When we were in San Francisco, Chris and I were walking past a row of homes when he suddenly said, “Hey, is that a lemon tree?” And sure enough, it was! I have read about healthy, beautiful, fruiting lemon trees, but I had yet to see one in person. I was so excited I wanted to climb the steps and snag one, but I resisted.
We actually have a Meyer lemon tree that I purchased with birthday gift money from my mother-in-law about five years ago. It really struggled when we moved to Nashville, and honestly, I haven’t known what to do with it, so I have kind of left it alone.
In the same pot, with the same dirt, from five years ago.
It occurred to me not long ago that that might be part of the problem, so I decided to move it to a larger container. Lea found a fantastic half-barrel from the local Jack Daniels distillery, and dropped it off at the house for us while we were gone.
Chris, Mackenzie, and I re-potted the little lemon tree in its new home with lots of rich, organic potting soil last night.
Isn’t she lovely?
In case you have a troublesome or otherwise sad little lemon tree of your own, here are a few things I have learned.
- Lemon trees with yellowing leaves generally need either one of two things: water or fertilizer.
- Lemon trees should be watered regularly and deeply. The soil should never feel dry to the touch.
- Pruning back dead branches will help the tree push its resources out to healthy branches and encourage growth.
- When the tree does begin to blossom and fruit, prune the blossoms to only one per bud or grouping, so that you have one fruit per bud.
Have you tried growing your own lemon tree? Any tips you can share?
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