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One of my Xmas presents was a very pretty lemon tree in a pot. It its currently sitting in my relatively cool (but not cold) dining room. It has flowers and a couple of lemons. The soil seems pretty dry.

So how do I care for it? When/how often does it get fed/ watered? When are the lemons ready for eating? I had hoped it might go outside but I'm certainly not going to attempt that meantime. I don't even know if it is frost-hardy. All advice very welcome!

Never had one myself..................noticed them in the Garden Centre before Christmas.I was very tempted to treat myself but they were very expensive.

http://www.gardenadvice.co.uk/advisor/gardening-tips/?p=97

Hiya, Anne..definitely not frost hardy, I've managed to kill off a lemon and a calomandin? sp..only got my lime tree left, it's in the poly under a cloche, can't get there to fleece it so will probably lose that too, ok when it's high summer outside but apart from that, it's somewhere frost free, they keep on flowering and fruiting all at the same time, smell is gorgeous, we used our fruit for marmalade..need feeding summer and winter, different types of feed, may be some more details if you google, I'm, obviously, no expert, I know how to kill 'em though  ;D

I've got a lemon I grew from a pip. Apparently they like to be in a breathable pot - so I put mine in terractotta. And the top roots like to get a bit of air, so don't pack too much soil over the ones which poke up from the surface.

Well, that's what I've been told anyway.

But mine had a lot of changes of temperature and drafts in its life, and everytime it drops all its leaves. It's still very small, although it's about 8 years old.  aaw poor lemon :'(

They also get scale insects quite commonly, and I didn't always manage to clear enough of them off.

I wonder if I'll ever get a lemon from it - poor old thing!  :'( :'(

Quote from: betula on January 05, 2010, 12:20:04
Never had one myself..................noticed them in the Garden Centre before Christmas.I was very tempted to treat myself but they were very expensive.

http://www.gardenadvice.co.uk/advisor/gardening-tips/?p=97

Thanks Den! Great website. I think I'll move it into my "study" which faces south and turn off the heating. It appears to need lots of light and low but not freezing temperatures. I'll need to read up on watering and feeding next.

Yes I must admit I was gobsmacked when it arrived. A truly splendid present.

Quote from: manicscousers on January 05, 2010, 12:23:07
Hiya, Anne..definitely not frost hardy, I've managed to kill off a lemon and a calomandin? sp..only got my lime tree left, it's in the poly under a cloche, can't get there to fleece it so will probably lose that too, ok when it's high summer outside but apart from that, it's somewhere frost free, they keep on flowering and fruiting all at the same time, smell is gorgeous, we used our fruit for marmalade..need feeding summer and winter, different types of feed, may be some more details if you google, I'm, obviously, no expert, I know how to kill 'em though  ;D

Thanks Mal! I don't think we were expecting this protracted snow. It has certainly loused up some of my gardening plans! :'( :'( I hope your lime survives. (good for margueritas and lime pickle!)

I can't wait to see my lemon tree outside under the pergola weighed down with lemons! Ideal for snipping for the summertime G + Ts! :o :o ;D

I had an orange tree in a pot, you can get citrus fruit feed from the garden centre.

My lemon tree is fruiting now and will keep going until Easter time, but I'm in Spain! I wouldn't give it too much water, my tree gets by on very little. Feed, all my citrus trees get fed twice a year on goat muck!

QuoteNever had one myself..................noticed them in the Garden Centre before Christmas.I was very tempted to treat myself but they were very expensive.

I got one about a year and a half ago in Lidl for £1.49.  It was just a little twig about five inches tall with a root.  And being Lidl there is no indication of the variety.

This is its second winter  Been outside each summer.   I give it rainwater and coffee grounds.  I don't like the idea of too much muck in the house. It is now about 3/4 metre tall.  I am rather good at forgetting to water things in the house and so killing them.  I rather felt that if I killed £1.49 I would not be too upset.  It may get rather big before it decides to flower, or I might just kill it.  I have a couple of weeds growing in the pot which are a great indicator when it needs watering.

I must say I would like one that is flowering but at least this way is a challenge.  Apparently they take years.  But \t the rate it is growing it will be huge by then.

I can pretend to be an expert on this one... I have kept my current collection lemons and limes alive for decades after several initial years of failure. And without high technology.

The key is capillary matting.

Citrus grow well in a mediterranean climate - this involves a fairly wet winter hovering mostly above freezing (not much) BUT most importantly in well drained ground so there is what is called a 'water column' in the soil - it exists as a capillary process between the water table and the plant.

This means the plant never gets too wet or too dry - citrus are very fussy about this.

To recreate the same safety margin for a potted plant you need a decent sized (gravel?) tray of water (with inverted 'bird watering' bottles in spring when extra reservoirs are useful).

You need a platform at least 10mm above the highest water level (rotproof is essential - slates on plastic spacers are best - old butter or tomato containers are fine).

Lay the matting on the platform with as many edges as possible in the water (though one will do).

Put the plants on the mat - straight on if the pots are plastic - but thick earthenware pots will need a hefty wick pushed into the bottom to make a reliable connection. A 2cm wide strip of capillary matting makes the best 'wick'.

Keep the temp above zero and most citrus will be very happy with this.

Mandarins, yuzus, kumquats and their crosses are the toughest, also Meyers Lemon and Calamondin (both mandarin crosses) plus other ornamental types including Seville (sour) oranges. Tahiti lime is as middling tough as an ordinary lemon but other limes aren't. Grapefruit and true oranges can also be tricky. All citrus get tougher as they get older.

If you are in London or South coastal or the South West (apart from the moors) then the toughest ones will live for decades in the soil - and prefer it - provided they are well drained close to a south-facing wall - but best to start with a fairly mature plant whose trunk is at least 15mm wide. You might lose some green fruit to frosts like this week if you don't give some protection. Mature fruit have more air in the rind and seem immune - but who knows what they will taste like this year...

I will be trying more exposed positions next winter - but protected with water heatsinks within temporary fleece covers - assuming I don't have any casualties this month - I'm pretty confident.

Cheers.

PS. needless to say these capillary systems are absolutely essential if you go away for more than a few days in Summer. Two old 5L mineral water bottles will keep half a square metre of capillary mat going for two weeks of the driest summer (not that rain can ever be relied upon to water pots).

Hi Grawc, I have a lemon tree which I keep outside in a terracotta pot all summer have had lots of lemons which I use in drinks. Last winter I brought it inside but it didn't like it as the rooms was a bit too dark, it recovered well in the summer and this winter is in my greenhouse, now being heated to keep it just above freezing, so far so good, lots of tiny lemons forming ready to ripen up when it comes outside. Good luck. Oh yes, it is in a terracotta pot which I water infrequently but I often put a tube of drip out citrus fertiliser in in.

Wow that's a lot of info to digest! Thank you all! I'll get some capillary matting and take it from there. Edinburgh may be a more challenging environment than London though! :-\