Description of Panderosa lemon variety and home care

Growing citrus fruits at home, in addition to pleasure, also brings real benefits. A convenient variety for home use is the Panderosa lemon variety, which produces large aromatic citrus fruits that will delight the taste, and the plant itself will decorate the apartment and create coziness. The plant is famous for its unpretentiousness, which makes cultivation accessible even to inexperienced gardeners.

Description and characteristics of Panderosa lemon

Panderosa is a hybrid of lemon and citron, but the history of its origin is unclear. The breeder's laurels are attributed to the American Bowman, who allegedly managed to cross two types of citrus fruits in 1887.

Most citrus growers are inclined towards natural crossing and the natural origin of the hybrid. Citrus got its name from the Spanish “panderosa” - heavy. This characteristic describes the gigantic fruits that the small tree produces. Large lemons, which sometimes grow up to a kilogram, are the main miracle of Panderosa.

Flowering process

Panderosa blooms regularly and abundantly, the bush stands strewn with flowers that even cover the trunk. Main characteristics of flowering:

1. At home, the bush blooms 2-3 times a year.
2. A large number of flowers are white-cream in color with loose inflorescences, the petals are long, the flowers are large.
3. During flowering, the bush smells of a pleasant, delicate aroma.
4. Most flowers do not form an ovary.

To allow the lemon to grow and ripen, you need to leave a few leaves of the crown, which form the nutrition of the fruit. A small bush simply cannot feed many ovaries. Flowers interfere with the growth of shoots, so they must be removed from the trunk at the bud stage.

Crown characteristics

The plant is ideal for growing indoors - its height does not exceed one and a half meters. The bush produces many shoots, so you can easily give the tree the desired shape.

The foliage is rich in color, smooth, and changes every 3 years. The leaf cuttings are short, the shape of the plate is oval-oblong, up to 15 centimeters long.

The trunk is covered with gray bark, young shoots are painted light green. Thorns grow only on old trunks; they are absent on young branches.

Panderosa is a spectacular ornamental plant in the form of a bush or tree; it takes root well in an apartment, delighting with bright greenery and yellow-green fruits.

Description of fruits

With a small crown, most of the ovaries cannot grow and are discarded by the plant. Panderosa fruits have the following features:

1. Significant size. Usually 250 grams, but sometimes up to 500 grams or more.
2. Thick, lumpy skin with a bitter taste.
3. Very slow growth and maturation - up to 10 months.
4. In adulthood (after 10 years) it can produce several dozen lemons.
5. Fragrant pulp with slight sourness and an abundance of seeds.

Panderosa does not delay fruiting. The first lemons will grow in the second year.

Pros and cons of the variety

Those who are just planning to grow Panderosa should learn about the advantages and disadvantages of citrus fruit. The advantages are:

• ease of cultivation, unpretentiousness;
• compactness, convenient for an apartment;
• pleasant decorative appearance;
• the size of the fruits, their impressive appearance on the bush.

Among the negative qualities of Panderosa lemon are:

• thick bitter skin;
• a significant number of seeds;
• The pulp is coarse, the films between the slices are thick.

Breeders believe that there are tastier varieties.

Reference: “Panderosa syndrome” is the formation of an excess of ovaries that cannot ripen.

Rules for planting a tree at home

There are two options for planting Panderosa at home - seeds and cuttings.

The seed is removed from the ripened fruit and planted in the soil at any time. Provide soil moisture, good lighting and warmth, fertilize after 3-4 weeks. After the formation of a pair of leaves, they are replanted. Note that the harvest when planting seeds will have to wait a long time - 7-10 years.

How to root a Panderosa lemon cutting?

A cutting is cut from an adult plant.It can be sprouted in soil or water. The soil is light, containing sand. The lower part of the cuttings is lowered into a growth biostimulator and buried 2 centimeters into the ground. Cover with film.

The cutting needs timely watering and sun. It is better to plant in May, when it is warm and there is a lot of light. Rooting takes a long time; using a root growth stimulator helps speed up the process.

If buds appear on the cuttings, they are removed. Rooting can be determined by the appearance of leaves.

Features of care

Even unpretentious plants need to follow certain rules of care in order to grow well and avoid diseases.

If a lemon has just arrived at home, it is quarantined, separated from other plants, and carefully inspected regularly to avoid pests.

Panderosa's permanent place of residence should be in the sun part of the time - lemon needs light. In autumn-winter, lighting will not hurt; on dark days, move the pot closer to the window.

Humidity and temperature requirements

Lemon loves warmth and tolerates high indoor temperatures well, but needs ventilation. You can keep the plant near open windows, if there is no cold coming from the street.

With the onset of warmth, the bush is taken out to the loggia or garden (temperature is above 15 °), avoiding constant exposure to the sun (partial shade).

Important: if the flower lives on the windowsill, the lemon is isolated from hot radiators.

Panderosa loves spraying and moistening the crown. When the heating is on and the air in the room is dry, containers with water are placed next to the plant and sprayed regularly.

Transfer

Increase lemon pot needed annually (by 2-4 centimeters).If the size of the plant no longer allows this, remove and replace the top layer of soil, being careful not to touch the roots.

The pot is replaced by transshipment. Prepare a new container and add drainage. Take the Panderosa out of the old pot, holding the soil with your hand so that it does not fall off the roots. It is impossible to free the roots from the old soil - the bush will hurt for a long time.

By moving the plant to another pot, the voids are filled with fresh soil. No feeding is required for a month.

Watering

When watering, the soil must be completely wet, being careful not to pour in excess water. Water the next time when the soil on top is dry (by 2 centimeters). Panderosa does not like excess moisture - the roots begin to suffocate, the edges of the leaves turn brown.

If the plant cannot cope with excess water, the lump of earth does not dry out, the bush is taken out of the pot and the soil is dried.

Lemon loves moisture - you shouldn’t wait for the leaves to wilt. Regular watering is the key to normal growth of the bush and fruits.

Top dressing

When it is warm, fertilizer is applied every 10 days; in winter, once a month is enough. For feeding, choose fertilizer for citrus fruits. When using other types of fertilizers, soil acidity is restored by adding a few drops of lemon juice to the water when watering (once a month).

Crown formation

Panderosa produces many shoots and branches well. When forming the crown, unsightly growing branches are cut out, giving the tree the desired appearance. Ventilation is necessary for all parts of the plant; thickening impairs access to air and sunlight.

Pruning is carried out in early spring, before flowering, and unnecessary shoots on the trunk are removed immediately when they appear. It is useful to rotate the plant regularly so that the crown grows evenly.

Diseases and pests

Ticks attack Panderosa when there is increased dryness of the air and a clod of earth. Adequate hydration as recommended will help prevent insect infestations.

Mealybugs are removed from the leaves and wiped with a weak alcohol-containing solution, being careful not to burn the leaf blades and trunk.

When infected, select the appropriate insecticides and treat according to the instructions.

The tree, with good care, is slightly susceptible to pests. If infection has occurred, it is necessary to restore the recommended conditions of detention - increase air humidity, maintain temperature and light conditions.

Harvest and storage

The fruits ripen in 6-10 months and do not fall off on their own. They are cut and stored in a cold place as they ripen. The real harvest is usually obtained in the third year - 5-6 lemons.

Panderosa lemon is an easy to grow, beautiful plant that can decorate a room and bring a harvest. If the tree receives what it needs to live, it will live up to 50 years, constantly delighting the owner with abundant flowering and bright fruits.