Grow Lemons in Living Room: Indoor Fruit Plant

There are ornamental plants for your home, and then there are edible herbs that you grow in a little garden. However, what about the time between those two? Fruit trees are a great option if you’re searching for decorative indoor fruit plants that are also edible. If you have a lot of space in your living room, there are a variety of miniature indoor fruit plants that will thrive and even produce fruit in a large pot.

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Most fruit trees require at least six to eight hours of bright, full sunlight every day of the year to produce fruit. Try utilizing a grow light or moving your fruit tree outside if you don’t have a sunny spot indoors in the summer.

Keep in mind that Water should drain from the bottom of the pot so that root rot is not a problem.If you want to know more about such tips keep reading the whole article.

Lemons And Lime- One Of Most Useful Indoor Fruit Plants

In addition to its fragrant blossoms and lustrous foliage, an indoor lemon tree produces tangy and flavorful fruit year-round.

Grow your lemons at home with a container lemon tree, no matter where you live. Growing lemons inside is not difficult as long as you choose the proper tree and match its specific requirements.

You’ll be making lemonade in no time if you follow these simple instructions for growing and caring for an indoor lemon tree!!

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Selecting Right Indoor Lemon Tree

Ordinary lemon trees take up to six years to bear fruit when cultivated outdoors in warm areas. The best indoor lemon tree is compact and produces fruit quickly. A dwarfing root system is used to transplant indoor lemon tree cultivars.

A two to the three-year-old dwarf lemon tree is mature enough to bear fruit and mature enough to be sold by nurseries. Most indoor miniature Meyer lemon trees reach 3 to 4 feet in height. Other indoor versions can reach 6 feet.

So go to the nursery and select the appropriate dwarf indoor fruit plants for your place.

Ideal Indoor Lemon Tree Pot

It’s tempting to grow your indoor lemon tree in a large container, but start small. Large pots with too much soil make it tough to water an indoor lemon tree. Start with a 12-inch-diameter container for most young indoor fruit plants. Gradually increase the pot’s diameter and depth as your tree grows.

Lemon plants thrive in various containers, from terra cotta to resin. Only use containers with large, clear drainage holes. Like other citrus plants, Lemons like cool roots, so avoid dark pots that absorb heat.

Always use a deep saucer to protect indoor flooring from Water. Consider a wheeled plant dolly. Lemon trees get heavy and are difficult to transport. It also holds for other common indoor fruit plants.

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Planting Indoor Fruit Plants- Lemon Tree

Lemon tree roots need lots of oxygen. Thus, good drainage is essential. Raise the flare at the trunk’s base slightly above the soil line when planting your tree.

Fill the new container’s bottom with soil and lightly compact it. Continue till your tree’s root ball is at the proper depth. This act helps give a solid base for your indoor fruit plants. Remember to water from the top.

Indoor lemon trees thrive in evenly moist soil. Choose a well-draining potting mix for palms or citrus inside. These mixes prevent damp soil while preserving moisture for healthy root growth of indoor fruit plants.

Placing Indoor Lemon Tree

Your lemon tree is now ready for its new surroundings once placed in its new container. These two elements are essential to the success of these indoor fruit plants:

Light: Your indoor lemon tree needs close to eight hours of sunlight per day to perform optimally — from flowers to fruit. The more light there is, the better the outcomes from these indoor fruit plants.

Lemons thrive in front of south or southwest-facing windows that are not obstructed. If necessary, You can add artificial light.

Temperature: Indoor lemon trees thrive best in temperatures about 65 degrees Fahrenheit at night, ideal for most households. These indoor fruit plants are sensitive to hot and cold draughts, so keep them away from all air conditioning and heating ducts. 

Consider taking your indoor lemon tree outside during the sunny summer months. After the threat of spring frost has passed, gradually acclimatize it to the outdoors. More sunlight will benefit it and reward you with fruit.

Move these indoor fruit plants back inside before the first frost of the season. Always relocate lemon trees in stages. Fruit might fall due to abrupt changes in light and temperature.

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Indoor Lemon Tree Watering And Fertilizing

Allow the top soil to dry out about 3 inches deep before watering your lemon tree to maintain its health. Then thoroughly water until the Water drains out of the drainage holes in the pot.

Keep the soil moist but not soggy, and never let it totally dry up while growing these indoor fruit plants.

Use a moisture meter (available online and in garden centers) or your index finger to test the soil.

Container indoor lemon trees may require daily watering during vigorous growth, mainly if grown outdoors throughout the summer. Provide Water only to keep the soil moist over the winter in these indoor fruit plants.

The timing depends on your indoor temperatures, the size of your container, and the size of your tree. Keep an eye out for danger indications such as yellow leaves, which indicate damp roots or nutrient deficiencies.

Your indoor lemon tree needs sufficient nutrition to produce good fruit and lovely foliage. Like other citrus trees, Lemon trees require a lot of nitrogen and other elements like magnesium and iron. This situation is primarily for indoor lemon trees, which must be grown in containers.

As your tree grows older, its needs will change, so follow label instructions for your indoor lemon tree’s age and pot size. Feed container lemon trees every three to four months. Avoid disturbing the shallow roots of these indoor fruit plants when you feed.

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Pollinating And Pruning Of Indoor Fruit Plants- Lemon Tree

Lemons, unlike several other fruits, self-pollinate. They don’t require pollen from another lemon tree to fruit. In nature, however, insects pollinate lemon trees’ flowers. Pollination improves fruit yield.

It’s possible to make popular indoor cultivars yield fruit. Shake the branches lightly to help disperse pollen within the blossoms when you stop to smell the sweet fragrance.

Indoor lemon trees usually don’t require much pruning. Lemon trees with thorns are not common indoor kinds. Remove thorns and all shoots or roots near the soil surface with long sleeves and gloves.

It’s best to avoid pruning these indoor fruit plants until after the fruit set.

Fruits and Flowers

Its fragrant blossoms can appear at any time of year, but they are most likely to occur in the spring. Each bloom can last up to three weeks if pollination is successful before maturing into fruits.

The fruits of these indoor fruit plants will ripen over several months, with the citric fruits becoming edible in early winter.

Repotting Indoor Fruit Plants

Repot every two years in mid-spring, using ‘Citrus’ or ‘Cactus & Succulent‘ labeled compost, and the next size up the container. If you live in a region with hard water, make sure to add some ericaceous compost to balance out the excessive alkaline levels.

Treat the roots of these indoor fruit plants like you would a puppy; never meddle with or reposition the root ball, as this can result in transplant shock.

Typical symptoms are wilting, greying leaves, no growth, and leaf loss.

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Diseases And Pests Of Indoor Lemon Tree

Look for mealybugs, aphids, spider mites, scale, thrips, whitefly, blackfly, slugs/snails, soil mites, vine weevils, and root mealybugs in the cubbyholes and undersides of the leaves of these indoor fruit plants, except for the latter three in the soil.

Root rot, leaf-spot disease, scab, botrytis, rust, powdery mildew, and southern blight are common diseases linked with citrus trees.

Toxicity

Because the leaves of these indoor fruit plants are poisonous, eating little pieces may result in vomiting, nausea, and loss of appetite. Large amounts of consumption must be treated immediately; seek medical advice for more information.

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Conclusion

If you have room for it, there are several advantages to having dwarf indoor fruit plants in your indoor garden. You get the traditional benefits of a houseplant, such as fresh air and lovely foliage, but you also get the added bonus of fruit. Fruit trees are a refreshing change of pace from the usual spider plant or philodendron setup. When fruit is tangy, lemon and lime, nothing could get better!! So what are you waiting for? Follow these simple guides, and you are ready to harvest your little lemons.