Lemon tree

[Dioclese]

Okay. I live in Central TX. Last winter, the frost killed the one year old lemon tree sapling's singular stalk. Out of hope, this past spring, I watered the bare pot anyway. 3 independent stalks appeared almost foot tall now, obviously from the same root structure. I'm choosing to let all 3 grow for at least another year before choosing one for final choice.

I brought in the pot to the house a couple of days ago. The pot is about

24" tall and 9" in diameter. Its sitting where the lemon gets about 3 hours of sun per day from a partially open window blind. Is this enough sun? How about watering? My house has electric heat.

[jellybean stonerfish]

Not the answer you asked, but.. Often a cutting of the desired variety of fruit is grafted to a hardy root stock. This means that there is a good chance that the stalks you are growing are not of the variety you desired.

From

In most cases, one plant is selected for its roots, and this is called the stock or rootstock. The other plant is selected for its stems, leaves, flowers, or fruits and is called the scion. The scion contains the desired genes to be duplicated in future production by the stock/scion plant.

stonerfish

[Dioclese]

History. Grew the lemon tree from seed. Came up that spring, grew till winter. First frost killed the apparent growth. After last frost, watered liberally, no response. Following late spring, cut the dead growth which was all of it on the surface, one stalk. Continued watering, 1, then 2, then 3 stalks appeared on the surface a few weeks later. Now, its almost winter. There is/are no scion(s). There is no grafting. There are no other lemon trees with a a mile that I know of. New growth came from the original rootage from all that I can determine.

[David Hare-Scott]

Not enough sun for good growth and fruit production.

Your plant will be approximately the same as the scion that grew the lemon where you got the seed. This means that it will have the characteristics of leaves, fruit etc of the scion but as it doesn't have a grafted root system it's roots may not be as hardy or resistant to rot etc, as one you bought as a plant, which is one reason nearly all citrus are grafted.

I say it will be approximately the same because having gone through a cycle of sexual reproduction its characteristics are not exactly the same as the parent(s). Obtaining consistency is the second reason that citrus are grafted because the scion is reproduced asexually so it is exactly the same as the parent.

It may well produce good lemons in good conditions but not with only 3 hours per day of sun. Also a heated house is not a good environment for plants as the humidity is frequently too low. Citrus do not absolutely need humidity like some plants but it means that it will tend to dry out especially in a small pot, and for a tree that is capable of growing to 12ft high and wide (or bigger)yours is a small pot.

David

[Dioclese]

Thanks for the sunshine part answer. Yes, I am and continue to be concerned about low humidity due to heat produced by the house heating system. Maybe a small humidifier in proximity with the plant may work? The research I did regarding transplanting lemon sapling and trees indicates a low tolerance to such. Minimum 2 years between such transplants. I did move the original to the newer taller pot. My final location will be the front yard. Did not initiate planting of seed there due to my 2 dogs. The house is surrounded entirely by one continuous fence, gate in front, gate in back. Until I feel the sapling is large enough and enough time has passed, I won't be transplanting to its final location.

[jellybean stonerfish]

Ok, let it grow, and see what kind of fruit you get. Prolly not the same type of lemon as the one that gave you the seed.

sf

[Dioclese]

For some reason, replies are predominantly focused on the eventual fruit of such a tree. I made no such statement or anything that would lead the reader to think that.

You've been misled either by assumption, or, the prevous replier. My primary interest is the "smallness" of the tree at maturity presenting enough shade to the front of the house. The front of the house faces south and has very limited frontal planting area between the house and the fence in front. I'm looking for shade primarily in the summer as the front porch get quite hot. Winter is nice though facing south. I assume the lemon tree will be successful growing here as my grandma had an orange tree in her backyard some 20 years that I remember. She lived 90 miles south of here.