Prune your indoor ‘Ponderosa’ lemon tree in early spring before new growth emerges. Use clean, sharp shears to remove any branches that cross each other or rub together to open up the canopy and create a strong scaffold. This allows for good air circulation. Cut the branches all the way back to the originating limbs.
How do you care for Ponderosa lemons?
Mist the leaves with water daily to add humidity to the air. Hand pollination is recommended using a small paintbrush, with fruit ripening within six to nine months. Feed the tree with a citrus liquid fertilizer twice each month during the growing season. At dormancy, cut back to once a month in the fall and winter.
What is the best time to prune lemon trees?
The best time to prune your citrus is after fruiting in spring. In frost free regions, pruning can be done at any time of year, including winter. However in frost prone areas avoid pruning in winter because this will push soft new growth that hasn’t had time to harden off, and it will be damaged by frost.
How hard can you cut a lemon tree back?
It’s perfectly fine to chop off one-third of the tree, but not any more than that. If you prune too much, you could overstimulate and stress the plant. Once you’ve followed all the steps, you can appreciate the results of your hard work! Growing lemon trees is fun and maintaining them is worth all the extra effort.
How tall do Ponderosa lemon trees get?
12 to 24 feet
Ponderosa lemon trees are slow growing but reach a height of 12 to 24 feet (3.7 to 7.3 m) at maturity. The leaves are long, evergreen, glossy, and citron-like, being ovate elliptic in shape and lemon scented. They have medium-thick branches with many spines. New growth is purple-tinged, as are the flowers.
Are Ponderosa lemons good?
Ponderosa lemons are an excellent source of vitamin C, an antioxidant that strengthens the immune system, reduces inflammation, and boosts collagen production within the skin.
What is good fertilizer for lemon trees?
Best Overall:
Down to Earth Organic Citrus Fertilizer is the best lemon tree fertilizer for good reason. It’s a granular fertilizer with an NPK ratio of 6-3-3 that is applied three to four times per year, which is great for lemon trees! It also contains secondary nutrients like calcium, sulfur, zinc, and iron.
How do you prune an overgrown citrus tree?
Prune citrus to eliminate sprouts, remove weak, crossing or dead branches, or to allow more light in the canopy. February through April are the best months to prune. Remove all sprouts originating from the trunk. Most sprouts are best removed by hand when they are small.
Do lemon trees require pruning?
Keep smaller lemon trees to the size you want by pruning them lightly all year round. To prune an outdoor lemon tree to keep it from growing too tall, make your cut at an angle on a branch at the height you want just above two healthy leaves.
What time of year do lemon trees produce fruit?
Lemons ripen anywhere between four and 12 months after flowering. Flowers most commonly appear in spring, the fruit develops over summer, and then slowly turns from green to yellow in fall or winter.
How often should lemon trees be watered?
Watering is one of the most important things to consider. Your tree needs to be watered twice a week until it begins to show new growth. After that, citrus trees like to dry out between watering, so once your trees are established, deep-water once every 10 days to two weeks.
How do you care for an outdoor lemon tree?
Lemon trees need protection from frost. Growing them near the house should help with this. Lemon trees also require full sunlight for adequate growth. While lemon trees can tolerate a range of soils, including poor soil, most prefer well-drained, slightly acidic soil.
Why is my lemon tree growing straight up?
Lemon trees will always strive to grow straight up, it allows them to reduce the number of fruits and leaves they produce. For them, it’s all about conserving energy, and then having enough to put into the fruit they do produce.
Why is my lemon tree not producing lemons?
Some reasons for this would be incorrect cultivation, lack of nutrients, insufficient water and bad rootstock. If the plant does bloom but still fails to fruit, this might be because the tree is not old enough. Lemon tree fruiting occurs at three to five years old, depending upon the rootstock.
How long does it take a Ponderosa lemon tree to produce fruit?
At times, your Ponderosa lemons could take as long as nine months before they are ready for picking. During this ripening phase, you’ll notice the fruit gaining size and taking on a light yellow-green color while also gaining a lot of sweetness.
How do you know when Ponderosa Lemons are ripe?
Lemons are ready to pick as soon as they are yellow or yellow-green in appearance and firm. The fruit will be 2 to 3 inches (5-7.5 cm.) in size. It’s better to wait until they are the right size and not worry so much about the color than to wait for them to be completely yellow.
What is the difference between a Meyer lemon and a Ponderosa lemon?
Ponderosa is a lemon crossed with a citron. This is probably why it flowers so much. Meyer is a cross between a lemon and an orange. This is the reason the fruit of the Meyer tree is round with an orange-yellow rind color rather than the more traditional lemon yellow.
What do you use Ponderosa Lemons for?
Ponderosa Lemons are a hybrid of a lemon and citron fruit. The fruit is larger than a standard lemon and has a thick, rough textured rind that is easy to peel. Ponderosa Lemons are often used as a substitute for a true lemon. They can be used to make juices, desserts, or as a lemon flavoring (juice and peel).
Are Ponderosa Lemons self pollinating?
Bee pollinating a lemon tree. What is this? Ponderosa lemon trees are self-pollinating, which means that you only need a single tree to get a good harvest.
Do Ponderosa Lemons have thorns?
Although beautiful, the Ponderosa lemon tree produces large thorns and is one of the most cold-sensitive varieties.
Can I use Miracle Grow on my lemon tree?
Answer: Per the Miracle-Gro Water Soluble All Purpose Plant Food label it can be used on all trees and shrubs.