Plant Library

Other Names:  Meyer's Dwarf Lemon

Description:

Attractive foliage is displayed on this compact bushy shrub; fragrant flowers produce small juicy lemons year-round; protect from frost; great container plant for the patio to be moved indoors in colder climates

Edible Qualities

Meyer Dwarf Lemon is a small shrub that is commonly grown for its edible qualities. It produces small yellow oval fruit with hints of orange which are usually ready for picking from early spring to late winter. The fruits have a tart taste and a juicy texture.

The fruit are most often used in the following ways:

• Cooking
• Preserves
• Sauces

Features & Attributes

Meyer Dwarf 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 small glossy oval leaves are highly ornamental and remain dark green throughout the winter. It features an abundance of magnificent yellow berries with orange hints 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, Meyer Dwarf Lemon is sutiable for the following landscape applications;

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

Planting & Growing

Meyer Dwarf Lemon will grow to be about 4 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 4 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 2 feet from the ground. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 50 years or more. This is a self-pollinating variety, so it doesn't require a second plant nearby to set fruit.

This plant is typically grown in a designated edibles garden. It does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It may require supplemental watering during periods of drought or extended heat. It is very fussy about its soil conditions and must have rich, acidic soils to ensure success, and is subject to chlorosis (yellowing) of the foliage in alkaline soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.

Meyer Dwarf Lemon is a good choice for the edible garden, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants 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.