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My 1,5 year old citrus tree

9 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

Hello!

I'm new here so I will introduce myself first. My name is Sjoerd and I live in the Netherlands. Not the perfect climate for citrus plants, but indoors it seems to work. I grew this little tree from a seed that I collected from a lemon bought from the supermarket. It seems to do quite well!

Is it possible to tell from the way the plant looks which variety it is? There aren't many thorns and the leaves definitively smell like lemon (like a cleaning product!). Here is a better look at the leaves:

I took the plant out last summer. Do you think it would be a good idea to do so again this summer? It seemed to do pretty well outside since we have a garden facing south, so it receives a lot of sun. Though it seems to do well indoors too. Any thoughts?

Have a nice day!

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Comments (2)

hoosierquilt USDA 10A Sunset 23 Vista CA
9 years ago
Sjoerd, it is very likely you have whatever lemon cultivar you bought from the store (which is probably Eureka or one of the Italian lemons). Lemons tend to be highly polyembryonic, which means they send up more than one seedling per seed, and those seedlings can be either a clone seedling (clone of the mother plant) or a hybrid seedling. Clone seedlings will pop up first, and are the strongest seedling. So, most likely you've got a clone seedling growing, which means it will produce the identical fruit you purchased ft can take anywhere from 3 years (limes) to 12-20 years (grapefruits.) The only real way to know is to see what ort of fruit it produces - then you'll know if you've got a clone of the mother plant, or some sort of hybrid citrus. Very pretty little tree, btw. It should be outside as much as possible, gradually acclimating to full sun. Be sure you fertilize it regularly, and watch for pests when you bring it in for the winter (usually spider mites or scale as the two most common citrus pests), and treat right away, repeatedly, and accordingly.

Patty S.
Sjoerd
Original Author
9 years ago
Thank you Patty!

I guess I will have to wait and see! Does that also mean it could take years before it starts flowering? Or is it possible that it starts to flower without it carrying fruit?

I did get some pests this winter as you said. I think I had a type of fungus gnats and I recently discovered some scale. But they were/are small infestations, so I think it will be fine. I sprayed the plant with a bit of soapy water this week to kill the remaining scale. Do you know how often I should repeat that?

I will start to acclimatise it as soon as the chance of frost is gone!

Sjoerd.
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