When ripe, Meyer lemons will be an egg yolk yellow and slightly soft to the touch – this is the time to twist your lemons from the tree. Picking time! It can take from four months to a year for a blossom to transform into a fully ripened lemon. Because citrus fruit will only continue to ripen while still on the tree, make sure to wait until it’s ripe before picking. Yellowing leaves indicate the need for either water or fertilizer.Ĥ. Pruning should involve removing unhealthy, unwanted and poorly positioned branches or leaves. The best time to prune is soon after harvest in winter to early spring before bud break.ĥ. Withhold fertilizer during autumn and winter months. When planted in the ground, they can grow up to 10 feet tall, though when grown in garden pots they'll generally be smaller and grow accordingly with the size of the pot. Fertilize regularly when growing Meyer lemons with a high nitrogen citrus fertilizer. Native to China, Meyer lemon trees are naturally shrub-like but can easily be pruned into true tree form. Constantly monitoring the moisture level of the soil is KEY.ģ.
Allow soil to dry out only slightly between waterings. Soil conditions when growing these lemons should be well-draining however, the soil must hold enough water to remain moist. I keep mine by the pool in the summer (below) and in a warm sunny corner of my kitchen in the off season (top).Ģ. Choose a suitable spot: lemon trees are frost tender and they do best in a. Enjoy harvesting your own fruit while having the delightful natural smell of meyer lemons in your home. If you live in a cold climate, plant your lemon tree in a large pot and move it indoors during the winter. Popular varieties include Eureka, Meyer and Lemonade. Meyer Lemon Trees make beautiful additions to any space. In the hottest summer areas, morning sun and afternoon shade are best. Whether grown in a container or planted in the ground, Meyer lemon growing requires at least six hours of sunlight a day. Finding the right location for your tree. Don’t deviate from these rules if you want to be successful:ġ. Right now my stunning lemon tree has 46 lemons that will be ready to pick next week! Two to five years after planting, the trees bloom with beautiful fragrant flowers capable of fertilization which eventually becomes the fruit. The tree reaches 6 to 10 feet in height. The thin-skinned fruit is sweet and grows readily in the right conditions. The lemons have the typical savory lemon flavor with a naturally sweet twist. The Meyer Lemon Tree: It’s like having your own little supermarket, right at home.Ī Meyer Lemon Tree produces fruit that is actually a cross between a lemon and a Mandarin orange. Specific epithet honors Frank Meyer (1875-1918), Dutch-born botanist and explorer who collected extensively in Asia for the United States Department of Agriculture.My beautiful Meyer Lemon Tree has grown to eight feet tall! The genus name Citrus is from classical Latin. Not much commercial growth of this fruit is done because the fruits are thin skinned and ship poorly. Those original trees were mostly destroyed and replaced with a virus-free variety that today is referred to as improved Meyer lemon. Original Meyer lemon trees were symptomless carriers of a virus (tristeza) that killed other citrus family trees.
Meyer lemon tree upgrade#
Try not to upgrade to a much larger pot immediately.
Meyer lemon tree skin#
Large rounded yellow fruit (to 3” diameter) with smooth, thin skin lacks the rough texture and pronounced nipple of the true lemon. To make your own mix: Add one part orchid bark to three parts potting soil. Waxy, fragrant, white flowers appear year around in warm climates. It is less acidic, juicier and sweeter than common lemons. It is believed to be a hybrid cross of C. by Frank Meyer who reportedly found the plant in 1908 near Peking, China. New plants may be easily grown from cuttings.Ĭitrus × meyeri, commonly called Meyer’s lemon, is native to China. Hand pollination may be needed for indoor plants due to the lack of insects. Mist plants with water almost daily in winter. Bring pot indoors in fall for overwintering in a bright sunny southern window.
Meyer lemon tree full#
Set container outdoors in late spring in full sun in a location protected from wind. Elsewhere it may be grown in containers as a houseplant. This plant thrives in climates where daily temperatures range from low 70s F.
It will tolerate brief temperatures around 32☏., but generally does not tolerate frost.
When grown outside, this tree will bear fruit year around in warm temperatures, however it may slip into dormancy if winter temperatures dip significantly below 55☏. It has the best winter hardiness of any of the lemon-type fruits. Winter hardy to USDA Zones 9-11 where this small citrus tree will grow well in sandy, neutral, well-drained soils in full sun to light shade.
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