosts or cool winters, you can plant a lemon tree at any time of the year. The trees will grow and produce fruit all year once the lemon tree is established.
Type of Lemon Tree
There are different types of lemon trees you can choose from based on where you live. The main two types you will see are the Meyer lemon tree and the Eureka lemon tree.
Meyer lemons are the most popular lemon trees grown. The lemons have smooth skin and sweet flesh. They are hardy in zones eight through 11, but they make great patio and indoor lemon trees for zones four through eight.
The Meyer lemon tree can tolerate cool temperatures down to 20 degrees Fahrenheit before they need to be moved inside. Meyer lemons are normally planted in the spring, but they can be planted year-round in zones nine through 11.
The Eureka lemon tree produces fruit with very few seeds and lots of juicy flesh. Eureka lemons prefer the warmer climates of zones nine through 11. In these areas, the tree can be planted at any time of the year as long as the temperatures don’t get below 20 degrees.
If you plant a Eureka lemon in the spring in a colder zone, you can expect the tree to have a shorter life than the Meyer lemon tree.
Outdoor or Indoor
Planting time in the spring is pretty standard with outdoor lemon trees, but what about indoor lemon trees? Since indoor lemon trees are not exposed to outdoor weather conditions, they can be planted at any time of year. The controlled temperatures will allow the tree to produce growth all year.
The Meyer lemon tree is a great choice for growing indoors.
You can basically treat it like a houseplant. It will need to be placed in a sunny window with at least 10 hours of bright light per day, and it can be placed outdoors on your deck or patio during the summer.
Bareroot or Potted
Fruit trees are sold as either potted trees or bare-root trees. Tree wholesalers sell bare-root trees when the tree is dormant. These types of trees will need to be planted during their dormancy. This allows the trees to adapt quickly to planting rather than changing from container soil to the new soil in the ground.
Most lemon trees are sold and shipped as potted plants, rather than bare-root, because they are active year-round. This means they don’t experience a dormant phase, but rather just slowed growth during colder winters. The best time to plant a lemon tree in a pot is in springtime.
When to Plant a Lemon Tree by Seed
Did you know lemon trees can be started from seed? It will be a few years before the tree produces fruit, but it can be done! The best time to plant a lemon tree from seed is several weeks before your last anticipated frost.
You can start your lemon tree along with any other vegetable seeds you are starting for the year.
The seed will need to be placed in moist potting soil about a half-inch deep. Cover the pot with plastic wrap or a germination dome to help the seed sprout. Place the pot in a sunny window or under a grow light. You should see the seed germinate within 14 days.
Once the seedling is large enough to be re-potted, you can begin to bring the lemon tree outside for small periods of time. You can also keep the lemon tree inside year-round. Just make sure to give it plenty of light.
Tips for Planting a Lemon Tree
Growing Conditions
Knowing how to plant a lemon tree is just as important as knowing the best time to plant a lemon tree. Lemon trees love the sun! Make sure to plant it in a spot that will receive at least six to eight hours of sunlight per day.
The site will also need to drain well. Lemon trees grow best in loamy soil that has a slightly acidic pH between 5.
5 and 6.5. If you have heavy clay soil, you will need to amend it by mixing in organic compost before planting the lemon tree.
The soil should remain consistently moist. Try not to overwater the plant or allow the soil to become soggy, so that the lemon tree roots do not rot. If the top inch of the soil is dried out, you are safe to rewater the tree.
Planting the Tree
To plant a tree outdoors, dig a hole that is twice the size of the lemon tree’s root ball. Before sitting the tree in the hole, loosen the tree’s roots to encourage them to spread once planted. Set the tree in the hole and fill the hole with a mixture of organic compost and the existing soil.
Press down the soil with your foot to remove any air pockets. Water the plant thoroughly. To preserve moisture, you can apply a layer of mulch about an inch thick across the top of the dirt. Leave a few inches of space around the stem to promote air circulation and avoid root rot.
To plant a lemon tree indoors, choose a container that is slightly larger than the lemon tree’s current pot.
If you plant the lemon tree in a container that is too large, the soil around the tree will struggle to dry out and could rot the tree. The container will also need adequate drainage holes. You can place a pan under the container to catch water and avoid making a mess on the floor.
Set the lemon tree in the container and fill the pot with a mix of potting soil and organic compost. Indoor lemon trees will need to be watered less often, but should still be kept consistently moist.
FAQs on When to Plant a Lemon Tree
1. Why don’t lemon trees go dormant?
Technically, lemon trees are tropical trees. In tropical climates, temperatures maintain optimal growing conditions year-round. That means that the trees do not need to quit growing to avoid damage. Lemon trees can healthily grow and produce fruit year-round. That means that they can also be planted year-round in tropical climates.
2. Will lemon trees planted in winter survive?
The best time to plant a lemon tree is in springtime when the threat of frost has passed.
Exceptions to this rule include indoor planting and planting in tropical climates. If you do plant your lemon tree in late winter before the chance of frost is over, you will need to cover your lemon tree to help it survive frost damage.
If you purchase a lemon tree during the winter, keep it indoors in a greenhouse until spring to keep your lemon tree happy!
Wrapping Up the Best Time to Plant a Lemon Tree
Strategically planning when to plant lemon trees is important to the trees’ health. While lemon trees should be planted in spring in most areas, they can be planted year-round indoors or in tropical climates. If you allow your lemon tree to have the time it needs to grow, you will see a better production of fruit and a beautiful tree!
Ready for more lemon content? Next, visit our lemon trees page to discover more useful and fun information on lemon planting, growing, harvesting, cooking, and more!
How to grow lemon from seed
So you want to learn how to grow lemon from seed? Before you start, you need to think about what you want from the plant.
If you want to grow a beautiful lemon tree whether for the garden, the patio or as a houseplant with interesting greenery that has an enchanting lemony scent, then read on to find out how to grow a lemon tree from seed.
'Citrus plants, like lemons, are excellent additions to conservatories and orangeries. As well as providing the ideal climate for the plants to thrive, they also lend the space a Mediterranean flair,' says Melanie Griffiths, editor of Period Living.
(Image credit: Future/Brent Darby)
How to grow lemons
If you want to harvest your own citrus fruit, then growing a lemon tree from seed is not the best option. This is because the seeds do not necessarily reflect the parent plant. Of course, you may strike lucky and your lemon tree will produce deliciously tangy yellow lemons.
But since it takes an average of five years for a lemon tree grown from seed to produce fruit – it’s definitely a high stakes gamble if you're desperate to lemons to eat.
In this case, your best course of action is to grow your lemon tree from an established plant bought at a garden centre. These have either been grafted or grown from cuttings which mean they will replicate their fruit producing parent plant.
While this is a more expensive option, the average lemon tree can last up to 50 years and will produce fruit for nearly all that time once they reach full size. Alternatively, if you know someone with a lemon tree that produces good fruit, ask if you can take a cutting.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
How to grow lemon from seed
Learning how to grow lemon from seed is an easy and affordable way to fill your home with beautiful lemon trees. So long as you have a lemon with pips, a pot of soil and a warm, light windowsill then you are good to go.
'Ideally sow the pips in April, but any time of year is possible,' advises Holly Farrell in her book Plants from Pips .
- Cut your lemon in half on a chopping board and remove the pips.
Discard any small, shrivelled or sliced pips as these won't germinate. - Then place the remaining pips in a glass of water to see if they're viable. If they sink they are good to plant but if they float then they probably won't germinate.
- Since these lemons have not been bred to produce new plants and have instead been grown for their taste, you'll want to plant at least 5 seeds to give you the best chances of successful germination.
- Having removed the seeds from the water, you now need to remove the slimy coating from the pips. This coating contains sugars which encourage rot and decay if planted. Usually this would be dissolved by the acid in the lemon as it decomposes but that takes a long time. Instead there are several ways to accelerate this process.
- Remove the coating by washing the pip under the tap or you can simply put the seed in your mouth and suck on it until the lemon flavor has gone - this is reportedly the easiest and quickest way to ensure all the coating has disappeared.
- Alternatively, you can remove the white shell from the seed. This is a little more fiddly and you have to be careful not to damage the seed inside. Use a craft knife to create a small nick that lets you peel the shell off.
- Do not allow the seed to dry out at any time, it needs to stay moist in order to germinate. If you are not planting immediately, then keep in a glass of water or wrapped in a wet paper towel until you're ready to plant.
- Pick a small pot with lots of drainage, terracotta is a good choice as it allows moisture to leave the pot through the walls. This will help prevent root rot. Fill the pot with citrus compost - ideally a variety that includes sharp grit.
- Pre-moisten the soil and then plant the seeds 1/2 inch deep.
- Place in a warm location, like a windowsill and be sure that the soil never completely dries out.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Can you germinate lemon seeds in paper towel?
Yes, you can germinate lemon seeds in a paper towel and it's pretty easy to do.
- Remove the white shell from the seed in the same way as outline above.
- Position the seeds about 1/2 an inch apart on a paper towel and carefully cover with another sheet.
- Wrap the ends of the paper towels so that they are folded underneath to create a little parcel.
- Spray the paper towel parcel until its wet and then seal in a ziploc bag - be sure to keep air in the bag.
- Place in a warm dark space and check on them daily so they don't dry out. If they start to look dry, spray the paper towel parcel with more water.
- Once sprouted open the paper towel parcel.
- Once they have grown to 1.5 inches long. Fill a terracotta pot with citrus compost and plant the germinated seeds in the soil.
- Move the pot to a warm sunny location - like a windowsill - so your seedlings can continue to grow.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
How long does it take to grow a lemon tree from seed?
It takes around three to six years to grow a mature lemon tree from seed, with fruit starting to be produced at around year five.
However, it only takes a few months to get a small lemon tree that will look pretty in a pot in your home.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Can you plant lemon seeds from a store bought lemon?
Yes, you can plant lemon seeds from a store bought lemon. It is, however, worth bearing in mind that not all store bought lemons will have seeds, or viable seeds. You will also have a higher chance of germination if you buy an organic lemon as they won't have been subjected to the same pesticides and fertilisers so the seeds inside are more likely to be viable.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Will dry lemon seeds germinate?
No, dry lemon seeds will not germinate. You are best planting the seed as soon as possible after harvesting the pips from the fruit. If you need to wait, however, you can put the seeds in a glass of water overnight and then plant the following day.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Should I grow my lemon tree in the ground or in a container?
Unless you live in a place with very warm temperatures all year around and no risk of frost, then you should grow your lemon trees in containers rather than in the ground.
'Containers are ideal for tender plants like citrus (e.g. lemon) that live outside in summer, and come back indoors for winter,' says Homes & Gardens' garden expert Teresa Conway. 'Make a feature of your container displays in summer, grouping your pots prominently on the patio or deck. Remember to bring them inside before the first frosts in late autumn.'
This feature was created by H&G's sister brand, Period Living magazine
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How to grow a lemon from a stone and get fruits?
Your goal is to grow a homemade lemon so that it becomes an interesting element of the interior and even hope to enjoy the vitamin fruits from the lemon tree.
Where to start? If there is no desire or opportunity to purchase a citrus tree, then the easiest way is to grow a lemon from a seed.
Today we will discuss in detail how to grow a lemon at home, how to care for homemade citrus fruits and what needs to be done so that indoor lemons begin to bear fruit.
Contents
- Citrus cultivation
- Seed lemon: where to start?
- Care of lemon seedlings
- Indoor lemon - pests and diseases
- Cuttings of lemons for quick fruiting
Growing citrus fruits
Homeland lemon - subtropical forests, where it grows wild. For many centuries, people have tried to spread it in the lands of Europe. The twentieth century was marked by the experiments of geneticists. Scientists have done a good job of breeding varieties that bear fruit well in northern latitudes and in room conditions.
Today you won't surprise anyone with homemade lemon.
Thanks to the efforts of professional breeders and amateur flower growers, indoor lemon has appeared in many home greenhouses and simply on windowsills. Citrus indoor plants always look amazing in the interior, but they delight us not only with their excellent appearance, but also with edible fruits.
The citrus tree is an evergreen, moisture-loving, shade-tolerant short-day plant. The room actively begins to grow in February-March, stops - in November. Lemon propagates in the following ways:
- Seeds - a familiar bone taken from a fruit.
- Vegetative - cuttings, grafting, layering.
Seed lemon: where to start?
Use only fresh seeds. They are selected from mature fruits that do not have signs of disease. Purely theoretically, this is true, but lemons come to us from supermarkets and bazaars.
These fruits are definitely not freshly picked. How to be? Dried seeds that have lain for a month at room temperature significantly lose their germination capacity, but still germinate.
In order to 100% grow a lemon at home, you need to stock up not just one or two seeds, but a lot more. Out of a dozen seeds, there will definitely be several sprouts.
Do not be afraid to grow many seedlings at once. It is not a fact that all your lemons from the stone at home will live to bear fruit. Some will die due to diseases, others will suffer when you vaccinate them.
We start growing homemade lemon from the stone as follows:
- We buy special soil or prepare the soil ourselves from river sand, soddy soil, humus.
- Spread the prepared soil mixture into separate small pots or cups.
- Seeds are planted in moist soil to a depth of 3 cm.
- Cover with foil to create a better microclimate.
- We are waiting for the sprouts to appear, which appear after about 3 weeks.
- If 2 shoots grow from one lemon seed, one (which is weaker) should be removed.
Growing citrus in this way is the easiest and most reliable option at home.
Many flower growers have a decorative lemon at home, many waited for their fruiting. It should be noted that homemade tangerines are grown in a similar way.
Citrus plants grown from seeds are better adapted to indoor conditions, more hardy and more viable than cuttings or grafts. Fully fruit-bearing cultivated seedlings grow from the seeds. Their only drawback is that they begin to bear fruit late.
Caring for lemon seedlings
It is not difficult to germinate a lemon from a stone, it will be more problematic to care for it further. When seedlings appear, the film is gradually removed, accustoming them to the conditions of the room.
Regular care of homemade lemon means that it:
- Water moderately, avoiding waterlogging, so as not to cause root rot. In hot weather, watering is carried out 3 times a week, in winter it is reduced to 2 times.
- Dust citrus leaves every week, spray regularly with water.
- Keeping near the battery requires additional air humidification.
- Turn the lemon gradually by 2 cm per month around its axis so that there is no sharp change in the light regime for the leaves.
- Transplant indoor lemon every year in the spring into a larger pot. You can not immediately plant a plant in a pot that is not the right size.
- Good gains are obtained by fertilizing with complex fertilizers "Zdraven", "Ideal" or special fertilizers for citrus fruits with the addition of trace elements of zinc, boron, manganese - once every 2 weeks.
To prevent a lemon from turning into a wild dense tree, the crown must be constantly shaped. The central shoot is cut off at a distance of 20 cm from the ground. Branches of the second order appear, which, when they reach 18 cm, are pinched. The process is carried out until shoots of the fourth order appear. Flower buds are laid on them, and fruiting begins.
Indoor lemon - pests and diseases
Lemons grown at home are most often affected by scale insects, spider mites, aphids, mealybugs.
All these pests feed on the sap of the plant, causing the leaves to dry out and the shoots to bend.
To prevent pests from destroying the lemon tree, the following general control measures should be carried out:
- Remove pests from the stem with a soft toothbrush, from the leaves with cotton swabs, previously moistened with a soapy solution of anabazine sulfate.
- Rinse the solution from the plant every other day. Repeat treatment after a week.
- In case of a large number of pests, treat the tree with infusion of celandine, tobacco, onion peel or Actellik, Ditox, Fitoverm preparations. It is necessary to use preparations for the destruction of pests very carefully, as these are the strongest pesticides.
The most common diseases of indoor citrus fruits are black fungus, gommosis. Why are they dangerous for homemade lemon? The soot fungus covers the leaves with a dark gray bloom, disrupting the normal nutrition of plants.
Gommosis forms a gum that flows from damage to the bark, causing the leaves and branches to dry out.
Indoor lemon diseases are removed:
- Cleaning the diseased area, treating with copper sulphate.
- Coating with RanNet (garden paste putty).
- By wiping with a wet cloth (if fungus).
- Bark and leaf pest control.
- Top dressing with complex fertilizers to maintain the vitality of the tree.
For a novice gardener, advice on how to deal with homemade lemon diseases will seem incomprehensible, but there is nothing complicated here. In all specialized stores you will find the proposed preparations, and there are detailed instructions on the packages. If you have specific questions on how to grow a lemon from a stone, how to care for it, feel free to ask them on the flower growers forums. You will definitely be helped!
Lemon cuttings for fast fruiting
Why cuttings? Lemons grown in this way begin to bear fruit faster.
The only negative is that the future tree should get used to the changed living conditions.
If you already have some experience in floriculture, then it will not be difficult to grow a fruiting lemon from cuttings:
- The best time to germinate roots from cuttings is March-April. Cuttings are taken only from a fruiting lemon.
- The landing box is prepared in advance. Make small holes in it. For drainage, washed expanded clay, fragments of brick or gravel are used. Then pour 1.5 cm river sand in layers, 6 cm nutrient mixture, finish with 2 cm sand.
- Cuttings are harvested from last year's growth. Make an oblique cut, cover it with warm wax or garden pitch. The branches are divided into several parts, 4 buds each.
- Before planting in the ground, the lower parts of the cuttings are immersed for a day in a solution of heteroauxin. Sprinkled with wood ash, planted in prepared soil at a distance of 15 cm one at a time, leaving 2 buds on the surface.
- Press the earth firmly around them, spray with warm water. Create a mini-greenhouse, covering with a film. For better rooting, a little heating from below is necessary.
- Keep the temperature around the cuttings at about 25°C. At a lower one, the leaves fall off, their condition worsens, the rooting time doubles, the percentage of survival decreases.
- For the first 2 weeks, the leaves are sprayed with water 4 times a day, then reduced to two. The film is periodically lifted, the greenhouse is ventilated. Subject to all conditions, a good root system grows in a lemon in a month.
- Rooted cuttings are transplanted one at a time into clay pots using a drainage layer and nutrient soil. To increase branching, pinch the central root.
- After placing the plant in a new container, carefully sprinkle the soil on the roots, pressing it with your hand. In several stages, they are poured with warm water so that the earth settles.
- Spray the leaves, put for 2 weeks in a shaded place.
After that, young trees are gradually accustomed to light.
Over time, you will begin to do many processes for caring for citrus fruits on an intuitive level, experience will affect. Growing indoor lemon at home is an interesting and exciting pastime. For many, this becomes a hobby for many years, maybe this is your new hobby?
Household lemon from the stone
Under natural conditions, lemon trees grow in the tropical zone and reach a height of two to six meters. This is a perennial evergreen plant. When growing lemon trees in the conditions of standard city houses and apartments, these plants reach a smaller height, but if the plant is not formed, then it can stretch very much. Growing lemon from seeds at home does not change its love for consistently warm temperatures, high humidity, and it also requires care.
Contents
How can you grow a lemon from a seed at home and how will it differ from a citrus varietal plant from a cutting?
You can plant a lemon tree at home using cuttings or seeds.
It should be borne in mind that varietal plants retain their properties only when propagated vegetatively, that is, propagated by cuttings. From seeds, you will get a citrus plant that will not bear fruit at home.
Only varietal homemade lemon will delight you with fruits
Special homemade citrus varieties, such as Pavlovsky lemon and mandarin, are able to bear fruit throughout the year and at the same time have small crowns, and their pleasant citrus aroma when flowering and aesthetically attractive appearance bring comfort to your space.
In order to grow a lemon from a stone , you need to find seeds. To obtain seeds, it is enough to buy ripe, strong fruits in any store that have a uniform color without signs of damage or rot. Most commercially available lemons contain seeds inside that can be successfully used to plant a plant. The disadvantage of growing a lemon tree from seeds can be considered a long period of plant growth.
Plants obtained from cuttings of varietal plants develop much faster and are guaranteed to bear fruit with proper care.
Preparing Lemon Seeds for Planting
For planting lemon trees from seeds, well-shaped seeds are suitable, the integrity of which is not damaged. For a greater likelihood of their successful germination, it is best to take seeds from several different lemons. Also, to increase the germination of seeds, soak them for several hours in a root solution. Next, plant in pots or boxes. We plant often, it is better to remove the extra seedlings later than not to wait for them at all. For planting, you can buy ready-made soil for citrus fruits, or you can mix peat and flower soil in equal proportions. At the bottom of the planting tank, be sure to put a good layer of drainage. In this capacity, expanded clay balls or ordinary foam are usually used.
Planting a lemon seed in the ground
Lemon seeds should not be buried too deep in the soil.
It is enough to immerse them to a depth of 1 cm to 0.5 cm. In no case should you fill the soil, but it is imperative to keep it moderately moist. The temperature most conducive to seed germination is 18-22 degrees. With the correct observance of these simple conditions, a couple of weeks after planting, the seeds will give the first shoots. Among these seedlings, it will be necessary to select only strong, strong and healthy plants, the rest will have to be removed. It is recommended to cover the seedlings with a glass jar to maintain the desired microclimate and humidity for the plant. Once a day, you need to ventilate the plants, removing the jar for a few minutes. Containers with seedlings should be in a bright, warm place without direct sunlight on them.
Young seedlings of lemon
Seedlings when growing lemon from the stone can be transplanted into separate small pots only after the first pair of true adult leaves appear on the seedlings. Drainage in new pots is required.
It is advisable not to damage the roots during transplantation. To do this, it is best to transplant the plant along with the old peat ball, without trying to separate it from the roots. When a small tree grows to 15 centimeters, it will need to be transplanted again into a larger pot and diameter.
Young lemon from the stone
When planting a lemon tree, a cutting about 8-10 cm long is taken from a cutting, on which a couple of leaves and a few live buds are left. Before placing the cutting in the ground, it is desirable to treat its base with a root formation stimulator, for example, Kornevin, after which it is planted in the soil to a depth of 3-4 centimeters and covered with a jar or bag. Until the cutting has roots, it will need to be sprayed daily with water and the soil in which it takes root should be well moistened. Rooting occurs about a month and a half after planting. It should be borne in mind that only some cuttings take root - this is to some extent a matter of luck.
Then the plant can be transplanted into a permanent pot.
Lemon from a cutting
When watering a lemon tree, the earthen ball in the pot must be moistened evenly. Insufficient and uneven moisture can lead to drying of the roots and their death. When the tree is old enough and strong enough, it will need a lot of sunlight. But lemons do not tolerate direct sunlight, it is better to choose a bright place for it, which receives diffused light. Lemon trees do not like constant movement from place to place. Every spring it must be transplanted into a larger container. You can stop at a ten-liter container, regularly changing only the top layer of soil and actively fertilizing the plant.
Proper care will ensure the flowering and fruiting of the varietal lemon
During the heating season or dry summer, it is necessary to spray the plant daily to maintain the desired moisture. To form a beautiful crown and release side branches, the top of the tree must be cut from time to time.
