Pac, congrats on finding one. Where did you manage to buy it? I found that my ST is definitely more finicky and slow growing than my other lemons, but it could be that my warm, humid climate here in MD is not what it is used to. As far as light sensitivity, mine is not nearly as light sensitive as the meyers. It did have some leaf drop - especially towards the late winter (it also had mites which did not help), but nothing major. I have found mine to be more sensitive to extreme heat (which we get here sometimes, but should not be a problem for you)...it wilts. This year it has behaved quite well outside. I will say that its growth habit (at least mine) is very sprawling. Mine is waaay wider than it is tall and sprawls like a big x. I just noticed this morning that it is finally filling in the middle which was still bare after winter. It has a few lemons and I hope it will keep them so I can finally try the famous lemons. It does have lovely dark and large leaves. I had to trim it because it had such a long branch that it was hitting the ground and I am trying to root it. It has remained green, so I am cautiously optimistic...

Congratulations! I have two, three year old Santa Teresa Lemons that I purchased last year and they are one of my favorite trees. They are not as sensitive to light changes as the Meyer and went through the seasonal change indoors with little leaf drop. I had both in my sunroom with cfl lights through most of the winter before moving most of my citrus down to the basement where the temperature was more stable. One of my Santa Teresa's lost about 1/3 of its leaves very late in winter but came back strong when I moved them back upstairs to the sunroom in early spring.

Will you be growing your ST in a pot permanently or will it go in ground as soon as spring arrives? Come spring you will need to acclimate your citrus from being inside all winter. Put them in shade for a week and then partial shade to full sun. The tree needs the same care as many citrus in regards to fertilizer when grown in pots.. Feed them often with a good citrus fertilizer that contain micro and macro nutrients. The leaves should be a beautiful dark green when well fed.

One of my ST has a tendency for the branches to grow more outward (wide) and sprawling in shape. The other has more upright branching.. That one is easier to move in and out.. lol

They have been going through a major growth flush for the past month and are doing well except for the past month we have been having so much heavy rain that it flushes the fertilizer out rather quickly. I moved my citrus to the gh to give them a chance to dry out and for the roots to be able to take up the nutrients. . The leaves are starting to green up much better now.

I took my SD card out of my camera that had all of my pictures of citrus on it. I will see if I can find some and post a few..

The new arrivals just after being potted up late last summer. You can see the ST on the left has a more upright growth habit compared to the tree on the right which is more sprawling.

This picture was taken late last fall after bringing them inside. You can see how large the leaves will get, and given the right fertilizer treatment the leaves will be a beautiful dark green.

Laura, did your Santa Teresa have a big bloom flush this spring? Mine had just a few scattered blossoms here and there throughout the tree. I have one or two tiny fruit growing on each tree currently. .

Jinny, it did not, but like yours, did have blooms here and there. I just counted and mine has five lemons - four of them are maybe 1.5-2" in diameter. It has a smaller one near the trunk but I would be surprised if it keeps it. It is finally flushing out new growth at the ends of the branches and from the interior of the tree where the branches are still bare in places. I'll try to take a pic, but it is hard to get a good one because of all the green surrounding it.

Here is a picture that I just took of the ST with the long sprawling branches. I staked and tied up the longest branch so it would not be in the way.. I did trim a bit off last fall and try to root the branches with no luck.. :)

Laura, I hope they will have another flush of blooms this year. Like you, I am looking forward to picking off and using the ripe lemons.

I find same as you, Silica.

Having said that, my (in-ground) Lisbon 8A and ST lemon trees produce very similar fruit / bloom and flush pretty much the same. They can take full, intense sun, however, will be tested today as its forecast to hit 108F in my yard.

That's interesting Silica. I've been to Avila, where they still have Saint Teresa's finger! I am going to measure mine when I can, but at its widest, it is at least 5'! It's hard to tell from pics bc there's not a good scale. I counted 7 lemons, but I don't know that they'll all stick even though some are a good size.

New flush from lots of places!it's in the black pot next to Enzo. ;-)

Thanks everyone for the great pictures and the information. I got my tree from Pearson Ranch - essentially, they sell the tree but FW is going to be sending it to me directly. It's kind of like reserving a tree in advance in practice. It's great to hear that the tree is less finicky with regards to light than Meyers are; hopefully the tree will make it through the dark Winter and thrive next Spring / Summer.

Pac, I am tempted to order one even though its at a higher price just to make sure I get one this year. I didn't see a way to purchase it through the website did you have to call to reserve it?

I have two Feminellos and yesterday I made a salad dressing with juice of one lemon, 3 tbl yoghurt and a little bit of sugar, one head of iceberg lettuce. The taste of the lemon is just too good, indescribable

. I love those trees. Winter was not the best and they suffered but still had some fruit and one of the trees has some flowers. Not as many as I would like but not unexpected. Just hope the second one will fully recover as well. This are by far my most favorite trees.

To see the new growth starting everywhere on this one makes me happy :)

Susanne,

That's a beautiful tree, thanks for sharing the pictures. Your tree looks pretty happy to me, especially compared to my Meyer which is only now flushing with new growth for the summer season.

Sammers,

http://www.pearsonranch.com/santa-teresa-lemon-tree.html

I was able to navigate to this on mobile, try that?

I hope your trees are bouncing back from our weekend heat blast.

Susanne, beautiful trees and lemons! I can't wait to try one! How old are your trees and how big are they? About how many lemons do they grow for you? Sorry for all the questions, but I've been wanting to try those for a long time'

Thank you for the compliment Laura and PacNorWreck. When I bought them in 2013 from FW they were about two to three years old. So far I had about seven lemons on each tree. I could have had more but health reasons lead to neglect of my trees and they really suffered to a point I thought I sure will loose them. Last winter I had lots of spider mites and they have not fully recovered from that yet. Other then that I would say they did grow a lot are pretty darn hardy for the last four years. Now all is getting better and hopefully next year I will have more lemons.

Susanne, that is a lovely tree and the fruit is lovely also. What selection of Femminello cultivar do you have?

Laura and I are both patiently waiting to get ripe fruit off of our trees and Laura asked the same questions that I am interested in learning about your trees. My ST lemons fell off ( last winter) just before turning yellow and they were a bit under developed, but the scent of the rind and the bit of juice I did get from two fruit was excellent. Like you, I used it in a dressing, but with olive oil and honey. Thank you for sharing your pictures and dressing recipe. It sounds lovely! :)

Thank you, Silica and Mole. I appreciate the feedback. Laura, that ST is lovely and you are right, it is wide, but lovely all the same! :)

Ha, Suzanne, never mind about the selection. You posted while I was typing.. If you got it from Four Winds it must be a ST. :D

Yes Santa Teresa. Now you tell me there are other Femminellos? Where to get?? Do I need one or two?

I had a meyer lemon I was attempting to grow here on Long Island. My plan was to pot it keep it outside as long as I could and then inside for the winter..... it made it thru most of the winter but i assume didn't get enough light and I lost it... Does anyone have a suggestion as to how I could keep one alive without the benefit of a south window? I really would love to get a ST and reap the rewards... i make Limoncello from store bought lemons but would like to be more traditional with the ST variety.