Well, you have to remember that John is a commercial grower - I believe the only one, in fact, on this forum. The rest of us are home gardeners. Two different worlds colliding [smile]. Because my trees are in different spots with very different levels of light, at this point I almost always have some fruit ripening year-round. The front yard tree always ripens first as it has the best site: full sun, a berm that lifts it up off the cold ground, good air circulation. The others: one in partial sun and one in almost full shade - are always slower to ripen. So between the three Meyers I can pick a bucketful or two every week or so during prime harvest, beginning in December and going through April or so. Citrus is so plentiful around here in winter, nobody cares if the Meyers aren't as juicy as possible. They're still fine for home use, especially when they're free to my friends and family (heck, I even pay the postage to ship them). We're getting a major cold spell tonight that will last all weekend - even San Francisco is going to dip below freezing by tomorrow night. I wish my pelargoniums were as frost-tolerant as my citrus, LOL.

Ah, Michigan...I have a soft spot in my heart for MI. What type of lemon do you want? If you want classic grocery-store type lemons, personally I prefer Lisbon. It is a hardy tree, fairly cold-tolerant, productive, and supposedly take grafts well--so if you ever wanted to expand your collection in the future you could graft onto it easily. Many people grow Meyer lemons as a houseplant/part-time houseplant, and that may be a good choice if you like the fruit, but they are quite different than what you will find in the average grocery store. But that may be what you're after--I understand Meyers can be hard to buy in grocery stores (tho I see them frequently in my area and I don't care for the flavor). And my personal opinion of the Meyer plant is not good--I think they are very finicky but I am sure lots of people do well with them. An advantage is that the Meyer is quite cold tolerant and so you may be able to leave it outside a bit longer. There is also Eureka, various Italian lemons, and I think in FL Bearss lemons are common, but is I suspect there isn't a whole lot of difference in the fruit or the tree in the end. I think I recall the Bearss lemon being cold-sensitive but I don't have one and couldn't say for sure. You might also like the Ponderosa, which produces a very large seedy fruit but tastes like a typical lemon. The fruit can be huge. I think this one is cold-sensitive too--I treat it as such. You could also get a sweet lemon--again, a very different fruit than the typical lemon in that they are nearly completely acidless. I think the typical American palate wouldn't care for them, but I like them. The soil question is complex, and I would suggest that whatever you choose, make sure it is very free-draining. I think that the best choice is primarily an inorganic/non-degradable potting media, but others do well with different formulas and it depends on how much money and time you're willing to invest and what is available to you in your area. There is lots of info regarding this here on this forum as well as others, and I would recommend you do a little research so you can make an educated choice. The link below should help. Here is a link that might be useful: Excellent synopsis here

Consider an Improved Meyer lemon for your first lemon tree. They are very forgiving, and also are big producers. You can purchase just about any citrus on dwarfing rootstock, which will help to keep your tree a little smaller, if size is an issue. Pruning can too, but know it will also cause a reduced harvest, at least for a season, maybe two. Avocados tend to be large trees, so consider a smaller, more compact variety, such as Littlecado (Wurtz) or Holiday, unless you have a fairly large area to dedicate to an avocado. If you can purchase in 5 gal containers, you'll get an established tree that will produce next season for you. Avocados do better with a cross-pollinator. They are divided into A and B types, so it can help if you have one of each, unless you have other avocados nearby that can provide cross pollination for you. Both avos and citrus like good drainage and lots of sun, plus a fair amount of wataer - avocados even more so than citrus. A good long watering once a week, or twice a week if the temps soar is the best way to water. No grass underneath your trees, just a nice large well as big around as the tree's drip line, well mulched with compost and bark to retain moisture here in our drier S. Calif. weather, taking care not to pile the compost or mulch around the tree trunk, as that can cause the bark to get too moist and can lead to rot. Also, for your young citrus and avo trees, paint their trunks and exposed branches with plain old flat white latex house paint, diluted in 1/2 with water. NOT oil-based paint, but water-based flat latex paint to protect their tender trunks. This will also protect your trees from boring insects as well. Be sure to protect them from snails and slugs (both of which love to munch on citrus leaves, and will cause extensive damage and introduce other diseases.) If you have an option to plant both on a south-facing slope, you'll make them very happy :-) You'll want to check your soil drainage first, before planting. Dig a hole twice as wide as the tree root ball, and as deep as the top of the root ball. Fill the hole with water. If it drains in 24 hours, you've got enough drainage to plant both. If not, you may need to plant your trees so that the top of the root ball is a couple of inches above the soil level (if you're in clay). You can also top with worm castings with the compost. Both help to acidify our somewhat alkaline soil, which helps both trees take up micronutrients better. Your avocado will drop its leaves, but it is very important to leave them under the tree as mulch. Avos do NOT like their roots disturbed, so when you plant your avocado, take care to very carefully plant it without disturbing the root ball. Don't lift it by the trunk. Turn it on its side to loosen it up from the pot, and gently slide the pot off. Then, carefully place it in the hole. Backfill with your native soil. Then top dress with the worm castings and compost, then top with bark mulch. Be sure to create a nice big well so the water will collect in a ring around the drip line of the tree, and soak down to the feeder roots. Fertilize your new trees every 2 months with a good citrus/avocado fertilizer. Citrus like as close to a 5:1:3 NPK ratio. Avos are a little more forgiving. If you see aphids, just blast them off with a forceful water spray. Put out ant bait to keep the ants out of the tree and from farming the aphids. It's better to plant in the fall when temps are lower, or in early spring. Summers here are really awfully hot to be planting young trees. You can chance it, but I'd suggest providing temporary shade, and a LOT of water. And, there are so many good books out there. Here are just a few: The Sunset Western Garden Book - this is THE essential gardening book for anyone living in California Sunset Western Garden Book of Edibles Growing Citrus: The Essential Gardener's Guide Citrus: Complete Guide to Selecting & Growing More Than 100 Varieties for California, Arizona Texas, the Gulf Coast and Florida The Biology of Citrus by Pinhas Spiegel-Roy& Eliezer E. Goldschmidt The University of California Agricultural & Natural Resources (UC ANR) has a number of very good articles & books as well, here's their web site: http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/ And, UC Davis has a great California Backyard Orchard web site. I've included the main link, but here are links for avocados and for citrus: http://homeorchard.ucdavis.edu/Fruits_&Nuts/Avocado/ http://homeorchard.ucdavis.edu/Fruits&_Nuts/Citrus/ Lastly, you might want to consider joining your local California Rare Fruit Growers (CRFG) group in your area. They have a very well organized organization, and there are some real experts that belong to the group who can mentor and assist you in learning how to grow fruit trees in California. Their main web site is: http://www.crfg.org/ Patty S. Here is a link that might be useful: UC Davis: The California Backyard Orchard

In 2017, I planted 5 lemon seeds from a bag of sweet meyer lemons and they’re all varying in growth. The tallest one had some flowers in spring but nothing more. Long, sharp thorns on all of them and the trunks are getting thick. I’m about ready to puts them on the curb because they are tough to bring inside for winters. Is there any hope they will ever bear fruit?