Evergreen the year round, flowering through summer and ripening its fruit for a winter harvest, the lemon tree (Citrus limon) is grown as much for its looks as for the thousands of culinary uses of its fruit. It only thrives where winter never falls below 41 to 44°F (5 to 7°C), which is why a pot you can shelter pays off.
| Name | Citrus limon |
|---|---|
| Family | Rutaceae (Rue family) |
| Type | fruit tree |
| Height | 10 to 16 feet (3 to 5 meters) |
| Exposure | full sun |
| Soil | well-drained |
| Foliage | evergreen |
| Flowering | Summer |
| Harvest | winter |
Planting, caring and pruning it are steps that help enhance fruit-bearing and avoid diseases on your lemon tree.
The planting of the lemon tree is an important step that influences lemon production.
Planting lemon trees in the ground is possible only in mild-wintered areas. They are vulnerable to freezing and need temperatures that never drop below 41 to 44°F (5 to 7°C) in winter.
Plant your lemon tree preferably in spring, after the last frost spells. Choose a sheltered spot well-endowed with sunlight.
If it freezes in your area, try to grow your lemon tree in pots with shelter for winter.
Lemon trees can’t survive indoors in winter, so they will need an outside unheated greenhouse, or horticultural fleece if the climate stays mild enough.
Pruning isn’t really needed, but if you don’t prune it, your lemon tree will quickly grow very large. Yellow lemon trees are particularly vigorous, and require pruning, especially if grown in pots.
Pruning is best in spring, ideally during the months of early spring, mid-spring or late spring. You should never prune before or during winter, this would make the plant vulnerable to freezing.
Using a disinfected hand pruner, cut each new shoot back to more or less half its length, taking great care to cut just above a leaf.
Remove dead wood regularly and clear the inside branches to let light penetrate to the center.
If planted outdoors, normal rainfall should be enough to provide for the lemon tree’s needs, especially if the climate in your area is wet. However, during the first year and in case of high temperatures or prolonged dry spells, it is best to water from time to time.
In pots, water as soon as the soil is dry, without flooding the pots. It is best to water with collected rain water, because they are vulnerable to calcium ions in water. Tap water often is too hard, leading to chlorosis.
Like most citrus, lemon trees are quite difficult to grow directly in the ground when winters are cold.
Regularly give them citrus-specific organic fertilizers to give them the best chances of developing well.
Growing them in pots is most adapted, because that makes it possible to bring the lemon trees to a spot where it doesn’t freeze in the winter.
Lemon trees aren’t indoor plants, and can’t bear staying in a heated environment all year round. They need relatively lower temperatures from mid-autumn to late spring, especially during the night.
Lemon tree diseases and parasites are the same that would attack most citrus plants.
Rotting fruit, aphids or scale insects don’t spare lemon trees and you’ll find proof of their presence on leaves.
The pests and diseases that trouble lemon trees leave very different marks. Match what you can see on the leaves, fruit or trunk to find the culprit.
| Problem | Where it shows | What you see |
|---|---|---|
| European brown rot | Fruit | Lemons rot while still hanging on the tree |
| Citrus foot rot | Trunk and fruit | Trunk bursts with gummosis; lemons turn brown and mouldy, then fall |
| Scale insects | Leaves | Whitish masses colonise the foliage |
| Aphids | Leaves | Leaves curl up and fall off |
| Thrips | Leaves and fruit | Silvery streaks on fruit, white patches dotted with black on leaves |
These are the same troubles that attack most citrus plants, so the same watchfulness serves your whole collection.
Not all lemons behave the same in the garden or on the terrace: some are compact and almost thornless, others vigorous and better suited to a mild-wintered plot. Here are the varieties most often offered by garden centres and mainstream nurseries.
| Variety | Fruit character | Main cropping | Habit | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ‘Variegated Pink Eureka’ (Pink Lemonade) | Striped rind, pink-tinged flesh | Much of the year | Cream-variegated foliage, moderate | Ornamental container specimen |
| ‘Lisbon’ | Very acidic, juicy | Concentrated winter crop | Vigorous, dense, thorny | Warm gardens and informal hedging |
| ‘Meyer’ (Improved Meyer) | Rounded, thin-skinned, mildly acidic | Winter, with scattered fruit all year | Compact, bushy, nearly thornless | Pots and cooler, sheltered spots |
| ‘Eureka’ | Classic tart lemon, few seeds | Several flushes through the year | Open, upright, few thorns | Reliable juice and zest |
| ‘Ponderosa’ | Very large, thick rind, seedy | Winter | Stiff, sparse, thorny | Novelty pot plant under glass |
| ‘Genoa’ (‘Genova’) | Tart, thin rind, good juice | Autumn to winter | Bushy and spreading, few thorns | Cooler, less sheltered situations |
| ‘Villafranca’ | Smooth, acidic, few seeds | Winter | Dense, well-leafed, thorny | Windbreak planting and shade-free walls |
A close relative to Citron, one of the three original citrus, lemon has long been grown in many civilizations. Lemon health benefits are renowned, and in culinary use it has thousands of applications.
In the garden, too, you can use lemon to repel ants and keep them from climbing up your fruit trees where they tend to aphids. Simply cut the fruit into slices and tie them around a tree trunk. Block all passageways by overlapping the slices a little.
Pick the lemons as soon as they easily break off from their branch.
Credits for images shared to Nature & Garden (all edits by Gaspard Lorthiois):
Lemons on tree by John Englart under © CC BY-SA 2.0
Lemon tree flower by Ulrike Leone under Pixabay license
Unripe lemons by Free Photos under Pixabay license
