Lemon Trees: When Life Tosses You Lemons [Bonsai]
... make lemonade. And then make a bonsai tree!
Ahh! The taste of fresh lemonade while relaxing in the shade. Taking in all the sights and sounds beside an artistic array of bonsai tree. It's really a refreshing experience to soak in.
Yes, all my lemon trees are made from the fruit of lemons. Seeds are so easy to to sprout. All you have to do is soak them in some water, and then put them into a plastic bag between a moistened paper towel or napkin. As I recall, the seeds usually sprout in a week or so.
Sprouted seeds are so easy to handle. Stick them into practically anything (sand, sawdust, peat moss, sphagnum moss, shredded paper, dirt, compost, rocks, coconut coir, etc.) enough to cover the white roots, and it will probably grow a stem and leaves within a week. As long as it's kept moistened enough to not dry out, and not puddled in standing water so it rots. Fresh watering every few days is wise to help the young develop a healthy cycle of rationing air and water as the soil dries out and becomes wet again.
This like pucker is about two years old. Last year I accidentally damaged the tree when I was gently attempting to wire the twin trunks into separate branch directions. It split the trunk vertically, and never really healed back together. Now it has an open scar. The cambium is still alive on both sides of the scar, and so each branch is still living.
The tree is not growing very vigorously for its second year. None of my citrus trees have really kicked into high gear growth mode yet. They must be adjusting still to the rapid change in environmental temperature and light conditions, because they spent all winter indoors. I have a feeling that in July, August, or September these citrus trees will have quadrupled in size.
Here is one more lemon tree I want to share in this article. This one was grown from the fruit of a Meyer lemon. Seeds do not grow as an exact clone of the parent, so this tree cannot be called a meyer. We can call it anything we want if we decide to sell its fruit some day.
Notice the foliage on this tree has a deeper, darker green than my other citrus trees? Juvenile leaves often start out light green, and as they mature, they become deeper green. Sometimes the leaves can change from dark green to pale yellow because they become sun burned. Sometimes they turn yellow because they are lacking nitrogen nutrient absorption from the soil. Adding compost and fertilizers to the soil can help green it up. Providing shade and adding moisture to the air around the tree is also a good way to lower the stress on a yellowing citrus, so it can green up.
Lemon trees love to have their leaves watered often. The waxy leaves shed water, causing the water to bead and roll off. The stems swell green with renewed life when fully moisturized.
One trick for keeping the leaves and stems moisturized is to add petroleum jelly to the stems and trunk. Doing this will protect the tree from dry, hot air, and it can even encourage more buds to form.
I've really been enjoying the exercise of sharing a new tree in my collection every day this week. In this series, I have been sharing all of my fruit trees: lemon, lime, cherry, apple, goji berry, and grape. One more tree to share to wrap up this series. Tomorrow I will show you the progress on the grape vine.
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Photos in this post are all #originalworks by @creativetruth, unless stated otherwise.
Find me on discord and chat with other tree growers, bonsai enthusiasts, and gardeners. We have quite a few accredited experts filling out our ranks, and a helpful Spanish-speaking community.
Pictured below: We have a Sumac tree on our property. It looks a bit exotic and tropical from underneath. Monkeys would love this tree. There are no wild monkeys where I live, but I have encountered a few manner-less apes.
