How to Care For and Grow Your Meyer Lemon Tree
Meyer Lemon Tree
AKA Citrus meyeri
There’s so much to love about Meyer Lemon trees, from their incredibly fragrant foliage to their full silhouettes. Meyer Lemon Trees, Citrus meyeri, have been popular for over a hundred years, and it’s easy to see why. They are resilient, elegant and easy to care for. But like all of us, they have preferences and needs to meet in order to grow strong. Rise to the occasion, and read on to learn how to care for and grow your new Citrus meyeri.
How much light do Lemon Trees need?
Lemon Trees need ample direct sunlight to thrive and produce fruit, at least 6-8 hours a day.
How to water your Lemon Tree
Check moisture of topsoil weekly and give plant four cups of water when top two inches of soil are dry to the touch. Avoid overwatering.
How fast do Lemon Trees grow?
It can take several months to years for Meyer Lemon trees to fruit. Remember that light = fruit, and fertilize every two weeks during spring, summer and fall.
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Common problems with Meyer Lemon Trees
Yellow, Drooping Leaves: Overwatering
Symptom: Yellow leaves that appear droopy or saggy.
Cause: Overwatering.
Remedy: Grasp your fruit tree as low as possible on the base of its trunk, while wearing gardening gloves. Be careful to support the plant as you lift it, still within its plastic nursery pot, out of its ceramic planter.
Dump out any standing water that may have collected in the ceramic pot. Then leave the fruit tree, still in its plastic pot, in a sunny spot to dry. Don’t water again until its top two inches of soil are dry to the touch, at which time you can return it to its ceramic pot.
Yellow Leaves: Inadequate Light
Symptom: A large amount of yellow leaves in the tree’s canopy.
Cause: Too much shade, not enough direct light.
Remedy: Ensure that your tree is in a space that receives ample direct sunlight for at least 8 hours/day.
Pale, Yellowing Older Leaves: Needs Fertilizer
Symptom: New leaves on canopy are green and healthy, old leaves are pale and yellowing.
Cause: The tree needs more nitrogen, which is available through fertilizer.
Remedy: Give your tree a balanced fertilizer every two weeks from spring through fall.
Can I keep a Meyer Lemon Tree indoors?
Considering keeping this plant indoors? Meyer Lemon Trees need full sun throughout the day to thrive. While it may survive indoors, most areas don’t receive the 6-8 hours of direct sunlight it desires. This usually translates to little or no fruit and stunted growth. We reccommend keeping your plant outdoors in a balcony, patio, or other open air space where it can get plenty of sunlight!
How to maintain a beautiful and healthy Meyer Lemon Tree
Care for your plant and it will thrive for years to come. See these simple tips to keep your tree flourishing.
Pruning: Meyer Lemon Trees can be pruned between late winter and early spring. Pruning is not required, but you can prune to maintain you tree’s preferred shape by cutting branches below new leaf nodes/buds, with clean, sharp shears.
Fertilizing: fertilize your tree twice monthly during spring, summer and fall with a balanced slow-release fertilizer.
Shop the Meyer Lemon Tree at leonandgeorge.com
How to propagate a Meyer Lemon Tree
Meyer Lemon tree cuttings make wonderful gifts, and these trees can be propagated both via cuttings and seeds. If you’re planning on propagating with cuttings, plan on doing it during the warmest months of the year, when your tree is growing at its most rapid rate.
Propagating with Cuttings:
Prepare a rooting container: a small nursery pot with drainage, and fill it with citrus fruit tree potting soil.
Select a sturdy tip from one of your tree’s branches, about eight inches long.
Positioning your clean, sharp shears below a leaf node or bud, cut a branch of around eight inches long.
Remove all but a handful of leaves from the branch.The leaves that stay on the branch should be positioned toward the branch tip.
Coat the cut end of the branch in 0.2-percent IBA rooting talc.
Firmly plant the branch in rooting container and place it outdoors in a spot that receives partial shade.
Patience! These things take time, so check your cutting for roots after three months in the rooting container. Allow it to stay in the container until solidly rooted and sturdy, then transplant to a larger pot during fall.
Propagating with Seeds:
Select a juicy, healthy lemon.
Remove the seeds from the lemon’s flesh and wash and dry them thoroughly. Be sure that all pulp is removed.
Do not leave the lemon seeds to “dry out,” plant them while they’re new and lively.
Fill a small pot with pasteurized soil mix, or a half and half blend of peat moss and perlite.
Plant the lemon seeds ½ an inch deep in the soil mixture.
Moisten the soil lightly and cover with plastic wrap.
Keep the seeds in an area that averages around 70 degrees. The kitchen, such as on the top of the refrigerator, is a good spot.
Once seedlings emerge, move the pot to a location that receives at least four hours of sunlight a day, and remove the plastic wrap.
When the seedlings have leaves, transfer them to pots with a 4 to 6 inch diameter.
Fertilize them every 4-6 weeks and keep the soil moist.
Place them outside in an area that receives at least four hours of direct sunlight a day and is between 60 to 70 degrees in temperature.
Watch them grow!
Lemon Tree
With vibrant green foliage and a classically fresh citrus aroma, the Meyer Lemon Tree is a beloved, low-maintenance outdoor fruit tree variety.