Hi Kev...A mature Meyer's (earth grown) reaches approximately 15' tall.
I'm not 100% sure about this, but people I've talked to growing either dwarf or semi-dwarf Meyers say they reach about 8'..in the ground 15'.
They're sold as dwarf, semi dwarf and standards..Perhaps rootstock makes a difference..Toni

Well I got mine from home depot and it was just labled Improved Myer Lemon,so I assume this is standard.
I hope I will be able to keep this one happy in a container,any thoughts?

Great to here that I will be able to keep it happy as a potted tree.
Thanx

Kev, no matter which rootstock was used, (it is grafted, right?) your citrus will do fine in a container (as long as u care for it properly) :)
Meyer's are one of my favs..they bloom/fruit, (it seems,) throughout the year.
You're lucky your HD sells citrus..I don't know where you live, but location makes a huge difference on plant varieties.
Other than Calamondin, since the nearest HD opened its doors, there was only one summer citrus were available..9.99 each..Good sized trees..tall, healthy, vibrant, green leaves..I'm now sorry I didn't stock up..I'd really like a tree-shaped grapefruit..
Good luck, and enjoy their scent..Toni

I live in Charleston SC,Im now finding out Im lucky for the selection I get:)
I have NO IDEA if my tree is grated or not,how can I tell?

Sorry for the newb questions lol

Hi Kev...don't be sorry asking questions..That's why GW is around..ask and learn.

Look at the main trunk of your tree. (Is your Meyer's tree-shaped or bushy?)
Grafted tree...trunk has a bump and cut/line (line could have been made diaganally/semi horizontal from middle down nearest soil line of the trunk..If you see this bump/line, any growth below should be removed ASAP..growth is rootstock, thorny, and will take over and kill Meyers.
Grafted trees fruit much faster than non-grafted/seedlings..
Do you have a pic of your tree? Toni

Is it warm in SC yet? What's the temps? I'd love moving south some time..

I wish I knew how to upload pics,Im sure it would help but Im also computer illiterate LOL.

I didnt see any noticeable bump or line on the trunk:(
There are white lines all over the trunk but nothing really stood out.

My tree is about 3 ft high
at about 21 inches the main stem(trunk) has been cut to split the tree into 2 main shoots that have 3 to 4 branches off of them.
I have one cluster of flowers with 2 of them opened right now.
Hope this paints some kind of picture for you.

Its pretty nice down here right now,got up to 70 today but night temps can still drop into 40s.
Supposed to be closer to 80 the rest of the week:)

Kev,

This is my last post for the day! I've spent too much time having fun!

I have a Meyer lemon I purchased in a Disney World gift shop in an old cardboard tourist citrus gift box many years ago (I think it must be 23 years!). I seriously doubt that the plant I purchased for two or three dollars was grafted. It currently has a trunk diameter of about 1.25 inches, and is about 18 inches tall and 2 feet wide, but I have to prune it each year since it sends out a number of foot-long new branches during the early summer. I've had as many as 33 lemons on it. This year it had 8 or 10, after a bumper crop of 25 the year before.

On the other hand, my Ponderosa lemon is clearly grafted onto dwarfing rootstock (I bought it as such, and the graft union, about three inches above the soil line, is obvious: the rootstock is actually growing wider than the Ponderosa lemon branch that is grafted onto it. A friend in Florida had a standard Ponderosa in his back yard, and it grew new branches in the growing season that spiked out four and even five feet in a couple of months. I've had my tree for over a decade, and it has never grown a branch of more than six inches in length. Most of the new shoots grow two to three inches at a time. This is not simply a result of being in a container: The dwarfing rootstock is clearly doing something to the Ponderosa Lemon's growth cycle since even repotting into a larger container does not change this pattern.

Finally, there are many rootstocks used for citrus trees that are not really dwarfing: they may slightly reduce the size of a tree grown in the ground, but they are really being used to improve cold or disease resistance.

Don

When is the right time to prune...winter?

So from what I understand its always better to buy a grafted tree if wanting to keep it small?

I believe many Meyer lemons are grown from cuttings, not budded (few citrus are grafted in the regular sense). "Improved," BTW means virus free I read, not improved quality.

Kev, why do you want to prune? Unless you want a particular shape, or if a tree reaches the ceiling, there's no reason to prune..in fact, by doing so, chances are it'll upset flowering/fruit..Toni

I was thinking of pruning just to keep at a manageable size:-)
Thats why Im thinking I should of done MORE research and got a dwarf meyer lemon insted of a standared.

How tall and old are your meyers?
What size pots are they in?

Kev,

You can prune the lemon without worry if it is a container plant. My normal pruning times are

1) in the spring when I move the plants outside and figure a couple snips here and there will eliminate weak branches, crossed branches, and old fruiting wood that looks a bit tired. Just be aware that on a healthy plant, cutting even a two inch snip off from the end of a branch will often cause the branch to send out shoots.

2) I prune in the fall before moving the plants inside (otherwise they often won't fit through the door).

3) I prune at other times when I see the need. In the middle of the summer I have pruned my trees when a particularly huge branch has taken off and grown out of bounds.

Don

I have dwarf lemon, lime,orange and tangerine trees that are about three years old. They are in pots with potting soil. I have them outside as it is warm here. I bring them indoors in winter. These trees have never flowered. Are they not old enough? I live in Middle Tennessee, can I put them in the ground here or keep them in pots? Any info would be greatly appreciated. I would love to have fruit someday.

Hello Witchywoman,
I would not plant them in ground where you are. Citrus can't handle temps below freezing for very long and I am in zone 5 with a microclimate zone6. Lake Erie keeps us a little warmer but even still not warm enough for me to keep citrus outdoors year round. Much better to bring them out when warm enough and cart them back in when temps drop below 32. I don't like to keep mine out below 40! Where did you get your trees? I am concerned that at three years old you have not even had any blooms yet. That isn't a good sign. Are they grafted trees? I am guessing no since I recently got a 2-3 year old Oro Blanco grapefruit tree that is loaded with flowers. Matter of fact, I just went out side and removed 3 immature fruits that just formed after the flower petals fell. I do this hoping that the energy will go back to the tree and encourage it to grow larger. Can you post any pics of your trees? Where did you buy them?
Kev,
I wanted to let you know that a lot of people grow these trees from rooted cuttings and wheather it is grafted or not, you will still get a lot of pleasure from your tree. I love South Carolina. I have made many trips to Myrtle Beach and alsways wanted to experience Charleston but never have. As a teenager, I bought many of my first tropical trees there. Over the years I got a ponderosa lemon, 1 or 2 banana trees, and a huge gardenia tree that actually looked more like a large bush. I didn't have much luck with most of them. I left the ponderosa outdoors and a stupid rabbit turned it into dinner! Thorns and all. I lost the gardenia tree but now I am succesfull with growing them. I wanted to let you know that I recently bought a "dwarf" improved meyer lemon tree. My tree is a little over 6 feet but from what I hear they respond well to pruning. Unfortunetly for me, I can only let it grow maybe a foot taller, but this summer I am going to work on getting it to grow wider. Also, when the tree is full of fruits you can get a weeping affect due to the weight of the fruit. Good luck with your tree and if you have any questions fire away! You should check out my Calling all Imroved Meyer lemon tree post. I asked tons of questions and as a result, my tree is as beutifull as it was the day I got and actually i think it looks greener. Mike recommended a dose of white vinegar and Foliage Pro at every watering. My trees leaves are a nice healthy green!
Andrew

I was wondering about this too. I bought an Improved Meyer Lemon that on the container, it says that it is a semi dwarf, but there was a tag on the tree which said Dwarf Improved Meyer Lemon. I bought it at our Home Depot in Sierra Vista, AZ. I asked the clerk and he said go by the tag that is on the container so I guess it is a semi dwarf. Even though we are close to the border of Mexico, it still gets really cold here in the winter. Down to the 20s. I have a Dwarf Blood Orange tree right outside my front door that I have planted and kept it alive for 15 years by putting those warm Christmas lights on it till the freezes are over. I put my lemon tree in a pot as I read they are not as hardy as the orange. The blood Orange is good down to 28 degrees without lights on it. I would like to plant the lemon in the ground by the door with the orange tree but am afraid to do so. So if it is ok for a semi dwarf to be in a pot, then I will leave it in the pot and put it in our greenhouse. However a lady I know has a grapefruit tree growing in her yard, but she lives in town which is warmer than out here by the mountains. I just don't want my lovely tree to die.

You can keep it in a pot. Any citrus in a pot will be smaller than in the ground. A semi-dwarf grafted Meyer will probably not get more than 4' or so in a pot. In the ground it would probably get about 6-7' tall.

Even a standard Meyer lemon is a rather small tree and tends towards a bush like growth pattern rather than a true tree shape. Someone above said a standard Meyer can get to 15' and that is still small compared to a standard orange which can get to 35' tall or more.

You could put it in the ground there if you like, Meyer lemons are one of the most cold hardly of the citrus. That's one reason why it's so popular, it will grow a lot of places less cold hardy citrus won't grow. Unprotected it can take down to 22*F, with lights and protection even colder. You should be good.

Wow that is amazing. It says on the tag that it will only take down to 32 degrees. So you are saying it will take 22 unprotected. Great. Only one time 3 years ago, it got down to 0 degrees but that was a very unusual cold snap. My blood orange made it through that but did freeze back quite a bit. Normally it only gets down to 22 or above. We have been here since 1981 and it has never gone below 22. That is wonderful news that they are that hardy to stand those temps. Thank you so much.

The safest temp is probably 32*F, and that 22*F is most likely only for a few nights before there is damage. The most likely damage would be to flower buds and new growth. This is for in-ground trees. Trees in pots cannot go that low.

Here's where I got that info on low temps;

"Satsuma mandarins on Trifoliate rootstocks are the most cold hardy mandarins, mature trees can
withstand temperature down to 15 or 16º if they have had a chance to harden off. Clementines
and other mandarin varieties are slightly less cold hardy, as are other rootstocks such as C-35 and
Carrizo. Oranges and lemons are also less cold hardy than mandarins. General cold hardiness for
mature trees: kumquat (18°) > Satsuma mandarin (20°) > Meyer lemon (22°) > oranges (Navel,
blood, etc. )(24°) > grapefruit (26°)." ...rest of article;

http://cemerced.ucanr.edu/files/134971.pdf

Sounds like you would prefer to put it in the ground, if I were you I'd try it. Truthfully, citrus in the ground are easier than in pots. If you get nights that will be going below 35*f do some easy protection. One way is to get those mini-Christmas lights, not the new led ones but the regular mini-bulb ones. String them through the branches and put it on a timer so it goes on at night and off in the day time. That little bit of extra warmth will get it through those hours of frost.

And always make sure your trees are well watered before a frost. A dry plant will be damaged easier.

Second easy protection is to get a patio umbrella and put it over the tree, then put a large sheet over that. You've just made a mini frost house. If it will be windy, you may need to use some bricks or something to hold down the sheets. I've used these two methods when frost was predicted and it's always works for me.

We usually get down to 40*F here, and several nights of 32* each winter is common. Occasionally we get down to the low 20's but not every year. You sound like you're a bit colder where you are, so oranges and regular lemons would be tough. Meyers and Satsumas should be fine though.

Thank you so much for your information. Yes, I would love to put the tree by my BLood Orange tree. I have a raised retaining wall filled with river dirt that my husband and I got from the river along with sand and filled that wall so that we have a kind of raised patio that is up against the front of our house. I have this Moro Blood Orange tree by my front door that is probably 15 years old now. It is good down to 28 degrees, so when it gets colder which is rare, I put those big C-4 lights on it and sometimes throw a blanket over it. So I would like to do that with the Meyer lemon too. Usually it hangs around the high 30s at night here in the winter. I wish we only got down to 40. Tucson gets that warm. we have a greenhouse too that I put my Hawaiian Hibiscus in every winter. I was thinking of putting the lemon in there but it might be too humid in there. We live at the foot of some big 9,900 foot mountains, so it does get colder and windy when the wind comes down off the mountains. I have Arizona Cypress trees for a wind break around our land and it helps with the wind. Do you live in California or Canada? I just saw the CA by your name. We are having a lot of wind today and tonight as a storm is coming in from California. it gets very warm even hot here in the spring and summer so the tree will get plenty of hot sun. Usually our very cold is only through late November through February. sometimes it is like summer in January. This year it was cold, and usually it is from these arctic cold fronts that dip down from Alaska. We usually have 2 or 3 of those in a winter.

Damage is in relation to dew point and wind from what I have seen. A solid windbreak at 25 is better than no windbreak at 30-32. Also we have grown Meyer Lemons into the 25 foot range so you don't want to completely bank on it being a 15 foot tree in ground down in Florida. It has a lot to do with rootstock like the dwarf flying dragon etc.