UK lemon!

Hi everyone, I'm just over here from the UK to find some info regarding growing a lemon tree. I've just bought a little (8"/20cm) lemon 'tree' for £2.99 ($6) from Lidl and wondered how best to grow it in pot.

drichard12 posted a link to here on my normal garden forum '[Only Registered Users Can See Links. Click Here To Register...]' (veggies & fruit!). Anyway I wondered if there was an FAQ for simple info such as what sort of compost, what sort of food, what size pot?

I've seen the '[Only Registered Users Can See Links. Click Here To Register...]' picture posted by buckeyejoe, its great I'd like to be able to grow something like that.

Hello smallblueplanet,
Welcome to CitrusNorth, where we grow our plants outside the box.

We grow outside the box because citrus does not normally grow in our areas. The UK fits in this area perfectly.

What kind of temperatures are you experiencing right now? are you getting ready to go into the Spring season?

What size pot is your little lemon right now? is it the same one you purchased it in?

Andi

Hi Andi

ahh well I'd like to grow my lemon inside the 'box', outside the box!

Atm its in the small 9cm square black plastic pot it was purchased in. Its in a coir-type of compost that is about 7.1 ph and its roots are just starting to show out the bottom of the pot. I don't know what variety it is as it was sold as a 'lemon tree' but I might get to find out as I contacted the supermarket I got it from.

I found a UK Zone map recently and that says we're zone 8b, but winters don't seem as cold as they used to be! We're just coming into Spring although we're not guarenteed to be totally frost-free for a couple of months at least. Its a lovely sunny day today temp upto about 15c down to 5c. Wiltshire is warmer, southern UK and I live in the area of Wiltshire above Stonehenge but below Avebury if you know any pre-history?

So I've not yet bought any specialist compost or food, its a bit pricey and I am wondering when to repot the little thing on to another pot.

If your roots are starting to grow though the bottom of it's container, it's is time to repot your lemon tree. I like to repot mine in a container that is about 1- 2 fingers wider and a bit deeper The coir type mix is a good mix, it offers good drainage which is a must.
Welcome over to CN, I like The GrapeVine web site the members are all very nice.

Hi admin, thanks for the advice.

smallblueplanet,
You have received excellent advice from admin. The only thing I would add is to make sure the pot is not left sitting in water and to allow it to dry out between watering's.

By the comment of growing "inside the box" I took that to mean you are wanting to keep the plant inside the home. While it can be done, its not advisable. The lemon plant needs the fresh air of outside as long as the temps are above 10°C. If you have a sunny porch or balcony it would be much better. If this is not an option you will need to place it in a sunny location that gets 8-10 hours of sun daily. It will also need a small fan to provide air movement to keep the limbs and leaves strong. This will also help to dry the soil so it does not stagnate. You will need to turn the plant daily so all parts receive approximately the same amount of sun.

I would also not give the plant any fertilizer for a month after you re pot it. It sounds as if it really needs a bigger pot, but no more than 2-5cm larger. This will hold it for at least a year if not more.
Andi

Thanks Andi useful info. I was attempting humour with 'inside the box', outside the box - I meant in(side) a container/pot, outside.

It's still too cold here to stand such a small tree outside yet, but I will do later on.

Hi smallblueplanet, This morning we had -20 F / -29C Our spring break up should be coming within the next couple of weeks. All my citrus are in containers an in the house. The greatest hardship is in middle of winter when the day light is at it's minimum. My best tree is a dwarf "Miho" Satsuma that has about 6 dozen little fruitlets. The tree is about 5-6 years old. This summer I'm going to order a few new ones within the Satsuma family.