Lemon trees have also been grown here for several centuries. While such a plant used to be found mainly in the orangeries of rich nobles, today any interested hobby gardener can grow a lemon tree himself. With good care, you can even harvest your own lemons.

fertilization and fruit development

As a subtropical plant, the lemon flowers all year round. The white, strongly scented flowers are usually fertilized by self-pollination, but pollination by insects is also possible. In addition, lemons are capable of so-called parthenocarpy, i. H. fruits develop even without any fertilization. However, these are seedless. Part of lemon seeds are polyembryonic. So don't be surprised if you put a seed in the ground and several trees develop from it.

Lemons are edible

If you buy a small lemon tree with fruit on it in the garden center, you will often find that the lemons are not suitable for consumption. In fact, you'd better not enjoy these fruits because the plant has usually been treated with toxic pesticides. However, you can harvest and use fruits that develop later without any worries, because the lemons sold are usually not purely ornamental plants.

The right harvest time

Just as the flowers can be found on the tree all year round, the lemon also bears fruit all year round. However, these take a comparatively long time to ripen - on average it takes about six to nine months from the blossom to the ripe lemon. Ripe lemons do not necessarily have to be yellow, the color is not an indication of the degree of ripeness. It only occurs when the lemons are exposed to cold weather. You can also leave ripe lemons on the tree for many months; the fruit will not fall off overripe and will not begin to rot.

Prune lemon trees regularly for a higher harvest

In order for the fruit to develop, the lemon tree needs strong branches. That is why an annual pruning in autumn is necessary so that the little tree does not bare and can direct its energies into fruit-bearing branches. In addition, since a fruit develops from almost every flower, you should remove excess lemons - the remaining lemons then have a higher chance of reaching fruit maturity and also become much larger.

tips and tricks

A lemon is definitely ripe when it gives way when pressed lightly, smells aromatic and can also be removed from the tree with a slight twist. Incidentally, lemon trees have a fairly long youth period: Trees grown from seed do not flower and bear fruit after eight to twelve years at the earliest.

Category:

Vegetable garden