Content

• Steps
• Advice
• Warning
• What you need

Lemons are great looking plants and can be easily planted with seeds. You can plant the seeds directly on the ground or wrap them in a damp paper towel and place them in a zippered plastic bag. This article will show you how to grow lemons using seeds with both methods. Here you will also find tips on how to choose lemon seeds and care for the seedlings.

Steps

Method 1 of 3: Sow seeds in the soil

1. 

   Use another bucket to prepare your potting soil (potting soil). Fill a large bucket with soil and add more water until the soil is moist. Use trowel or hand to mix until evenly moist. Do not let the soil get wet; otherwise, the seeds will rot. You need a well-drained soil. Lemon trees like water but don't like soaking in water.
   • Try to find disinfected soil mix. Disinfection will remove any bacteria that can damage the seeds.
   • Consider buying a mix of peat, perlite, vermiculite compounds, and compost. This soil drains well and provides nutrients for the seedlings.

2. 

   
   
   Choose a small pot with a drainage hole. The sowing pot should be about 7.5-10 cm wide and 12.5-15 cm deep. Each pot is enough to sow a seed of lemon. Many people like to sow many seeds in a pot at the same time. If you want to do the same, choose a larger pot.
   • The sowing pot must have drainage holes. You will need to drill holes if the pot you are using does not have a drainage hole.

3. 

   
   
   Pour soil into a pot. Pour the soil until it is about 2.5 cm from the top of the pot.

4. 

   Poke a small hole about 1 cm deep in the soil. You can use your finger or a pencil.

5. 

   
   
   Choose the seeds in the lime. You may need to choose organic lemons as the seeds of non-organic lemons may not sprout. Also, avoid choosing seeds that are too small (like a grain of rice) or wrinkled (like a raisin). These seeds will not germinate or become healthy seedlings.
   • 5-10 seeds should be planted at the same time in case some seeds do not germinate or die during the development of seedlings.
   • Remember that a seed plant may not be the same as the mother plant. Sometimes a young tree will give poor quality fruit. Sometimes they don't bear fruit. However, this does not make the tree look less beautiful. You should keep this in mind when planting plants.

6. 

   Wash the seeds to remove the oil from the outside. You can wash or suck until the oil is gone. This is an important step. This gel-like film contains sugar and can cause grain rot.
   • You can put the seeds in a glass of warm water and leave overnight. This will speed up the germination.

7. 

   Place the seed in the hole and cover with soil. Remember to put the small end of the seed down, the big end up. Roots will sprout from the small tip.

8. 

   Cover the pot with air-vent wrap to keep the pot moist and warm. First, cover the top of the pot with a coating. Use an elastic band around the top of the pot to fix the wrap. Poke a few holes in the wrap. You can poke with a pencil, toothpick or even a fork. These holes are meant for the plant to breathe.

9. 

   Place the pot in a warm place. You can place the pot in a sunny position, but sunlight is not essential at this stage. In fact, too much sunshine can "cook" the young and weak seedlings. You should see the sprout of the sprout in about 2 weeks.
   • Ideal temperature is about 20 ° C to 28 ° C.

10. 

    Water when the soil is dry. The plastic wrap works to keep the moisture in, and the condensation will fall back onto the ground and make the soil moist again. However this may not happen in very dry environments. If the soil is starting to dry out, remove the mulch and water the plant. Remember to cover when watering is finished.

11. 

    Remove the mulch when the shoots appear, and switch to a warm, sunny location. Remember to keep the soil moist, but not soggy. Click here to learn how to care for seedlings. advertisement

Method 2 of 3: Sowing seeds in a plastic bag

1. 

   Moisten the tissue and spread it flat. Wet a paper towel first, then wring it out. Spread the paper towel out and smooth it.
   • The size of the tissue should fit into a plastic bag with a zipper. Double or quadruple if the towel is too large.

2. 

   Take 5-10 seeds from organic lemons. Lime seeds that are not organically grown do not usually germinate. Select large and flaky seeds. Seeds that are small, wrinkled or have white spots. These seeds may not sprout or develop into healthy seedlings.
   • Even if you're just going to plant a lemon tree, it's still a good idea to sow lots of seeds. Not all seeds germinate and not all seedlings survive.
   • Be careful not to sow too much seed. The seeds should be at least 8cm apart so that they have room for root growth when germinating.

3. 

   Consider leaving the seeds in a cup of water overnight. This will prevent the seed from drying out during sowing. The seeds need to be kept moist. They will not germinate if they dry out.

4. 

   Rinse off the gel-like coating on the outside of each seed. You can wash it with cold water or lick the seeds off. This gel contains sugar and facilitates the growth of mold and bacteria.

5. 

   Peel off the white outer skin and reveal the brown inner seed. Begin peeling off the tip of the seed. You can use a fingernail or a paper knife to scratch the top of the seed and peel off the outer shell. This will make it easier for the seeds to sprout.

6. 

   Peel off the brown skin. You may notice a thin brown film enveloping the seeds. You should use your fingernails to scrape the crust away.

7. 

   Place the seeds on a damp paper towel. Try to spread the seeds evenly to keep the roots from getting tangled as they sprout.

8. 

   Repeat the same process as above for the remaining seeds. When wrapping seeds in paper towels, keep them moist. If you notice that the seeds are starting to dry, wrap another layer of damp paper towels over them. Be sure to remove this tissue before moving on to the next step.

9. 

   Put the tissue package in a plastic zippered bag and close it tightly. Do not use foam food containers. You need to close the bag; This is to help retain moisture and maintain temperature. Lemon seeds need both of these to germinate.

10. 

    Keep the plastic bag in a warm, dark place until the seeds sprout. Maintain the temperature between 20-22 degrees Celsius. This process takes 1-2 weeks. Some seedlings take up to 3 weeks to germinate.

11. 

    Plant when the roots are about 8 cm long. Poke a shallow hole in the pot of damp, well-drained soil and place the sprouting seed in it, the sprouting roots downwards. Gently pat the soil around the seedling.

12. 

    Place the pot in a warm, sunny place. Remember to water to keep the soil moist; Do not let the soil get wet or dry. Click here to learn how to take care of seedlings. advertisement

Method 3 of 3: Take care of seedlings

1. 

   Water the plants regularly, about 2-3 times per week. Once the seedling has 4 leaves, let the ground dry completely before adding more water. But don't let the soil dry out completely; the soil should still be moist when you poke it with your finger.

2. 

   Make sure the plant receives enough sunlight. Lemon trees require at least 8 hours of sunlight a day. Seedlings require 10-14 hours of sunlight per day. You may need to place a planting light next to it to make sure the plant is getting enough light. Planting lamps are available at garden stores and nurseries.

3. 

   Know when to repot the seedling. Eventually the seedling will grow larger than the pot can accommodate. When the seedlings are 1 year old, you need to switch them to pots with a diameter of 15 cm. You will then have to switch to a pot 33-45 cm in diameter and 25-40 cm deep.
   • The rule to determine when to switch plants to another pot is to look at the bottom of the pot. If you can see the roots go through the drain, then it's time to find a new, bigger pot.

4. 

   Maintain proper pH in soil. Lemon trees like soil that is mildly acidic. The pH of the lime soil should be between 5.7 and 6.5. You can measure your pH with a pH tester that can be found at garden or nursery stores. An effective way to reduce acidity is to water the plants once a month with cold black coffee (no added sugar or milk). However, you need to continue monitoring the pH until it reaches ideal levels.

5. 

   Make sure to provide enough nutrients for plants to grow strong and healthy. You can either dig a groove around the plant and pour compost into it, or water the dissolved fertilizer. Here are a few ways to give plants essential nutrients:
   • Fertilize the lemon tree twice a year with an organic fertilizer such as compost or vermiculite.
   • Every 2 to 4 weeks, water the plants with soluble fertilizer. Fertilizers should be high in potassium and magnesium.
   • If you plan to grow indoors, buy a generic fertilizer for houseplants. This fertilizer has micronutrients.
   • Water the plants once a month with a solution of 1 tablespoon of Epsom salt and 2 liters of water. If the plant is too small, you don't need to water that much. Just irrigate enough and save the rest for the next month.

6. 

   Understand that it takes time for a lemon tree to produce fruit. Some varieties of lemon trees will bear fruit after 5 years, others may take up to 15 years. advertisement

Advice

• Always keep compost moist but not wet.
• Use deep pots as the lemon tree has long, well developed roots.
• Consider planting 5 seedlings in a pot. This will give you a bigger pot, and a more prosperous look. This also helps prevent over-watering. When the seedlings are big enough, you can switch to separate pots.
• Some people find that lemon trees don't do well when grown in terracotta pots. You can avoid potting the plant in terracotta pots, or cover it with an inner layer so that the pot doesn't absorb all of the necessary moisture.
• It can take months for a lemon tree to grow several tens of centimeters tall and produce enough beautiful leaves. If you want to plant a lemon tree as a gift, you may need to plant it nine months ago.
• Sometimes a single seed can yield many seedlings. If you see this phenomenon, wait until each plant has grown about 4 leaves. Then remove the seedlings from the soil and carefully separate them. Plant each seedling in a separate pot. If the seed produces two seedlings, either of them can grow into a real tree and look exactly like the parent plant.The other tree is a blend and will bear special fruit.

Warning

• Never let the compost wet, as it will rot the seeds.

What you need

Sow the seeds in the soil

• Land
• Country
• Shove
• The pot is 7.5-10 cm wide in diameter
• Lemon seeds
• Plastic wrap
• Elastic
• Warm water cup (optional)

Sow seeds in plastic bags

• 5 to 10 organic lemon seeds
• 1 damp paper towel
• 1 pocket with zipper