Lemon Trees

[helwen]

I forgot to write about the lemon trees. A few months ago I planted 5 lemon seeds. One came up, and I was pretty happy with that, although two would have been nicer, of course. Then in the one pot that had a tree, a second lemon tree started.... and a few weeks later, a third one. All next to each other. Apparently I hadn't firmed the dirt enough and with repeated waterings they'd all migrated to the center of the pot.

Then yesterday I discovered a fourth lemon, in one of my tomato pots -- nothing had grown so I'd re-used the pot for tomato seeds 4-6 weeks ago. And it's been dealing with temps in the 40s F at night, so lemons are tougher than I thought they were. Each tree now has its own pot, as of yesterday. I'd waited on the threesome because I wanted to make sure they would be large enough to survive the move. They all appear to be happy :)

Comments

Lemon trees

[islenskr.livejournal.com]

Oh! I remember when you planted those! I should have said: citrus seeds take forever to germinate. However, once they do, they're pretty tough. If you've planted 'regular' lemons (not a dwarf variety), beware. In a couple of years, you'll be pruning two or three times during the summer. They will try to escape and grow up into an actual 15-20 foot tree. I've got one that I put into a larger pot (18" diameter) and it gets huge every year. The smaller ones have remained in their 10" pots. In any case, don't be afraid to prune, prune, prune. Don't worry. They'll grow!

Re: Lemon trees

[helwen.livejournal.com]

Good to know about the pruning. I used seeds from some organic lemons, which were smaller than the usual lemons, but that may or may not mean anything in relation to the tree size.

If they get too out of hand I can always try to bonsai them.... that involves cutting off some of the root ends, when the tree is more mature. Hopefully by the time they get to be of any decent size we'll have a greenhouse, and then I can let them get to be 4-6' tall... although they can grow sideways too, apparently. My mom has a neighbor with a lemon tree in the front yard. It's probably 8-10' tall and round.

I think the first one coming up so quickly, compared to the others, definitely threw me off. But given that the last one has been surviving outdoors, I'm probably going to move most of the potted plants outside to the front porch for the summer.

Re: Lemon trees

[islenskr.livejournal.com]

Excellent. I had thought of the bonsai solution as well. I might still try that with one of the limes. What variety of lemon are you growing? Here's another thing: my lemon tree (the huge one) was from a seed from a lemon from Stop and Shop. I *think* the lemon was a Lisbon. In any case, it has not borne fruit, nor do I expect it to ever bear fruit. Apparently, lemon seeds do not produce trees that will bloom...instead you need to graft, etc. There is something out there, though, about Meyer lemon seeds....those might be different.

Re: Lemon trees

[helwen.livejournal.com]

I wish I knew what kind they are. All I know is they're organic and they're from Mecca, CA. I'm kind of hoping that because they're organic that they haven't been messed with too much. That's very strange about the trees that need grafts.

I'm still considering buying a Meyer's dwarf, but not for a few years. Which would still be before I find out if these babies will fruit or not. Eh, if I end up with too many lemon trees, I can always find homes for them. By then a number of folks I know will be living out in the country, with more space. It's an interesting experiment though, and they certainly are shiny and bright colored.