Hi All,

I thought I would take a shot and see if I could help a friend find the elusive answers to his questions about lemons.

He wishes to grow a tree indoors as he is in an apartment in Brooklyn with a relatively small balcony

Are they good growers indoors?  Should they have some sort of enclosure to maintain humidity along with grow lights?

Also, what kind of varieties do you recommend? I searched the forum and frequently saw Meyer's and Eureka.

I came across this chart which lists a few:

https://www.fourwindsgrowers.com/our-citrus-trees/citrus-variety-info-chart.html

Thanks everyone,

Dom

Keeping the roots warm IS the most important thing when growing citrus indoors. Without the proper temps, roots will rot because at lower temps citrus trees cannot uptake water well. They will always have wet feet.

At a MINIMUM the root zone should be at 70 degrees, but 75-80 is better. I recommend using a heat mat underneath. I've got two Satsuma Mandarins under grow lights and on top of heat mats and they thrive. Humidity is not an issue, but at lower humidity spider mites may become an issue.

All citrus can be grown indoors, but there are some varieties that need less heat to ripen than others, which is more suitable for indoor growing. That link you posted, Dom has all the info regarding heat requirements & dwarfing characteristics. I would however stay away from a Meyer Lemon tree. They are very finicky if things are not ideal, and will drop leaves at a moments notice.

-Ross

Interesting Ross. I have attempted Myer Lemons for years but they have never been happy and grow sparsely in every way. Sounds like a need to give keeping the roots warm a shot. My dwindling Myer  lemon and banana plant are going to get same treatment as my figs this winter, we'll see what they think of going dormant and being stored in the garage. They will probably die, but who knows, if they make it things may start to get better next year.

You must keep them above 40 degrees over winter and near a window.  I have 4 Meyer Lemons, 3 Vertigated Kumquats, 1 Navel Orange,  3 Limequats, 1 Owari Satsumi Tangerine and 1 Indio Mandrain Kumquat.  I have an insulated 2 car garage.  All of my citrus are on wheels.  In late Fall when temps drop down in the 40s by day, I roll all my tree in front of my garage door.  When the temps drop, I just push them 10 feet inside.  I have 2 large windows that face Southwest.

But you're going to have to put down some stuff to keep the insects at bay.  I use Eliminator Ant bait on top of the soil and I water them once a week.  Citrus blooms and ripens in December so you're going to have to pay attention to your trees.  Gnats will come and spiders too if you don't pay attention to what's going on.

I agree with Ross' thoughts, I will be using heat mats under my 1000 watt full spectrum bulb this winter. I also agree the Meyer's Leomon (all variants) is too finicky. Mine died. Never again. This year I am growing Eureka and Ponderosa lemons, and the Trovita Orange.

Good advice on keeping the roots warm, I have some Citrus medica (all papeada, all peel), Mexican lime, and one baby citrangequat to over winter...thanks.

Hey Guys,

Thanks for all the feed back and setting me on the right path. Got a game plan now I just need to pick the variety.

Thanks a million!

Dom

Are you only looking for a lemon tree, Dom?

Hi Ross,

For myself I am looking for figs, I just started.

I have a small Olympia which I got from a farmer in Swedesboro, NJ and a co-worker gave me an unknown from Queens, NY which has developed roots.

My friend asked me about the lemon tree because he knows I grow peppers in the summer and thought I would know.

Dom

I have a 6 foot Meyer lemon tree, in winter I bring it in by a sunny windows. West facing is the best I can come up with. Sometimes I will use a small light when it's cloudy. They don't like wet feet, and feed often. As long as it's warm, fed, and has light it will do fine. Don't over water. And you will have to self pollinate with a q tip for fruit set. Smells wonderful in the house when in bloom.

Regarding the need to keep the roots warm, I wonder if anyone has designed a ~ 5 gallon container that has a heating element built into it?  Or alternatively a heating mat that is circular and could function as a tray to catch excess water?  We never keep our thermostat as high as 70 in the winter and a rectangular heating mat would not be too aesthetically pleasing to use in our living room.  I tried some google searching but couldn't find what I was looking for.

Check out home depot.. saw a Meyer lemon tree for clearance and Washington orange for 18.00

What do you guys suggest for feeding?

I bought a Meyer lemon tree a couple months ago. I just brought it inside to a west exposure window(best I have). I wish I read this thread sooner and I would have got the tree used to less sun by moving it to partial shade before moving inside.

We might get some mild temps here over the next week I wonder if I should move the tree back outside to a shady spot.

I left mine outside till last night. it gets around 50 or below and in she comes. loaded with fruit to.

Anyone ever try mangos, pineapple or lychee? Thanks!

I grew a pineapple a few years ago. pretty much the same. don't get their feet to wet, well draining soil. light

Key lime is even more finicky than Meyer lemon.  Best of luck with it.  Calamondins and the quats have been the easiest to grow for me.  Four Winds is an excellent source for citrus.

Use soil mix 5-1-1 and foliage pro 9-3-6 for food! There is info on that soil on the web and a great citrus group on Facebook "indoor citrus tree growers"