Plant Library

Other Names:  Improved Meyer's Lemon

Description:

Attractive foliage is displayed on this medium to large shrub, or small tree; fragrant flowers produce juicy lemons year-round; protect from frost; great container plant for the patio; improved disease resistance

Edible Qualities

Improved Meyer Lemon is a large shrub that is commonly grown for its edible qualities. It produces yellow oval fruit which are usually ready for picking from early spring to late winter. The fruits have a tart taste.

The fruit are most often used in the following ways:

• Fresh Eating
• Cooking
• Juice-Making
• Sauces

Features & Attributes

Improved Meyer Lemon features showy clusters of fragrant white star-shaped flowers with buttery yellow eyes at the ends of the branches from early spring to late winter. It has attractive dark green evergreen foliage. The glossy oval leaves are highly ornamental and remain dark green throughout the winter. It features an abundance of magnificent yellow berries from early spring to late winter.

This is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition. This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting birds, bees and butterflies to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Aside from its primary use as an edible, Improved Meyer Lemon is sutiable for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Hedges/Screening
• Orchard/Edible Landscaping
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Improved Meyer Lemon will grow to be about 10 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 12 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 2 feet from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 50 years or more.

This plant is typically grown in a designated edibles garden. It does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It may require supplemental watering during periods of drought or extended heat. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.

Improved Meyer Lemon is a good choice for the edible garden, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. Its large size and upright habit of growth lend it for use as a solitary accent, or in a composition surrounded by smaller plants around the base and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.