If there’s one thing I love to have in my garden, it’s fresh lemons. I use them all the time for salad dressings, baking, cocktails… you name it! Luckily my neighbor has a lemon tree and is happy to let me steal as many as I need, which are quite a few! One day as I was cutting one of their juicy, fragrant lemons, I saw the seeds and wondered if I could grow my own lemon tree from them. Well, I did some research and gave it a go!
A few months later, I have a baby lemon tree that will (hopefully) one day give me my own delicious citrus fruits. I’m sure there’s more than one way to grow a lemon tree, but here’s how I did it! And in case you’re wondering, yes, you can they grow lemon trees in pots! It is a great addition to the patio garden.
Choosing your lemon seeds
For me, this part was easy – I got the seeds from my neighbor’s lemons. If you don’t have that option, you can use seed from any organic lemon, preferably from a local farmers market, so you can grow a variety that will do well in your area (although many are hybrids, and the seed won’t necessarily grow a tree with the same genetics as its parent).
If you don’t have space, Meyer lemons is an excellent choice – these trees are relatively small and can be easily grown in containers. Meyer lemons can be grown from seed following the same steps below.
Preparing lemon seeds for planting
The first step is to prepare your seeds for planting. Cut or dig them out of your lemon, then rinse them to remove any remaining lemon flesh. Once cleaned, leave them on kitchen paper on the counter to dry for a few days.
Once they’re dry, you’ll need to break the outer seed coat open and scoop out the slightly smaller seed inside. Most of the tutorials I looked at included this step, although you could always try planting the whole lemon seed to see if it works – it’s difficult trying to remove the little seeds from their casings.
Planting your lemon seeds
After you’ve prepared your little lemon seeds, it’s time to plant them! I put about 10 seeds in a 10 inch pot with drainage holes because I figured I would only see 1-2 of them sprout if I was lucky. I’m sure you could use any well-draining potting soil, but I already had open potting mix with palms and citrus and figured they’d be happier in that and I wouldn’t need to repot them right away.
Make 1-inch holes in the soil, add a seed to each hole, then cover them gently with soil. Keep them moist while they germinate, but not soggy – just make sure the top of the soil is always moist. Keep the planter in a sunny spot indoors so the topsoil gets nice and warm to help the seeds germinate.
What to do when your lemon seeds sprout
If you’re anything like me, you’ll be checking your planter every few hours to see if anything has changed! Be warned though – you’re playing the big game here. Mine took at least a month to sprout – I almost gave up! One even appeared a few weeks later than the first, so I’d say you could wait up to 8 weeks to see a sprout.
Light and Water
When your baby lemon tree emerges, keep it in a warm, sunny location for the first two months. I left mine indoors by a window for a few weeks, then gradually moved it outside, starting with about 1 hour of direct sunlight and gradually building up. Once they’ve adapted, you can’t really give them much sun – 6-8 hours a day is ideal.
As for the water, you don’t need to keep it as moist as you did while it was sprouting. As long as it’s in potting mix that drains well, just give it a drink once or twice a week, depending on how hot it is and how quickly the soil dries out.
When to transplant
Because I ended up with two trees in the same (small) planter, I had to repot them after a month or so. If you only have one tree to sprout, I would recommend leaving it in the planter until it seems to outgrow it, which would probably take six months or more.
Transplant into a larger planter, using citrus potting soil. Lemon trees grow well both indoors and outdoors as long as they are in a sunny location. You can even move it into the ground eventually if you live in a warm climate, just make sure it’s in a nice, sunny spot with well-draining soil.
Pest control
Fortunately, I haven’t had to deal with any lemon tree pests other than the occasional one giant swallowtail caterpillars (which can do a lot of damage if you don’t catch them early!). Depending on your climate, you may encounter aphids, whiteflies or fruit flies.
If you have an infestation, spray the citrus with an insecticide designed to control whiteflies, mealybugs and aphids. For aphids, I like to use a solution of dish soap in water, sometimes with (ironically) lemon juice or peppermint oil. Spray it every few days to keep aphids under control.
Growing lemon from seed: Long-term care
Citrus trees are fairly easy to care for overall, just make sure it gets enough sun and occasionally water them deeply. It may take 7-10 years to produce fruit, but if it does start to flower, you can fertilize with citrus food and apply mulch around the base of the tree.
Other than that, you don’t have to do much other than admire your own handiwork! Even if you don’t have tasty lemons, you’ll have a nice, decorative tree that looks great inside or out. Good luck!
Last Step? Enjoy your little lemonade!
While it may take years to enjoy the true fruits of your labor, you can enjoy your tree in the meantime! The flowers of the lemon tree are incredibly fragrant and citrus fruits in containers it is a beautiful addition to a porch or patio. However, if you are the impatient type or just looking forward to delicious homemade lemonade sooner, consider ordering a lemon tree online that will produce fruit within a few years. Some locations even have trees that will bear fruit the same year you purchase the tree! Before you know it, you’ll have more lemons than you know what to do with!
Of course these are not from my tree. These lemons all come from several trees that Remy’s mom has – and they’re all grown in containers! Here are some sources that sell lemons online if you want to speed up the process!
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