It's not just children who enjoy putting seeds in the ground and nurturing and caring for the little plants and watching them grow. Lemons in particular can be propagated quite easily. You (and your children) can grow your own lemon tree from seeds or cuttings.
How to grow a lemon tree?
You can grow a lemon tree either from seeds or cuttings. With the seed method, you clean a seed core, plant it in potting soil and keep the soil moist. For cuttings, cut off a 10-15 cm long shoot, dip it in rooting powder and plant it in potting soil.
Growing lemon trees from seeds
It's not far to get your own lemon tree, as you can easily find everything you need in your local supermarket. The next time you go shopping, just take a nice, fully ripe lemon, a small bag of potting soil (€6.00 on Amazon) and a few small plant pots or a mini greenhouse with you. At home, cut open the lemon, use its juice for cooking or baking and collect the seeds inside. Rinse the seeds briefly under running lukewarm water so that all pulp is removed. This step is important because otherwise the pulp could become moldy and hinder germination. Then stick the cleaned core about a centimeter deep into the pot with soil.
Always keep the soil moist
The soil with the seed core must always be kept moist. Place the pot in a bright and warm location; temperatures around 25 °C are best. Finally, you can put a plastic film (e.g. a freezer bag) over the potty. This ensures a consistently high level of humidity - lemons love this climate. The seed will germinate within a few weeks. Be patient – sometimes it can take a little longer.
Propagate lemon trees from cuttings
Perhaps you are already the proud owner of a lushly blooming and magnificently growing lemon tree? Then it's worth propagating such a wonderful specimen via cuttings. When propagating cuttings, it is best to choose a lemon tree with good characteristics that you want to pass on - this works no differently when breeding animals than when breeding plants.
Pull cuttings from the lemon tree
And this is how you proceed with the propagation of cuttings:
- Choose a semi-ripe shoot (i.e. from the previous year) with several buds.
- If possible, this should also have about two leaves, which are cut in half.
- Cut the shoot between 10 and 15 centimeters long.
- Dip the cut site in rooting powder.
- Place the cutting in a pot with potting soil.
- At least two buds should be underground.
- Water the cutting thoroughly.
- If necessary, place a clear plastic bag over the pot.
- Place the pot in a warm and bright place.
- Water regularly.
Tips & Tricks
Please note that home-grown lemon trees only bloom for the first time after eight to twelve years at the earliest - provided they are properly cared for. If you want to shorten this very long youth period, you should refine the tree.
