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Fruit & Orchards

Meyer lemons and sweet lemons

15 years ago

I went to Whole Foods and bought some meyer lemons and some sweet lemons. The meyers looked as they should from the description and photos on the internet, but I also remember seeing them at the store and they were the regular lemon shaped and very large and yellow. Are there different varieties? The sweet lemons have no taste at all, what should I do with those? Thanks,

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Comments (7)

sautesmom Sacramento
15 years ago
What are sweet lemons? I have never heard of them.

If the others are "regular lemon shaped and very large and yellow", then they are not Meyers. Meyer lemons themselves are very sweet, as they are believed to be a long ago cross of lemon and tangerines. You can tell they are Meyers because their skin is very soft, and kind of hard to zest, unlike regular store lemons, and they are rounder without such a point. Their skin and flesh are also more golden than yellow.
I can't tell you what you've got because I have never had to buy one in the store, as my Grandfather's house in the Coachella Valley desert (aka Citrus Central) has a tree growing creme-de-la-creme Meyers, plus I have one of my own, which aren't quite as good as his, but I'm sure much better than those you get in Canada. (Sorry if I'm taunting you!)

Carla in Sac
curlylocks
Original Author
15 years ago
Not a problem, in fact we can't grow meyer lemons here, they have to be imported from CALIFORNIA. Truly, they are. The meyers I bought in fact are as you explained them, sweet and tangerine like. I'll have to look up creme-de-la creme meyers. I don't know what other variety of meyer lemon they had on our previous visit, but I'll keep buying one every time I go just to see how different each variety is. As far as the sweet lemons go, they are absolutely tasteless, having no tartness and they don't even smell like lemons. I don't know what to do with them as they're organic and a little expensive. My husband decided not to listen to me and buy just one to try, he bought 12. He figured that since they were sweet, rind and fruit totally edible, that it can't be bad. Go figure...
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gponder
15 years ago
Sweet lemons are know for their lack of acidity, therefore sometimes called insipid. They are very popular in Mexico, in India and in parts of the Middle East. There are also sweet limes and non-acid oranges all described as insipid. I like them for a change. I usually eat them out of hand. By the way, Meyer Lemons are one of the best citrus varieties to grow in pots. We grow and sell the trees here in Oregon. The fruit we get are of very good quality. The trees can take temps down to about 22 deg F but the fruit would get damaged at that point.
curlylocks
Original Author
15 years ago
Which leads me to my next question. I would love to grow a meyer lemon in a pot since my dining room is bright and sunny all day long without being hot. I have just washed up some seeds and set them on my windowsill to dry. What is the procedure for starting them from seed and how many should I put to a pot? Thanks
ianna
15 years ago
I grew a meyer lemon from seed and it's now ~7 years old although it's never fruited. I heard it takes 10 years before it can fruit.

Anyway, the process to grow them is easy. Take the seed and air dry them on a paper towel for a couple of hours. and then plant them in a pot. I started out with 3 seeds per pot and all sprouted. I eventually reduced it to 1 plant per pot.

Ianna
carolync1
15 years ago
If you grow seeds from a Meyer lemon, the fruit you may get eventually will likely not resemble a Meyer lemon very closely. If you want a real Meyer lemon, you need to buy a tree of that variety or graft onto a citrus rootstock. Special rootstocks for citrus can limit the eventual size of the plant and also induce earlier fruiting.
jellyman
15 years ago
Curlylocks and Ianna:

If you are trying to grow a Meyer lemon from seed, you are barking up the wrong tree. Pay heed to Carolyn's advice from inland California. If you want to grow a Meyer lemon in a large container, as I am doing here, it should be a grafted specimen on a dwarfing rootstock such as Flying Dragon or Trifoliate Orange. Please don't try to grow these things from seed. You will end up with nothing in the way of fruit, though you might be able to grow a tree.

If you want a Meyer lemon, buy a grafted tree from a nursery. Don't fiddle around with seedlings. My little containerized dwarf Meyer set a dozen lemons in the 2nd year after planting, and I don't live in the tropics.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

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