An unpretentious lemon variety, Jubilee, for beginner gardeners.

Growing lemons at home is steadily popular among gardeners. Often it all starts with an ordinary seed from which a wild bird grows. After a successful first experience, many people want to try to grow a varietal lemon that will produce large, tasty fruits.

The Yubileiny variety would be an ideal option as the first cultivated lemon. It is distinguished by early fruiting, large fruits, high yield and resistance to many negative factors that are detrimental to other citrus fruits. Caring for it is relatively simple, however, it also has its own nuances and features.

What type of lemon is this?

The Yubileiny variety is an achievement of Soviet breeders. It was eaten by the Uzbek agronomist Zainiddin Fakhrutdinov back in Soviet times.

The history of the origin of the variety is very unusual. On a tree bred by crossing the Tashkent and New Georgian lemons, one of the branches began to produce large, lumpy lemons and had leaves of increased size. Cuttings taken from this branch produced trees that preserved its characteristics.

Interestingly, the characteristics of the Jubilee lemon are similar to those of the Panderosa lemon. There is still debate as to whether Jubilee can be considered a real variety or is it just a clone of an American citrus plant.

Main characteristics

Lemon Jubilee often grow at home. This is what beginner citrus growers are recommended to pay attention to.This variety has excellent characteristics and is easy to care for.

Description of Jubilee lemon:

1. Crown. The plant is relatively low-growing, up to 1.5 m high. The crown is not spreading and lends itself well to shaping. The branches are powerful and durable, but flexible. Covered with a large number of large and small spines. The crown is dense.
2. Leaves. Large, oval, bright green, with smooth edges. The texture is dense, there is gloss. The leaf blade sits firmly on short petioles. There is a rich citrus aroma.
3. Bloom. Abundant. Flowers are formed on almost every leaf. This often interferes with crown development. The inflorescences are white inside, with patches of pale pink on the outside. Bisexual. They are not pollinated by other varieties, but easily pollinate them.
4. Fruiting. Previously. The plant is able to bear fruit within 2 months after planting. The fruits ripen unevenly.
5. Fruit. Large, pale yellow. The weight of one fruit varies between 200-800 g. The peel is thick, with pronounced tuberosity. The taste of lemon is sour, without bitterness. The aroma is rich.
6. Transportability. High. The thick peel protects against damage during transportation.

Resistance to negative factors

Growing Jubilee lemon will be easy even for novice gardeners. This is due to the fact that the variety has resistance to some unfavorable factors:

1. Drought. Lemon tolerates low air humidity well, but you should not forget about watering.
2. Tolerance to lack of lighting. Unlike other lemons, Yubileiny's leaves do not turn yellow or fall off when there is insufficient light, but they become much larger. In this way, the plant compensates for the lack of light.
3. No need for rest in winter. The Jubilee will feel good even if you do not lower the room temperature in winter. He does not necessarily need a state of rest.

Lemons do not have expressed immunity to diseases, but with proper care they rarely get sick.

Growing in the natural environment and at home

Jubilee in open ground reaches 1.5 m in height. These are not the highest figures for lemons. Therefore, the variety is considered low-growing.

At home, the plant rarely grows even to 1 m. Moreover, it has a dense, but not spreading crown.

The tree is quite cold-resistant and can grow in open ground in the Caucasus and Abkhazia. Able to withstand short-term cold snaps down to -10°C.

At home, it is picky about soil temperature. We have to create thermal insulation for the pot.

Jubilee in a pot bears fruit no less abundantly than in open ground. This distinguishes it from many other varieties.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

Yubileiny has many positive reviews. This is due to a number of its advantages:

• dry air stability;
• large fruit;
• ease of formation;
• immunity to lack of lighting;
• the ability to bear fruit already 2 years after planting;
• ease of rooting;
• not pollinated by other varieties;
• bisexual flowers;
• good fruit taste.

This variety also has disadvantages:

• the need to control the number of inflorescences;
• demands on soil temperature;
• lack of immunity to fungal and viral diseases.

Reproduction and planting of Jubilee

Despite the fact that in the fruits of the Jubilee there are bones, the generative method of reproduction will not work. From its seeds a wild species grows, having no varietal characteristics.

Most often Jubilee propagated by cuttings. Cuttings take root quickly if the technology is followed.

Planting material is cut from a tree that has already bear fruit. Choose a one-year-old healthy branch. 8-15 cm are retreated from its end and cut off. There should be at least 3 buds left on the pruning. The cut site on the mother plant is covered with garden varnish.

Leaves are torn off the cuttings, except those that remain at the top. Then it is soaked in a light pink solution of potassium permanganate. This procedure will help avoid infection of the rooted plant. After disinfection, the growth of planting material is stimulated by soaking it for 6-12 hours in Kornevin.

After the planting material is prepared, they begin to prepare the containers and soil. For lemon, choose loose, fertile, but not peaty soil.

Buy a special mixture for citrus fruits or prepare the soil yourself. To do this, take sand, black soil and humus in equal proportions. Add a glass of ash to the bucket of soil mixture.

Important! Jubilee cuttings cannot be rooted in water.

Any container with a volume of 0.2-0.5 liters with drainage holes in the bottom is suitable for rooting cuttings. It is convenient to use a cut bottle, the upper part of which will act as a greenhouse, and the lower part as a pot.

You will also need drainage. As a rule, shell rock, broken brick, expanded clay or small crushed stone are used.

Containers, drainage and soil are disinfected. To do this, use a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate or a product prepared from 1 tbsp. l copper sulfate and 10 l water.

After completing the preparatory work, planting begins:

1. A layer of drainage is poured onto the bottom of the container, and the rest of the volume is filled with soil. The soil is watered with water at room temperature.
2. The upper leaves on the cuttings are cut by ½.This is necessary to reduce moisture evaporation.
3. The branch is rooted by sticking it 3 cm into the ground. It is watered with water or “Heteroauxin”.
4. The container with the seedling is covered with the cut part of the bottle or bag.
5. The plant is ventilated daily for 15 minutes. To do this, remove the bag or unscrew the cap on the bottle.
6. Water the seedling every day. The branch is additionally sprayed with warm water.

Lemon rooting occurs approximately a month after planting. The resulting shoots will indicate this. When the plant takes root, the duration of ventilation begins to increase. After a week, the greenhouse is removed.

The seedling is transplanted into a new container when its roots fill the old one.

Growing technology

Jubilee is considered easy to care for, but it still has some features. They must be taken into account when growing indoor plants. If you care for it incorrectly, it will get sick and be attacked by pests.

Optimal conditions

In order for a lemon to grow quickly and develop properly, it is important to provide optimal conditions for growth.

Yubileiny's requirements are not much different from other varieties:

1. Humidity. Jubilee can tolerate dry air, but it is recommended to maintain the humidity in the room at least 70%. In the warm season, the tree is sprayed with warm water in the morning or evening every day. In winter, if the tree overwinters in a heated room, it is also sprayed. Additionally, place containers of water or a humidifier nearby.
2. Lighting. A pot with a lemon tree is placed on an eastern or western windowsill. Here the lighting is optimal around the clock. If the lemon is on a south-facing window, then it will have to be moved into the shade when the sun is most active.On a northern windowsill, a lemon will feel uncomfortable. In winter, especially if the lemon is dormant, additional lighting is not needed. Phytolamps will be needed if the grower wants the plant to develop even in the cold season.
3. Temperature. The optimal temperature range for Yubileiny varies between 18-26°C. During the flowering period, it is not recommended to increase the temperature above 21°C, otherwise few fruits will set.

To keep the tree dormant in winter, the temperature is reduced to 10-14°C. In the case of Yubileiny, this is not necessary.

Note! It is believed that lemons that are dormant in winter develop faster and produce more fruit in the warm season.

Rules of care

If you regularly care for this variety of lemon, there will be no problems with it.

The list contains the basic rules and features:

1. Watering. Water the lemon with warm water without chlorine as the soil dries. In hot summers this is done daily, otherwise every other day. In winter, if the tree is dormant, the frequency of watering is reduced to once a week. The soil is moistened in the morning or evening.
2. Warming the pot. Jubilee is picky about soil temperature. To prevent it from overheating in summer and from overcooling in winter, it is wrapped in insulation or knitted fabric. This is especially true if the lemon is taken out into the garden in the summer.
3. Loosening. After each watering, the soil is loosened. This is necessary to destroy the earthen crust, which prevents air from reaching the roots, promoting the development of root rot.
4. Feeding. Lemon has large fruits. Often, inflorescences and fruits are present on the plant at the same time. He needs frequent feeding.Fertilizers are applied once a week, alternating mineral and organic compounds.
5. Transshipments. Until 3 years old, lemons are handled annually. It is taken out of the container along with a lump of earth. Only the top layer of soil (2 cm) and drainage are removed. Drainage is poured into a larger pot and a tree with a lump of earth is placed. The free space is filled with soil, which is compacted. The plant is watered.
6. Transplants. The plant is replanted once every 2-3 years, when it begins to bear fruit. To do this, the soil is watered abundantly before the procedure. The tree is taken out, helping yourself with a fork. Most of the land is thrown away. Cut off all rotten and dry roots. Drainage and some soil are poured into a new, larger pot. The lemon is replanted by carefully straightening the root system and without deepening the root collar.
7. Soil replacement. When the lemon reaches the maximum desired size, replanting is stopped. Now only the top part of the soil is removed. The lemon is washed in the shower until clean water flows out of the drainage holes. Then new soil is poured in place of the old soil.
8. Bloom. The lemon tree blooms several times a year. If it blooms 1 or 2 years after planting, then the inflorescences are cut off. Next, if the flowering is too abundant, some of the inflorescences are cut off so that they do not interfere with the development of shoots and fruits.
9. Fruiting. The fruits are picked off if they appear on the tree earlier than 3 g after planting.
10. Cleaning. Every week the leaves are wiped with a damp cloth. For the prevention of diseases and pests, the tree is washed in the shower every week, covering the soil with a plastic bag.
11. Formation. When the plant reaches a height of 30 cm, pinch out the top growth point. All shoots are shortened to 15 cm.
12. Sanitary pruning. In autumn, remove all dry and weak branches from the lemon.

Possible problems and methods for solving them

At home, lemon trees are rarely affected by diseases and pests. However, with improper care, this is possible, as well as a number of other problems.

The most common of them are presented in the list:

1. Chlorosis. The leaves become pale, and the still bright veins stand out clearly against their background. Over time, the greenery falls off. The disease affects lemons when there is excess chlorine. To solve the problem, add feeding with iron.
2. Spider mite. More often than other plants, it grows at home at low air humidity. Drinks the juices from the plant, leading to death. Recognized by the web on the original side of the leaf blade. To eliminate the pest, the tree is washed in the shower and then sprayed with a soap solution or insecticide.
3. The plant does not bloom. A lack of nutrients or improper formation may be to blame. One way to make a lemon bloom is to eliminate the negative factors listed above and arrange a cold winter.

Harvesting and application

When the fruits turn yellow, they are ready to be harvested. However, fruits with a green rind also have benefits and taste. In this case they have a more sour taste.

The fruits are eaten both fresh and as an additive for main courses, first courses, desserts and drinks.

Conclusion

Jubilee lemon is one of the most unpretentious representatives of citrus fruits. It easily tolerates cold snaps, lack of light, dry air and lack of cold wintering. This plant will generously forgive the novice gardener his mistakes.

Despite its unpretentiousness, the variety is distinguished by large and fragrant fruits.In a pot it bears fruit no less abundantly than in open ground. This is its main advantage.