Lemon tree (Citrus limon) care

Herbs & edibles · needs attention to keep

Lemon tree (Citrus limon) wants full sun — the brightest position in the house. Water it every 6 days. Water thoroughly when the top few centimetres are dry, with rainwater if your tap is hard. Never let it stand in a saucer. Pot it in citrus compost, or a loam-based compost with grit — slightly acid. A citrus feed — summer formula in the growing season, winter formula from autumn. They are hungry and specific about it, and repot every 2 years. Humidity: above 50%. Mildly toxic to cats and dogs — the essential oils in the leaves and peel cause vomiting and, in cats, can irritate skin.

The Meyer lemon: a compact citrus that flowers and fruits readily in a pot, scenting a room when it blooms. It needs the brightest position you have, a citrus-specific feed, and rainwater — the yellow-with-green-veins leaves on most indoor lemons are hard water locking out iron.

Quick facts

Water: Water every 6 days. Water thoroughly when the top few centimetres are dry, with rainwater if your tap is hard. Never let it stand in a saucer.
Light: Full sun — the brightest position in the house.
Humidity: Above 50%.
Soil: Citrus compost, or a loam-based compost with grit — slightly acid.
Feeding: A citrus feed — summer formula in the growing season, winter formula from autumn. They are hungry and specific about it.
Repotting: Repot every 2 years.
Toxic to pets: Mildly toxic to cats and dogs — the essential oils in the leaves and peel cause vomiting and, in cats, can irritate skin.
Difficulty: Needs attention.
Mature size: 1–2 m in a pot.
Native to: China; the Meyer is a hybrid.

Watering a Lemon tree

Water every 6 days. Water thoroughly when the top few centimetres are dry, with rainwater if your tap is hard. Never let it stand in a saucer.

That cadence is the one PlantParlour sets for this species when you name it, and it is deliberately on the cautious side — a plant that asks a day early is safer than one that asks a day late. Log each watering and the reminder moves with the plant rather than with the calendar.

Light

As much direct sun as possible, and outdoors from late spring to autumn if you can manage it. Citrus indoors in poor light drop their leaves and never fruit.

Humidity and temperature

Above 50%. Central heating in winter is what turns a comfortable room into a dry one, and it is the usual reason an established plant suddenly browns at the edges or picks up spider mites.

Soil and potting

A free-draining, slightly acid mix. Citrus-specific composts exist and are worth using; ordinary compost plus hard water causes the yellowing you see on half the lemon trees in garden centres.

Feeding

A citrus feed — summer formula in the growing season, winter formula from autumn. They are hungry and specific about it. Stop feeding in autumn and start again when you see new growth in spring — feeding a plant that isn't growing just builds up salts in the pot.

Repotting

Repot every 2 years. Every second or third spring, one size up. Prune lightly in late winter to keep the shape.

Common problems

Yellow leaves with green veins
Iron or magnesium locked out by hard water or alkaline compost.

Fix: Use rainwater, repot into citrus compost, and use a proper citrus feed.
Leaves dropping in winter
Too warm and too dark indoors.

Fix: Keep it cool (around 10 °C) and as bright as possible over winter, and water much less.
Sticky leaves and sooty black mould
Scale insects — extremely common on indoor citrus.

Fix: Check stems and leaf undersides, wipe them off, and treat every week for a month.
Flowers but no fruit
Nothing pollinated them indoors.

Fix: Dab each flower with a soft brush every day or two while they are open.

Propagation

Semi-ripe cuttings in summer with bottom heat; slow, and seed-grown plants take many years to fruit.

A cutting taken in PlantParlour keeps its link to the plant it came from, so a propagation years later still traces back to the mother plant — which is the point if you ever sell or trade it.

Toxicity and safety

Mildly toxic to cats and dogs — the essential oils in the leaves and peel cause vomiting and, in cats, can irritate skin.

Questions people ask

How often should you water a Lemon tree?

Water every 6 days as a starting point — that is the cadence PlantParlour sets for Citrus limon. Water thoroughly when the top few centimetres are dry, with rainwater if your tap is hard. Never let it stand in a saucer. Light, pot size and the time of year all move that number, so treat it as a reminder to go and check rather than a rule.

How much light does a Lemon tree need?