What?  A lemon tree in a container?  Yes!   I’ve wanted a lemon tree for yeeeears.  I hinted at it before Valentine’s Day, anniversaries, and Mother’s Days for… well, I think it’s been at least five years.  Don’t get me wrong, hubby is wonderful and has always gotten me amazing gifts… I guess he just didn’t know how badly I wanted a tree (or maybe he thought a tree was an odd gift).   Anyway, I went and bought one for myself. 

I love-love-love this little tree. It’s just a little over three feet tall, but it already has some fruit on it.    It’s a Meyer lemon tree, which means it’s a hardy little guy that will be able to withstand our hot summers and the few cold snaps we have in the winter time.  A bit of trivia:  Valley lemons (from the Texas Rio Grande Valley) and Meyer lemons are one in the same.   People in Texas just call them “Valley lemons” because they are the most common variety of lemons grown in Texas.

How to Grow a Lemon Tree in a Container

Citrus trees actually grow remarkably well in containers.  The size of the pot controls the root growth, and pretty much dictates how large the citrus tree will grow.    For instance, a Meyer lemon tree in a container that is 24″ in diameter will be smaller than a Meyer lemon tree in a container that is 30″ in diameter.

Plant your Meyer lemon tree the way you plant everything else:  Fill your container half full with potting soil.  Place the tree seedling on top of the soil, and fill in the gaps with more potting soil.  The soil should stop about 2″ below the top of the container, to prevent runoff after watering.

Care for a Lemon Tree in a Container

A Meyer lemon tree is a pretty hardy plant.  It can withstand the brutal heat of far-South Texas, and can also survive a frost or two.  Just be sure to water it regularly.

How to Prune a Meyer Lemon Tree

Meyer lemon trees are prone to suckers.  Suckers are little growths that come from the stem or root system of a plant.  In the case of a Meyer lemon tree, they come from the root system. Suckers basically suck the energy and nutrients from the main plant, causing the main plant to become stressed.    The first thing you need to do when you prune your Meyer lemon tree is snap or clip off any of those little suckers.

Other pruning advice for a Meyer lemon tree:

• Cut off any dead or damaged branches (I know that’s pretty obvious)
• Balance the tree — walk around it to make sure that it’s the same size and shape all the way around.
• Decide if you want the Meyer lemon tree to be a tree (with trunk and treetop) or a bush (full from top to bottom), and trim accordingly
• Once the Meyer lemon tree blossoms have set fruit, you need to prune it so that only one lemon in each cluster is allowed to mature.

More on Meyer lemon trees another day.

Originally posted 2009-08-15 21:54:50. Republished by Blog Post Promoter