Are you one of those people who like to grow plants from all kinds of seeds and cores? If so, then try your hand at a lemon. The lemon tree, which originates from the subtropical climate zone, is quite easy to grow from a core - and thanks to the plant's vigorous growth, you will have a pretty, bushy little tree in no time at all.
Obtaining the seeds
You can easily use the seeds of a purchased lemon to grow them. This should be as ripe as possible, since then the germination capacity of the core is highest. Remove the pips from the lemon and wash them carefully under running water. Washing removes any pulp that may be present, which could encourage the colonization of harmful fungi. Now plant the fresh seeds immediately in a pot with potting soil or a special coconut substrate. Do not dry the seeds, they lose their ability to germinate. You can, however, wash them, dry them and wrap them in a slightly damp cloth and keep them in the fridge for up to four weeks.
Single pot or mini greenhouse?
Whether you grow your lemon seeds individually in a small pot or together in a mini greenhouse on the windowsill is entirely up to your taste and the space available to you. However, cultivation in a single pot offers the advantage that you do not have to loosen any root strands that have grown together or run the risk of injuring the sensitive roots.
Plant the core
Now place the seed core about one centimeter deep in the substrate and moisten it. The potting soil must always be kept moist, but not wet. The soil should also be at least six centimeters deep overall, as lemons initially form a taproot downwards. Place the culture vessel in a warm (ideally temperatures around 25 °C and high humidity) and rather dark place. The core does not need light to germinate, but all the more so later as a plant. The seedlings are transplanted to larger pots with appropriate citrus soil when they are about one year old.
Caring for a seedling
The fresh lemon seedling needs a lot of water, light and warmth - it is best kept on a sunny windowsill. It is best to water it every one to two days, but only when the substrate has already dried on the surface. From time to time spray the little plant with lukewarm water. You don't have to fertilize the little lemon yet, because it still feeds on the stone up to an age of about six months. Lemon trees grown from seed usually have thorns.
tips and tricks
Lemon trees go through a very long youth phase. For this reason, seedlings usually only flower after eight to twelve years at the earliest - if the conditions are right. However, by finishing, you can reduce this time by about half.