Location for Planting Meyer Lemon

Q. I have received two Meyer lemon trees. I want to know the best place to plant them. My house faces southeast, the sides are northeast and southwest, and backyard faces northwest. Due to very hot summer days is it best to plant on northeast side if house gets morning sun and shade in afternoon or in the backyard that gets more sun during mid-day to evening? Does direct hot sun harm trees during summer?

Meyer lemon fruit is ready to harvest from late December and into January. The orangish yellow fruit is more round than a true lemon and can grow about the size of a baseball. You better like lemons alot because when it gets older you can have lots.

A. All these places have their limitations. Probably the most damaging is direct late afternoon sunlight. Plant it where it will get some relief from the late afternoon sun. Plants in orchard are protected by other plants. In our hot desert the intense sunlight is very damaging. It can damage an open area (unshaded) of a fruit tree in less than 20 minutes. Then there are wind problems particularly, side yards where wind can “channel”. 

Leaf footed plant bug on citrus. Yes, they can be a problem on citrus.

            Meyer lemon (not a true lemon) is hardy to about 25F. Select a plant that is bushy with lower limbs as low as possible to shade the trunk.  It needs at least 6 to 8 hours of sunlight each day.

            Citrus will not like to be surrounded by rock unless the soil is amended. At planting time dig a hole deep enough for the container and three times wider. Make sure at planting time the soil is amended with compost or at least small pieces of wood that will rot with water and fertilizer.

            It is okay to surround it with rock but make sure the soil gets a surface application of compost or wood chips once a year. This may mean raking the rock back, applying it, water it in, and then raking the rock back. Or applying the compost/wood chips over the rock and watering it in if the rock is big enough so it does not become an eyesore.

            Be careful when pruning it. I would let it get established first as a bush and then remove lower limbs only as needed. Shade the trunk as long as possible. Sun, wind, and cold are the three things to worry about.