How Do You Fertilize Potted Lemon Tree?

Fertilizing helps ensure the stable and healthy development of your houseplant. However, not all gardeners provide their crop with what it wants. So, how do you fertilize a potted lemon tree?

There are three options for fertilizing a citrus houseplant: liquid, dry, and spike. Each approach comes with a different fertilizing method. The fertilizer you choose also affects the way you feed your plant.

Today, Swipe Garden will give you in-depth instructions about how to take care of your plant. Let’s read on to discover!

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How Do You Fertilize A Potted Lemon Tree?

When fertilizing a potted citrus tree, you have three options: liquid, dry, or spikes. Each has advantages and disadvantages. The best way depends on the size, region, and environmental aspects of the plant.

Liquid

Liquid fertilizer is easy to get by and is available in large enough quantities to last longer than other options.

To apply the liquid fertilizer, please follow these steps:

Dilute the liquid with the instructions on the product’s label. The quantity of water varies in each product.
Apply the mixture to the soil. You can utilize a spray bottle for better dispersion.
Don’t spray on the plant or the leaves.

Dry

Dry fertilizer is a good choice since it is slow-release. Instead of contributing to the water content in the soil, it blends first and will gradually release its nutrients over time.

The method of using dry fertilizer is relatively straightforward:

Spread it over the topsoil, leaving some inches from the trunk.
Slightly toss the soil to blend with the fertilizer.
Don’t dig too deep since your citrus tree may have shallow roots.

Spikes

Spikes are pre-measured. Hence, there’s no risk of over-fertilizing if you examine the pot size and apply the exact quantity.

This option appears to be the easiest method to apply to your plant. You need to insert the spike containers into the soil for a determined period.

Remember to check the installation directions on the package for the exact quantity and attachment method.

There are three main ways to feed a citrus plant, fruit tree

How Much Fertilizer Do Potted Lemon Trees Need?

Essential citrus fertilizer has a balanced blend of all the nutrients a lemon tree requires. It is an excellent choice for boosting your lemon tree’s growth and fruit production.

The amount of fertilizer depends on the size and age of your tree. In general, we work on the age more, using the following recommendations:

One-year-old: 2 to 4 ounces of fertilizer per year.

Two years old: 1/4 pound.
Three years old: 1/2 pound.
Four years old: 3/4 pound.
Five years old: 1 pound.

When Should I Fertilize My Potted Lemon Tree?

It would be best to fertilize your plants whenever they are actively growing. For citrus plants, the ideal time must be spring and summer.

When the summer ends or your tree’s natural yield starts to slow down, cease fertilizing.

During the wintertime, don’t fertilize your tree.

Feed your plant in spring and summer

How Often Should I Feed My Potted Lemon Tree?

The fertilizer label will give you detailed guidelines for the most proper feeding schedule. Nevertheless, there are some rules to follow:

In active growth time (often spring and summer): feed your houseplant once every month.
In dormant growth time (usually winter): Your plants don’t require many nutrients during this time.
When your plant starts to grow fruits, reduce fertilizer in both active and dormant time.

What Do I Feed A Lemon Tree?

Lemon trees, citrus trees, and fruit trees need a high nutrient content to thrive. Most of those nutrients come from fertilizers.

If the tree cannot support the fruit, the fruit will drop prematurely. Using organic fertilizer and potting soil up the tree if it has outgrown its container may assist.

When buying citrus fertilizer, you need to seek the following nutrients:

Macronutrients: potassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen.
Micronutrients: copper, calcium, zinc, boron, and magnesium.

How Do You Care For A Potted Lemon Tree?

Lemon trees or lime trees aren’t very different from other plants with the proper soil and pot – excluding the aromatic flowers and fruit. Give your plants these basic requirements, and you’ll get the value:

Light

Your plant needs about six to eight hours of strong light. It’s an excellent idea to grow citrus trees, and lemon trees near windows that face southwest or south.

Remember that natural sunlight changes with the months, so make adjustments as needed.

Grow lights will help you make up for the lack of natural daylight.

Pruning

Pruning plants regularly helps to keep their development in control and encourages larger, healthier fruit.

Pruning fruit trees such as lemon trees, apple trees and orange trees should be done once a year after the coldest season.

You can learn more tips about pruning citrus plants via this video.

Temperature

Citrus thrives in average home temperatures. Most can endure short frost.

However, you need to keep your citrus trees away from breezes as well as heating and cooling pipes. Containers of citrus may spend the summer outside, but you have to keep them indoors until the risk of frost has passed in the spring.

To avoid overheating the tree trunk, make sure the plastic tube is white or lighter in color.

Then, transfer them slowly over several weeks to allow them to adapt. Otherwise, they may lose their growing fruit.

Light, pruning, and temperature are also important to your plant

How Often Should Lemon Trees Be Watered?

Your citrus plant needs watering twice per week. It would help if you kept this schedule until the new growth starts. After that, the plant likes to dry out between every watering. So, you should deep-water your plant once every ten days.

The Bottom Line

Planting a lemon tree in a pot gives you complete control over your crop.

It would be perfect for feeding your plant at the right time with the correct quantity of fertilizer in the right way.

Thanks to the proper care, the plant will grow at its best.

Hopefully, you will find this article helpful. If you need any further information, please feel free to ask. Thank you for reading!