Lemon tree in the apartment

With a growth height of up to 4.5 m, the normal lemon tree (Citrus x limon) is too large for the apartment. Therefore, you should prefer to use smaller cultivated forms for citrus trees. Citrus limon Meyer develops light yellow, up to 9 cm large fruits with a thin skin. Citrus limon ponderosa has orange-yellow, thick-skinned fruits up to 11 cm in size.

Care of the lemon tree

• Lemon trees are best planted in a special soil for citrus plants.
• Repotting should be done in spring.
• The lemon tree loves a bright location, but should be protected from direct midday sun.
• If you place the lemon tree on the balcony or terrace in summer, this has a positive effect on growth and flowering.
• The lemon tree thrives in normal room temperatures, in winter the temperature should be around 9 - 15°C.
• In spring, summer and autumn, the lemon tree should be watered moderately - the top layer of soil can dry slightly before watering again. Fertilize every 14 days.
• Water only enough in winter to keep the soil from drying out completely. Don't fertilize.
• During the growth phase you can cut back the lemon tree at any time. This encourages bushy growth of the plant.
• Unfortunately, lemon trees are often attacked by scale insects.

Scale insects on the lemon tree

There are different types of scale insects. Scale insects are insects up to 5 mm in size. The females have a white to brown, round or oblong shield under which the eggs lie. They damage the plant in several ways:

• The females have a sting through which they suck plant sap.
• At the same time, they release both secretion and fructose through this sting. This secretion also damages the plants.
• Fungi, for which the fructose is a nutrient medium, can get into the plant through the sucking points. These fungi also damage the plant.

A scale infestation is usually first recognized by a sticky coating (honeydew) on the leaves. The scale insects themselves are also clearly visible. They sit both on the trunks and in branch forks as well as on the upper and lower sides of the leaves. Fighting a scale insect infestation is difficult and time-consuming. In any case, the affected plant must be isolated to prevent spread.

If only a few leaves are affected, you can cut them off. Burn the cut leaves or dispose of them in a closed plastic bag with the residual waste. The plant must then be checked for the appearance of further scale insects.

If the infestation is small, scraping with alcohol can be successful. To do this, a cotton swab is soaked in high-proof alcohol, dabbed on the scale insects and then scraped off with a knife. This has to be done very carefully because the eggs sit under the shield and can be easily spread as you scrape.
Under no circumstances should you try home remedy recipes with tea tree or neem oil. Citrus plants react to this by dropping their leaves.

Another possibility are oil-based agents against sucking insects. They are offered as a spray and work by connecting the insects to the plant airtightly with an oil film and thus suffocating them. That's effective. Unfortunately, this also seals the leaf pores, so that not only the scale insect but also the leaf is suffocated. It is therefore better to limit yourself to the trunks and branch forks when spraying. To treat the leaves, spray a cotton swab well and dab the scale insects with it.

As a last resort, there are so-called systemic remedies. These are substances that are taken up by the plant through the roots, are distributed in the plant and are taken up by the scale insect through the plant sap. They are offered as sticks or as granules. The sticks are stuck into the ground, the granules are worked into the ground. However, these funds usually also contain fertilizer. This can easily lead to over-fertilization, especially in winter.

humidity

If the soil is too moist, fewer fruits will form. In addition, the sensitive roots can die off. Soil that is too dry is not good either. The right dose is crucial. You should use low-lime, soft water. To fertilize you can use special citrus plant fertilizer use.

wintering

The lemon tree overwinters at temperatures between 5 and 10 degrees Celsius. The room must be very bright. The location should not be changed during the hibernation. Casting is only done very sparingly. At these low temperatures, the roots cease their activities. This usually leads to the shedding of many leaves.

Cut

Spring is the best time to prune a lemon tree. Fruiting branches should not be pruned. The purpose of the pruning is to prevent the tree from growing too large and so that it bears more fruit.

scale insects often occur on lemon trees. Also Mealybug occur. You should be very careful with chemicals, but usually nothing else helps.

Learn more about potted plants