The Meyer Lemon tree is a citrus tree that produces sweet and tasty fruit. Not only its white blossoms are fragrant and aesthetically pleasing but also people described it as a hybrid fruit of lemon and mandarin orange. The best season to grow it is during the spring or after the winter. In this article, I will thoroughly discuss some ways how to grow Meyer lemon trees.
Is the Meyer Lemon tree easy to grow?
The Meyer lemon tree is easy to grow because it can thrive indoors and outdoors. The kind of soil you need must be well-draining so that its roots will easily absorb the water. The average temperature best for growing a Meyer lemon tree is sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit. It needs six to eight hours of sunlight exposure to produce sweet and delicious fruits. However, it will take four to five years for it to bloom and produces fruit. Proper care and attention are important in growing Meyer lemon trees to produce a good harvest.
How to grow Meyer lemon tree from seeds?
Growing Meyer lemon tree from seeds is easy. Follow the steps below if you are planning to grow a Meyer lemon tree from seeds.
- Firstly, Pick a fresh Meyer lemon fruit from the tree.
- Cut it in half and get the seeds.
- Soak and rinse the seeds in lukewarm water. After that, the pulp of the seed must be completely removed.
- If you’re not planning to plant seeds immediately then dry them using a paper towel. The seeds must not be exposed to direct sunlight because they will get dry.
- If you plan to store them then put the seeds in a plastic bag. Seal the plastic bag, put it in the vegetable bin of your fridge, and keep the temperature between forty to forty-five degrees Fahrenheit.
- Prepare warm water and submerge the seeds in it before you plant them. It is not advisable to plant seeds that will float because they will not result in a successful crop.
- Choose a pot that has good water drainage, fill it with soil and compost, and water it thoroughly until the soil is moist.
- Put the seeds on the surface of the pot and gently press down the seeds until it is buried a half inch-deep.
- Water the Meyer lemon seeds sufficiently. Use fertilizers in order for seeds to grow faster and healthier.
- Place the pot in a warm area, and patiently wait for it to germinate. The germination time will take up to two to three weeks.
- After the germination, you can transfer it to a new pot.
- Lastly, take good care of the seeds by watering them sufficiently, exposing them in a sun for six to eight hours a day, putting them at a good temperature, and monitoring their growth.
How to grow a Meyer lemon tree from cuttings?
Growing a Meyer lemon tree from cutting is called propagation. The best season to propagate or cut a branch of the Meyer lemon tree as I have said is in late spring or early summer. The Meyer lemon tree grows best in warm temperatures. To know how to grow the Meyer lemon tree by cutting, follow the steps shown below.
- Cut about three to six inches of a newly grown branch of a mature and healthy parent tree. Choose a branch that does not contain flowers or fruit.
- Remove the leaves on the lower part of the branch.
- Dip the bottom part of the branch in rooting powder for the successful growth of roots and to protect it from different diseases.
- Get a pot, put the potting mix, and water it sufficiently. Ensure that the pot has good drainage so that the roots will absorb water and access air effectively.
- Plant the cuttings or branches on the pot.
- Cover the pot by using a plastic bag to keep its moisture. Keep it hydrated by watering the plant regularly. Root development typically takes about two months so you need to monitor it regularly.
- Remove the plastic covering when the cuttings developed new roots.
- Keep in mind to put it indoors or in a shaded area during the winter season. It cannot thrive in a temperature below ten degrees Celsius. The optimal temperature of a Meyer lemon tree is ten to twenty-seven degrees Celsius.
Can you grow it from a pot?
Meyer lemon tree can be grown in a pot. Read the steps below if you want to grow a Meyer lemon tree in a pot.
- Firstly, prepare the pot where you will plant your Meyer lemon tree. Plant a seed or branch in a pot with good drainage. The soil must be mixed with compost or other natural fertilizers so that the tree will grow healthier and faster.
- Water the pot thoroughly until the soil mixture becomes moist.
- If you want to grow seeds of the Meyer lemon tree in a pot, plant the cleaned and soaked seeds of the Meyer lemon tree in the pot that you prepared. After germination which will take up two to three weeks, the seeds can be planted separately in a new pot.
- If you want to grow cuttings of Meyer lemon tree in a pot, plant the branch that you cut from the parent’s tree in a pot that you prepared.
- You can also transfer a Meyer lemon tree to a new or larger pot if you think that the current pot where the tree had been planted was not good enough.
- Check the roots of the Meyer lemon tree and fluff them if they are entangled before you plant, transfer, or transfer a grown Meyer lemon tree into a new pot.
- Plant it in the middle of the pot to ensure that the tree has adequate room to grow.
- Lastly, water them thoroughly and monitor their growth to keep them healthy.
Conclusion
As I have discussed, there are different ways and processes how to grow a Meyer lemon tree. It seems easy to grow but will take years to bear fruit therefore you need a lot of patience and passion to grow the tree in order for you to produce a good harvest.
Elizabeth Mcmillan is a passionate gardener with a strong interest in plants. She used to be a teacher, but Elizabeth has spent the last few years immersing herself in the world of plants, learning about their biology and cultural value and trying out different ways of growing them in her own garden. Elizabeth Mcmillan loves indoor plants, succulents, and cacti, and her friends and family know her as a plant care expert.
