How to Grow Lemons in the North (Plus a Recipe) - My Northern Garden (2024)
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I’ve been watching this sweet little Meyer lemon tree for months — and it’s finally ready to harvest. Yes, you can grow lemons in cold climates (even here in Minnesota), if you have a sunny window and give them some outdoor time each summer.
In May, the tree (on the steps behind the rhododendron) spent about a week going in and out of the house as it got used to outdoor conditions.
I got this lemon tree sometime in late 2016 or early 2017. It was just a little stick when it arrived, but I transplanted it into a good-sized container and gave it two homes. From early October until late May, it resides in our sunny front window, which faces south. In summer, it moves out to the back patio, where it enjoys about 6 hours a day of sun and the benefits of rain, which is so much better for plants than tap water. I admit to being skeptical about whether it would flower or fruit, despite assurances from fellow northern gardeners that Meyer lemons are the best ones to grow indoors.
Sure enough, in late March 2018, it started blooming! I was so excited that I immediately looked up whether I would have to pollinate the flowers like an oversized bee to get fruit. Fortunately, Meyer lemons are “self-pollinating,” meaning they do not need other plants or bees to create fruit, though if you have more than one tree, you probably will get more fruit per tree. The flowers have a beautiful scent and I admit to waving my hands around to blooms to see if I could help the pollination.
Lemon blossoms are beautiful and fragrant. Just the thing to perk up a gardener at the end of winter.
It must have worked because by the time the tree moved outdoors for summer, it had eight tiny lemons on it! During the summer, the lemons got bigger and bigger. The tree is a bit lopsided because most of the fruit grew on one side. Even with all the squirrels, birds and rabbits in my back garden, seven of the lemons survived the summer and came inside to finish maturing. It takes a long time for lemons to mature in the North, but this past week, I decided to harvest a few to make a lemon pie.
This is what the lemons looked like on October 20. They needed a bit more time on the tree. Be patient when growing lemons in the North.
Before I get to the recipe, here are a few tips on growing Meyer lemons:
Meyer lemons can take a more cold weather than other types of citrus, but you don’t want to leave them outside once the first frost hits. I moved mine indoors about the 10th of October here in USDA Zone 4.
In the house, seek out the sunniest spot you have. My south-facing front window works great for a Meyer lemon tree.
You don’t need to go overboard with watering. I wait until the soil in the pot starts to feel dry about an inch down. This is about every two weeks. When I water I give the pot about 8 cups of water.
Do not fertilize during the winter!
The only fertilizer I put on my tree is fish emulsion. In 2018, I gave it a small dose in April after the blossoms formed and more in June, July and August. There are special fertilizers formulated for citrus, and the usual recommendation is to fertilize monthly from April to September.
Be patient. It takes a long time for citrus to ripen, especially in the North. My Meyer lemon fruit was green all summer and finally started to change color in September. I tested one lemon in October and it was good, but not quite ripe. When I juiced the fruit for the pie last week, it was perfect.
You will be rewarded! Compared to store-bought lemons, my homegrown Meyer lemons were incredibly juicy. It took just four small lemons to get more than two-thirds of a cup of juice for the lemon pie I made.
And now the recipe!
A few notes on the pie:
Crust. I love making pie crust. If you don’t, no shame. Buy a frozen one. They taste good and are very easy to use. You do have to bake the empty crust before adding the filling.
Filling. This is basically a fortified lemon curd. Adding the corn starch will make the pie set up more firmly and cut neatly. You do need to strain it as it’s almost impossible to make without a few lumps.
Tartness. I like a tart pie — and this one is really lemony. You could reduce the lemon juice to maybe half a cup for less tartness. The flavor also mellows out the longer the pie sits. Making this early in the day or even the day before you plan to serve it is fine. Keep it chilled.
What do I do with eight egg whites?? You could make a meringue to top the pie. My family likes it better with whipped cream on top. I whipped the whites, added cream of tartar and sugar and made a meringue cookie. You could also use them in omelets and other egg dishes.
Enjoy!
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I've been watching this sweet little Meyer lemon tree for months — and it's finally ready to harvest. Yes, you can grow lemons in cold climates (even here in Minnesota), if you have a sunny window and give them some outdoor time each summer.
You'll need to be patient, since it can take anywhere from seven to 15 years for a lemon tree to mature and produce fruit (but when it does, you can expect a robust harvest).
Citrus plants are hardy in zones 8, 9, and 10 and won't survive winters outdoors here in zone 6 so it's important that you ensure your citrus plants have a winter residence inside your house as well as a summer home outdoors. Offer at least a few hours of direct sunlight each day all year round.
Use Ammonium Sulfate, Ammonium Phosphate or Citrus Food fertilizer. The amount of fertilizer needed per year depends on the age, the size, and the type of tree. For example, a medium-sized adult tree 5-6 years after planting needs 6.2 pounds of Ammonium Sulfate per year (split into three applications).
It is important to understand how cold temperatures affect citrus trees. Among the citrus types most easily killed or damaged by freezing weather are citrons, lemons and limes. Temperatures in the high 20s will kill or severely damage these plants.
Choose a variety hardy to your zone for best success, site it where it gets the most sun and winter warmth (or plant in a container), and be ready with frost protection for nights when temperatures threaten to dip below 32°F. A frost blanket is ideal, but a drop cloth or sheet will suffice in a pinch.
Some perks of using coffee grounds on your lemon tree include: The calcium in coffee grounds allows the lemon tree to build strong cell walls, leading to a strong branch structure. The high dose of nitrogen in the coffee ground accelerates the growth of the tree's root system giving the tree healthy foliage.
Meyer lemons should not be grown outside where temperatures fall below freezing - 32 degrees F. They may lose their leaves after a frost but survive if it happens once or twice, but continuous cold will kill them.
Most citrus trees can handle a light frost, but any temperature below 32°F can be detrimental to its health. Keep your tree inside until you are sure the last spring frost in your area has passed, and the average nightly temperature is above 40°F before preparing to move your citrus tree outside.
Sour or- ange, tangerines and tangelos, sweet and navel oranges and grapefruit trees are partially cold hardy, and may survive temperatures as low as 20ºF without significant damage. Lemon, lime and citron trees are the least cold tolerant and will suffer at least some damage when tem- peratures drop below 25ºF.
4. Temperature. Meyer Lemon Trees are very cold hardy and can withstand temperatures down to about 20 degrees. If your area gets colder than that, your tree will need to be planted in a container and brought inside when the temperature drops.
The very best stuff to use to feed your citrus is natural stuff that the soil knows and understands. Homemade compost, well rotten manure, vermicastings, fish waste or seaweed are my top picks.
URINATE AROUND CITRUS TREES? Yes, go for it — but please do it under the cover of dark (don't want to alarm the neighbours). In general, if your tree needs a nitrogen hit, human urine will help it along, and because citrus prefer a slightly acidic soil, the urine should not do any pH damage.
Also, adding crushed eggshells to the soil around your trees will create a slow-release calcium mixture that is excellent for citrus trees. And adding Epsom salt to the soil is an effective and useful soil amendment for treating any magnesium deficiency the trees may have in order to thrive and produce.
Gardeners in the warmest parts of the United States (USDA Hardiness Zones 8-11) can grow citrus outdoors year round, while colder-climate gardeners (Zones 7 and colder) should consider growing lemons, oranges, limes, and other dwarf citrus trees in containers to enjoy fresh citrus fruit, too.
Oranges and lemons are also less cold hardy than mandarins. General cold hardiness for mature trees: kumquat (18°) > Satsuma mandarin (20°) > Meyer lemon (22°) > oranges (Navel, blood, etc. )( 24°) > grapefruit (26°).
Lemons bloom sweetly and bear fruit year-round. Ripening lemons can be left on the tree until you feel like picking them. The truth is the plant can tolerate a real chill down to -6 C but the fruits freeze at -2.5 C.
Lemons are subtropical fruits, meaning they will do best in warm climates and hardiness zones nine through eleven—this means lemon trees are not cold-hardy, so you'll have to have mild to warm weather at least to grow these plants successfully.
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