You could give Evergreen in San Leandro a call...I recall seeing some espalier citrus there - can't remember exactly what, though :)

Sarah, if the tree if for your mom, and she doesn't want an espaliered lemon, why not just buy a lovely regular Improved Meyer lemon tree? Does it have to be espaliered? You have to keep an espaliered tree pruned to retain their shape. They are not a "once and done". You'll have to learn how to prune to retain the shape without removing all the fruiting shoots. Not super hard, but still, you'll need to do a little work to keep the tree in its espaliered shape.

Patty S.

Yes, Patti, thanks for reminding me. I think she can do the upkeep. she's still very sharp and energetic and she loves to be in the garden. When we get one, I'll make sure to supply it with a book on pruning. The space we have is long and narrow and we thought espalier would be perfect for that space. The path is right next to it and the tree that we have now grows over the path and makes it harder to pass so we thought espalier would be a good choice. She also has roses, so she pretty familiar with the idea of pruning for shape and health and promoting bud growth rather than shoots.

and Serge, I will call Evergreen this morning, we don't live too far from San Leandro and they might be able to recommend someone if they don't have it themselves or maybe they would know where to order one,

thanks again,

Sarah

you say she is 86 years old and in good health. I take it were hoping to get another 20 years of excellent gardening to enjoy the fruits that will come of this tree starting in 10 -15 years in an appreciable number. I would say go for it. Keep in mind that the sun rises and sets north of the east west divider line. The sun will not cross over that line for a good few hours that far south. The sun will stay south of that line for only a few hour and will the cross back to the north leaving the tree in the dark most of the day from early may to late august. Citrus is also very very hard to grow. Just look at the citrus forum at all the cry's for immediate help. Lets look at goose berries, figs, grapes, rabbiteye blueberries, raspberries, dwarf peach tree. These will all produce in the 2nd year with good results by year three..

But citrus!; please don't do that to your mom. She deserves more respect than that

Poncirus guy - what?!? A south-facing exposure in N. California is ideal for citrus. The tree will have full sun during the winter, which is ideal. As the sun rises up from the horizon in the summer, the tree may get some shading at midday if it is right up against the house, but in the dead of summer, that's fine. Citrus are not hard at all to grow, they are probably one of the most forgiving fruit trees out there. They grow exceptionally well in California, even in our cooler, foggier areas. The Improved Meyer lemon tree is a great choice. Poncirusguy, I am sure Sarah will tell you there are plenty of citrus all around her neighborhood. There are very few "cries for help" with in-ground citrus here on the Citrus Forum. Just some newbies who are learning how to garden and how to grow something new to them. I have over 100 trees on my property that are doing very well, and I don't baby my trees. Most of the issues are with folks trying to grow container citrus inside, in non-citrus areas. That is much more challenging, as citrus as not necessarily the best suited for indoor culture. However, with some education and effort, many of our forum members have been very successful. Sarah, please let us know how you get along, and if you have success finding an espaliered tree!

Patty S.

I got the location mixed up. I was thinking much farther south. However it is in the true high noon the the citrus trees get sun and a few hours each direction of the day. The tree will get no sun from sunrise till the sun pases verticaly over the south-north divider line. you might want to measure when the sun crosses over. That will indicate how much sunlight the tree will get at that time of the year. From equinox through winter till equinox a south exposure can not be beat. My inground trees are doing fantastic so I'll agree there to but citrus does take some real time to produce anything to wright home about. I get about 3 hours of sunlight on the south wall at this time.in cincinnati on the 39th parell.

"Mom" live long and prosper.

I called the Evergreen Nursery and they usually carry espaliered meyer lemon trees, but they were sold out this week- will order more in a few weeks if I wanted to wait. In the meantime, I mentioned that we had originally planned on an apple tree and he said he had some gorgeous 6 in 1 espaliered apple trees, so I think we will head down there next week for a see what they have. My sister lives and works very near that nursery so I'm sure we'll all take the visit. I'll let you know. We do love having lemons, now I am trying to find a space to squeeze in two trees..... I know you've all been there.

Thanks again and again,

Sarah

Hi Sarah:

I've seen those apple trees and he's right - they are gorgeous. I thought of getting one myself...and may do so next year after how I see things fill out.

I might just call and put one of the lemons on hold too...I have a spot for that and you can (almost) never have too many lemons.

Serge

poncirus, I'm "much further south", and a south facing exposure against my house gets PLENTY of sunshine :-) No problems there. And, citrus don't take long to produce, especially lemons. Remember, any grafted tree you buy, especially an espaliered one, is at least 2 years old. Espaliered trees are probably at least 3 to 4 years old, and usually have fruit on them at purchase time :-) Seedling lemons have a juvenility of about 2 years, only surpassed by lime trees, which have the shortest junvenility period of about a year. And, these are seedlings, not grafted trees, which produce faster (one of the several benefits of a grafted tree.)

Patty S.

I'm directly east of Los Angeles. I have a Mexican Lime, Eureka Lemon, and Pomona Sweet Lemon in pots on a south facing wall. My eaves are 40" long so none of the trees get any direct sun in the summer. They were bought last summer as #5, the typical small size sold everywhere. I did get most of the nursery light weight organic planting mix off them and planted them in well draining mix, not the garbage that they sell at Lowes, Home Depot, etc.

They all have fruit on them around an inch long so will have edible fruit about a year after potting them, which makes them about 3 years old or so.

If you are on the coast in Cali, how can you have enough chill hours to grow apples?

Posted by GregBradley USDA9, Sunset 18

"pots on a south facing wall. My eaves are 40" long so none of the trees get any direct sun in the summer "

Sounds like you're very aware how the sun travels from season to season

"planted them in well draining mix, not the garbage that they sell at Lowes, Home Depot, etc."

SMART------------------------VERY SMART as spoken on the magnavox advertisement.

if you are on the coast in Cali, how can you have enough chill hours to grow apples?

There are varieties that are very close to 0 chill hours. Google will have answers.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.ehow.com/list_7464609_zones-apple-trees-grow-in_.html

check this out for low chill apples

Here is a link that might be useful: http://ucanr.org/sites/urbanhort/files/80158.pdf

Greg, I get about 300 to 600 ch, depending upon our winter. Last winter we had probably a record number of chill hours here, so I was in the 600 range. I am about 6 to 7 miles from the coast, but in the hills a bit. And, apples are not as picky about chill hours as other stone/pome fruits are. I grow several varieties of apples, including the classic low chill apples for California (Golden Dorsett and Anna), as well as several varieties of Fuji, Honeycrisp, Pink Pearl, Rubiyat, Goldrush and Hidden Rose. They will all produce, perhaps some not as heavily as they might with more chill hours, but enough for my needs. If you go to Kuffel Creek's web site, you'll be able to read what Kevin has done out in Riverside county growing all kinds of apples - without the requisite chill hours. And, you're correct - citrus will actually do reasonably well even in nearly full shade. Probably the one cultivar that will be happier in more sun are grapefruits, but lemons, limes, oranges and mandarins will do fine in partial shade. Of course, the more sun, the better (taking care for sunburn on young trunks of course), but they'll produce fruit and perform for you in areas as you have your planted. We are very fortunate here in S. California, to live in one of the most forgiving environments for citrus.

Patty S.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kuffel Creek Apple Nursery