Lemon tree in a pot?

That's what orangeries are all about - in climates where citrus may freeze in winter people put them in big (seriously big) pots and wheel them inside when it gets cold...

I've had a dwarf lemon in a big clay pot and another one in a half wine barrel.. they did fine.

Thanks, osso! That sounds a bit more promising than I'd thought. Hmmm ... dwarf lemons, hey? I didn't realize that dwarf varieties were available.

Sometimes they call the room a limonaia...

Lovely!

My yards have usually been small, so I've never grown full sized fruit trees as the dwarfs can, depending on the particular variety, get big enough...

Here in the western US we have a company called True Dwarf (I think it is) that has all sorts of nifty dwarf citrus trees and they distribute fairly far, at least within California that I know of. You may have a grower like that in Australia..

We're on the same track here, osso!
I'm doing an online search right now.

I misspoke, it's called FourWindsGrowers - here's their site, which might have useful info even though I presume they don't ship the trees to Oz.
http://www.fourwindsgrowers.com/solver/whatare.html

Their citrus variety list...

http://www.fourwindsgrowers.com/variety_list.html#3

hmmm, they ship to New Mexico..

Well, here's a start for SE Oz:



It would obviously need a much bigger pot, though!

http://www.growquest.com/Fruit%20trees/dwarf_improved_meyer_and_standar.htm

Thanks, osso. This is good!:

Growing Citrus in Containers

Dwarf citrus are especially suited for container growing as they can be kept at manageable sizes. Container growing allows gardeners to overcome poor soil conditions or limited space in a landscape. People enjoy their trees in decorative pots on their patio or apartment balcony. Many customers have cold winters and bring their citrus indoors during freezing weather. For some pictures of successful container plantings take a moment to view this slide show.

The keys to successful container growing are:

Select the right size pot with adequate drainage holes.

Use a soil mix that is lightweight and drains well. If the mix is dense or contains peat moss, amend your soil mix with 1/4-1/3 volume of 1" redwood shavings.

Develop a watering schedule so the tree stays on the dry side of moist.

Provide 8 or more hours of direct sunlight or grow light per day.

Plant the tree so the root collar is above the soil line and the top of the root crown is barely below the soil. Do not cover the trunk with soil at all.



Selecting Planting Containers:

We recommend a 6-9" container for our one year trees and a 10-14" container for our 2-3 year trees. A variety of decorative plastic containers are available at reasonable prices. Clay pots and wooden containers are very attractive but less mobile choices. When selecting a container, be sure there are sufficient drainage holes. Drilling extra holes is an easy way to improve drainage with wood or plastic. As the tree grows, increase the container size to a 16-20" diameter pot. Do not start with a pot that is too large as it makes soil moisture levels harder to control with small trees. Be sure your container drains freely, raising it off the ground if need be.

..... <cont>

http://www.fourwindsgrowers.com/growing/containers.html

Neat idea, MsOlga!

Just one word of caution from the cold NE USA. If you have freezes in the winter and don't intend to bring in the tree, do not plant it in terracotta unless you want to repot it within a year or two.

I'm not a fan of those dishes under pots, unless the pot itself is raised higher, say with some bricks that don't occlude the hole, as people often over water and the soil gets all mungy if it sits in standing water. But that's another whole subject and just my opinion.

I dunno how long the trees will last if kept in a twelve inch pot, haven't tried it. They lasted fine for me in bigger pots, but happenstance had it that I didn't keep either of them for more than five years. I think my clay pot was 28" at the top and the barrel half was something like 36".

LEMON TREE
Will Holt- Boulder Music Corp.-BMI
When I was just a lad of ten, my father said to me,
"Come here and take a lesson from the lovely lemon tree."
"Don't put your faith in love, my boy", my father said to me,
"I fear you'll find that love is like the lovely lemon tree."

Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet
but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.
Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet
but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.

One day beneath the lemon tree, my love and I did lie
A girl so sweet that when she smiled the stars rose in the sky.
We passed that summer lost in love beneath the lemon tree
the music of her laughter hid my father's words from me:

Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet
but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.
Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet
but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.

One day she left without a word. She took away the sun.
And in the dark she left behind, I knew what she had done.
She'd left me for another, it's a common tale but true.
A sadder man but wiser now I sing these words to you:

Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet
but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.
Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet
but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.



2005

http://www.peterpaulandmary.com/music/01-09.htm

Msolga--

Don't plight your affections on green willow trees, either. You deserve an orangery.

Yes, k, it's an idea that really appeals to me. However, having planted a mandarin tree (which has tripled it's size) & a feijoa (which is growing like a triffid! First fruit this summer! ) & various natives, etc, in the backyard, there's simply not enough space in the garden for a lemon tree as well. I like the idea that osso mentioned: being able to wheel it around & follow the sun! Nifty!

Thank you, Noddy!
That sounds so .... special, doesn't it? My orangery!

Hey, I remember that song! Now you've got me singing!

About the pot size, osso .... Reading through the link you sent earlier, it seems that certain sized pots are advisable for particular stage in the tree's growth. So I guess I'd have to re-pot every few years rather than get a bigger pot at stage 1, as I was inclined to do before reading that information. (But I'm wondering: would it actually be a problem/do any harm to the plant if planted in a bigger pot?)

I just saw that, msolga. I did it not knowing any better. They are no doubt right about it being harder to control the water, and you'd use more water with the big pots... That makes sense as it's often advised to ratchet up pot size as a plant grows. Plastic pots, which I have a bias against as ugly even when they are good looking, are better for retaining/not wasting water...

then there's those good looking/usually expensive concrete pots..

I did mine in terracotta because I'd seen the citrus trees in terracotta pots at Villa Petraia outside of Firenze. Hmmm, wonder if they waterproof the insides of the pots. Big suckers they were... very serious pots, I could hardly believe my eyes. I have a photo somewhere in my stored stuff. But, I guess if they break they have a bigger budget than mine for pot replacement.

I agree with drilling more holes too. That is sort of scary if you haven't done it. I've done it with a concrete pot, but not a terracotta one. I guess I'd practice on a small one first... Some nurseries will do it for you.

On the wheeling around, I had my computer on a criss cross wood thing with four wheels - to raise it and get at the back more easily - and that would almost work except the middle of the X would be right where the hole usually is. Can't remember where I got that thing, but I think it was a garden store. Maybe some other wheely devices exist in the catalogs.
Greenwitch probably knows the answers to all this.

Remembering, I had my half barrel set up on four or five bricks so it didn't sit plunk against the ground..


just reread what littleK said - yeah, Villa Petraia brings in those citrus trees in giant terracotta pots in winter. It didn't freeze in my LA area so I had no problemo.