Growing a lemon from a stoneis very easy, as long as you follow our advice. Seewhich lemons can be pittedand how to prepare them for sowing. One simple trick will ensure thatlemon pips always sprout ! We will also advise you on how to take care of the younglemon tree grown from the stoneSee how satisfying it is to observe the sprouting seeds extracted from the juicy lemon fruit!
How to grow a lemon from a stone?
How to seed lemon pips?
Lemon pips are best sown in springLemon seeds, or seeds, are obtained from ripe, juicy fruit. The most suitable for home breeding is the Skierniewice lemon 'Panderosa' - a variety bred in the 1970s in Poland by prof. Pieniążka at the Institutional Floriculture and Vegetable Crops in Skierniewice.
If we are unable to obtainSkierniewice lemon seeds for breedingwe can use 'Meyer' lemon seeds, which can be bought in stores. This variety is adapted to container cultivation, therefore by choosing its seeds, we have a chance of successful breeding. Information about the variety can be found on the sticker placed on the skin of the fruit.
Beforeextracting the seeds from the inside of the fruit , we should prepare pots with a diameter of 8 cm, with holes in the bottom. Fill the pots up to 3/4 of the height with a humus, slightly acidic (pH 5-6.5) substrate which is moistened with water.
The lemon fruit should be cut in half and gently picked out the pips from the flesh.Lemon pipsrinse thoroughly with water to get rid of the residual pulp. Thorough washing of the seeds allows you to remove the sugar covering the shell. Sugar is a breeding ground for fungi, the spores of which may be in the ground. Place the thoroughly cleaned seeds on a paper towel to drain excess water.
Note!Citrus pips, unlike other plants, must be constantly moist. They must not be allowed to dry out, as then they may lose their germination ability.
Before placing the lemon pits in the substrategently cut into several places with a razor blade or rub with sandpaper. Another method is to soak the lemon pips for 24 hours. in water at room temperature. This simple trick will soften the shell, the stone will absorb water better and sprout faster!
Yeslemon pips prepared for sowinggently press individually into the soil in pots, to a depth of about 1.5 cm.Sprinkle the top surface of the earth with water. We wrap the pots with foil, in which we make holes to ensure constant air exchange. Until seedlings emerge, the substrate must be kept moist all the time.Place the pots with lemon pipsin a sunny place, at a temperature of 16-20 ° C. Sprouting seeds should be provided with 8-10 hours of lighting. If necessary, we need to illuminate them with plant lamps. Under the right conditionslemon pips start to sproutafter a few weeks. When the first sprouts appear, remove the foil cover.
How to care for a lemon grown from a stone?
When the lemon seedlings become firmly rooted in the substrate and begin to release leaves, transplant them to a fresh substrate.Young lemons should be watered regularly , keeping the substrate constantly moist. Plants, however, hate flooding, so the pots should have holes through which excess water can drain.
"The growing site oflemon grown from stonemust be sunny, warm and draft-free. Lemons do not tolerate fumes from gas cookers, so it&39;s better not to put pots in the kitchen if we have such a cooker. An important procedure in the care of young plants is daily sprinkling with soft water, preferably in the morning. Another important procedure is verandering, i.e. exposing plants to fresh air when it is warm, e.g. on a balcony in summer. "
Lemons grown from seedsgrow very slowly and start to bear fruit only after 20 years or do not bear fruit at all. If we care about fruiting plants, a better way to reproduce lemons is to plant sprigs taken from a fruiting citrus tree.
MSc Eng. Agnieszka Lach
