Laura, it must be a great lemon, after all it is named after a great Saint. I'm personally not a fan of the Meyer lemon, but thanks for the taste test.

Laura I love your threads, they really help the northern citrus hobbiest pick varieties that will do well outside the citrus belt . Keep up the great info and the fruit look great .

Brian

Thank you for posting the comparison, Laura! I am looking forward to your taste update on Genoa, really want to get your opinion about the taste of that variety.

Laura, thank you for the lemon taste comparison. The ST fruit looks huge compared to the Lisbon. Hopefully the Lisbon will get better as it matures..

My 2 ST trees are constantly flowering and setting fruit and I get really excited, but the fruit eventually fall off despite being pollinated and fertilized. The trees are in bud and fruit now, once again. Hoping that a few fruit will stay on and develop to full maturity this year. The fruit on my Genoa seem to be growing so slow. They are turning a bit yellow and I am concerned that the fruit will not develop and ripen at a regular size..

Thanks guys! Brian, do you have a ST? If not, you should! Silica is right...there is a reason that lemon is so famous. Sunshine, I can't wait to taste the other either...I'll report back then, but it will be a while yet. Jinny, I am sorry they keep falling off. I wonder if my tree is happy bc I potted it up to a rather large pot this year. It is a massive, wide beast. It still has two lemons on it but it is constantly in bloom and is growing a large number of lemons on most branches. I suspect most will stick. How large of a pot are yours in? Also, my ST has barely lost any leaves this year even though it is on the inside area of my sunroom away from the windows. I do have a few lights pointed at it, but it has done remarkably well for leaf loss. It is definitely less finicky than the meyers about that. Although I will say that all of my Meyers except Alexander have not had much if any leaf loss. I wonder why he is more vulnerable to it even though he has such a great location.

Laura, that ST Lemon is gorgeous! Thanks for the taste test!

Thanks Kelley!

Nice comparison Laura, I’ve been wanting a ST lemon. I may buy one and keep it in a pot if I can find one, the lemons sound wonderful.

Evan

Evan, I'd make a room in the ground for a ST. I think it is the best lemon I have ever tasted :)

Thanks for that report, Laura! I was wondering if I should get a Santa Teresa, but now that my two Meyers are producing, I think I will be better off getting a lime or an orange instead! Good to know that the Meyer was a close second.

KC

Laura, you may never (this includes myself and others with citrus) understand why Alexander looses more leaves compared to your other Meyer, under the same conditions , and it may always be a mystery but he still produces plenty of good lemons does he not? Is he your oldest citrus tree?

The ST is in a 15 gallon pot. Not rootbound at all. Very little leaf loss on this tree except for older leaves. I recently discovered soft brown scale on the tree. First time I had to deal with it. I took a q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol and got every one off that I could see. As I was removing the nasty buggers I did have a couple fall off of the q-tip down into the pot and they blend in too well with the 5-1-1 so I could not retrive them! I had my magnifying glass and I inspected the tree from head to toe. Sprayed and hosed it down. Separated it from others. I also thoroughly inspected all of my other trees, no sign of scale. I do check it daily to keep an eye on it. My other ST is doing well, a bit of leaf loss but not bad. Plenty of light, warmth, and nutrients. . This tree did not have a great root system when it arrived from Four Winds, the roots had been chopped off. At least when they arrived they had a few lemons attached so I did get to try a few of them although the lemons were not huge like yours when I clipped them off. The juice and zest were really good! The flavor and oils in the zest was a standout! Just hoping some of the fruit would stay on.

Very true Jinny. I have two other Meyer trees literally next to him but neither has the spot right by the window like he does, and they have barely shed any leaves! The other one in my porch also does not shed leaves...go figure. He definitely does not look happy, but he looks better than last year. Yes, he does recover and has produced lots of lemons. He is my oldest tree because he was a 3-4 year old tree (or maybe 4-5) when I got him from FGT years ago. I've had him at least five years...? I lose count ;) . My Persian lime Seth is the tree I've had the longest, but he was just a tiny cutting from RB Farms when I got him. It's funny, even though he was much smaller when I got him, he is just as big as Alex now. Gives an idea of how fast they grow and to some extent, the limitations of keeping them in a container. They are both in the exact same containers. I think this spring, I am going to move them up to a slightly larger pot and leave them there forever. I will have to root prune after that...

I am sorry you found scale. I found scale on Seth, but I just can't move him so I have just been treating him and the trees all around him. I treat everything in there anyways because that is the only citrus area with whiteflies...total PITA...lol!

Inside a structure such as a residence with lots of plants, or greenhouse, once white flies become a problem, they are the hardest of all insects, in my opinion, to once and for all completely eliminate. Never stop trying to eradicate them for a moment, as they can explode in a very short time. Each female can lay up to 200 eggs. Commercial greenhouses commonly use various methods including a parasitic wasp (Encarsia Formosa) for control. It seems to be a never ending battle.

Silica, that is true about white flies, couple years back my daughter brought a house plant from school, which she planted with her teacher and that plant got white flies really bad. They were coming back few times after treatments and I wanted to throw it out, but couldn't, because months later my daughter's teacher died of some illness complications and she wanted to keep the plant in memory of her teacher. After I treated it, I covered the plant with clear plastic bag( only the plant but not the soil), tied the bag at the bottom, the soil remained uncovered, let it sit for couple of weeks and got rid of the pests. They didn't affect my other trees though.

Hello Laura no I don't have a ST lemon and now I'm tempted to get one all thanks to you lol.

Brian

Brian, you need to get one! Silica, don't I hear you...these whiteflies are such awful pests. I feel like the best I can do is control them. I spray about once a week especially in the trouble areas, but they never quite go away. Sunshine, I wish I could wrap up my trees like that. I wish I could take them outside and hose them off!

I've taken to weekly or semi weekly carrying my trees one by one to the shower or sink (depending on size) and hosing them down, inspecting for scale and spider mites and then spraying with HO. It's kept the problems at bay. I'm not sure they will ever be GONE, because I always find one or two, but it's under control. Laura, I know you have way more plants then I do. It takes me about 2 hours to wash and groom all of my plants, non citrus included. I Can Not Wait For Spring!

Laura - Just before I saw this post, I had been researching lemon varieties. I know we had a thread going about six months ago discussing the differences. I had settled on a Bearrs Lemon and a Lisbon to add to my Meyer and ST. The Bearrs is supposed to be much much more productive than the Eureka or Lisbon. It also bears heaviest from June to December, where the rest of the lemons, while they do bear year round, bear heaviest from December to February. I'm pretty sure Sammers has one. Anyone else? Anyone know who sells them? I've only seen them at Harris.

Laura, I know you have some interesting varieties, but I don't think you have a Bearrs, right? Is this the first year that your Lisbon fruited?

I'm really glad that I have a ST, since everyone raves about it. I want another Meyer because mine is tiny and I really like them. I know a lot of people don't, but mine are flavorful and juicy. I wanted to get a standard variety and that's why I decided on Lisbon, but do to productivity and ripening time, I'm leaving towards Bearrs first. I'd love other Italian varieties, but I don't see them very often. Of course, I'm going to take cuttings of my ST this spring and try to root them.

I just read through the old lemon thread (Nov '17) and I want all the lemons!

Laura - You have a Bearrs and I'm guessing it hasn't fruited yet or you would have posted. We all love your comparisons, so keep them coming. You said it wasn't as healthy or productive as your others. Is it dong any better? You'll have to let us know one it gets outside again. You have so many varieties and all in containers, I really value your input. I think Susanne and Jinnylea do also, but I haven't seen a comment from them regarding variety comparisons. We should do that every year or so, post a comparison of how different varieties hold up: fared through the winter, production, vigorous grower, etc. I'm sure lots of us would be interested in first hand experience when trying to choose different varieties.

After reading through, I still want another Meyer and a Bearrs or another Italian variety. I won't say no to a Lisbon or Eureka, but they're not my top choice.

I really, really, really want a greenhouse. First thing I'll do after winning the lottery, a greenhouse/sunroom...

Bearrs lemon is VERY similar to the Lisbon lemon, both in taste and time of fruit production.

From everything I read, the Bearrs and Lisbon were quite different. If they are so similar, I might as well get a Lisbon. Last year my local nursery had them for $15 on sale.

I thought the Bearrs was a lime not a lemon. Do they have both ?

There is both a Bearrs lemon and lime

Alanna, I’ve had a crazy day and just checked in now and saw your posts! Nick, I asked Jinny the same question a while ago and was correctly informed that there is a Bearss lemon. Alanna, yes I do have one, and you guessed correctly...no ripe fruit yet. It has bloomed a lot this winter and I suspect will hold on to some fruit, but they will not be ready for a long time. About the whiteflies...yes, I am SO ready for spring so I can hose them off. I just sprayed again tonight bc I discovered, to my great horror, a hidden patch on a tree in my son’s room. I thought those trees were clear...ugh. There is no way I can move my trees to the bathroom to shower them off...sone of my trees are massive and in huge pots. I wish I could though. Alanna, if you have a ST, I would not bother with any other lemons. My ST is becoming a very productive tree. It seemed more finicky when it was younger, but it has really turned into a large tree. It is currently blooming on many branches and has lots of lemons set at least 2” long so far. I have not been able to count them all, but it’s got to be at least 20 plus the flowers. Between those and the many meyers I have, I can’t use them all. I’m going to make lemonade soon ;). Night all!