Everything You Need to Know

NZ’s subtropical climate zone is the sweet spot for lemons, because they're sensitive to frosts. Most lemon varieties will grow well throughout the North Island and in the upper South Island, but they do best in warmer areas.

If your place is frost-free, you can grow any lemon variety that appeals to you. In frost-prone regions, it’s best to stick to the hardier options like 'Meyer' or 'Lisbon'. If you’re in a colder area, it’s wise to grow citrus in sheltered conditions, or in movable pots you can shift under cover, to protect them from severe freezes.

If you’re looking for planting tips for a new lemon tree, have a look here.

Lemons: Cold Tolerant Choices

• The classic Kiwi lemon, ‘Meyer’ is famed for cold tolerance, so it’s used widely in frosty areas. Once it gets going, it’s a spectacular cropper and very easy to care for. ‘Meyer’ is a natural hybrid with a touch of mandarin in its ancestry, so it’s sweeter tasting than ‘true’ lemons. Fruit is large, soft-skinned and has a distinctive yellowy-orange colour. Trees will grow to 3m tall and wide, but don’t mind being trimmed to keep them compact. It’s a great choice for a pot.
• ‘Lisbon’ originated from old Portuguese cultivars taken to Australia by early settlers. It develops into a large, thorny tree that produces a heavy winter crop. It’s quite hardy and more tolerant to temperature extremes than most lemons. If you’re in a colder area, this the one to go for if you want a sharply acidic ‘true lemon’ taste. ‘Lisbon’ has dense foliage and an upright growth habit, reaching 3m in height and 2.5m wide.

'Meyer' Lemons

Options for Areas With Light Frosts

• ‘Villa Franca’ is a close relative of ‘Eureka’ that also offers a sharply acidic taste, but it’s hardier, so it’s a more versatile option to cope with light frosts. The pale-coloured fruit is large, very juicy and has a tangy rind, making this a popular lemon for culinary use. ‘Villa Franca’ produces most fruit during winter. Trees grow to 3m tall and 2.5m wide. They don’t have many thorns and usually won’t need any thinning.
• The ‘Genoa’ lemon is a thornless cultivar originally from Italy, that produces fruit from July to December. It’s also quite similar to ‘Eureka’ but has better frost-tolerance. Fruit is sharply acidic and juicy, nearly seedless and a distinctive shade of yellow, with a chartreuse-green tinge to it. ‘Genoa’ has dense foliage and a broad canopy that reaches 3m in width.
• ‘Yen Ben’ lemons produce fruit throughout the year, although the yield is best during winter. The smallish pale yellow fruit is juicy and thin-skinned, with very few seeds. ‘Yen Ben’ seems to have been selected from 'Lisbon' cultivars in Australia, so it also has a lovely sharp ‘proper lemon’ flavour. Trees reach 3m high and wide and are quite thorny. ‘Yen Ben’ will tolerate a light frost but should be protected from heavier frosts.

'Eureka' Lemons

Lemons for Sites With No Frosts

• The fragrant ‘Eureka’ lemon offers an intense acidic tang; it’s a great choice for cooking when you want punchy citrus flavours to dominate. Fruit is thin-skinned, virtually seedless and ‘Eureka’ produces fruit almost year-round in warm areas. These relatively thornless trees can grow up to 5m tall and wide, although you can trim them during winter to stay at a more manageable size. As lemons go, ‘Eureka’ isn’t very frost tolerant, so it's recommended for frost-free sites.

'Lisbon' Lemons

Lemon's Unique Cousins

• The very popular 'Lemonade' (Citrus limon x reticulata) is a natural hybrid of a lemon and a mandarin, claimed to have been discovered by chance and cultivated here in New Zealand during the 1980s. Fruit is highly scented and surprisingly sweet, with just a touch of acidity. Due to its mandarin ancestry, it’s very easy to peel. Trees reach about 2.5m in height and width and produce excellent yields of fruit. It's also available on compact dwarf rootstock that’s perfect for a pot. ‘Lemonade’ will grow in all but the coldest areas of the country.
• Yuzu lemons are a hybrid of the ichang papeda (Citrus cavaleriei) and mandarin. Yuzu is extremely tart; it lends zesty flavour to many traditional Asian dishes. Fruit is about the size and shape of a golf ball; it even has dimples! Trees grow to about 3m high and are studded with fearsome thorns.

'Lemonade' Lemons

Choosing the Best Growing Site

Lemon trees need plenty of sun and good drainage: anything less will compromise the productivity of the tree. They do best in a spot that’s sheltered from wind. If the soil is heavy, you can dig in generous amounts of organic matter and gypsum, or build a raised bed to improve the situation.

Of course, the easiest remedy for poor soil is to choose a dwarf variety and grow it in a pot! Most of the popular dwarf lemons available are grafted onto a rootstock called ‘Flying Dragon’, that restricts their size by about half. Potted trees should always be grown in a good quality potting mix (like Yates Premium Potting Mix) and moved into larger containers as they increase in size.

Lemon trees planted out straight into the ground hate competing for nutrients, so remove any grass from around the base and keep the root zone area covered with a light organic mulch. Don’t put mulch right up against the trunk (leave a small gap around it) so it doesn’t create the ideal conditions to encourage collar rot.

Yuzu lemons

How to Feed Hungry Lemon Trees

Feed your lemon with Yates Thrive Citrus & Fruit Granular Plant Food regularly throughout the year, in early spring, summer and again in autumn. Sprinkle it over the root zone of your tree and water it in - it will release nutrients gradually for up to 12 weeks. It's also boosted with magnesium, an important trace element for citrus health.

Alternatively you can use a fast-acting liquid feed, like Yates Thrive Citrus Liquid Plant Food. It's very easy to use, plus it takes care of the tree's watering and feeding needs, in a single job. Contains additional micronutrients to provide a balanced diet for a lemon tree.

If you like the fast results of a liquid format, but you prefer a plant food that's fortified with natural ingredients: Yates Thrive Natural Citrus & Fruit Plant Food is the one for you. Most of the ingredients are naturally-derived, including cold-processed fish, seaweed, humates, molasses and beneficial microbes.

In addition to your fertiliser of choice, it's wise to apply a small amount of trace element mix each year, like Yates Health Tonic Trace Element Chelates. This is good insurance to make certain the tree has all the micronutrients it needs for peak production. If your garden soil is low in any of the critical trace elements, this tonic will compensate by delivering a balanced dose of trace elements directly through the foliage. The foliar application reduces the risk of overdoing it and causing accidental soil toxicity.

Verrucosis, AKA Citrus Scab

How to Get Rid of Insect Pests and Diseases on Lemons

• To control scale, aphids, whitefly, thrips, caterpillars, ants, earwigs and leaf hopper infestations, apply Yates Nature's Way Organic Citrus, Vegie & Ornamental Spray regularly, especially through late summer and autumn. It's easy to use and always ready to go when you are. 
• Yates Conqueror Oil is a great alternative to control scale, aphids, mealybugs and mites on larger trees, as it's an economical concentrate format.
• For potted lemons, the Yates Insect Gun is a ready-to-use solution to keep handy, for aphids, caterpillars, thrips, earwigs, whitefly and leaf hoppers.
• Black sooty mould on citrus leaves is a classic symptom that sucking insects are attacking the tree. Sooty mould grows on the sweet honeydew that insects excrete after they've siphoned nutrients from the tree sap. If you tackle the underlying insect problem, the sooty mould will lessen over time, as its food source disappears.
• Control disfiguring verrucosis (citrus scab) on fruit with Yates Copper Oxychloride, or Yates Nature's Way Fungus Spray.