Practical recommendations on how to properly transplant a lemon: a step-by-step procedure guide
Growing a lemon tree at home is a fascinating process, but sometimes time-consuming. This is especially true at the time of plant transplantation.
To understand how to transplant a lemon, it is important to be able to determine the stage of plant development and follow the recommendations in the transplant process.
The main goal of such an event is to create optimal conditions for a plant to actively grow and develop, and to provide it with good and quick rooting in a new pot.
General Provisions
Homemade lemon needs a transplant, since the soil in which it grows begins to deplete over time.Accordingly, the plant has nothing to take useful substances necessary for normal growth and development. This leads to the fact that the lemon tree begins to hurt, discards leaves and dries out. After transplanting, the plant again begins to receive nutrients and resumes fruiting.
When is a transplant necessary and how to understand it?
Before transplanting a lemon at home, it is worthwhile to find out if a transplant is necessary in principle, and if necessary, when is it best to carry it out. It is possible to transplant a lemon tree both planned and based on certain criteria, which are described below.
Planned
- A planned transplant of an adult lemon is carried out annually.
- If the plant is young, then you will need to carry out such an event once every 6 months.
- Already fully ripe lemon tree is transplanted once every 3-4 years.
The older the plant, the less often it needs to be transplanted.
It is preferable to transplant in the spring, at the moment when the tree has passed into the main phase of growth. This is due to the fact that at this stage of plant development after transplantation, it is much easier for it to take root and take root in a new pot than at any other time.
Unforeseen
As for an unplanned transplant, you need to do this in the following situations:
- if the pot is broken;
- immediately after buying the plant;
- if it was discovered that the roots began to rot. in such a situation the pot stinks of rot.
Is it possible to carry out the procedure during flowering?
When transplanting a lemon tree, it is important to be guided by the stage of development of the plant. If we are talking about a planned transplant, then you need to carry it out in the growth phase, but in no case do not choose the time of flowering of the tree for this.
During flowering, the root system is most vulnerable, since all the nutrients go to the top of the plant, forming ovaries and flowers, and then the fruits. In order for the plant to take root well, it needs to spend considerable energy on this process. This leads to the death of the ovaries and, as a consequence, the absence of fruiting.
Optimal soil environment
The combination of the following fractions is considered the most optimal soil environment in a lemon pot:
- A drainage layer equal to 2 cm, which is laid out on the bottom of the pot.
- From above 2 - 2.5 cm of river sand are covered. Sand must be steamed in advance.
- The last layer and the most basic is the soil mixture.
To ease your task, you can buy ready-made soil for citrus plants. To prepare such a soil yourself you need to mix in equal proportions:
- humus or manure;
- sifted river sand;
- disinfected prepared land.
What to look for when choosing a new pot?
When choosing a pot, they are repelled from the volume of the previous one. A new pot needs to be selected 2-3 cm more than the previous one. We must not forget that special drainage holes must be made in the pot. It is better to give preference to pots larger in width than in depth, because the root system of the lemon tree grows in breadth.
Move fruit: step by step procedure
Houseplant lemon tree transplant at home
How to transplant a citrus tree at home in another pot? The following algorithm of actions:
- The selected pot is covered with 20% of the total height with a drainage layer. It is recommended to use small expanded clay.
- A layer of sand is poured over the drainage, 2 times thicker than the drainage.
- The lemon tree is removed from the old pot and examined for the presence of rotten and damaged roots. If any, they need to be trimmed. At this stage, the root system of the lemon can be treated with Kornevin - this will accelerate root growth and help to take root in a new pot.
- An earthen substrate is poured into the pot and the plant is transplanted, filling it with soil on its sides. An important point in this process is finding the root neck of the plant. It should be slightly below the edge of the pot, but above the earthen substrate.
- The soil in the process of falling asleep needs to be slightly compacted.
- After the transplant itself, the plant is abundantly watered.
In the open ground in the garden
If you want to plant a lemon tree in open ground, then first of all you need to prepare the cuttings, although you can plant the whole plant. If there is a desire not only to transplant a lemon, but also to propagate it, then they prefer grafting.For this:
- Using a sharp knife, cut the shoot into segments of 8-10 cm.
- From such a segment, you need to cut off the leaves, leaving only the top pair.
- Next, you need to leave the cuttings for a 12 hour period in a solution of a growth stimulant, and then transplant into a soil-sand mixture. Deepen the cuttings into the substrate by 2 cm.
Leave the cuttings in a warm and bright place, wrapping it with a film until the roots are formed.
The further process of transplanting lemon into the open ground is as follows:
- Dig a trench, the depth of which should be 1.5 m, and a width of 1.3 m.
- The northern part of the trench is dug strictly perpendicularly, the southern part must be cut, observing an angle of 45 degrees. At the same time, the bottom of the pit should be judged up to 80 cm.
- The southern slope of the site near the trench is covered with a black film. This will prevent the appearance of weeds.
- The bottom of the trench is covered with drainage, and immediately before disembarkation with a special substrate, the thickness of which should be 30 cm.
- At the bottom of the trench, several mounds are made using a nutrient mixture. The distance between the knolls is 1.5 m.
- At the top of each knoll there is a lemon seedling or a tree from a pot.
- The root neck of the plant should be 2 cm above the ground.
- Immediately after transplanting under a tree or seedling, you need to pour 30 liters of water.
- The soil around the seedling is tamped and covered with humus or pine crust.
Care
Care after transplanting a lemon tree is as follows:
- Regular spraying of lemon leaves or placing it under a film (greenhouse).
- Spraying once a week with Zircon or Epin.
- Watering the plant the first two weeks after transplantation should be carried out less often than usual. This will allow the roots to grow in a new substrate in search of moisture.
- The first top dressing should be carried out no earlier than after 30-60 days.
- If necessary, soil loosening should be carried out to improve aeration and prevent root decay.
Recommendations for saving a plant if it does not take root
If the plant does not take root, then any growth stimulants will help save the situation. For good rooting, use Kornevin during planting. If the drug was not used, then the plant is watered with Zircon after the transplant.
To help the plant root in a new pot, it is important to find out the reasons why it does not take root and eliminate them. You may need to transplant the plant again.
Transplanting a lemon tree is not as difficult as it seems at first glance. It is important in this process to take into account not only the phase of plant growth into which it can be transplanted, but also other requirements, for example, pot size, soil quality. In the process of transplantation, it is important to carefully handle the root system of the plant: remove rotten and damaged roots, and treat the root system with a growth stimulator.