Tree · Rutaceae
Meyer Lemon
Citrus × meyeri
Give it bright sun, even water, and shelter from frost, and this dwarf citrus rewards you with fragrant blooms and sweet fruit.
Full sun
Every 5–10 days
USDA 9–11
6–10 ft · 1.8–3 m
Overview
The Meyer lemon is a hybrid citrus, most likely a cross between a lemon and a mandarin or sweet orange. That mixed parentage shows in the fruit, which is rounder, sweeter, and thinner-skinned than a grocery-store lemon, with just enough tartness to brighten a dish. It stays small enough to grow in a pot, which is why it has become the citrus of choice for gardeners far outside the warm zones where it can live outdoors.
Left to its own devices it forms a compact evergreen tree, reaching 6 to 10 feet (1.8 to 3 m) tall in the ground and far less in a container. The fragrant white flowers come and go through the year, heaviest in spring, and the fruit takes its time, ripening mostly from fall into winter. A single well-kept tree can carry blossoms and fruit at the same time.
It is not a fussy plant, but it has clear preferences. Give it strong light, steady moisture, and protection from hard frost, and it stays glossy and productive. Get cold or watering wrong and it will tell you fast, dropping leaves or yellowing between the veins.
Care
The short version: full sun and a well-draining, slightly acidic mix, water once the top inch dries, feed monthly through the growing season with a citrus fertilizer, and keep the tree above 50°F by moving containers indoors before frost.
Light
Give the tree full sun, ideally eight hours or more a day, and it will reward you with steady blooms and fruit. It puts up with partial sun or light shade, but the canopy thins and the crop shrinks. Indoors, set it at the brightest window you have or add a grow light.
Water
Let the top inch (about 3 cm) of mix dry, then water deeply until it runs from the drainage holes. Never let the rootball bake bone-dry or sit in standing water, and step up the watering for container trees through summer heat. Steady moisture is what keeps leaves and fruit on the tree.
Soil
Plant in a well-draining, slightly acidic sandy loam or a quality citrus or potting mix. A pH of 6.0 to 7.0 keeps the micronutrients available, which is what prevents the yellow leaves citrus is prone to. Sharp drainage matters more than anything else here.
Temperature
The tree handles a range of about 23°F to 95°F (-5°C to 35°C), but it is the cold end that does the damage. It survives down to roughly 20°F (-7°C) with protection, yet a hard frost burns leaves and can kill an unguarded tree, so bring containers above 50°F (10°C) before winter.
Humidity
Average household air suits it, somewhere around 40% to 60%. The dry heat of a winter room can stress an indoor tree and invite spider mites, so a humidity tray or the odd misting helps. Outdoors there is nothing to manage.
Feeding
Feed monthly from spring through late summer while the tree is in active growth, using a balanced citrus fertilizer that carries nitrogen plus iron, zinc, and manganese. Those micronutrients head off the interveinal yellowing citrus shows when it goes hungry. Ease off through the dormant winter months.
Pruning
Prune lightly after the main harvest to shape the tree and open the canopy to light and air. Take out deadwood, crossing branches, and any suckers sprouting below the graft. It handles a harder cut well, which makes it easy to keep a container tree compact.
Repotting
Move the tree into fresh citrus or potting mix every 2 to 3 years, or sooner once it turns rootbound. Roots circling the pot, poking through the drainage holes, or water running straight through all say it is time. Step up just one pot size so the mix doesn't stay soggy.
Size & spacing
In the ground a Meyer lemon reaches about 6 to 10 feet (1.8 to 3 m) tall and 4 to 8 feet (122 to 244 cm) wide, though a pot keeps it well under that. Give an in-ground tree room for that full spread and for air to move around the canopy.
When to plant
Meyer lemon is happiest in the mild winters of zones 9 to 11, where it can live in the ground year-round. Anywhere colder, grow it in a container, set it outside after the last frost once nights hold above 50°F (10°C), and bring it back in before the cold returns. The tree blooms on and off all year but leans hardest into spring, with fruit ripening through fall and winter.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: After the last frost when night temperatures stay above 50°F (late spring); in zones below 9 grow in a container and overwinter indoors
- Harvest: Blooms intermittently year-round, heaviest in spring; fruit ripens mainly fall through winter
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 9–11
Temperature: down to -7°C
Troubleshooting
Most Meyer lemon trouble traces back to cold, water, or feeding, and the leaves usually show it first. Read the early signs and you can correct course before the tree sheds its canopy. Match what you see below, then act while it still helps.
Yellow leaves with veins that stay green
When the leaf tissue pales but the veins hold their color, the tree has interveinal chlorosis and can't pull up iron, zinc, or manganese. The usual culprit is soil pH that has drifted too high, or roots sitting in wet mix. Feed a complete citrus fertilizer with chelated micronutrients, fix the drainage, and pull the pH back toward 6.0 to 7.0.
Fix:
- Apply a complete citrus fertilizer with chelated micronutrients
- Improve drainage and reduce watering frequency
- Adjust soil pH toward 6.0 to 7.0
Leaves dropping all at once
A Meyer lemon that suddenly sheds leaves has usually had a shock. Cold near or below 20°F (-7°C) is the most common trigger, but a hard dry-out, waterlogged roots, or a quick move between indoors and out will do it too. Get the tree to a sheltered spot above 50°F (10°C), keep the moisture even, and wrap it in frost cloth when a cold snap is coming.
Fix:
- Move the container to a sheltered spot above 50°F
- Maintain even soil moisture
- Protect with frost cloth during cold spells
Flowers and tiny fruit falling off
Some flower and fruitlet drop is normal, since the tree sets far more than it can ripen and thins itself. Heavy drop is a different story and usually follows water or temperature stress, dry air, or a move during bloom. Hold the conditions steady, keep watering and feeding on schedule, and leave the tree where it is once the flowers open.
Fix:
- Maintain steady watering and feeding
- Avoid relocating the plant during bloom and fruit set
- Keep humidity moderate when grown indoors
Toxicity
The juicy flesh is good to eat, but the rest of the tree is not. The peel, leaves, and seeds hold essential oils and psoralens that irritate an animal's stomach and can leave skin sensitive to sunlight. Keep prunings, peels, and windfalls away from cats, dogs, horses, and grazing animals.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Safe for
People
Cats Mild
A cat that chews the peel or leaves usually gets an upset stomach, with vomiting, loose stools, and a flat mood. The essential oils can also leave the skin sensitive to sunlight.
Dogs Mild
Dogs tend to react with vomiting, diarrhea, and low energy after gnawing leaves, peel, or a dropped fruit. Most cases stay mild, though the oils may irritate the skin.
Horses Mild
The same oils and psoralens upset a horse's gut, bringing on a dull appetite and loose droppings. Keep prunings and windfalls out of the paddock.
Rabbits Caution
The peel and leaves carry the irritating oils, so they aren't a safe nibble. A rabbit that gets into them may go off its food or pass soft stools.
Livestock Caution
Goats, sheep, and cattle can take a stomach upset from the oily peel and foliage if they browse a tree or its trimmings. Fence them out and clear fallen prunings.
Birds Caution
The concentrated oils in peel and leaves can irritate a bird, so it's best kept off the menu. A small taste of the plain flesh is the safer option.
People Flesh safe
The juicy flesh is a kitchen favorite and good to eat. Handling lots of peel or leaves can leave skin sensitive to sun, so wash up after pruning.
Keep prunings, peels, leaves, and seeds away from pets; the fleshy fruit is generally only a mild stomach irritant in small amounts.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
There are only two clones worth knowing, and the story behind them is really the story of a virus.
Improved Meyer
This virus-free, tristeza-tested selection from the 1970s became the standard nursery clone after the original trees were destroyed as symptomless carriers of the disease.
Original (True) Meyer
The pre-1970s clone was pulled from cultivation because it carried citrus tristeza virus without ever showing a sign of it.
How to propagate
Meyer lemon is one of the easier citrus trees to multiply at home, though how you do it decides how soon you pick fruit.
Stem cuttingsModerate
Late spring to summer from semi-hardwood growth · 6 to 12 weeks to root; 2 to 3 years to first fruit
Meyer lemon roots from cuttings far more willingly than most citrus, so it's often grown on its own roots. Take semi-hardwood pieces in late spring or summer and expect them to root in 6 to 12 weeks, with the first fruit another 2 to 3 years out.
GraftingDemanding
Spring or late summer (T-budding) · A few weeks to take; 1 to 2 years to a field-ready tree
Budding or grafting onto a disease-tolerant rootstock gives you a more vigorous, more resistant tree. Do the T-budding in spring or late summer; the bud knits in a few weeks, and you have a field-ready tree in 1 to 2 years.
SeedModerate
Sow fresh seed in warmth · Several years to fruit
Sowing fresh seed in warmth works, but the seedlings are slow and not reliably true to type, taking several years to fruit. It's a fun experiment rather than the way to get real Meyer lemons.
Myths
A Meyer lemon is a true lemon.
It is a hybrid, most likely a lemon crossed with a mandarin or sweet orange. That parentage is why the fruit is sweeter, less sharp, and thin-skinned, and why the tree stays more compact and shrugs off cold better than a true lemon.
You can grow a true Meyer lemon from a saved seed.
Seedlings come up slow and don't reliably match the parent tree. A named Meyer lemon is grown from cuttings or grafting, which is the only way to keep the fruit true to type.