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How to Grow and Care for a Meyer Lemon Tree
While the Meyer tree is not an actual lemon tree (it’s a cross between a true lemon and a typical orange), it produces lemony-tasting fruit that can replace your need for an actual lemon tree in your yard. Meyer lemon trees grow well in warmer, dry climates and can grow indoors year-round.
What climate best suits a Meyer lemon tree?
For the tree to thrive, it needs a relatively high humidity level. This means that you will need to keep the area around your tree consistently moist without allowing its roots to become waterlogged. What you need to do is create a humid microclimate around your tree.
Ideally, you want to keep the relative humidity inside your Meyer lemon tree’s growing area at around 60-70%. The best way to do this is to water frequently but keep the soil surface dry. You should also mist the foliage (or keep the tree in a room with a humidifier).
You can also increase the humidity level around your tree by creating a loose, porous, cobwebby layer of mulch around the tree’s base. This will help keep the soil surface dry, which is what you want, but it will also help trap moisture in the mulch below the surface, keeping the soil underneath the tree’s canopy more humid.
What soil is best for my tree?
Soil is a critical factor for growing Meyer lemon trees. You must provide a potting mixture that is light and well-draining. The soil must be moist but will dry out faster than potting mixtures for other types of citrus trees. The best potting mixture for Meyer lemons is a mix of 50% potting soil, 30% coarse horticultural sand, and 20% peat moss.
Meyer lemon trees can be propagated from cuttings or grafted onto a rootstock. If you have a grafted Meyer lemon tree, the best potting soil will contain equal parts peat moss, vermiculite, and potting soil. You can use the same mixture as a grafted tree if you have a cutting.
How big do they grow?
Meyer lemon trees are dwarf citrus fruit trees that do not reach more than 8 feet (2.4 m) in height. Dwarf citrus fruit trees are often grafted onto rootstocks that are naturally dwarfing and/or semi-dwarfing.
The Meyer lemon tree can produce fruit within two to three years of being grafted. By the third or fourth year, the tree will begin to bear fruit in abundance and continue to do so for many years.
If you keep your Meyer lemon tree adequately pruned, it will remain a dwarf but still produce fruit. As it matures, a Meyer lemon tree can reach up to 10 feet (3 m) in height.
How can you grow a Meyer lemon tree indoors?
Meyer lemon trees, like other citrus trees, require plenty of sunlight—at least six to eight hours per day. While they can be kept outdoors, they can also be grown indoors under the right conditions.
The best arrangement for a Meyer lemon tree indoors is to place it in a south-facing window with at least six hours of sunlight per day. It can also be placed under a grow light, which will help it keep up with growth and produce more fruit.
If you live in an icy area, you may need to move the tree to a sunnier place during summer. It is also important to prune the tree to control its size and to repot it into a larger container when needed.
Where should I plant the tree?
Meyer lemon trees can be grown in full sun. They can also be grown in partial shade, but the fruit will not be as flavorful. Growing the trees in full sun can help the fruit ripen if you live in a hot, dry area. The trees do best in soil that is well-draining and loamy. They need natural sunlight. You can damage Meyer lemon trees if you are moved from full sun to a shady area.
You can still grow an outdoor Meyer lemon tree if you live in a cooler climate. You just need to protect it from frost. Even a thin frost can seriously damage or kill the tree.
Can I use a container to plant my Meyer lemon tree?
The best container size for a Meyer lemon tree is a garden pot. You should select a container of at least 10 gallons, but a larger container will help retain more moisture and keep the tree from becoming too root bound.
You should select an area on the patio, deck, or another area in full sun for your Meyer lemon tree. The ideal spot to place your garden pot is in a location that is protected from the wind.
If the plant container is kept in full sun, make sure that the container does not bake in the summer sun. Moving it to a shadier location for at least part of the day is best.
Moisture is vital for the Meyer lemon tree, so ensure you regularly keep the soil lightly moist. Over-watering can cause problems, so pay attention to the ground and don’t overwater.
How do I care for the tree when outside?
Meyer lemon trees can be grown outdoors in full sun. They need a bright spot that is protected from strong winds and does not receive direct sunlight for more than a few hours a day.
The best place for these trees is in a sunny, protected area that does not get more than four or five hours of direct sunlight daily. If you have a shadier spot, you can still grow a Meyer lemon tree there.
The tree is sensitive to strong winds, which dry and damage the leaves. The best place for the tree is in a protected location, not a wind tunnel, such as a courtyard or protected area under a roof overhang.
A good rule of thumb is to give your soil that is just damp, not soaking wet. You can add a slow-release fertilizer to the soil’s surface, but do not fertilize too often because Meyer lemon trees are sensitive to overfeeding.
How to harvest your lemons from the tree?
If you have regular lemons growing on your Meyer lemon tree, you can harvest them just like any other lemons. In most cases, the fruit will be ripe and ready for picking when the skin turns dark, and the flesh becomes yellow.
The lemon fruit on a Meyer lemon tree will begin to turn yellow when fully ripe, but you can take a simple test to check the ripeness of the fruit. Squeezing the fruit gently should give you a slight resistance, but you should also be able to squeeze it easily. If you get a lot of resistance when you press, the fruit is not yet ripe.
If the fruit is still green, you will not be able to harvest lemons. Green leaves signify that the lemon fruit is not yet ripe, but the healthiest trees will produce some green fruit. The best thing to do is wait and regularly check the fruit’s growth.
The fruit can take months to ripen, so you should check it regularly. Eventually, the skin will turn dark, and the flesh will become yellow. The lemon fruit will be ripe at this point, and you can harvest it like any other lemons.
If you’re looking for a citrus tree that’s easy to care for and produces delicious fruit, then a Meyer lemon tree is a great option. With just a little TLC, you can enjoy fresh lemons from your green leaves and backyard!
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