Repotting lemon trees is good practice in lemon farming. It is essential to repot your lemon tree when it overgrows the pot in which it’s growing. Lemon trees will not grow well when their roots are squeezed and squashed in a small pot.
Repotting is like refurbishing a home; while you may thrive in a house that is falling apart, your life would be so much better in a newer and spacious mansion. If you want your lemon tree to be happy and give you juicy lemons come harvest, repotting is one of the practices you can not ignore.
Why should you repot your lemon tree?
- When should you repot your lemon tree?
- How should you repot your lemon tree?
Read on for everything you need to know about repotting lemon trees.
Why should you repot the lemon tree?
After your lime tree has been growing for 2-3 years, the roots will outgrow the growing pot. Lemon tree roots do not like being constricted in small containers.
As a lemon tree grows, the energy and nutrient requirement of the plant increases. The amount of nutrition a plant has access to is the number of nutrients in the pot. The smaller the growing container, the fewer the nutrients the plants will get.
It goes without saying that the older a plant is, the larger the pot it requires.
When to repot a lemon tree
Repotting is essential for a lemon tree, but most importantly, you should know when to repot.
There are signs that it is time to repot a lime tree. You only need to be vigilant and alert as a farmer to notice. How do you know when to repot?
Signs that it is time for repotting lemon trees
1. You have to water a lot
If you have to water more often than you used to, it’s because the root of soil ratio is diminishing. The root system depletes the soil moisture as soon as you water.
Suppose you stay in a wet area and still experience soil dryness shortly after you water. In that case, chances are that the root structure is so developed that it has outgrown the growing pot.
The soil loses moisture faster than it used to even though variation due to other factors like temperature, container type, and plant age have been accounted for.
2. Leaves begin to drop
Just like with water, when a tree outgrows the pot, it depletes the nutrients faster. The most nutrient deficiency symptom is leaf fall.
If leaves are falling off and you just fertilized, the watering is right, the plant isn’t shocked, then you should check the pot size. The plant is probably shedding leaves because it has outgrown its pot.
3. Roots grow all over the edge and even in the drainage holes at the bottom
If the roots have overgrown and you can even see them at the bottom through the drainage holes, it is a sign that it’s time to give your tree a new home.
When to repot lemon seedling
When lemons grow from seed, you usually start off by growing them in a seedbed to better control temperature and moisture.
Suppose you grow the seeds in the garden or large pot. In that case, it will be challenging to control temperature and moisture, which are the most critical factors at that period of plant growth.
When do you know it is time for repotting lemon tree seedlings?
Signs that you need to repot your seedlings
1. When the first two leaves are growing
2. The cotyledons have turned yellow and fallen off
3. True leaves start to yellow
4. The roots are overgrown
Soil for repotting lemon trees
Repotting lemon tree soil is no different from the ordinary potting soil. If you have citrus potting around the house, it could work as repotting soil for lemon trees.
Repotting lemon trees in containers
It is crucial to repot trees in containers to increase the amount of food the tree has and promote healthy root growth.
Roots are the engine for the plant. A healthy root system means a healthy plant.
How to repot lemon trees
Repotting lemon trees isn’t as tricky as it sounds. All you need is;
Materials you need when repotting lemon trees.
- New pot
- Potting soil
- Watering can
- Gloves
The procedure of repotting lemon trees
Step 1: Select the new pot.
The best growing-pots have drainage holes at the bottom.
Lemon trees, like all citrus trees, do not like standing water or inadequate drainage. Seepage holes are the number one qualifier.
When selecting, also choose a pot that is longer than its broad. A higher length to width ratio gives the tree a more substantial support base. If you go for large-diameter but shallow pots, as the lemon grows, the tree could lose balance and fall under the weight of branches and fruit.
Step 2: Get potting soil.
You can buy citrus potting soil from your farm supplies store. If you have any other potting mix with good drainage like cactus soil, that could also work.
Step 3. Add fertilized potting soil to the selected pot
Pour some potting soil into the new pot to a height that will hold the rootball and plant at the required level.
Step 4: Remove the rootball from the old growing pot
Remove the rootball by tilting the old container and pulling the root ball out. If the old pot is plastic and worn out, you can cut the growing box off and extract the rootball.
Step 5: Plant the rootball
Plant the rootball in the new pot making sure to keep the soil level no higher or lower than it was.
Step 6: Backfill
Add more potting soil while tamping down to get rid of air bubbles and fix it as much as soil as you can in the pot. More soil equals more plant food. The more soil, the better.
Step 7: Water
After replanting, you need to water generously to saturate the root zone with water. Water stress is the leading cause of transplant shock, so water generously to curb transplant shock.
Transplanting citrus trees in containers
Transplanting citrus trees is a similar procedure to that of repotting lemon trees elaborated above.
Follow the procedure above for repotting lemon trees.
Lemon tree transplant shock after repotting lemon trees
Plants react to change in their surrounding. Lemon trees can easily be shocked by the sharp change in conditions from one growing area to another.
To reduce the impact of transplant stress, a farmer can try the following transplanting tricks.
1. Acclimate and harden the plant
By gradually introducing the plant to the conditions you intend to transplant to, the shock of transplanting will be less severe than if you immediately moved the plant without hardening it.
You can acclimate by exposing the plant to the destiny conditions, slowly and mildly, and gradually increasing the conditions’ intensity.
2. Water 30-60 min before transplanting
Plants tend to close their stoma following transplanting. If you had supplied water before, the plant already has water reserved in its system. Even when the stoma is shut, the plant will still thrive on the previous watering water reserves.
3. Don’t transplant under direct sunlight
Lemon tree roots hate light and heat. If you transplant under the full intensity of sunshine, you could damage the roots. Always transplant evenings or under a shade.
4. Try transplant fertilizer
Numerous mixes on the market have the right combination of nutrients a plant needs after transplanting to reduce transplant shock. As your local nursery guide for a transplant fertilizer and you are good to go.
Difference between transplanting and repotting lemon trees
Transplanting, although commonly used interchangeably with repotting, is broader. It refers to transferring a plant from one part of the garden or pot to another part of the garden or container.
- Technically speaking, you can only repot a plant if you are transplanting from one growing pot to another.
- Otherwise, if you are planting from a seedbed or bag, you are, in essence, potting the lemon seedling.
- If you are transplanting from a smaller pot to a larger growing container is when you are repotting.
FAQs
You should repot a lemon tree when the tree outgrows its current growing pot. It is also essential to repot in spring during the season of active growth because you have the highest chance of lemon survival.
Lemon trees like sandy-loam soil because sandy-loam soil type has all the essential factors: good drainage and soil fertility.
If your soil has poor drainage, you can mix in perlite to improve on the drainage. If, on the other hand, your soil lacks nutrients, amend with compost.
Lemons do not like being root-bound. The plant roots may survive for a while, but on the whole, it chokes the plant. It isn’t the best idea to root-bind a lemon tree.
Yes, branch (stem) cutting propagation is one standard method of cloning lemon trees. To successfully replant a lemon tree branch, you have to root the stem first.
Conclusion
Don’t let your lemon tree roots choke to death in a growing pot that they have clearly outgrown, repot