Q&A for How to Plant a Lemon Seed

Yes, lemon trees grow in USDA hardiness Zones 9-11, where the winters don't get too cold.

Citrus trees generally need a high humidity, ideally with a minimum of around 50-60%. Lemons are generally hardy down to 10°C. Mature trees can stand occasional, brief frosts but still need protection. In terms of moisture, citrus trees should not be over-watered as this can kill the plant. As for light, at least 5 to 6 hours is required for survival, but 8 to12 hours would be better.

This could be a sign of over-watering, which is a cause for concern. Let the soil dry out between waterings. If the mold gets worse, try moving the seedlings into individual pots that are only a little bit wider and deeper than their root balls.

Trim them in colder weather. In winter, the lemon tree will have less leaves. If you do this when the plant is bearing fruit or blossoms, it will not encourage the plant to grow.

Most lemon trees can be kept both indoors and outdoors, but some varieties do better than others indoors, such as: Meyer, Eureka, and Pink Variegated Eureka. If you are buying a tree from a nursery, make sure that it is a dwarf tree. This will ensure that it will always stay small.

Try peeling the hard outer cover of the orange seed. This should leave a green embryo covered in a thin dark- brown outer layer. You can plant this straight away (either in some compost or in a resealable bag). Either way, give it a little water, taking care only to make the planting medium moist, not wet, as having a wet medium may make the seed rot. If choosing to use the resealable bag method, pot the seedling up as soon as cotyledon leaves develop, or at the latest, when the first true leaf (this will be more pointy) emerges. The pot into which you sow the seed does not need to contain specialist citrus compost, but try and make soil acidic as orange trees thrive in it.

I would prune it. Keep pruning over several seasons and this should divert the tree's energy to thickening the trunk instead of growing the tree taller.

They can be grown in a hothouse, but will not survive outside in a cold climate.

Depending on the health and variety of the plant, it can take anywhere from 5 to 15 years for your lemon tree to bear fruit.

If it is just warm, you are free to place your lemon tree outside. However, if it is humid don't.

Part of this is random and genetic, although it can be due to watering and sunlight. Make sure the plants are evenly watered and get the same amount of sun throughout the day. As the plants grow, they will start to even out, and if it bothers you too much, you can even them out through pruning after a year or two.

If you add drainage to the bottom, a cup works as well as a pot in most cases.

This may be a sign of low humidity. If they are still mostly green and healthy, misting them once or twice daily early in the morning and late in the evening should stop further leaf loss. If they are turning yellow first, this could be from too little sunlight or overwatering. Ensure the soil is moist but not soggy, and see that it drains easily. If your seedlings are already very ill, it would likely be better to start over as serious health problems early into a tree's life can lead to poor growth and health when it matures.

Choose how tall you want the tree to be, and chop it off right at that point. It's really very simple.

Yes, as it says in the article.

Yes. You can use this procedure for all the citrus plants.

There are some ways, but these often require fake fertilizer and things like that.

No, lemon tree leaves aren't poisonous, and are sometimes used to wrap food.

Wait for it to be very tall (twice as tall as you want it), then cut the top half off. Your tree will grow upward, but it also will branch out.

Ensuring your tree has ideal conditions by monitoring the pH, placing it where it will receive full sunshine, and applying regular citrus-friendly fertilizer will encourage the fastest growth. Make sure to prune it after four to five years to encourage even and broad branching.

Paper towels are made to absorb and hold a significant amount of moisture without dissolving or breaking down. Paper that's not designed for similar purposes would likely result in the seedlings drying out as the paper would not able to retain the water they need on a daily basis to germinate.

Yes, they can.

You can separate them or leave them together, it does not matter. If left together, the plants have more competition and may not grow as quickly; however, they are less likely to get root rot if grown together, and this kills many citrus trees.

You should be able to purchase a seedling from a nursery. Make sure to check that you currently live in the correct agricultural zone for growing outdoor lemon trees though.

Yes! However, they would need lots of water and some protection (maybe a screen) to make sure that leaves do not burn in the sun when it is really hot. (This may not be a big problem as lemon trees need a lot of sun to grow well throughout the year.)

No, it will very quickly wilt and die in direct sunlight.

To get rid of fungus gnats, spray vinegar and water mixture on the plant once a month.

Half a cup is of water is ideal for a seedling.

Water the seed every day once only; you don't need too much water. Seeds are very sensitive, too much water can damage them and too little water can also damage them. If your seed is small and you can't see the green sprout coming out of the pot yet, then only you water it and put the plastic wrap over it so you don't have to water it every day. Once the sprout starts to grow, you can take the plastic wrap off and you can start to water it normally.

It will take about 3-6 years to make a lemon seed grow. There are specific ways to make it grow healthier along the way. First you need to make sure that when you plant the seed, you need to make sure the outer layer of the seed is off or else the seed won't grow at all because the outer layer is preventing it. Once you take the outer layer out off the seed, put the seed in a paper towel that is wet. once the seed is inside put the towel or tissue in a Ziploc bag and let it grow. A few weeks later, the seed will start to grow and the seed will start to grow a little sprout. once the seed is in that stage you can take the seed and put it in a pot. You have your own lemon pant.