How to care for a lemon tree in a pot

Unless you are able to grow your own food, you aren’t going to be able to survive long term under the worst-case scenario. You need food and water to survive and in the worst of situations, you may no longer have something like a grocery store to visit.

This is why you need to learn some basic gardening skills. You need to learn how to grow things like herbs, fresh fruits, and vegetables. Growing food will supplement and stretch your stored food supply.

While you may be thinking of growing things like apples or tomatoes, another important thing you’ll want to grow is a lemon tree — yes, a lemon tree.

While there are some amazing benefits to drinking lemon water, lemons have other benefits. Lemons bring just the right amount of sweetness and tart to baking. Create delicious loaves, muffins, biscuits, slices, and cakes and, in some instances, you can take things up a notch with a drizzle of lemon syrup or a sprinkling of zest. Lemon juice delivers the acidic component to citrus vinaigrette used to dress a green or tomato salad, as well as seafood. You can also use lemons to make homemade cleaners and even beauty products.

So let’s talk about how to pot a lemon tree.

A new lemon tree will grow fine in an 8-inch diameter container to start. Two to three-year-old trees will need a 10 to 12-inch diameter container. Eventually, you’ll need a 16 to 20-gallon container or one-half whiskey barrel-sized container for long-term growth.

• You’ll first need to choose a planter large enough to accommodate your growing lemon tree. Select plastic, terra cotta, or wooden containers.

Be sure they have adequate drainage holes. Plastic containers are the lightest weight and easiest to move in and outdoors with the seasons. However, the glazed terra cotta containers look more attractive when the plants are being grown indoors as houseplants.

• When the tree is potted, there should be at least an inch of room between the soil and the top of the planter or pot.

Start with a small container when planting a young lemon tree since it will be easier to maintain proper soil moisture than in a big container. If the soil stays too wet in a large container, the young tree with a small root system may rot and die.

Lemon trees need well-drained soil, so selecting the right potting mix is important. Commercial potting mixes with peat moss, perlite, vermiculite, and compost are fine to use as long as the soil is light enough to drain water well. If your soil is still too heavy, try adding hardwood bark chips to the mix to increase the number of air spaces.Place bare root trees in the container, gently packing in the soil around the roots to remove air spaces. Plant so the lemon tree roots are just below the soil surface, but the crown is just above it. If transplanting an existing lemon tree into a larger container, remove the old tree, and examine the roots. Cut off any dead, broken, and circling root and repot. Water well.

• During the warmer months, the lemon tree can remain outside and in full sun.
• As temperatures begin to cool, bring the tree inside and place it somewhere that receives lots of sunlight.
• Prune it regularly and remove new growth that begins to stem near the soil.
• Continue watering the tree regularly once you move it indoors.
• If needed, use a water meter to measure moisture levels, and add decorative pebbles around the soil to help reduce evaporation.
• Mist the leaves daily during the winter to keep the foliage fresh.
• Harvest the lemons as they ripen and become slightly soft.