Description of the New Zealand kind of lemon, growing and care at home
Citrus plants look very attractive as they have shiny leaves. When the tree blooms, a unique aroma appears in the room. The substances present in the New Zealand lemon disinfect the air, fill it with ozone, relieve fatigue in a person, and restore working capacity. The tree takes root at home, pleases with large fruits.
Description and characteristics of the variety New Zealand
In the subtropics, lemon grows up to 4 meters in height, tolerates a drop in temperature to -5 ° C. The tree has a wide crown of dark green color. The edges of large oval leaves are sharpened at the end. The New Zealand variety was obtained by crossing 2 subtropical crops - lemon and citron.
All parts of the plant have a peculiar aroma. Elegant buds are replaced by flowers reaching 60 mm in diameter. Outside, they have a purple tint, white are painted on the inside. There are many large thorns on the leaves.
The fruits are different:
- oval shape;
- thick skin with tubercles;
- we present the nipple at the end;
- loose and juicy pulp.
An orange or yellow lemon weighs 600-700 grams, has a sour taste, weak aroma.
Advantages and disadvantages
The Novozelandskiy variety takes root well in a different environment, normally tolerates a lack of light, withstands low temperatures, and has decorative properties. The main advantage of the variety is the large size of the fruit.
Growing lemon
In order for an evergreen tree to please both with beauty and with a harvest of fruits, you need to create optimal conditions for it, feed, ventilate, water.
Planting material
You can grow a lemon from a seed, but you will have to wait for the fruit at least 10 years until magnesium, nitrogen, and moisture accumulate in all the leaf plates. Nutrients travel through the stems to the roots and circulate inside the tree.
A plant from a stone has new shoots every year, and it takes a long time for all the plates to be filled with minerals.
To speed up the appearance of fruits, you need to buy a 3-year-old seedling grafted onto any citrus plant. You should not buy a tree, the leaves of which are colored unevenly, covered with spots, the roots are not covered with earth. A lemon is grafted at a height of at least 10 cm.
Ground requirements
Citrus crops thrive in light soil enriched with organic matter and minerals.For planting a lemon, a special soil, a substrate for indoor flowers or soil prepared:
- from humus;
- coarse sand;
- leafy land;
- charcoal.
The culture does not tolerate stagnant water. Requires loose soil with acidity not exceeding 7.0 pH.
Capacity
The tree is planted in a ceramic or clay pot that does not retain moisture. Expanded clay, foam crumbs or small pebbles are poured onto the bottom.
Planting process
In a container filled with soil to the top, the tree is placed vertically, deepening the root collar by 50 mm, covered with earth, which is compared with the soil level in the pot. Lemon is sprinkled with warm water, poured with potassium permanganate solution. The seedling is covered with a jar, which is removed when it grows to 20 cm.
The container is placed on the south or east window, periodically turned so that the crown is evenly illuminated by the rays of the sun.
Features of plant care
New Zealand lemon requires the creation of certain conditions, only then the tree will develop and grow.
Temperature and humidity
In a house, a subtropical culture feels comfortable not at 30 ° C, but at 17-18. In the spring, when buds appear on the lemon, so that they do not crumble, the temperature should not drop to 13-14, but also not be higher than 18 degrees.
In summer, it is better to take the pot with the plant out into the yard, where there is fresh air, but at night it must be covered so that the seedling does not freeze. If in July the optimum temperature for a tree is 22-23 ° C, then in winter it is 13 or 14.
Crown formation
Pruning is carried out to give the New Zealand lemon a decorative look and to remove excess and dried shoots. In a small tree, spreading branches are shortened, which allows you to get a compact crown.
In a citrus plant older than a year, the lateral shoots are pinched, leaving up to 4 leaves on each. Thanks to this procedure, the tree will quickly get stronger, it will be able to hold large fruits.
It is necessary to regularly remove dried branches, cut out growing inward.
Watering
With excess and lack of moisture, the New Zealand lemon disappears. From May until the beginning of autumn, the tree is irrigated daily with settled water, but they start watering when the soil at the roots dries out. In the cold season, the plant is moistened twice a week, sprayed with boiling water cooled to room temperature from a spray bottle.
Top dressing
New Zealand lemon seedlings are fertilized every 2 months. Fruiting trees in summer need additional nutrients, during the growing season, the plants are fed every 15–20 days, and fertilizers are not applied in winter. The stock of minerals is replenished with ready-made flower complexes. Citrus crops must be fed with organic matter; for this, manure is stirred in water, ash is added. The birch foliage infusion is kept for three days and the tree is watered.
Protection against diseases and pests
With improper care of lemon, pathogenic fungi are activated, parasites start. The tree suffers from root rot, which occurs with excess moisture. To prevent the plant from dying, they are transplanted into another pot, which is filled with new soil. The container is placed on a window illuminated by the sun; the lemon is not irrigated for up to 7 days.
The tree may disappear, falling ill:
- With citrus cancers, when the leaves are covered with brown spots, the fruits are deformed.
- Gomozom. When affected by the disease, a sticky liquid is released from the cracks formed on the branches and trunk.
- Scab. Growths and yellow dots appear on the leaves, which quickly spread to other parts of the plant.
To prevent citrus cancer, which cannot be cured, in the spring the crown of the tree is treated with preparations containing copper and a fungicide.
To cope with homoz, the diseased bark is cut off, the cracks are sealed with garden pitch.
The branches infected with scab are removed, the lemon is sprayed with Bordeaux mixture.
The citrus plant attracts scale insects. The insect is fixed at the bottom of the leaves, drinks the juice. To cope with the parasite, the crown is treated with insecticides or washed with garlic water.
If the room where the lemon grows is too dry, the spider mite activates. Get rid of the pest by pouring boric acid on the crown.
Reproduction of lemon at home
It is possible to breed a citrus tree in an apartment from seeds, air layers, by grafting. The most effective way to grow a fruiting lemon is by cuttings. The shoot is cut with a disinfected pruner or a calcined knife so that 4 leaves remain, and placed in a growth stimulator. The branch is planted in a pot, covered with polyethylene, watered regularly, and it will sprout.
Mistakes when growing lemon
Novice growers often complain that the purchased tree does not develop well. This often happens when the root collar is placed too deep.
Sometimes the seedling is immediately sent to a large pot, but this cannot be done, the lemon will not grow well.
Abundant and frequent watering of the tree provokes stagnation of water, with insufficient moisture, the roots dry out.
Many people feel sorry for picking off flowers that appear ahead of time, which is fraught not only with the weakening of the lemon, but also with its death.
Collection and storage
The first fruits on a tree growing in the house do not form soon, ripen from November to January. You need to pick ripe fruits. In room conditions, lemons will stay for 10 days, in the refrigerator - more than 2 months. Place the fruit in a glass dish, plastic container or snap-on bag.
