Growing your own fruit can be an exciting experience. Lemon trees provide delicious fruit and even the flowers can fill your home with a beautiful smell during the flowering season. Growing a lemon tree in a pot is a great way to produce delicious citrus fruit even if you live in a colder climate – but what size pot for lemon trees do you need?
A lemon tree grows best in an 8-inch diameter container to start. Once the tree gets older, you should repot it into a 10-12-inch container. Eventually, you’ll upgrade to a 16-20 gallon container to hold your mature tree. Plastic, wooden, and terra cotta pots work best.
Even if you do not live in a tropical climate, you can still grow a lemon tree indoors! All you need to do is grow it in a pot and provide it with the proper care. If you want to grow lemons indoors, keep reading to learn about the best containers to grow them in and how to keep your lemon tree happy!
What size pot for lemon trees?
Choosing a container for your lemon tree isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. You will need to repot your lemon tree in larger containers periodically throughout its life.
Think about this. Lemon trees might start out super small, just like any other plant, but they will grow to be quite large with age.
As your lemon tree grows, its roots will need more and more space too. If you are planning to grow your lemon tree from seed or are purchasing a small seedling, you can start out with a pot that is about eight inches in diameter.
While a small pot is perfectly sufficient at this age and size, you’ll need to provide the tree with a larger pot as it grows and requires more space.
But just how big will it need to be? Let’s have a closer look.
Do lemon trees need big pots?
As your lemon tree grows, it will, indeed, need a larger pot. However, it is still possible to comfortably grow a lemon tree in your home without a gargantuan container.
After a few years, one to three years, you will want to repot your lemon tree into a pot that is about 12 inches in diameter. When you do this, you will likely notice that the roots have found their way to the edge of the small pot.
They will do this in the 12-inch pot, too, eventually. This is because, as the trunk grows, the tree will need more root mass to support the weight of the tree as well as carry more nutrients to the branches, leaves, and fruit.
After a few years in the medium-sized pot, it will need fresh soil and more room to grow. This pattern will continue until you reach a pot size of 20 gallons.
Sound too big? Have no fear! There are plenty of ways to make that totally achievable in your home. We will get into that here in a minute.
What kind of pot is best for a lemon tree?
Picking a pot for your lemon tree might prove to be an overwhelming task since there are so many options available.
Believe it or not, the type of pot in which you decide to plant your lemon tree can greatly affect the health and development of your tree.
The first thing that you should consider is that your tree will need a very loose soil mix and plenty of drainages. This means that you should always make sure that there are fairly good-sized drainage holes in the pot. This will allow water to flow freely through the roots and out of the pot.
Since you will need drainage holes, you will also, likely, want to purchase a pot that comes with a separate tray to catch the water. This way, you will not have to deal with a large amount of water leaking onto your floor or the surface that is under the tree.
The second thing that you should consider is that the soil will need to ‘breathe’ in order to prevent root rot and moldy soil. A terracotta pot is the best choice since it is not glazed and fairly porous.
Another consideration to keep in mind is that you might need to move the pot for cleaning or to move the tree to a better location. A small stand with wheels will help greatly.
What size pot does a dwarf lemon tree need?
If you do not think that a twenty-gallon pot is feasible in your home, a few other options can help you save some space.
One of those options is to grow a dwarf lemon tree. Dwarf lemon trees require less in the way of space and can still provide you with a beautiful tree and delicious fruit!
These trees require a pot that is only 18 to 24 inches deep. This means that you will need a pot that holds about ten gallons. Keep in mind, however, that you will always need to keep an eye on your tree and its growth. Each tree will grow at its own rate and will have slightly different requirements as it ages.
What size planter do I need for a Meyer lemon tree?
The Meyer lemon tree is an even smaller option and has some additional advantages as well! The Meyer lemon tree grows best in a pot that holds about five gallons. This means that you can save even more space and have delicious fruit in your home!
One of the advantages of choosing a Meyer Lemon tree is that it is resilient to several viruses that often attack citrus trees.
This means that your Meyer lemon tree will have a better chance of staying healthy. The Meyer lemon is a cross between a Mandarin and a Lemon.
Because of this, a lot of people tend to find that the Meyer lemon is quite a bit sweeter than your typical lemon.
What are the problems with lemon trees in pots?
A common problem that people face when growing trees in pots, is that it can be easy to overwater them or allow the soil to become ‘waterlogged’.
Be sure to always allow the tree to dry out mostly between waterings. Take care, however, not to allow your soil to become completely dry. Overwatering can encourage bugs, mold, and root rot.
Another common problem inherent to growing trees in pots, or indoors, is that it can prove difficult to provide the trees with the amount of sunlight needed. Be sure that your tree gets ample light and that you provide it with the conditions that it requires to grow.
Final thoughts
As long as you pay attention to your lemon tree and give it ample sunlight, free-draining soil, and warm temperatures, you can keep a lemon tree with delicious fruit in your home!
Just remember that a full-sized lemon cultivar will need a 20-gallon planter when it is mature and that the other variations listed above will need about five to ten gallons. It’s as easy as that!
