How-To: How to grow a lemon tree

Your lemon tree will perform best in full sun. It can tolerate some shade, but this will reduce fruiting. It will be equally at home in dry or humid areas.

The ideal soil is a rich, welldrained loam; however, the lemon tree is adaptable to almost any soil type, except heavy clay. It will survive soil that occasionally becomes over- wet, but not extended waterlogging. In heavy clay or areas where the tree may become waterlogged, plant on a raised mound or in a raised garden bed.

Your tree must be protected from strong winds, as leaves can easily be stripped from a tree. Although they can tolerate some cold, anything around –5˚C will kill the leaves and may kill the wood. Flowers and young fruit will be killed at around –1˚C.

For the best performance, improve the soil before planting your lemon tree. Blend through composted manure or quality compost before planting, then add a controlled-release fertiliser at planting time, both in the hole and on the surface.

Larger trees may require staking until established.

Grafted trees should fruit well within two-three years. For the first year or two, remove any fruit that starts to develop, as it can over-stress the plant, and the branches may not be strong enough to support its weight.

Lemons love to be fed. Ensure they are regularly fertilised at the recommended intervals with a controlled- release fertiliser balanced for fruiting trees.

Keep your tree well mulched with a quality mulch, such as lucerne or pea straw. These break down relatively quickly, adding nutrients and organic matter to the soil.

A lemon tree requires very little pruning—simply prune as needed to restrict height or width. If the centre of the tree becomes congested, or you find any crossing branches, these can be pruned out as needed. Light trimming can encourage bushiness.

Growing lemons: problem-solving

Leaf drop: this is a sign of stress through too much heat, cold, incorrect watering or a lack of humidity, but not a disaster. See if reducing watering and increasing humidity helps.

Sticky leaves: these could be a sign of citrus mealybugs or scale insects, which thrive in warm, humid conditions. They excrete sticky honeydew that in turn, sooty moulds grow on. Wash the leaves every now and then with a soapy solution, and prune to improve ventilation. Under glass, biocontrols of wasps and ladybirds are effective.

Leaf damage: larvae of citrus leaf miners bore channels in leaves. Prune in autumn, removing all damaged material

Yellow leaves: can be a sign of red spider mite, which is best controlled with biocontrols and high humidity. Citrus may also suffer from chlorosis as they don’t tolerate lime. Draughts, low temperatures, over- or underwatering, or poor feeding can also lead to yellow leaves.

-gardenersworld.com