At the beginning of the summer I planted a seed from a lemon I had used. It sprouted and it growing really well. At this point it's about three and a half inches tall with seven leaves on it (not including the two new leaves about to open up). The pot I currently have it in is four and a quater around and about three inches deep. It's one of those post you water from the bottom. Anyways, I took the bottom of the planter off to see if any of the roots were coming through (which from what I saw are not). My question is should I repot my lemon tree yet? I was told two different things. First was wait until I saw roots coming out of the bottom. And the second thing I think I read somewhere that as soon as your plant is the same size in lenght as your planter it should be repotted. So when do I repot? And what size should I go to next? I'm not so much worried about it ever fruiting I just love the smell of the leaves. Can't wait to see the flowers in person. Thanks in advance for any help. I can't begin to tell you how much wonderful information I've gotten off this site. Loving my lemon, Tara
I think you could go ahead and put it in a slightly larger pot. I would recommend a media that is very chunky and will hold lots of air--like 4 parts pine bark to 1 part peat moss or commercial potting soil and I would start watering from the top. You need to feed the tree a fertilizer that is high in N and low in P with trace minerals. I perfer slow release fertilizers. If your tree blooms it will take 7-10 years.
I have it in Miracle grow Citrus soil. This may seem like a stupid question as I am just know getting my green thumb but I thought Miracle grow had fertilizer in it? Or is that just the name of the soil I brought. Hold on i still have the bag. The bag just says it has plant food in it. So plant food is different then Fertilizer? I feel so dumb...lol What size pot do you recommend? Thanks for the help, Tara
Many commercial potting soils have some fertilizer (plant food --same thing) mixed in. The problem with most commercial potting soils is that they have too much peat moss and will compact fairly quickly, excluding the necessary air (oxygen). I have not seen Miracle Grow's citrus mix, but if it is not pretty chunky, I would make my own using some of that along with some plain pine bark chunks -(1/2- to 1 inch size--4 parts bark to 1 part potting mix). As for fertilizer, I like the slow release, but if you are use to mixing water soluble fertilizer to apply when watering that will do fine if it has trace minerals (minors). If not you will have to add them separately.
Miracle Grow does contain a small amount of a starter fertilizer, enough to last for about 3 waterings, or about two weeks. As suggested by Skeeter, it is not advisable to leave a citrus tree in straight Miracle Grow potting mix. Miracle Grow is 95 percent peat moss. A good starter medium for your tree would be a blend of 3 parts small (1/4-inch) pine bark, or Coconut Husks, and 1 part Miracle grow. You should start fertilizing your tree once every two - three weeks during the summer with a water soluble fertilizer, or as Skeeter recommended, with a slow release fertilizer such as Osmocote. Whatever fertilizer program you select, be sure the fertilizer also contains trace minerals. I would recommend you only water your lemon early in the morning, then place the tree in the sun so that the sun shine quickly dries the surface of the growth medium. A majority of small citrus seedlings die from a fungus commonly called stem rot. This fungus requires a moist soil surface to live. Therefore, watering in the morning and then placing the tree in the sunshine greatly reduces the risk of losing your tree. For container citrus, the most important part of the tree is the portion that is beneath the soil surface. 95 percent of problems growers experience are in the root zone. Be sure your tree is transplanted in an EXCELLENT drainage. Lastly, direct sun shinning directly on a container can raise the soil temperatures quickly above 110F. High temperatures is a common killer of root systems in small containers. Therefore when the sun is directly shinning on the container's side some sort of protection should be applied, such as setting the container inside an empty larger container, or painting the container white to reflect the sun away. - Millet