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I’m sure you all know about the benefits of lemons, but have you ever thought about growing your own lemon tree indoors?
Even though to the majority this sounds difficult and to some of you even impossible, if you follow this guide, you’ll learn how to grow a lemon tree indoors very quickly.
What are Lemons Good for?
Like any other fruit, lemons have their own special role in making your life healthier. If you drink a glass of fresh sugar-free lemonade every day, you’ll definitely notice some good changes in your organism.
- Vitamin C – This is known to everyone and you certainly know that, other than making your immunity stronger, vitamin C does wonders to the skin as well. Not only does it brighten the complexion, but it is also an excellent antioxidant, and it will slow down the aging.
- Helps you lose weight – A glass of lemonade in the morning will wake up your metabolism and make it faster. Therefore, you’ll burn more calories during the day, have balanced digestion, and eventually lose weight.
- Fresh breath – If you rub the lemon on your fingers after eating fish or similar, you know how efficient it is for fighting bad smells. The same goes for your breath. So, the next time you eat something with a strong smell, drink a glass of lemonade, and your breath will instantly be fresh.
How to Grow a Lemon Tree Indoors
Since lemons need certain conditions to grow and requires a certain level of moisture, light, and air (at the end of the day, every plant is different and requires different conditions), you need to be very careful when growing a lemon tree in your home.
You need to do research and consider all the environmental conditions a lemon tree needs. So, be sure to follow this guide to details if you want your lemon tree to grow healthy and full of fruit. The most important steps when learning how to grow a lemon tree indoors are the following:
1. Go with organic seed or tree
Firstly, you need to choose if you want to grow your tree from a seed, or if you want to buy a tree that’s 2-3 years old and continue growing it in your home. Either way, you should make sure that your choice is organic since only those lemons will actually be beneficial and non-toxic.
If you go with seeds, you can easily take it out from any organic lemon and completely clean the surrounding pulp. You should plant it right away since it shouldn’t stay out for a long time.
2. Choose the right pot
For a tree: If you go with a tree, make sure that the pot is deep enough, so the tree stays balanced even when it has a lot of fruit. The best material would be plastic since it’s easier to move around when you need to adjust it to the source of light.
Make sure that the pot has drainage holes because this will prevent the over-watering. Place the pot on the saucer that’s has a bit of water.
For seeds: If, however, you want to grow your tree from scratch, you’ll need more than a pot. You should buy a smaller planter at the beginning, and when the tree starts growing, you should have a large planter, just as described above.
3. Fertile soil
As you can imagine, being citric fruit, lemon trees need slightly acidic soil to grow, and that’s why you should make sure that you buy fertile mixture that has a pH level lower than 7, but not too low.
Neutral pH level is when the number on the soil meter shows 7-7.5, and that’s why you should purchase a mixture that has the level below 7 and let your lemon thrive in the slightly acidic soil.
4. Start planting
First thing you need to do is fill half of the pot with the mixture that’s slightly damp. Then, if you’re planting a tree, take it out of the nursery planter carefully, making sure that the roots are pulled apart and ready to absorb the necessary nutrients.
Place the tree inside the pot, always making sure that the roots don’t get damaged. Then fill the rest of the container with damp soil and press gently to make sure that the roots are covered.
When beginning from the seed, you should also use damp soil and place the seed 1 cm deep and spray water on top of it. Then you should cover the top with a plastic wrap and make a few holes on it.
5. Sunlight!
Whoever wonders how to grow a lemon tree indoors or any other plant in general, always cares and asks about how much sunlight is enough. While different plants require a different amount of sunlight, lemon trees need a lot of light to grow.
That’s why you should place the pot next to the window that receives a lot of sunlight during the day. Both seed and tree need to be exposed to the light for at least eight hours during the day.
However, even lemons need some dark time in order to consume the energy they produce during the day. Also, if you want, you can use the grow lights when you’re starting from the seed, if you don’t have enough sunlight next to your windows. Make sure to pay attention to the distance and light intensity.
6. Watering
Lemons love water, and the soil should never be dried out. Make sure you water it (or spay it) regularly in order to keep it moist. However, don’t exaggerate with water since not even lemons thrive when they are over-watered. Keep the soil damped and avoid paddles.
7. Humidity
As well as water, the lemon tree grows best in humid climates. That’s why you should invest in a humidifier and maintain optimal conditions next to your tree.
For all of these conditions, you can use soil meters in order to control the level of light, water, humidity, and pH level in the soil in order to help the tree grow delicious and beneficial fruit.
8. Take care of the tree
Even when the seed develops strong roots, and you replant it in a bigger pot, your job is not done, but I’m sure you already knew that. You need to take care of your plant on a daily basis if you want it to thrive and live for a long time.
FAQs
1. How big does the pot have to be?
This depends on the size of your lemon tree. The pot shouldn’t be too small because this can suffocate the roots of your tree and kill it. Make sure that the pot you buy is large enough to let your plant grow both ways but also deep enough because of the balance of the tree with fruit.
However, the container shouldn’t be too large either since it’s trickier to water it enough for the tree to consume the necessary nutrients. Keep in mind the roots and choose the pot according to that, always replanting the tree as the lemon grows.
2. Can I grow a lemon tree inside the growing tent?
Of course! The grow tents are actually an even better solution when you’re growing it from a seed. It’s easier to control the amount of light as well as the intensity inside the tent. Controlled conditions are better because you can mimic the natural ones more easily.
3. Does the water have to have slightly acidic pH level as well?
The answer is yes! Watering your lemon tree with regular, tap water isn’t the best solution since the tap water has a neutral pH level. However, you can easily change its pH level.
All you have to do is add a tablespoon of vinegar in four liters of water, and the pH will be more acidic.