Meyer Lemon Tree Care: The Complete Guide

Meyer lemon care at a glance

Meyer lemons are the easiest lemon to grow at home. They stay compact in a pot, bloom more than once a year, and give fruit that's sweeter and less sharp than a grocery-store lemon. Give them bright light, steady water and regular feeding, and they'll fruit indoors or out. Growing Eureka, Lisbon or another variety? See our lemon tree care guide.

Light: the one thing you can't skimp on

Meyer lemons need at least 8 hours of direct sun to flower and fruit well. Outdoors, give them the sunniest spot you have. Indoors, put them right next to a south-facing window, or a west-facing one if that's all you have.

Most homes don't get enough winter light for citrus. If your tree sits more than a few feet from the glass, add a full-spectrum LED grow light for 12–14 hours a day, hung about a foot above the canopy. Turn the pot a quarter turn every week or two so the whole tree gets light.

Watering: deep, then wait

Water when the top 2 inches of soil feel dry, then water slowly until it runs out the drainage holes. Empty the saucer after 30 minutes so the roots never sit in water.

In summer heat, a potted Meyer may need water every 2–3 days. Indoors in winter, it may go a week or more. Let the soil tell you instead of a calendar: push a finger in up to the second knuckle, or use a cheap moisture meter. Soggy soil and bone-dry soil both show up as yellow or dropping leaves.

Soil and pots

Meyer lemons want soil that drains fast and still holds a little moisture. Use a citrus potting mix, or a bark-based mix like the 5-1-1 recipe. Skip garden soil in pots; it packs down and stays wet.

Pick a pot with several drainage holes. Go only one or two sizes bigger than the nursery pot, since a pot that's too large holds extra water the roots can't use. A mature potted Meyer is happy in a 10–15 gallon container. Put heavy pots on a plant caddy with wheels if you'll move the tree indoors for winter.

Temperature and moving indoors

Meyer lemons grow best between 55°F and 85°F. They can handle a brief dip toward freezing, but frost damages leaves and young fruit. In USDA zones 9–11 they can stay outside year-round with frost cloth on the coldest nights.

Everywhere else, bring the tree inside once nights start dropping below 50°F. Make the move gradual: a week or so in a shadier outdoor spot first, then indoors next to your brightest window. Keep it away from heating vents and cold drafts. A few dropped leaves in the first weeks is a normal reaction to the change; see why citrus drops leaves after a move for how to help it settle. In spring, reverse the process once nights stay above 50°F.

Feeding: the biggest difference between leaves and lemons

Meyer lemons are heavy feeders, and a potted tree loses nutrients every time water drains out the bottom. Feed every 4–6 weeks from late winter through summer. Indoors in winter, keep feeding but lighter, because Meyers keep flowering and fruiting through the year.

Look for three things in a lemon tree fertilizer:

• Nitrogen as the lead nutrient. It drives the leafy growth that fuels flowers and fruit, with moderate potassium and less phosphorus.
• Micronutrients. Iron, zinc, manganese and magnesium wash out of pots fast. A shortage of them is behind much of the pale or yellow leaf color on potted citrus.
• Calcium. A tree carrying fruit year-round needs a steady supply to hold onto it.

Our Lemon Tree Fertilizer Kit packs all three into pre-measured doses with a schedule, so you don't have to work out amounts or timing. Growing a big tree or one in the ground? Use the Large & In-Ground kit instead. For the full deep dive, see our lemon tree fertilizer guide.

Flowers, fruit and harvest

Meyer lemons are self-fertile, so one tree can fruit on its own. Outdoors, bees handle pollination. Indoors, do it yourself: brush a small, soft paintbrush inside each open flower, moving from bloom to bloom every few days while the tree is flowering.

Expect the tree to drop many tiny green fruits after bloom. That's normal; it keeps only what it can carry. Steady water and feeding help it hold more.

Fruit takes 6–9 months to ripen. A ripe Meyer is deep yellow, often with a slight orange tint, and gives a little when squeezed. Ripe fruit holds on the tree for weeks, so pick as you need it. Snip the stem with pruners instead of pulling.

Pruning and repotting

Prune lightly, right after a harvest or in early spring. Remove dead or crossing branches, thin crowded growth in the center, and trim long shoots to keep an indoor tree a manageable size. Take off no more than about a fifth of the tree at once.

Most young Meyers are grafted onto a hardier rootstock. Snip off any shoots growing from below the graft, the knobby spot low on the trunk, because they steal energy and never give you Meyer lemons. Here's how to tell if your tree is grafted.

Repot every 2–3 years in spring, one pot size up, with fresh mix. Once the tree is in the largest pot you can manage, refresh the top few inches of soil each spring instead.

Common Meyer lemon problems and fixes

Most Meyer lemon trouble comes down to light, water or nutrition. Match what you see to the likely cause:

For more on leaf color, see the most common causes of yellow citrus leaves.

Where to get a Meyer lemon tree

Shopping for a tree? Trees.com carries citrus trees and can add a GrowScripts kit to your order, so your tree arrives with everything it needs to get fed from day one.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a Meyer lemon tree take to fruit? A grafted tree from a nursery usually fruits within 2–3 years. Trees grown from seed take several years longer.

Can a Meyer lemon tree live indoors all year? Yes, with strong light. A south-facing window plus a grow light works. Trees that spend summer outside usually set more fruit.

How big does a Meyer lemon tree get? In a pot, about 4–6 feet with light pruning. In the ground, usually 6–10 feet.

How often should I fertilize a Meyer lemon tree? Every 4–6 weeks from late winter through summer, and lighter through winter if it's indoors. A lemon tree fertilizer kit takes the guesswork out of amounts and timing.

Why are my Meyer lemon's leaves turning yellow? Usually from too much or too little water, or a shortage of nitrogen or micronutrients. Check the table above to match the pattern you see.

Growing oranges too? See our orange tree care guide. Growing kumquats? See our kumquat tree care guide.