April 20, 2021 by Born To Organize

Thirty Days in the Garden: Citrus in Bloom

Our citrus trees are blooming again. The waxy flowers produce an intoxicating scent that invites you to linger below the tree.

We inherited an orange tree when we bought the house, along with a tall lemon tree and an almond. I never tasted the almonds, but the squirrels certainly approved. They remained well-fed during the tree’s tenure.

Squirrel eating sunflower seeds on our deck

Sadly, two of those three trees suffered from neglect. The lemon tree had been allowed to fork early. The tree grew two long trunks that started splitting the tree in half. We harvested the lemons as best we could and tied the two trunks together for support.

Alas, I arrived home one day, puzzled by the bright sun at the corner of the house. It took me a moment to realize that our lemon tree had split down the middle. Half the tree lay sprawled across the garden.

The almond tree suffered from a lethal fungus internal to the tree. The arborist recommended removing it before it fell down. Sadly, it had to go.

Only one established tree in the back garden remained: the orange.

Anna’s hummingbird resting in the orange tree

We bought a Meyer lemon to replace the tree we lost and made sure it grew in an upright manner. I’ve also tried to prune it in such a way that it remains easy to harvest. The lemon started in a pot, but it didn’t take off until it went into the ground. It occupies a space in our side yard, where we share it with our neighbors.

Lemon tree, ivy, azalea, lily, and Jasmin vine

It’s easy to forget all these years later how far we’ve come with shipping and refrigeration. As a young girl in Canada, an orange was a special treat placed in the bottom of our Christmas stocking. Oranges weren’t readily available in Ontario at that time, or if they were, they were pricey.

I sometimes look back on a time when things weren’t plentiful. It’s good to keep one’s perspective. When I sit under the orange tree, fragrant blossoms inviting me to lift my head skyward, I’m reminded of the extraordinary gift of citrus in bloom.

October 26, 2015 by Born To Organize

Lemons on my Mind

Dwarf lemon tree sits on our property line

As life in the garden prepares to rest, the lemons are coming into their own. Our dwarf lemon grows along the side of the house, so I see the changes whenever I come up the drive.

April, 2015 Baby dinosaur?

The fruit formed earlier this year, slowly growing to full size. Doesn’t it look like a baby dinosaur? As the temperatures cool and the days grow shorter, dark green gives way to yellow.

Lemons with potential

This pair of lemons hides a spider’s web

I prune the tree a couple of times a year to keep it compact. Otherwise it grows into our respective walkways that separate the two homes. I was initially concerned that all this pruning would be hard on the tree, but I’ve since read that keeping it compact will help maintain a manageable harvest. Now I’m completely at peace with my pruning regime.

I’ve fallen out of the habit of drinking lemon water each day, so as I write this I’m reminded of a good habit I need to resume.

According to Why You Should Start Your Day With Lemon Water:

it has myriad health benefits, from helping your immune system to offering an antioxidant boost, explains Amy Myers, MD, author of The Autoimmune Solution ($21, amazon.com)

“Lemon is packed with vitamin C, which can help boost the immune system,” Myers tells Health. “It’s refreshing, and it tastes good,” she says.

On top of that, “lemons are very high in bioflavonoids that destroy harmful free radicals that damage blood vessels and cause inflammation,” osteopath Vicky Vlachonis, author of The Body Doesn’t Lie ($20, amazon.com), tells Health. “Plus, the invigorating smell just wakes you up.”

Soon I’ll be able to harvest my own lemons at home. I’ll pick up some lemons at the market till the harvest comes in.

This one didn’t make it…

Sometimes lemons split on the tree. Factors include temperature fluctuations, humidity, heavy rainfall, dry soil though over-watering is more harmful than a drought

…but these are right on track for a brilliant yellow harvest.

Turning yellow

June 12, 2014 by Born To Organize

Lemony Lemons

We have lemons! Tiny, just-getting-started lemons. Aren’t they cute?

Objects in this photo are smaller than they appear

It’s been a long time coming, but our dwarf lemon tree is beginning to bear fruit.

More lemons

According to Wikipedia:

Citrus × meyeri, the Meyer lemon, is a citrus fruit native to China thought to be a cross between a true lemon and either a mandarin or common orange. It was introduced to the United States in 1908 by the agricultural explorer Frank Nicholas Meyer, an employee of the United States Department of Agriculture who collected a sample of the plant on a trip to China.

The Meyer lemon is commonly grown in China in garden pots as an ornamental tree. It became popular as a food item in the United States after being rediscovered by chefs such as Alice Waters at Chez Panisse during the California Cuisine revolution.

Popularity further climbed when Martha Stewart began featuring them in her recipes.

I didn’t know any of this.

Dwarf Lemon Tree

Two years ago, our tree started producing thorns. I assumed this was a sign that it was ready to bear fruit. Further reading proved otherwise. True lemons have sharp thorns, but the hybrids do not. Any thorns found on a Meyer Lemon are apparently the product of the original rootstock.

This article say that: article,

If the thorns are on branches sprouting from below the grafting union the best thing to do is to prune them off. Those branches won’t produce Meyer lemons and your tree is wasting energy growing them anyway.
If the thorns are on the Meyer lemon portion of the tree and the tree is otherwise healthy, the best thing to do is ignore them and protect your hands with gloves when you harvest the lemons.

I went back and checked all the branches with tiny fruit and most of them have thorns.

This early in the game, I’m inclined to leave the thorns where they are. Since the tree is producing fruit it seems best to leave well enough alone. They won’t ripen for several months, so I can keep my eye on things and see what plays out.

What do you think? Would you remove the thorns?

Thorns

April 2, 2014 by Born To Organize

The Tale of Two Lemon Trees

Prologue

Yes, I know it’s three chapters, but they’re short, and sweet, like the blossom on a lemon tree.

Chapter One

When we first bought our house, there was an ancient lemon tree growing in the back yard. The lemons were as big as small grapefruits, but alas never juicy. We enjoyed the tree for its beauty and used the lemons for other things.

The sweet smell of citrus blossoms is crisp and inviting. A tree laden with bright yellow fruit brought cheer to the garden year round. One year I found a nest in the dense foliage of the tree which confirmed what a special tree it was. There was, however, one challenge. The trunk of the tree was low to the ground. At knee-height, the lemon tree forked into two large branches. The weight of the fruit started pulling the branches apart. After wrapping the tree with rope, we called an arborist. They suggested keeping the fruit to a minimum to reduce the weight and to harvest as often as we could.

Garden birthday party, 2003

It was all for not. I arrived home one afternoon to find the tree split in two. Part of it was standing, but the rest lay sprawled across the lawn. I was so grateful that my children weren’t playing in the yard at the time. Once I knew the cats were also safe I was able to relax. I knew they weren’t trapped under the limbs of the fallen tree.

The tree had to go.

With the tree gone, we realized how much we enjoyed the extra light and the space to plant sun-worshiping vegetables. We bought a dwarf lemon instead and put it in a pot on the front deck.

Chapter Two

Dwarf lemon trees produce full-sized fruit on a smaller tree. My mom had good luck growing a potted lemon tree, so I reasoned we could too. For whatever reason our Myer lemon didn’t take off.

We moved our dwarf lemon to the front, side yard and hoped it would get plenty of sun.

Dwarf Myer Lemon Newly transplanted, 2011

Dwarf Myer Lemon today April, 2014

That first year the tree doubled in size but didn’t produce any fruit. It increased in size again but got hit with a hard frost and decided to sit it out for another year. Last year the tree sent out thorns. Surely fruit would follow. By early fall, a fungus or some kind of pest, deformed all the new growth, wrapping it in a light powder.

What is a gardener to do? I pulled out the shears, and removed the damage, taking a little extra for good measure. Winter came (sort of) followed in typical fashion by spring.

Chapter Three

It’s spring! The birds are singing, the bulbs are popping and we finally got a bit of rain. Could this be the banner year for our little lemon tree? A recent trip to the side yard renewed my hope. A single flower bud, fresh from the rain sent out a cheerful welcome. New growth covered the tree and not a single pest in sight.

Lemon tree buds

A couple of rainy days later and all was right with the world. Tiny flower buds cover the tree. Sweet, pink, intoxicating, might-one-day-be-a-lemon buds.

Lemon tree flower and buds

To be continued…

Epilogue

When life gives you lemons…

Collect them in a large bowl for a pretty display. Your entire house will smell like citrus.
Lemon juice and salt are great for cleaning copper.
Grinding a chopped lemon with some ice freshens the sink and the garbage disposal.
Use lemon juice instead of bleach to remove stains. Soak your delicate clothing in a mixture of lemon juice and baking soda for at least half an hour before washing. We did this with costumes in my theater days, so we didn’t harm the delicate fabric.