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arlene_chung

6 year old lemon tree started from seed

6 years ago

Hi everyone, hoping someone has some experience with this. I have a lemon tree I started from an organic lemon I bought from Giant, 6 years ago (honestly I don't even remember what type of lemon it was, just that I got an organic one) the seeds sprouted and one of the plants thrived under my care. The plant is about 7 feet tall, super green and healthy, I feed it (twice a year so I know not enough). I live in PA so it's potted, I bring it inside during the cold months. No flowers at all yet. I read somewhere that a lemon tree you start from seed will NEVER flower : ( I understand I may not get edible lemons, but I was really looking forward to the plant flowering. What do you guys think? Thank you

Comments (14)

  • 6 years ago

    Thanks so much, t e


  • 6 years ago

    traditionally, fruit grown from seed takes a lot longer to produce flowers/fruit. 10 years sounds about right to have to wait.

    Arlene Chung thanked jason long (Z8a/7b)
  • 6 years ago

    If you haven't been trimming it, you're definitely due for your first blossoms, though the first year or two, those generally do not hold. Lemons and limes tend to be 5-7 years to the first blossom, with shorter times being in better conditions (full sun, year round, in ground).

    Arlene Chung thanked Ken "Fruity Paws" (N-Va 7a)
  • 6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    Yeah, I would say 6 to 10 years from seed for lemons to bloom and bear. Less in the ground in the south, and longer in containers in the 'north'. So yours should be getting close. I would make sure to limit your trimming if you can. Citrus have a long juvenile period and need to develop mature growth (and get quite big) before they can bloom.

    Keep in mind if your lemon was Eureka or Lisbon or similar, chances are very good that you will get a true-to-type fruit. However if your lemon was a Meyer, chances are very POOR that you will get anything exactly like a Meyer, since it is a hybrid and seedlings of it do not grow true-to-type.

    When yours blooms for the first time, it may be fairly near the tip top of the tree. This is where the growth first changes phases from juvenile to mature. So you don't really want to cut off the top-most growth. Over the next several years, blooms work their way down lower, as middle and lower branches reach maturity.

    Arlene Chung thanked Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
  • 6 years ago

    I think that you need to bring it outside and plant it in the ground. Mine is already producing huge juicy Lemons. https://youtu.be/aJOXyDknx20

    Arlene Chung thanked Zone 9 Gardening
  • 6 years ago

    Yes, your seed grown tree is VERY productive, thanks for showing! :)

    Arlene Chung thanked FrozeBudd_z3/4
  • 6 years ago

    You are Welcome! ;)

    Arlene Chung thanked Zone 9 Gardening
  • 6 years ago

    This lemon tree took 10 years to produce

    And it produced well.. Not my tree.

    Thread of above pictured lemon tree.

    Arlene Chung thanked poncirusguy6b452xx
  • 6 years ago

    In my opinion, your tree looks small.... Seed grown trees will need about 5-10 years as specified above with ideal conditions. Also, they need to grow to a big size. I'd put it into a bigger pot and bring it outside in the summer and hope for the best. Like others said, avoid pruning until after you get blooms.


  • 6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    if you grow from seed, it will be growing on its own roots, not on grafted rootstock.

    That means the plant will grow bigger, much bigger potentially, but it also means you could be waiting many years longer before it starts making fruit. Which is a big reason most people don't grow from seed.

    plant energy will go to growth rather than fruit, early in lifespan

  • 6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    Oh, I was going to mention that the fact that the lemon you purchased was 'organic' is irrelevant to the discussion. It doesn't affect in any way how long it will take the seedling to bloom and bear. Organic just means no pesticides (or at least 'organic insect control') were used on the plant and fruit. But seed is seed.

  • 4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    I planted a lemon seed where I got the seed out of a lemon from my granny's tree. It's been 9 years and the tree is only about 5' tall, though it has many many branches almost looks like a fat bush. This seed was planted in a pot for about the idk the first 6 or 7 months then I popped it right in the ground. (Tampa, FL) Still no flowers or fruit; after reading many sights I was losing hope, and now thanks to you all here I have gained my HOPE back! Time will tell as time always does.


  • 3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    Depends on the cultivar. See comments at 3:00 minute mark. https://youtu.be/P_NQwEzIVW4