And where do you get these Meyer Lemon trees? AAAGH

[VAfoodie]

The more I read, the less I know. Price seems to range from $11 (Logee's) to $80. Dwarf? Semi-dwarf? Does it matter. Help. I live in Virginia and will be growing the tree in a pot that I put outside in the summer.

[saraheartsny]

I got a dwarf Meyer lemon from an online nursery - Springhill - I think. It was only about 1 1/2 inches tall when I planted it in April and it is over a foot tall now. I expect fruit next year.

[Launchpad25]

I know this is an older post, but what did you decide on for the Meyer Lemon tree? I bought one at the Williamsburg Home Depot for $49 about a month ago. It has been full of booms since I bought it, and it has many small lemons already.

[VAfoodie]

Hey Launchpad neighbor--I'm in Yorktown! I ended up getting one tree from Four Winds and my cousin gave me another from Stark. My dad hit pay dirt and got several from Lowes for $5.
My Four Winds tree is the tallest but does not have any lemons. The Stark tree had all kinds of blooms when I got it and has 3 little lemon buds right now. Curious to see how big they grow. I am allergic to cats and dogs, so these lemon trees serve as my pets. I ordered a "citrus collection," which I'm sure will be citrus twigs from Gurneys over two months ago and haven't gotten them.

[junescook]

You bought the big one. We bought the 1 gal. size for $20. When we saw it at our local nursery wewere just blown away by the number and scent of the blossoms. Then, about a year or so later, we picked something like three lemons, the next year, seven, and this past November, 11. Actually, I think lemons take about 18 months to develop and ripen. It is impressive to get full-sized lemons from a 24" tree.

Citrus plants do need iron, so feed them with an acid fertilizer like miracid to make the iron accesible to them, and/or add a little ironite to the soil. Now that the warmer weather is here our lemon plant is outside enjoying the fresh air and eastern sunshine though on a couple of occasions (frosts, winds, storms) we've had to bring it back inside to be safe).

Btw, we,ve started a number of lumber of plants from the seeds of the lemons and they too have bloomed and born fruit. Fun.

[VAfoodie]

lumber plants?
Now I want an orange tree and a key lime. Anyone seen these at mass retailers?

[junescook]

Oops! Strike "lumber of"

We have an orange that grows miniature oranges. I've seen the key lime tree plants also. We did not get them at a big box store if that is what you mean by mass retailer. You have to be careful purchasing plants at those places, primarily because they don't take particulary good care of their plants after they arrive at the store. We bought ours at a local nursery/garden store.

[Launchpad25]

VAfoodie -
I haven’t seen any of the Key Limes at any of the retailers. Lowe’s currently has Mexican Limes, Navel Oranges, & Meyer Lemons. They are pretty much a twig with a few leaves though. I’m keeping an eye out to see if they ever clearance them out. I may consider then.
I understand what you mean about kinda of being your pet… I have a lemon tree that I started from seed about 4 years ago that is now about 5 feet tall. From what I have read in other forums, it is most likely a Lisbon Lemon and that it would probably take anywhere from 5-15 years to flower/fruit or may never flower/fruit at all because it was grown from seed. It is full of thorns. I worry every year when I repot it and transition from outside/inside during the seasons that it will not make it, but so far it has always done well.

[VAfoodie]

Launchpad, saw the clearanced twigs at Lowe's yesterday. They are half off of their orignal 19.99. I'm getting into figs now...just ordered a LSU purple from Edible Landscaping. I think I'm going to post here to see if any kind gardners want to share cuttings for some other breeds as my pets are getting expensive!

[Launchpad25]

junescook –
The sent from the blooms are awesome. It is amazing on how strong the fragrance. Hopefully they will continue to bloom throughout the winter when I will have them inside. I’m looking forward to the aroma.
I bought a second Meyer this past weekend. I went in for something else and ended up buying one of the three they had left on impulse. It is full of blooms and nickel sized lemons… and one lemon almost full size that I never noticed until after I got home. I still do not know how I could have missed seeing it.
You are right, it is impressive to see lemons on trees this small. Both of mine are just under two feet tall.
So you have grown Meyer Lemon trees from seed that have flowered and produced fruit? I have read many other forums on the internet and not sure what all to believe. Some say you can grow a true Meyer from seed, and others say that you can not - that it has to be grafted

[junescook]

We got our meyer lemon at a local garden center and it was a Monrovia plant. I think it stood, perhaps, 20" tall in its pot and was covered in those extremely fragrant flowers. As I recall we paid about $29 for it.

Living in northern CT, we put it outside in the warm weather and take it in in the winter. I'd say the first year we got 4-5 lemons, the second, 8, and this past Novemberwe picked 11. We keep the tree at about 24" . I think that meyer lemons take about 18 months to reach maturity. It is a nice plant even if only for its extraodinarily fragrant blossoms.

[DMW]

junescook - I live in CT as well and wonder what kind of conditions you provide during the winter. I don't get a lot of light in my house and we keep it on the cool side and I am worried that a meyer lemon just would not thrive in those conditions. Any thoughts or suggestions?
Thanks!

[junescook]

For houseplants like this, cooler is better. By the way, we just got a call from our garden center (The Garden in Woodbury), that they had gotten in lime plants in 1 gal. size, so the wife had to get one of those too. It's called a Bearss lime and will bear regular sized limes in winter to spring. It is also a Monrovia plant, and was about $20.

Most of our big plants stay outside during the summer (bayleaf, gardenia, and the citrus plants), otherwise they're too prone to scale, aphids and whitefly. Outside the wind and rain and beneficial insects can keep those things somewhat under better control.

In cold weather they come inside. For much of the winter they stay on a sunporch that we use and heat during the day and evening but not overnight. If it is going to get below 20 for a prolonged period, we'll bring them into the house. We keep our house around 67 daytime and 63 at night. Again citrus need iron so they require an acid type fertilizer and/or ironite in order to get it. And my wife has had a lot of luck growing little lemon plants (that also bear lemons though I don't know if they are true to breed), from the seeds of the original lemons.

[DMW]

Thanks for the reply. Sounds like I could pull it off then.

When I grew up in CA my mom always had a dwarf Meyer lemon outside, and now my brother keeps one too.... so I guess I've been "craving" one.

I live in Redding, not too far from Woodbury, so maybe I will stop in on Friday afternoon on my way up 84E/Rt 8 N.

[scbeachnuts]

You have an excellent source for all kinds of tropical fruit trees near you in Scranton, SC. McKenzie Farms can provide you with all your needs. Prices are very reasonable ($20 or so) You might want to try a Harvey lemon which is much more cold tolerant. http://mckenzie-farms.com is the web site to go to or call (843)-389-4831. Stan has been a great help to me and my son with lemons and mandarins. A lot of his varieties are cold tolerant down to the mid-teens so you may even be able to plant some outside with winter protection.

[EWSflash]

If you order from Logees you're going to get a rooted twig. Logees is a great place with quality plants, but you're not going to get any fruit from it for years. Also, I'm not sure if their citrus is on grafted rootstock, but they'd tell you if you asked.

Dwarf rootstock will keep the size more managable for growing in a pot.

Four Winds is a reputable grower.
You're on the east coast, check this link out
http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/c...

[jen kalb]

Four Winds Growers in CA is a great source. Their plants are sizeable, beautiful and grown on dwarfing rootstock, which you want if you are going to be moving your plants around. Ive really enjoyed the citrus plants I bought from them. They are a propogator, unlike a lot of mailorder sellers. (for ex. WFF is not going to be propagating citrus)

Dont buy this from Logees unless you want a tiny plant.

You may also want to check your local top-end greenhouses in the spring - I think some of the big container wholesalers may now be offering these. for example I see Monrovia containerized plants available on Amazon now. Dont know I would risk mailorder in the winter except in a warm spell - even tho Meyers ae pretty hardy. You would also need to check whether the Monrovia nursery stock is on dwarfing rootstock. - I do not see that in the Amazon description.

[VAfoodie]

Thanks, Jen--I'm leaning towards Four Winds. Do you think it would not be safe to order from them in winter. I live in Yorktown, VA where it rarely gets wicked cold. I need it for a February birthday present. Also, I don't really know what it means to be grown on dwarfing rootstock or what it means exactly in terms of the plant to be a propagator? School me!

[toodie jane]

grafting: the propagator obtains a rooted cutting of a tree with very dwarf habit. Then, with a very sharp small knife called a budding knife, removes the bud and the tissue directly underneath and immediately surrounding the bud, from the desired tree (in your case, a Meyer Improved lemon. The propagator then makes a cut into the stem of the root stock, inserts the bud so the underlying tissues of both the bud and root stock line up. The bud is then wrapped in a stretchy piece of rubber called a budding rubber. Sometimes grafting wax is used to cover grafts, I'm not sure if they do it with citrus. Then the grafted plant is kept in a small greenhouse structure for several months till the bud starts to grow into the root stock' s stem. It the graft is sucessful (not all are), the young tree is moved outside to harden off and commence growing the top branches which will all be the desired top-graft wood (Meyer).