Is it too late to grow fruit?

[michelle103]

I've seen a lovely potted lemon tree online but not sure if I should wait a few months before buying it. Do you think this is sensible?

[applestar]

It will depend almost entirely on where you are located....

[jal_ut]

Hi michelle103, Welcome to the forum. Sorry, I have never grown a lemon tree, can only say that in this locale trees are planted in the springtime.

[rainbowgardener]

You didn't give us much to go on. But lemon trees are subtropical. They are killed quickly by a hard freeze (temp around 26-28 deg F). So unless you are in the very southern most part of the US or in the southern hemisphere, you would need to keep it in the pot and bring it in for the winter.

In which case the season doesn't matter that much and you can buy it any time.

[thanrose]

Lemon trees are already in fruit in their zone. I'd say Zone 10-12, but you can squeak by sometimes in Zone 9 B. Until that next freeze hits. But yeah, people are already getting an idea of their home crop in time for Christmas and late winter. Flip it around in the Southern hemisphere. Lemons flower late in the year, fruit in what we think of as winter. I won't see any this far north, but they are pretty much still hard and green, although recognizable.

If you are trying to grow them in a sheltered area, like a sun porch, you might be able to buy one and get it to fruit if it already has buds. If you want to put it in the ground in Orlando, San Antonio, San Diego, or Honolulu, then now is fine.

Next thing to know is usually you pick all the buds or fruit off as soon as it forms on new trees for the first two or three years. If you want it to be productive, you have to let it mature a bit. There's some kind of count of the number of leaves that tells a grower if a citrus can bear fruit without harm.

Of course if you are buying one from a retailer who is not a citrus grower, just follow whatever they say. They don't know or care if the tree is viable. And if you are actually in a citrus producing area, beware of the many citrus diseases and the regulations. Just call your county agricultural extension office. They may call them something different in other countries, but they will have them.

[imafan26]

Most citrus trees are not cold hardy there are a few that can tolerate more cold than others. They can be grown indoors in winter and taken out during the summer. Finding trees will be the problem. Citrus greening and the asian psyllid range expanding citrus trees will not be able to freely move between states.

https://www.chestnuthilltreefarm.com/sto ... itrus.aspx

[rainbowgardener]

Apparently michelle doesn't care enough about the answer to the question she posted here twice to come back and tell us where she is located. Oh well, happens around here a lot.

[thanrose]

Yeah, she might not be checking back at all. I figure that the question might arise with someone else sometime and our comments would be useful. If not, we're just chatting about it among ourselves. I try not to consider it a waste of time.

[Pkboo]

Even if Michelle doesnt come back to check the thread I will leave a little note for someone else who may come by at a later date.
Since the end of August I have purchased 5 different citrus trees: 1 Ponderosa Lemon, 1 Meyer Lemon, 1 Persian Lime, 1 Valencia Orange and 1 Blood Orange. I live in Archer Florida, just outside of Gainesville. I have planted all my trees in the ground. The Ponderosa Lemon and Blood Orange went in the ground around the beginning of September since I remember they only had been in the ground 7-10 days before Irma hit and I was worried that they would be uprooted/destroyed due to the storm but they survived and are happy little buggers, guess they were small enough to allow the wind to go over them. The Persian lime and Valencia Orange I planted the last week of September and the Meyer Lemon I planted around the 14th of October. They latest I would plant citrus trees in he ground, for the central FL area, is probably the first week of November just because of the cold weather. For South FL (IE: west Palm and southwards) plant just about any time just make sure there arent any cold snaps for the next week or two. Alternatively Citrus trees can be grown in a pot as well. Just need to make sure its a good size pot, don't want to give it too much room all at once so every few years plant in a pot a little larger until its in the size pot you want. This is a good option for those that want a citrus tree but live in an area where the winters are too cold so you can take outside soon after the last frost and bring in during the fall/winter.

[Vanisle_BC]

It's worth remembering that in general we have no information on the reason for any lack of response by the originator of (or contributor to) a thread; our assumptions could be far wide of the mark.

In any case many of us may find it useful when a thread is continued, even in default of response by any one member, and for any reason.