How to Grow a Small Lemon Seed Pot Plant and What to Watch Out For

Lemon, also called ningmeng fruit, foreign lemon, or yimu fruit, is a fruit people commonly use. It is a shrub plant with rich nutritional value and can also be used for beauty care, making it very popular. So how do you grow a small pot plant from lemon seeds? The following are the cultivation methods and notes for potted lemon.

I. How to Grow a Small Pot Plant from Lemon Seeds

1. Seed selection

Choose fully ripe lemons and take out the seeds, because the seeds of unripe fruit have a lower germination rate, and even if they can germinate, they are not easy to keep alive. After taking them out, select seeds that are large and plump.

2. Germination

Wash the selected seeds once in clean water and carefully rub off the thin film on them with your hands. At this point, be careful not to damage the germination point, which is the slightly pointed part of the seed. After handling them, soak them in clean water and place them in a warm, dark place. They will sprout in about a week. Note that the water must be changed every day during this period.

3. Potting

After soaking for about a week and sprouting, they can be moved into potting soil. Simply press the seeds into the soil. After transplanting, water lightly or spray water in small amounts every day, and keep the soil moist. Use soil that is well aerated, loose, and fertile.

4. Thinning seedlings

After planting, small seedlings will grow in about a week. After they have grown for some time, remove the thinner and more crowded seedlings so that the remaining seedlings can grow better.

II. Cultivation Methods for Potted Lemon

1. Spring pruning and repotting with soil replacement

Potted lemon grows vigorously. To ensure better growth, it must be pruned. The best time for pruning is in spring. At this time, combine repotting with spring pruning, cutting away dead branches and leaves, diseased and pest-damaged roots and leaves, and leggy branches, so that the plant can bear fruit and grow. For potted lemon flowers, repotting and soil replacement should be done between March and April, to add the nutrients needed for growth and support the plant's increased growth.

2. Reasonable fertilisation

Before the lemon plant blooms and after it sets fruit, apply additional fertiliser. Apply a multi-element flower fertiliser once a month, and spray a flower nutrient solution once every half month.

3. Preventing and controlling pests and diseases

Hot summer and cool autumn are seasons when pests and diseases occur frequently. In such cases, reasonable prevention and control are needed. To prevent and control pests and diseases, spray flower medicine once every half month.

III. Notes

1. When pruning, be careful not to cut the main branch or the tender branches and leaves. When repotting, choose a pot suitable for the lemon plant's size, not too large or too small. When replacing the soil, apply base fertiliser at the bottom of the pot first.

2. The fertiliser used is multi-element flower fertiliser. Do not apply other fertilisers, to avoid harming the roots and affecting growth. Fertilise in appropriate amounts, according to the growth trend. Larger plants can be fertilised more, while smaller plants should be fertilised less.

3. When spraying, note that the best spraying times are around 9 a.m. or around 4 p.m. Do not spray under the strong midday sun, otherwise pesticide damage is likely to occur.