I purchased a Meyers Lemon tree about 2 years ago,  it’s about 2 feet tall and in a large ceramic pot. I keep it outside in the summer and move it inside in the winter. Even though it is a hardy little plant it can’t handle temperatures below 23 F (-5 C ).  It can tolerate partial shade but it really prefers full sun, so find a sunny bright spot to keep it.

They plants are easy to start from cuttings, they grow quickly, and usually will bear fruit within a year or two. Keep in mind that even hybrid citrus seeds bear true to the parent.  Lemons  need plenty of moisture but make sure that the pot that you have it in is well drained, because the plant doesn’t like to sit in a puddle of water.  Set your lemon tree in full sun from a south exposure, which is especially important in the winter since the plant needs 12 hours of light.

There is nothing better than picking a lemon off your own tree. You can tell that they are ready to pick when they start to turn almost orange in color, and they start to get a little soft to the touch. They taste a little bit sweet & a little bit tart at the same time.  They make the best pies, that taste just as good as key lime pies! Enjoy!

The history behind the  Meyer lemon is interesting, it was first imported to the US from China by botanist Frank Meyer in 1908.  He was an interesting man you can read about him and other botanists at http://www.plantexplorers.com

The Meyers lemon is a cross between a lemon ( citrus limon ) and a mandarin ( C. reticulata or a C.sinensis ), it is sweeter and smaller than a regular lemon. The thin orange skin is so mellow you can even eat it.  The botanical name is citrus meyeri,  but it is commonly called a chinese dwarf lemon, or the improved meyers lemon.  It has small white blossoms that are wonderfully fragrant & very lovely. Mine is blooming like crazy right now since I brought it back in the house.  If you can grow the tree outside it is a small tree that gets anywhere between 6-10 feet in height.  But this pretty little tree is well suited to growing indoors in a container.

In my previous post on the lemon tree story, I was talking about how slow lemons  grow, I have since found out that lemons go dormant if they are kept below 54 degrees.  I checked the temperature where I was growing the seedlings ( see my previous lemon tree story post for a picture ) and it is 52 degrees in the garden window.  Brrrr….. so I moved the seedling up to the upper shelf which is warmer by 4 degrees, and to my dismay, my seedlings have new leaves this week.  I guess they grow slow enough without me placing them in a dormant state too!  Of course now it’s so cold here, I may have to move them to some where warmer than the garden window.  The challenges of gardening in the Pacific Northwest :>)