How to Grow Meyer Lemons

Meyer lemons are a delicious variety of lemon that was introduced to the United States from China in 1908. They do well in pots and tolerate a bit of frost. Easy to grow in your home garden, Meyers are not commonly grown commercially because their thinner skins do not ship as well as the more common but more sour-tasting Eureka lemon. It's a compact tree that you can prune to your heart's content and still be rewarded with a bountiful harvest of sweet, juicy lemons that are delicious in tea, mixed drinks, lemonade, marinades and all recipes calling for lemon.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Meyer lemon tree
• Well-draining garden soil or potting mix
• Large decorative pot
• Trowel or shovel
• Perlite or vermiculite (optional)
• Citrus fertilizer, fish emulsion or compost tea

How to Grow Your Meyer Lemon

1. Choose a healthy-looking specimen at your nursery.

2. If you will be planting your Meyer lemon in your garden, select a location that has well-draining soil and which gets direct sunlight most of the day. If you want to grow it in a pot, purchase a large pot, at least five gallons in size.

3. For in-ground planting, dig a large hole and mix in some compost, peat moss and perlite or vermiculite if you want, although the latter is optional.

4. Center your young tree into the hole you have dug in your soil or your pot.

5. Fill the hole with additional soil or potting mix and pat it down gently to make sure the tree is well seated.

6. Water your new tree well and keep it moist but not waterlogged, as the roots can rot away if they are too wet.

7. Once or twice each year, fertilize your Meyer lemon with a commercially available citrus fertilizer, fish emulsion or compost tea.

Tips & Warnings

• You can pick Meyer lemons while they are still slightly green and allow them to ripen indoors to extend your harvest.
• If you use a citrus juicer, you can "squeeze and freeze" your Meyer lemon juice and have a ready supply year-round.
• Meyer lemons respond well to pruning, so you can keep your tree under control and attractive.
• If you grow it in a pot, you should move it under cover or indoors if your winter temperatures drop below freezing for prolonged periods of time. Meyer lemons will tolerate light frosts.
• Meyer lemons can attract several insect pests, among them scale insects and aphids. Spray your tree with a solution of insecticidal soap, handpick and keep an eye open for insect damage such as a black sooty residue on the leaves, which can indicate the presence of both insects.
• Snails and slugs also sometimes enjoy eating your Meyer lemons, so keep them under control with copper strips placed around the trunk, snail bait or iron phosphate granules. Beer traps can also be effective.
• Temperatures under 18 degrees F for extended periods of time can kill a Meyer lemon tree, so protect it with plastic sheeting when the temperature drops. But do not allow the plastic to touch your tree. If you build a frost frame, this will keep the plastic off the foliage.