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Lemon Tree
bulkerb
Posts: 258
in Fruit & veg
Help needed I have just been tasked with growing on a lemon tree it is currently in a 6 inch pot and must go into a much larger one.
As I have never grown anything like this I need help what sort of soil does it need and so on I do have a bottle of baby bio citrus liquid feed but other than that I know nothing.
As it is a birthday present from the new bosses daughter I don't want to kill it thanks as always Lester
0
Posts
Use gritty ericaceous compost, or you can get special citrus compost at some garden centres.
Put in a pot a couple of inches larger than the existing rootball. Putting it in a much larger one is not necessary.
I hope your new boss is aware that citrus trees are not hardy in the UK, and that although you may be a very good gardener, you cannot work miracles.
Never grown them myself so no first hand advice to offer, just a link to the RHS page on the subject, and my best wishes for this tricky task.
Good luck Lester ?
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/grow-your-own/fruit/citrus
Fidgitbones is correct though I have used ordinary JI no 3 with added grit when I could not find soil based ericaceous. They seem to do better in an unglazed clay pot. Ideally they need to be kept above +5 at all times. Mine are too big to move to the greenhouse now so I have had to build a shelter on the patio- they are under a south facing kitchen window. I put the shelter round in October & don't fully remove it till May. If you get fruit they taste fantastic quite different to the ones you buy in the shops.
Thanks as always I'm going to garden centre today to buy other items so I will look out for some gritty compost.
As for where it will live I have a conservatory half the size of my cottage to grow it in and it's going into a glazed pot where an umbrella plant currently lives its heated and houses around 20 large potted geraniums cheers lester
Ah a conservatory the perfect place! Keep it moist in growing season, put it on a tray or dish of hortag to keep a humid atmosphere around it.
Agree with the above comments but would also say to move outside from about May. Scale insects can be a problem if kept inside too long. Keep the watering to a minimum but not too littile or the fruit will drop off. Getting the watering right is the hardest thing about growing lemons, I think.