How to Grow Lemons

Choose a sunny spot with well drained soil. Enrich the soil with Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser.  If the soil is clay based, improve soil structure by adding gypsum and forking in well. In poorly drained areas, citrus can also be planted in a raised mound of free-draining soil.

Dig the planting hole twice as wide and to the same depth as the root-ball. Remove the shrub from the container, gently tease the roots and cut away any circled or tangled roots.

Position in hole and backfill with soil, gently firming down.  Form a raised or doughnut shaped ring of soil around the outer edge of the plant's root zone. This helps keep water where it's needed.  Always water in well after planting to settle the soil around the roots and keep the soil moist for several weeks while the new plant establishes.

Mulch around the base with organic mulch like sugarcane or pea straw, keeping it away from the trunk.

Water deeply, once or twice a week, depending on weather conditions.

Feed your citrus with Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser three times a year, in early spring, summer and again in autumn.

When the tree starts to produce fruit (normally in its 3rd year), feed weekly with Yates Thrive Natural's Citrus Liquid Plant Food.

When planting in a pot, choose a dwarf lemon variety, such as 'Lots a Lemons' or Dwarf Eureka. 

Choose a pot at least 500mm wide. Position in full sun and fill with quality potting mix, such as Yates Potting Mix with Dynamic Lifter. TIP: Consider placing the pot on wheels if you live in a cold area, so it can be easily moved inside or to a more protected spot in winter.

Remove the shrub from the container, gently tease the roots and cut away any circled or tangled roots.

Position in hole and backfill with potting mix, gently firming down. Water in well.

Water deeply, 2-3 times during the week, depending on weather conditions.

Feed your citrus with Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser three times a year, in early spring, summer and again in autumn.

When the tree starts to produce fruit (normally in its 3rd year), feed weekly with Yates Thrive Citrus Liquid Plant Food.

• If you're short of sunny spots in the garden, grow citrus in pots that can be moved to take advantage of changing patterns of sunlight.

• In heavy clay soils, it's best to put extra effort into soil preparation. To check if your soil needs work, dig a hole and pour a bucket of water into the hole – if it takes more than 30 minutes to disappear, then you will need to improve your drainage. Consider raising the level of the bed as much as possible with free draining garden soil, dig in gypsum to help break up the clay and add plenty of Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser. Potted lemons should be grown in a good quality mix (such as Yates Potting Mix with Dynamic Lifter) and moved into larger containers as they grow.
• Remove any small fruit that develop within the first two years - thinning excess fruit when they're small will encourage good early branch, stem and foliage growth and promote better sized and tasting fruit to develop in the coming years.
• Eureka produces fruit almost year round in warm areas. The fruit is virtually seedless and has a thin skin. However, as lemons go, Eureka isn't particularly cold tolerant. Villa Franca is a relative of Eureka that does better in inland areas, as well as in the subtropics.
• Lisbon develops into a large, prickly tree that produces a heavy winter crop. It is very hardy and more tolerant than Eureka to both cold and heat.
• Meyer is a small grower that is thought to be a cross between a lemon and an orange. Its small size means it's suited to pot culture and its cold tolerance sees it used widely in frosty areas. Lots A Lemons is a dwarf form of Meyer. In order to guarantee perfect drainage, Lots A Lemons should be grown in a pot.
• Lemonade is much sweeter and doesn't have the intense sourness of most other lemons. Lemonade lemon trees are great for backyards as they don't get much taller than 2.5 m and produce lots of fruit which can be peeled, segmented and devoured or juiced.  Lemonade is also available as a compact dwarf plant, which can be grown happily in a pot.

The best time to move or transplant an existing Citrus is during autumn, when the day temperatures are mild and the soil is warm. 

Before transplanting, apply Yates Waterwise DroughtShield to the foliage. This reduces wilting and transplant shock by forming a protective thin polymer film on the leaf reducing transpiration for 60-90 days.

Ensure you have the new spot well prepared before you move the Citrus tree. Enrich the soil with Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser. If the soil is clay based, improve soil structure by adding Yates Gypsum Clay Breaker Soil Improver Granules and forking in well. In poorly drained areas, citrus can also be planted in a raised mound of free-draining soil.

Take as large a root ball as possible and transplant into the new area in the garden. Water in well. Apply Yates Dynamic Lifter 4-in-1 Mulch around the root zone, keeping it away from the trunk, and water regularly to keep the soil moist as the plant establishes.

Groundcovers can help retain moisture in the soil, but under a Citrus tree, it would be best to mulch. Apply an organic mulch like Yates Dynamic Lifter 4-in-1 Mulch around the base of the tree, keeping it away from the trunk.

The reason for this is that you don't want the Citrus trees competing for nutrients. Even though groundcovers are small plants, they will take up the nutrients that the Citrus trees would otherwise have available to them.

It will also make it a lot easier when fertilising, as you will want to apply your fertiliser around the drip line of the tree. You can simply push back the mulch, apply the fertiliser, and put the mulch back in place.

It can take several months (6-9 months) for Lemons to ripen on the tree. When the fruits are yellow and firm, they should be ready to harvest. It's always a good idea to pick one or two to check for ripeness.

Citrus Scab, also known as Lemon Scab, is a common fungal disease (Elsinoe fawcettii) of Lemons and Rangpur Limes.

It affects the leaves and stems, but most of the symptoms are seen as raised bumps, and pink to grey warty growths.

Sooty Mould on a Lemon tree occurs when sap-sucking insects such as Aphids and Scale are present. As the insects feed on the tree, they exude a sugary substance on which the Sooty Mould feeds and grows. By treating the primary cause of the Sooty Mould, which is the presence of sap-sucking insects like Aphids and Scale, you can effectively control and prevent the growth of Sooty Mould on a Lemon tree. 

Spray Lemon trees with Yates Nature's Way Citrus & Ornamental Spray. This spray works via contact so it's important to spray the Scale directly. Repeat each week as required.

If you have a large tree, apply Yates PestOil. It's available in a concentrate and can be mixed and applied in a sprayer. 

Citrus trees can suffer from Phytophthora Root Rot, a serious and widespread disease of many plants. The pathogen, a water mould or oomycete, is prevalent in wet conditions and causes healthy plant roots to soften, blacken and die.

It can also spread to above-ground plant parts when water carrying spores splash up from the soil. Plants in poorly drained soils or areas prone to flooding are more prone to Phytophthora attack.

Citrus need full sun and good drainage. If the soil does not drain well, improve the soil with organic matter like Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser and Yates Gypsum Clay Breaker Soil Improver Granules. Alternatively, plant Citrus in a raised bed or in a large pot.

Prune any dead or affected branches to where the wood is green; this will encourage new buds and shoots to form.

When the tree shows signs of recovery, apply a citrus fertiliser such as Yates Dynamic Lifer Plant Food Pellets Fruit & Citrus to support and boost plant health.

It is not unusual for Lemon trees to have slightly yellowing leaves after fruiting. The tree has been producing fruit all season long and consequently will be in need of food to produce new growth and flowers.

Spring is the time to feed your citrus with a quality fertiliser such as Yates Dynamic Lifter Plant Food Fruit & Citrus, reapplying as directed.

You can also apply Yates Leaf Greener Iron Chelate Fertiliser if the yellowing is caused by an iron deficiency. To identify if this is the issue, have a close look at the foliage. The leaves will be yellow, especially between the veins, while the veins themselves stay green.