Lemons

Select Your Climate

Learn more about climate zones

Every backyard needs a lemon tree!

Likes: 5–6 hours of full sun; good drainage; protection from wind.

Dislikes: Wet feet due to poor drainage – it can kill them.

When to plant/sow in zone:

How to start: Plant small tree in a mound of compost enriched soil to improve drainage.

How to grow: Keep moist and maintain a 7cm layer of mulch to conserve moisture. Feed with organic fertiliser spring, summer and autumn. Remove all the fruit for the first year or two to allow a strong frame of branches to develop to support years of heavy cropping.

When to harvest: As fruit change colour from green to yellow. A good twist and pull will free a lemon without damaging the tree, or snip them off with secateurs.

Pests and diseases: Scale, aphids and mealy bugs; gall wasp, sooty mould; and citrus leafminer.

Suppliers: The Diggers Club Garden Express

With selective pruning, you can keep any lemon tree compact and productive.

Fruit & nuts

How to keep your lemon tree in shape

Questions on how to grow and care for lemon trees regularly top the list on garden shows and forums, so it's time for a refresher from our horticultural editor, Phil Dudman. Here's a good place to start.

Fruit & nuts

Soil secrets for citrus success

There's many aspects of citrus growing that ensure success (climate, tree choice and where you plant it, for example) but it all starts with the soil, writes Helen McKerral.

'Eureka' has a very long harvest period.

Fruit & nuts

Fantastic citrus to try

It's time to plant your citrus and Helen McKerral suggests different options you may want to grow in your backyard.

Preserving & fermented

Preserving lemons

When there's a glut of lemons in your garden, you can share them with friends and, with this recipe from Justin Russell, you can preserve them for later use! Nothing wasted!