Lemon Tree Care

Lemon tree care need not be time consuming or difficult to master. Remember that there are many types of lemon trees. Decide where you will be keeping your lemon tree and be sure you know how big the tree will get by the time it is mature.

Find plenty of useful information and tips on caring for your lemon tree, and the rest of your garden, from events such as RHS Flower Shows. The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has been successfully promoting horticulture and molding wiser gardeners all over the UK through all their activities.

Put lemon trees outside in the Summer if you can. They need to be well ventilated and mother nature does that best. But be careful not to let them bake in the sun. A South facing patio could be too much of a shock at first.

Flowers dropping off? That's not necessarily a bad thing and may not be because of poor lemon tree care. The lemon tree couldn't carry all the fruits that would be produced if every lemon flower turned into a lemon.

Lemons are like the alien plant Audrey 2 in Little Shop of Horrors – if they could speak they'd say "Feed me"! If you want to get lemons from your tree you will need to feed it regularly. There are plenty of specific lemon and citrus feeds on the market. Just follow instructions.

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Lack of feeding is the second most common cause of lemons dropping off the lemon tree before they are mature. It's also the main reason why leaves go yellow or fall off. The main reason lemons sulk is inconsistent watering by the way.

Don't re-pot too often. Re-pot a lemon tree once every three or four years. They don't like to be moved and are fussy enough already, so don't make work for yourself.

Grow lemon trees in John Innes No 2 compost with a good amount of grit or perlite. Good drainage is essential for these Mediterranean plants.

However, each year you should carefully scrape the top inch of soil and add fresh compost.

Lemons like a slightly acid soil.

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If you get limescale, try to water them from a butt with rainwater if you can. But only water them when the soil around the tree starts to become dry. Give them a good watering when you do water – but they don't like to be kept damp.

Mist the leaves every now and again – lemon trees love a light shower! When the leaves dry out – they drop.

Prune your lemon tree lightly in the early spring so that it has the right shape when the rapid growth starts in the Spring.

Lemon tree care - prune with caution! Prune your lemon tree lightly in the early spring so that it has the right shape when the rapid growth starts in the Spring.

The lemon tree's enemies include aphids, red spider mites and mealy bugs. Keep an eye out and just wipe them off. Healthy lemon plants shouldn't worry too much about bugs.

Just as a fresh lemon makes a great change from preserved juice, you'll know that fresh bay leaves add quite a different flavour than bottled dried leaves. And you can get fresh leaves from a bay in your own garden. We have put together some tips on bay trees, one of our other gardening sites. You'll find useful information on how a pruned bay tree can be ornamental, besides being functional.