With this method you will be able to plant new lemon trees from leaf cuttings. All you have to do is follow our steps.
Lemon is a tree native to India . It is an evergreen plant that is scientifically called Citrus limon. This plant, unlike other citrus fruits, can produce flowers and fruits several times a year. It therefore gives several crops to enjoy lemons in different periods.
Usually the lemon has an elliptical shape and is yellow in color. It has a tip also called umbo and is used a lot in cooking and not only. From a simple salad to other preparations. The lemon peel, on the other hand, is very thick and rich in glands that contain very fragrant oils.
Having a lemon tree in your garden is certainly a plus and now we want to show you how you can grow new lemons from leaf cuttings and. Below, in the next paragraph, we will see how to make a plant from just one branch. A very common method of propagation.
New Lemons From Leaf Cuttings: Here’s How
As we said, we will see how to make a lemon plant only from a leaf cutting. The cutting is a very used and very safe method of multiplication . Unlike sowing, it shortens the time. In fact, planting seeds is a longer operation and sometimes not very effective.
Planting cuttings instead means having a plant identical to the mother plant from which the cutting branch was taken. First you need to get a lemon branch and do it around March, which is the pruning period for this citrus plant. The branch must still be green and about 20 centimeters long .
Then make sure it has more buds and before cutting it, disinfect the knife you will use to make the cut. The knife must be slightly tilted. Now take a plastic bottle and cut about 12 centimeters from the bottom and fill it with water. Then take a clove of garlic and disinfect the point of the cutting before placing it in water.
It will have to stay in water for at least two months and you will see that small roots will form. Now change the water and leave the cutting like this for another two months. You will see that new leaves with a vibrant color will also begin to sprout. After about 4 or 5 months we can then proceed to plant the lemon in a pot .
Take a small pot with moist soil and make a hole large enough in the center where you will place the cutting with its roots. Over time the plant will continue to grow and little by little you will see the plant become larger and larger. But be careful to give it the right attention.
Try to keep it correctly for the first periods especially since it is a small plant it must be cared for in the correct way and for this reason below we will give you some advice . We also remind you to change the pot when the plant starts to grow too much, usually the change occurs after about a year.
How to care for a lemon
Among the things to pay attention to during the first years of life, irrigation and mulching are definitely important. There must be a lot of water . In fact, the lemon tree needs a lot of water. It is between 20 and 60 m3. It is also important during the flowering and fruit setting phases . Never leave it without water.
Mulching is very useful especially in the first years. It consists in protecting the root system from the growth of spontaneous weeds . These in fact can compete with the plant for water and nutrients and then the lemon could suffer. So you can put a layer of straw and bark with this natural fertilizer underneath.