Lemon Pavlovsky: care, photo

Lemon is an evergreen tree that does not have high frost resistance, but under favorable temperature conditions it can bear fruit all year round. For maintenance in an apartment it is enough to choose the right grade of this plant and provide suitable conditions for harvesting. Very popular is the lemon Pavlovsky, who came to us from the Pacific tropics.

History of the variety

More than 150 years ago, a merchant from the city of Pavlov-on-Oka named I.S. Karachistov, having visited Turkey, brought as a gift to one of his relatives several cuttings of an exotic tree. The fashion for growing lemons in the apartment has grown very quickly. Homemade limonaria have become a very popular phenomenon in Pavlova. In the 1930s, an enterprise was established in the city, where Pavlov's lemons were studied and grown in detail. Today this variety is known throughout Russia as one of the most adapted for growing at home.

Description of the plant

Pavlovsky lemon is a small tree (or bush), rarely exceeding 1.5 m in height and having 2-4 branches from the trunk. Round shape crown reaches in diameter up to 1 m. Branches covered with bark of gray-green color, hang down. They have spines 1.5-2 cm long with sharp ends and markedly enlarged at the base. Glossy dark green leaves are quite large - up to 15 cm in length. Special glands located on their surface, give the opportunity to smell the citrus and evaluate the antibacterial properties of this tree. Lemon Pavlovsky changes leaves no more often than once in 2-3 years. The number of leaves on the tree is directly related to its fertility - the more healthy leaves, the higher the yield. Lemon is a self-pollinated plant that has bisexual flowers up to 3 cm in size. With proper care, flowering lasts all year round, so both the flowers and the ripening fruit are on the tree at the same time.

Reproduction

Pavlovskie lemons can be propagated with the help of air layer, seeds and cuttings. The latter method is the most reliable and enjoys greater popularity, because the ripening of fruits does not have to wait very long. Fructify such a tree begins already in the third year of life.

From a healthy fruiting tree at an acute angle cuts of 10-13 cm in length and up to 0.5 cm in diameter are cut off. The lower cut is made 2.5 mm from the kidney, and the upper cut is made above 2 cm. It is necessary that there are 4-5 leaves on the cuttings, of which the two lower ones are removed, only the upper leaves remain. Before planting the cuttings, it is necessary to treat the lower section with pounded charcoal or a special growth solution (0.1 g "Heteroauxin" per 1 liter of water).

The container for planting is prepared in advance. At the bottom, drainage is poured (pebbles, expanded clay or broken brick), then a mixture of sod and earth is laid in a layer of 5 cm, after which the container is filled with a special earth mix purchased in a store or prepared from sand and peat mixed in equal parts. Soil properly moisten and plant cuttings. After planting, they should be sprayed, subsequently performing this procedure on a regular basis. After rooting, the plant is transplanted into a larger vase.

Growth conditions

Especially demanding to care young seedlings of lemon. The Pavlovsky variety is a guest from the tropical climate, so it is very important for it to have good lighting, humidity and thermal conditions.

Optimal place for the tree is the windows on the south-east side, where there is enough light and at the same time at noon the plant is protected from sunlight, the action of which can cause a burn on the leaves of the plant.

Lemon Pavlovsky is a plant that is heat-loving, the most suitable temperature for it is 20-25 ° C. And only in the spring, during the budding period, it can be several degrees lower. In summer it is recommended to plant a plant on a glassed balcony, if there is such an opportunity. Avoid a sharp temperature drop and a draft, this can be fatal for such a southern resident.

Watering is performed on average 3 times a week in summer and once a week in winter. It is necessary to monitor the moisture of the soil. It is necessary to regularly spray both the plant itself and the air around it. Its moisture content should not be less than 60%.

Top dressing

The lemon Pavlovsky looks much better and has much more fruit, the care of which is carried out with the introduction of additional fertilizing. Fertilize, as a rule, trees that are more than three years old. Young plants do not need additional stimulation. As a top dressing apply special organic fertilizers purchased in the store, or mixtures made at home. The infusion of the egg shell promotes more abundant fruit bearing. To improve the growth, a solution of ammonium nitrate (30 grams per liter of water) is used. Periodically it is recommended to water the lemon with infusion of horse dung at the rate of 1:10.

From fertilizers it is possible to refuse, if the plant develops normally and has a healthy appearance.

Lemon transplantation

Once a year, a lemon room Pavlovsky needs a transplant. Especially it is necessary to do this if the rhizome occupies all the space in the pot. When transplanting, carefully remove the remains of the old substrate from the roots, remove rotten and diseased rootlets. In the pot, add drainage and fresh nutrient soil.

If the substrate in which the tree grows is in its normal state, then the transshipment method can be used. Preliminary need to shed a good soil. Then, carefully taking the tree by the barrel in the neck area, you need to turn the pot upside down, holding the ground, and slightly shaking, release the earthen lump with the rhizome from the pot. After this, remove part of the old drainage, the top layer of the soil and put the lemon in a different pot prepared in advance so as not to damage the root system.

Pests and diseases

Growing Pavlovsky's lemon at home, it is necessary to watch that pests do not appear on it. Most often the plant is affected by aphids, spider mites, scutes. In order to scare off these insects, use regular geraniums, planting it next to the lemon. You can sprinkle leaflets from the spray with special tinctures and decoctions of tobacco, onion or garlic peel, red bitter pepper, bay leaf.

Defeat of lemon with a scabbard can provoke such a disease as a black fungus. It leads to the fact that photosynthesis is disrupted and the plant "suffocates". First of all, it is necessary to get rid of this pest by spraying the plant with a Bordeaux mixture.

Improper application of fertilizers can cause gummosis, when a part of the cortex dies off, forming wounds on the trunk, the leaves fall off. In this case, treat the affected areas with a 3% Bordeaux mixture and disinfect the plant by spraying with copper sulfate.

The process of caring for this plant is quite a troublesome business, but all the labors will be rewarded when a tree with bright juicy fruits grows at home, just like Pavlovsky's lemon, whose photo is pleasing with its beauty from the pages of gardening magazines.