Expertises: Art, Do it yourself, Home improvement, Design, Craft
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Who does not love that fresh acidic smell a lemon exudes when squeezed or the lovely contrast of white, pure, delicate lemon flowers and the bright rich green of the lemon tree leaves? We use lemon all the time and we can usually buy them all year long from supermarkets but no store bought lemon can compare to having your very own lemon tree in your home. Besides its practical aspect of having lemon at your discretion, the lemon tree will fill your house with a gorgeous fresh smell and will add that perfect pop of color you long for. The guide of growing your own lemon tree out of store bought lemons is pretty easy, we have tried it ourselves a while back and now we are the proud owners of a beautiful lemon tree. The period of time before a lemon tree starts producing lemon can vary from 3 years to 5 or even 10 but in the end we assure you the wait was worth your while.
Things You Will Need
Seed-raising tray
Seed-raising mix
Knife
Bowl
Spray bottle
Plastic wrap
6-inch pots
Potting soil
Watering can or garden hose
Citrus plant food
1. Fill a seed-raising tray with moist, seed-raising mix up to three-quarter inches from the top. Tamp down the soil so it's firm in the tray.
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2. Cut a lemon in half with a knife and remove the seeds. Rinse the seeds in a bowl of water to get rid of any pulp and sugar, because sugar left on the seed can trigger fungi, which can kill the seedlings.
3. Fill a bowl with water and soak the seeds in it for eight hours. Soaking the seeds prior to sowing them may help speed up germination.
4. Spread the lemon seeds evenly over the soil surface while they're still moist. Sprinkle a half-inch layer of seed-raising mix over the seeds and lightly tamp the soil. Avoid letting the seeds dry; the longer the seeds dry, the smaller the chance of germination.
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5. Mist the soil surface with water and keep the soil moist throughout the germination period. Stretch plastic wrap over the tray to help promote soil moisture retention.
6. Place the tray in a warm area, at about 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Expect the lemon seeds to germinate in three to six weeks. Remove the plastic wrap after germination and place the tray near a sunny window, in indirect sunlight.
7. Fill 6-inch pots with moist, well-draining potting soil. Transplant one lemon seedling in the center of each pot at the same depth that it was planted in the seed-raising tray.
8. Place the pots in an area of 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit where they will get at least four hours of direct sunlight daily, such as a sunny windowsill or porch.
9. Cultivate the soil in a sunny area of the garden. Remove rocks and weeds and pulverize clumps. Transplant the seedlings in the garden when they're large enough to handle, after the last frost date. Plant them at the same depth that they were planted in the pots.
10. Trickle water onto the soil around the plants so it's slowly absorbed. Use a watering can or garden hose to deeply water the lemon plants so the moisture reaches the roots. Keep the soil consistently moist while the plants grow and establish. Water about twice a week and adjust your watering frequency after rainfall.
11. Fertilize the lemon plants with a citrus plant food or use a fertilizer with a nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium ratio of at least 2-1-1.
