What to look for when buying and where to find the perfect lemon
Lemon trees bring exotic flair to our garden and delight us with their pretty foliage, fragrant flowers and bright yellow fruits. If you want to buy your own lemon tree, you should definitely read on now. We’ll give you some buying tips and tell you where to get the best lemon trees.
Buy lemon tree: The right location in the new home
You are as enthusiastic about the yellow fellows as we are? No wonder! Lemon trees are beautiful, the fruits are super tasty and their blossoms smell fantastic. The list of arguments for a lemon tree could go on and on. To thrive optimally, lemons need the ideal location. Don’t worry, it’s not rocket science. But before you euphorically buy your lemon tree, you’d better first see if you can offer it the right place.
Find a suitable place
The first question is where you want to put your lemon tree. Since lemons are not hardy, here in Central Europe we can only keep them in pots or tubs. The best place is on your terrace or balcony. There your lemon tree can get as much sun as possible. There is no such thing as “too much”.
Lemons also do very well in a greenhouse or conservatory. Since lemon trees grow slowly and don’t get very tall, they’re great for small balconies and rooms. If you have a room indoors with large and south-facing windows, the lemon will feel super comfortable there too.
A suitable winter home
Just note that your lemon tree must be wintered in a bright, cool and frost-free place, so that no pests creep in and it can produce abundant flowers next year. Temperatures of 5 to 12 degrees are optimal, but a few degrees above that is not the end of the world. For a short time, the lemon even tolerates temperatures around 0 degrees. A winter garden, bright and cool staircase or a shed with windows are ideal.
In living rooms it is usually too warm and at the same time too dark for the lemon in winter. In an emergency, however, you can place the tree in a cool bedroom or help it out with special plant lamps for indoor use.
How to recognize a healthy lemon tree
Lemon tree does not necessarily equal lemon tree. When the plants are in the store, they always look totally seductive at first glance. No wonder, if they all stand close together, the leaves and fruits also look much denser and more vital right away. We are after the strongest and healthiest little tree. That’s why it’s worth taking a big step and getting up close and personal with the lemon of your desire.
Buy lemon tree: Green and healthy foliage
The good thing is that lemon trees are evergreen, so you can quickly tell when something is wrong. After all, if the lemon isn’t feeling well, it will drop its leaves pretty quickly. So bare patches and lots of leaves on the ground are an indication that the little tree is stressed. Stress in most cases means: Disease or pest infestation or mistakes in care. Foliage should be shiny, a dark green, rich color, and free of yellow spots or dried out areas.
Your little tree is a lottery winner if tender, light green shoots appear at the tips and it sprouts nicely and vigorously.
Buy lemon tree: Healthy wood and strong shoots
With lemon trees, it is not the number of branches and shoots that matters, but their health. After all, lemons do not grow very branched and somewhat sparse. Make sure that the existing shoots are nice and strong and reasonably stable. The rind should be smooth and uniformly light brown. Black spots are an indication that the tree is in poor health. The grafting point a few inches above the ground should also be as even and smooth as possible.
Buying lemon tree: Diseases and pests
Be sure to keep your eyes open for uninvited guests as well. If you can see small holes or drooping or yellowed leaves, the next troublemaker is usually not far away. Look especially closely at the new shoots, the undersides of the leaves and the leaf axils, because that’s where aphids, scale insects and mealybugs like to live. Spider mites also like to make themselves at home in lemon trees.
Buy lemon tree: Flowers and fruits
Most types of lemons that we can buy for the garden are so-called four-season lemons. This means that they can produce fruits and flowers all year round. So it is a good sign if these are already on the tree. Depending on the variety, the color of the flowers varies somewhat between a light purple and white. They, like the leaves, should not be dried up or rotten. The fruits have a dark green to greenish-purple coloration in the very early stages, so don’t let that put you off.
By the way, it’s not a big deal if there are no flowers on the tree; depending on the time of year and sun exposure, flower formation can sometimes fluctuate slightly and decline in the winter. What is much more important is healthy foliage and an overall vital little tree. If it feels comfortable in its new home later on, the blossoms won’t be long in coming either.
Buy lemon tree: The age
Age is not always easy to tell. Lemon trees grow slowly and bloom for the first time after several years. However, most trees that reach the market are already large enough to bear flowers and fruit. They are then usually at least 50 to 60 cm high, but dwarf varieties are correspondingly smaller.
Checklist: Now your lemon tree can move in
The most important criteria for your own lemon tree summarized again:
- A suitable spot: Bright, warm, sunny & protected
- The winter quarters: Frost-free, but bright and cool (5-12 degrees)
- A healthy tree: Shiny and green foliage, a smooth and even trunk and in the best case – depending on the variety and season – flowers and fruits.
Where can I buy my lemon tree?
We now know what to look for when buying and where best to place your little tree. But there is one thing we haven’t talked about yet: Where is the best place to buy your lemon tree?
There are two options for buying. Either at your local store or online. Buying locally has the advantage that you can pick out your plant right there and take it with you. Online, you can look and compare at your leisure and have the plant conveniently delivered to your home. Here you decide what you prefer.
The price is hot: buy lemon tree locally
There are an incredible number of stores where you can buy your lemon tree. You can find lemon trees in nurseries, garden centers, nurseries, hardware stores, supermarkets and all sorts of other department stores. You can also find lemon trees at weekly markets from time to time. The price range is quite wide and specialty stores are much more expensive than the discounter around the corner.
Where to buy now? We recommend at this point quite clearly to focus on a nursery or a reputable nursery. The plants there are usually professionally cared for and come from high-quality cultivation. On-site consultation is also possible at such places.
Where should I rather not buy?
Plants in DIY stores, supermarkets and outdoor weekly markets are not recommended. Often the lemon trees have been grown up as quickly as possible using a lot of fertilizer and energy in the greenhouse and are not very robust.
The conditions in the store are also often not good for the little trees. In addition, they often have very long delivery routes from warmer parts of the world behind them and are very stressed. Diseases and pests are virtually pre-programmed.
The convenient way: buy lemon trees online
Online there is also a huge range of lemon trees. Search specifically for specialist dealers, nurseries and garden centers. Good dealers are always there to help and advise you, and you can either contact them via e-mail or by phone and ask questions.
In the end, the same applies here: Choose a reputable dealer and stay away from very cheap bait offers in the construction or supermarket.
By the way, because we’re so excited about our lemon “Zeus”, we’ve also added many other great citrus fruits to our selection. Kumquat “Casimir”, Lime “Lili” , the Red Lime “Ronda” and Calamondin orange “Carmen” are great companions for your lemon tree! All citrus fruits have more or less the same needs in terms of location and care and can be super combined with each other.
I have 30 years of experience and i started this website to see if i could try and share my knowledge to help you.
With a degree a Horticulture BSc (Hons)
I have worked as a horticulture specialist lead gardener, garden landscaper, and of course i am a hobby gardener at home in my own garden.
Please if you have any questions leave them on the article and i will get back to you personally.
