How to feed indoor lemon

Lovers of indoor plants appreciate the lemon tree for its exoticism and attractive appearance. Even in winter, the miniature tree pleases the eye with its bright green mass, and during the fruiting period, an abundance of delicate flowers, ovaries and fruits is observed on its shoots. Moreover, flowering and fruiting often occur simultaneously.

The plant needs regular and frequent feeding. If there is a lack of nutrients, it begins to hurt and dies. Fertilizers should be both organic and mineral. How to feed lemon at home - read on.

Types of fertilizers for indoor lemon in a pot

Regular feeding of indoor lemon is the key to plant health. Only with an abundance of necessary nutrients will the plant bloom and bear fruit.

In poor soil, citrus begins to hurt. Its leaves change shape and color and fall off. A lemon tree in a pot stops developing, forming shoots and ovaries.

By appearance lemon It’s easy to understand exactly what substances he lacks. The main elements and signs of their deficiency are presented in the list:

1. Potassium. With a deficiency of potassium, the flowers become large and folded, and then begin to fall off. The shoots stop developing. The fruits are small with a thin crust, there are few of them. If a lack of potassium is combined with high humidity, sticky spots will form on the lemon tree.
2. Phosphorus. With a lack of this substance, metabolism is disrupted.The fruits take on an ugly shape, become small, rough, dense and tasteless. The leaves fade and lighten.
3. Nitrogen. Responsible for plant development and formation of green mass. With nitrogen deficiency, yellow spots appear on the leaves, they increase in size, and new leaves have a pale yellowish-green tint. The process of photosynthesis is disrupted. Plant growth is stunted. There are few fruits produced and they are small.
4. Calcium. If there is a lack of an element, the leaf plates curl and droop. The top of the tree turns pale.
5. Iron. The development of chlorosis is a consequence of iron deficiency. This problem is characterized by the following signs: light underdeveloped fruits that fall off the drying stalks, pale yellowish leaves, drying out of the tree top.
6. Manganese. The leaves become pale and a pattern of veins stands out on them.
7. Bor. With boron deficiency, the leaves turn pale and yellow, the veins dry out and crack. Watery spots appear on the leaf blades. The fruits are covered with dark spots and clots of resin.
8. Copper. The top part of the tree withers.

The described elements must be present in bait for citrus fruits. Some other substances are also beneficial for lemons. For example, some gardeners water the soil in a pot with a glucose solution, which provides energy for tree growth.

The most important elements are phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen. Moreover, lemon needs 2 times more nitrogen than phosphorus and potassium.

Important! Citrus trees are fed according to a schedule, observing the proportions of fertilizers. An excess of nutrients has no less detrimental effect on the condition of plants than a deficiency.

Mineral

Mineral fertilizers are applied at least once every 2 weeks.It is recommended to alternate organic and mineral formulations.

Specialized stores sell ready-made mixtures of microelements. Both special preparations for citrus fruits and universal preparations for flowering plants and fruit trees are suitable. Such fertilizers are diluted according to the instructions, without exceeding the dosage. The concentrated solution will burn the roots of the plant.

Attention! When choosing complex fertilizers for lemon, pay attention to the composition. It should not contain chlorine. This substance is contraindicated in citrus fruits and causes the development of chlorosis.

Prepare mineral supplements yourself. For this purpose, mono-fertilizers are used. They are mixed with each other or used separately.

The list indicates what to feed the lemon and gives the approximate concentration of the most popular mineral compounds:

1. Ammonium nitrate. Used as a nitrogen fertilizer. Take 15 g of the drug per liter of water. From 0.5 to 1 liter of fertilizer is used per plant, depending on the size of the pot.
2. Superphosphate. This is a source of phosphorus. It is used in 2 ways. In the first case, 25 g of superphosphate is boiled in 0.5 liters of water until completely dissolved. The resulting concentrate is mixed with 5 liters of water. Use no more than 1 liter of product per plant. Granules are also used as a prolonged means. To do this, 10-15 g of the drug is buried in the ground. When watering, the granules will slowly dissolve, saturating the soil with phosphorus.
3. Inkstone. For a healthy plant, a monthly feeding of 2 g of the product diluted in a liter of water is sufficient. If there are signs of chlorosis, take 40 g of iron sulfate for this amount of liquid.
4. Potassium salt. Saturates the soil with potassium. For 1 liter of water take 2 g of the substance.
5. Potassium permanganate. Source of manganese and potassium. Take 1 g of the drug per liter of water.

Some of the presented substances are usually used in combination, others separately. For example, potassium, ammonium nitrate and superphosphate are often mixed. Iron sulfate and potassium permanganate are added separately.

Beginning gardeners are recommended to use a ready-made mixture of micro and macroelements. Mixing individual elements is a complex science that requires practical experience and knowledge.

Note! Unsettled tap water contains a lot of chlorine and increases the risk of developing chlorosis. When using such a liquid for watering, the plant will need more iron.

Organic

Organic fertilizers are no less important for plants than mineral ones. They are also applied at least 2 times a month, alternating with mineral preparations.

How to fertilize lemon (organic products):

1. Chicken and pigeon droppings. 1 kg of litter is poured into a bucket of water. The rest of the volume is filled with water. The ingredients are stirred until completely dissolved.
2. Cow or horse manure. Manure is diluted in a ratio of 1: 3 with water. The product is allowed to brew for a week. Then the resulting volume is diluted with 3 parts of water. From 0.5 to 1 liter of fertilizer is used per plant.
3. Vermicompost. Sold in gardening stores. It is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:5.
4. Humus. For 1 part of humus take 5 liters of water.

It is useful to add humus and horse manure to the soil when replanting. To do this, add 1 part of the total mass of fertilizer to the mixture. This feeding is enough for 4-6 months.

Advice! It is recommended to add superphosphate or ash to organic fertilizers. The substances not only saturate the soil with important minerals, but also improve the digestibility of organic matter.

Folk recipes

At home, non-standard products prepared according to folk recipes are also used for indoor plants. They are prepared from pharmaceutical preparations or ordinary products.

Folk remedies:

1. Aquarium water. Instead of pouring out water with waste products when cleaning the aquarium, water it with lemon. This liquid contains vermicompost, which is beneficial for lemons.
2. Tea and coffee. These funds are used in two ways. The most economical option is to bury used tea or coffee infusions in the top layer of soil. However, this variant often causes the appearance of fruit flies. It is more convenient to water the plant with strained strong tea or coffee.
3. Ash. It contains large amounts of potassium and phosphorus. To prepare a solution, add 1-2 liters of powder to 1 liter of water. It is useful to add ash to a solution of chicken droppings or manure.
4. Pond silt. They water the soil in the pot undiluted. After an hour, the soil is loosened.
5. Quinoa or nettle. There are two ways to apply fertilizer: wet and dry. For the wet method, 50 g of dry herb is brewed with a liter of boiling water. The mixture is poured over the lemon. The dry method involves burying a handful of grass in the ground. Nutrients will be washed out of it when watering.
6. Infusion of banana skins and eggshells. In a 3 liter jar put the peels of 6 bananas and the shells of 6 eggs (preferably with films). The infusion is left for a week. Then dilute in a ratio of ½ with water. For 1 adult plant, 1 liter of fertilizer is consumed.
7. Fish broth. For 1 liter of water take 300 g of small fish or fish waste. The mixture is brought to a boil and simmered over low heat for an hour. The liquid is filtered and diluted with an equal amount of water.
8. Sugar. During the active growing season, lemon will benefit from a one-time feeding with glucose, which will accelerate the growth of the plant. To do this, dilute 2 teaspoons of sugar in a glass of water and pour the resulting mixture over the lemon. Some gardeners bury undissolved sugar in the pot.
9. Carpenter's (bone) glue. 50 g of bone glue is poured into 1 liter of water and boiled until the product becomes liquid. The resulting mixture is poured over the lemon.
10. Potassium permanganate. For feeding, prepare a light pink solution of potassium permanganate. They water the plant in the evening, after sunset. Ultraviolet rays destroy active compounds, preventing them from being absorbed.

How to feed a lemon tree during flowering at home

During flowering, the plant needs an increased amount of nitrogen. Nitrogen fertilizers are applied at least 2 times a week. This can be either ammonium nitrate or homemade products.

In addition, lemon needs phosphorus and potassium. It is better to use complex fertilizers based on all three necessary substances. To prepare the drug, 35 g of superphosphate, 30 g of urea and 35 g of potassium are dissolved in 10 liters of water.

To speed up the formation of ovaries, the tree is sprayed with products containing boron. A homemade recipe is a solution of 1 tablet crushed into powder in a glass of water.

Advice! It is recommended to alternate a mixture of urea, superphosphate and potassium with organic fertilizers.

According to this principle, lemons need to be fertilized throughout the spring and early summer. Proper feeding will help the plant form inflorescences faster and reduce the likelihood of them falling off.

Fertilizer during fruiting period for rapid ripening

During the fruiting period, lemon needs in special care. In order for the fruits to form correctly and ripen quickly, it is important to provide the tree with a sufficient amount of useful elements.

During this period, special attention is paid to complex mineral fertilizers. They must contain all the substances necessary for citrus.

There are special fertilizers for lemons in stores, for example, “Growth Master Elite for Citrus.” They contain the optimal amount of substances needed.

If it is not possible to buy specialized products, use superphosphate, ammonium nitrate, potassium salts, manganese and iron. Some of the substances can be replaced with folk remedies, for example, instead of superphosphate and potassium, use a solution of ash, bone glue or fish broth, and instead of nitrogenous fertilizers, use slurry or infusion on banana skins. Iron sulfate will have to be added separately.

Note! The advantage of folk remedies is that many of them contain most of the substances needed by lemon.

According to this principle, lemon is fed all summer and spring. This is done even if there are inflorescences and fruits on the tree at the same time.

How to feed lemon for beginners

Lemons need fertilizing for proper growth, development and fruiting. However, if applied incorrectly, fertilizers will only cause harm to the plant.

Follow the basic rules and nuances of adding nutrients:

1. Before applying fertilizer, water the lemon generously. This is done so that the nutritional composition is evenly distributed over the soil and does not burn the roots.
2. Fertilizers are applied in the morning or evening, when the sun is inactive. If you do this during the day, the risk of leaf burn increases.
3. When the plant is stressed, fertilizing is not used.Therefore, do not feed the lemon for at least a week after pruning or replanting.
4. To prepare nutrient solutions, use settled warm water. The chlorine in the fertilizer liquid will harm the lemon.
5. The concentration of fertilizer must not be exceeded. This will cause burns to the roots and excess nutrients, which is also harmful. For example, when fertilized with too much nitrogen, the tree produces a lot of green mass, but few fruits develop, and they are small.
6. In winter, at the right temperature, the lemon goes into a dormant state. There is no need to feed it. If the room is warm, apply complex fertilizer once a month.

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Conclusion

Lemon is a demanding plant when it comes to soil composition. It forms a large number of inflorescences and fruits, which consumes a lot of nutrients. To prevent an imbalance of macro- and microelements and to prevent the tree from getting sick, it is fed every week throughout the growing season. They take a break only in winter.

To feed lemons, both purchased and homemade products are used. The main condition is that they must contain a sufficient amount of phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium, manganese, iron, calcium and boron.