How I Grew Lemons In A Pot: A Detailed Guide

Growing lemons is easy if they are planted in the ground but it can be difficult to get the fruit if you are trying to grow them in a pot. This article is a detailed guide for those who would love to grow lemons in a pot. I will narrate my whole journey since I bought my very own lemon plant.

Buying My Lemon Plant

I bought my first lemon plant or the only lemon plant that I own 😀 in November of 2021. When I was looking to buy, I was particularly looking for a plant that has already started to bear fruit. This was to ensure that the plant was old enough to bear fruit and was healthy too.

The second thing that I wanted was to have enough leaves on the plant. Leaves are necessary for photosynthesis (the process through which leaves make food for plants). Think of leaves as small food-making factories which require water, sunlight and nutrients for making a plant's food. So, the more leaves a plant has the better its survival chances through a harsh winter.

So, considering these points I bought a lemon plant that had a couple of lemons growing and had about 15-20 leaves roughly. The lemons were about to turn yellow in a few days. It had a few brown-colored thin branches which were sparsely covered by leaves. The plant was not in its best shape but it looked like after a few weeks of care, it will spring back to its beautiful form.

Size Of The Pot

The size of the pot in which you are trying to grow a plant matters a lot. The bigger the pot is, the more space for roots to grow and develop. This eventually leads to more well-developed branches and leaves and hence more fruit. The pot that I am currently using is about 10 inches in height and 9 inches in diameter at the top. It is made of clay. Check out the pictures below. Now it is not a big pot to begin with but is sufficient to maintain a small lemon plant that can give about 15-20 lemons per season. It is not a lot but still something given that we are trying to grow it in pots.

The pot is not completely filled with soil rather an inch of space from the top is left for applying water and fertilizer. More on these two in the subsequent headings. You can use a bigger pot too if you like and hopefully if you are following proper watering and fertilizing routine, then you are likely to get a good yield of lemons during the growing season. But anything smaller than the one I am using, then I am doubtful if the plant would bear fruit at all. If you have tried to grow lemons in a pot smaller than the one I have mentioned then please do share your experience in the comments below.

The Pot Measures 10 inches In Height

The Pot Has A Diameter Of 9 inches At The Top

My Watering Schedule

As mentioned earlier in the post, leaves are the small factories that produce food for the plant that is in return used for maintenance, growth and fruiting. Like all factories, plants require raw materials which are water, sunlight and nutrients. Not not only do they require them at the right time but also in the right quantity.

Coming back to the schedule, I maintained a strict schedule for watering as overwatering or underwatering are the most common reasons for plants not bearing fruit. During winters, that is the months of November - February, the temperature varies between 10-15℃ during the day and 2-8℃ during night. So, watering thoroughly on alternative days is a good practice. Or you can water every day but in small quantities, the exact amount varies from plant to plant. Just make sure that the soil does not get completely dry rather it stays a little bit moist.

It is best to water plants early in the morning so that they have water available throughout the day for photosynthesis. Now during the summer, that is the month of April-September, it gets really really hot where I live. It can be as high as 46℃ during the day and about 34℃ during the night. The average temperature during summer in the daytime is 42℃. Therefore, I have to water my plants two times per day, first early in the morning and then in the evening before the sun goes down. If I don't water twice a day during these days, the soil just dries up too much and the plant does not produce flowers. Hence, no fruit either.

Don't overwater especially in winters as it can lead to a number of problems such as mold, fungus and pest infestations.

Where To Place Your Lemon Plant

The location of your plant is of utmost importance. Lemons require bright sunny days to fully develop and will do great when placed in a spot where direct sunlight is available for at least 8 hours a day. Avoid placing the lemon plants under shade for extended hours as it can severely impact their growth.

Where I live, days are about 15 hours long during summer and in winters we get to have 7-8 hours of sun daily.

Fertilize Your Plant At Least Once A Month

This is yet another part of my plant maintaining schedule. I fertilize my plant once a month using compost during summer. Each time I sprinkle about three to four tablespoons of compost. It is best to add fertilizers in small quantities but regularly. Overfertilizing can damage a plant badly as it alters the pH of soil.

If your plant is not flowering despite all efforts then it might be due to potassium deficiency. Potassium deficiency is the most common reason in plants that are not able to produce flowers. To rectify it, you can either purchase a potassium supplement from your nursery or you can simply chop up a banana peel into small pieces and put them in the pot. It can take a few days before flowers start to appear.

Keeping Checking For Pests

Last but not the least, keep checking for any pest infestations. If you find any pests, consult your nursery for immediate rectification of the problem.

That is it for this article. If you have tried to grow any fruits or vegetables in a pot then please share your experience with us in the comments below.