I have a small Meyer Lemon tree which I bought the year before last. It's basically a twig but it flowered nicely and has several baby lemons, though all summer the leaves yellowed and dropped and it has practically no leaves at this point. I probably will cut all the lemons off and start over.

I looked up leaf issues on this forum and I can see that I did just about everything wrong last year when I re-potted. I used a huge pot, I tried making potting soil with topsoil and pearlite and when that didn't work my wife added a bunch of peatmoss. So basically I have poorly draining soil and I am going to re-pot in the spring.

My question mostly concerns the winter. I live in what is supposed to be zone 8 in Western Washington, right on puget sound. The winters are in the 30's-40's with the occasional dip into the mid 20's though it's usually warmer here by the water than the surrounding area. It rains a lot and it can get extremely windy.

I have been thinking of planting the tree in the ground as I had heard they can tolerate mid twenties and I think it would be a nice addition to the landscape. I have left it outside the last 2 winters and covered it with some spun polyester row-cover cloth. It doesn't do anything all winter but it seems to survive.

I had never thought of bringing it indoors and that seems like a way to have it grow all year long?

I am curious if anyone has had success with outdoor plantings in a similar climate? Ultimately I would like a steady supply of lemons for cooking etc.

Thanks for any assistance

bob

For the time being, I'm assuming your tree is still planted in an oversized pot w/top soil (heavy) dirt, right?

If it were my tree, I'd repot in a smaller container, and change the soil. I'd use an all purpose soil, w/some peat, sand and Perlite. You want something well-draining.
Did you say your tree was in or outdoors? I didn't understand. Place plant in the brightest spot, whether in or outside.
If outside, I'd cover soil w/a blanket, and/or some ppl use Christmas lights for warmth. I've never tried this but they say it works. Others use heating mats, made for plants. So, I'd at do one of the above for the time being.
Do not keep the soil soggy, let dry out.

But the main thing, you need to talk to ppl in your area. I know some lemons are hardier than others, and would probably do great in your climate (outside) Toni

To clarify, the "tree" (better described as a stick with a couple of leaves and a few marble sized fruits) is still in the pot outside. It is uncovered because we are currently having night-time temperatures in the low 40's.

I have lived here for about 4 seasons and it hasn't been the same two years in a row. In general it is WET and dark during the winter and dry during the summer though of course the northwest is known for it's wet climate.

So far it has snowed just once each winter (3 out of 4) and there can be about a week's worth of mid 20's weather though I would say in general there is usually a couple of months hovering in the mid 30's. Did I mention it's wet? I mean the soil eventually becomes super-saturated.

So right now the little "tree" is in it's own micro-bog though I imagine it's dormant. The little fruits are turning yellow (in a bad way).

One thing I could do is transplant it into a smaller pot with some commercial potting soil (somewhere I saw it suggested to use maybe 30% cedar bark also?) and bring it inside (or at least put it as out of the rain as possible). Might well be a huge shock though and maybe I'd be better off waiting 'till spring.

Anyhow it sounds like bringing it inside each year would be the better plan as far as having a relatively steady supply of lemons. Is that what you do?

thanks
bob

Due to several weeks of low 20's (about a month ago, and without protecting the tree) most of the fruit was damaged. But this week, *all* the fruit is on the ground. (sigh)

Moral of the story: Meyer lemons require protection during the low 20s.

By the way, my Meyer has produced ripe fruits during fall and early spring. Thus, you won't have lemons year-round.

During the hours that frost is predicted, I temporarilly cover the tree with two layers of frost blanket, using clip clothes pins to hold it in place. Then, if it is -- or will be -- raining, I cover that with poly sheeting, again held in place with clip clothespins.

When the temp drops really low -- as during January of both 2003 and 2004 when it ranged from 19 to 22F-- I put a 100-watt light bulb under the cover and on the soil.

When the tree was wrapped for a full week (January 2003) with the 100-watt bulb lit for the entire time, I figured the tree either froze or, worse yet, I may have cooked it!

But no. The tree was fine with frost damage only on the ends of those branches which touched the tarp.

I've also found that continuing rainfall will damage the fruits (they're partially developed through the winter). So, if I continue with this tree, I plan to build an overhead framework of either PVC or galvanized pipe which will support a plastic tarp above the tree to keep off the majority of rainfall.

I live in Redmond and have Meyer Lemon, Bearass Lime and Valencia Oranges in 18" pots. In late Spring they go outside, this year they stayed out until mid-November. Right now they are the garage under a 400w metal halide lamp. All three are in full bloom and fruit is setting nicely. My experience has been they seem to do better in the garage than outside!!
The last two summers we've had full sized fruit on the lemon and lime, actually have two lemons in the fridge waiting to be eaten! I have tried bringing citrus in the house but it has always been certain death; too dry and difficult to keep humidity.
Don't give up on your lemon. My orange became a twig while indoors, placed it in the garage and began sprouting new growth in late winter. I believe they thrive when it is cool and damp.

Good luck!

The reason you're having success during the winter is you are suppling adequate light.

If it's stressed from being inside (and coping with a scale infestation) will it be happier if I put it out earlier but not so early it will freeze or will it be happier if I wait until it warms up more so the transition between warm and cold isn't as great?