PleaseDwarf Lemon seeds wanted

Hello All--I am hunting for and really want to find some dwarf lemon tree seeds especially the Meyer's Lemon or Improved Meyer's Lemon. My son loves lemons and I figured this would be a nice way to get him involved with my gardening. I raise alot of plants on my front porch (my winter greenhouse with plastic on it and a portable heater) so it would be in a near and nice location all year long for him to watch it grow. If anyone could help me on this quest, I would be most appreciative and will try my best to find some plants or seeds to interest you in exchange. Thanks so much. :)

Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't think you can grow dwarf lemons from seed. They are usually grafted. Both my dwarf lemon tree and ruby red grapefruit have been grafted and will not grow true.

Thank you for the info. I was hoping because they are so expensive to buy here. Thanks again. :)

I'll have to go check mine to see if there is a graft on it. For some reason I remember reading somewhere of starting them from seed. (I'm referring to the Meyer lemon.) I'll check back in this afternon.
Meanwhile, check this out: http://plantsdatabase.com/go/49905/index.html

True for the grapefruit tho...you can germ the seed but what you get may not be to your liking!

Hello Horseshoe---good to hear from you. Thank you for sending me that site. I had heard you could start the Meyer Lemon from seeds so I assumed you could start the Improved Meyer from seeds too. The reason I was hopefully hoping to find the Improved Meyer Lemon was because I understood it grew smaller than the Meyer and would be easier for my son and I to grow in a large pot on our front porch. But I was willing and hoping that I could find either one just so my son would have his own plant to grow and since he loves lemons so much it would give him a good incentive to care for it. He is in a wheelchair and doesn't get outside much. So I thought this would be a way to bring the garden to him. It was just a hopeful idea. I do thank you for sending that site to me---any info on the lemons will help us that much more when and if we ever get one to grow. Thanks again. :)

Whoops, I forgot to get back to this post yesterday. sorry.

I checked my Meyer, I see no evidence of a graft on the trunk. If there ever was one it is so well healed over I can't see it.

The Meyer's Lemon I have has been in a pot for probably 4-5 yrs and is only about 3 or 4 ft tall. I don't remember it being called "Improved" so perhaps either type will remain small for you CG.

When these trees flower, MERCY! Just the fragrance alone is worth owning one! Very pretty lavender/purplish flowers too!

I did some research and you can pretty much make a dwarf with any tree with pruning. You can even turn the lemon tree into a bonsai! If you want fruit however, make sure you allow the tree to get big enough so that the lemons do not break the branches or that they don't abort themselves. You will also have to pinch some of the flowers so that it does not produce more than it can bear. Good luck! I hope it turns out well!

I don't believe the new Improved meyers will grow true from seed. It is a hybrid and not a true lemon. I think you can kept most citrus at a small size by pruning the tree and the roots.
There is a company on ebay the sell small citrus plants about 1ft tall. The only problem is they are labeled lemon, lime, orange, no actual name. I bought 3 about a year ago and the are doing well.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2383116595&category=3185
An auction for Meyer seedlings
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2384006291&category=42353

Cindy

Hi y'all and especially CountryBumkin:

I have found two or three HELPFUL and (I believe) ACCURATE sites. Two are ".edu" and the other a commercial site with a great 'library' of FAQs and problem-solvers, that just happens to be the nursery which discovered/introduced the Improved Meyer. I particularly love the first one: she is so chatty you don't even realize it's a lesson!

The Meyer lemon is/was a natural cross between a lemon and some kind of orange or oranges. Seeds MAY not come true, but it seems that must be correct for most or all citrus growing around other kinds of citrus since they apparently cross-fertilize between species much less varieties!

The Improved Meyer was a fortunate mutation that does not host a virus which Meyer lemons were spreading to other citrus previous to the '50's. ONLY Improved Meyer has been sold for so long that the word "improved" might have dropped off the tag, but unless you have a VERY old tree it is Improved. Also the virus-immunity is the only improvement mentioned, no difference in size of tree or fruit.

Trees sold as DWARF are grafted to a dwarfing root stock; however a lemon is not a very big tree and (agreeing with sqwidgetz and Cynthia) growing one in a pot to restrict roots and pruning/pinching-back could well give you an attractive tree (shrub) that might even bear fruit.

Meyer lemons are not much sold in markets so finding the seeds may be difficult, and citrus seeds in general do not save well, but CountryBumkin you absolutely should involve your wheelchair-mobile son in growing one! Even if you have to buy a Lisbon or Eureka lemon at the store and use seeds from it, he can do the same planning and planting, research and learning -- incidentally, the chatty lady below mentions SEVEN YEARS as the time frame for blossoms-from-seed, so the variety or 'trueness from seed' is probably less important than the process! Go for it!

Washington State University/Whatcom County Cooperative Extension, dwarf Meyer in a pot:
http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/homehort/plant/meyer_lemon.htm
Texas A&M, Home Fruit Production-Lemons:
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/citrus/lemons.htm
Four Winds Growers index of citrus articles including pictures of graft-lines (which are not as prominent as the nodes on roses!):
http://www.fourwindsgrowers.com/solver/

This message was edited Apr 5, 2004 9:10 PM

Great info and update, Crystalspin! Thanks!

Those are some great sites.

(PS...if you remove the brackets at the beginning and end of each URL you gave they will turn into a hyperlink that people can click on and be directly sent there.)

Ahah!....Thanks to the pics at Four Winds website (graft pics) I was able to make out the graft on my Meyor...'tis very faint but is there.
(Pretty much had to observe the way the wood grain runs, there is a slight difference in the root stock and the Meyor.)

While out there I noticed what looks like scale on my kumquat tree though. Guess it's time to go after it next!

It has been a little while since I have been able to get on DG so I am just now finding this post. Thank you Crystalspin for the wonderful info! I sent you an email. :)

I have a ponderosa lemon that I got from Calla last year,it has an almost ripe big lemon on it and it has buds about to explode!

And its only 3 feet tall......You can try one of those....

Here are some sources of plants if you decide you don't want to wait that long for blooms and fruit:

Acorn Springs Farm: ($32.50 & $40, depending on size): http://gardenwatchdog.com/c/492/

Chef's Garden ($40): http://gardenwatchdog.com/c/20/

Clifton's Nursery: ($78 for a 4 ft. tree): http://gardenwatchdog.com/c/1819/

Edible Landscaping ($25 for a 1-gallon size): http://gardenwatchdog.com/c/125/

Forestfarm carries a Poncirus/Meyer hybrid $7.95 for a tube-size plant: http://gardenwatchdog.com/c/25/ (search for "Meyer" to find it)

Four Winds: ($23-$44, depending on size): http://gardenwatchdog.com/c/649/

Garden of Delights ($34.95): http://gardenwatchdog.com/c/151/

Gurneys: (a 3-for-1 combo offer $16.95, but consider their reputation): http://gardenwatchdog.com/c/184/

Park's Gardens ($27.95): http://gardenwatchdog.com/c/1064/

Peaceful Valley (out of stock until fall): http://gardenwatchdog.com/c/138/

Raintree ($49.95): http://gardenwatchdog.com/c/105/

Spring Hill, another one that has inexpensive plants ($9.99 for one plant; $19.99 for a kit), but their reputation isn't exactly sterling): http://gardenwatchdog.com/c/188/

Thompson Nursery (~$24.00 incl. shipping): http://gardenwatchdog.com/c/3359/

White Flower Farm: ($39.00): http://gardenwatchdog.com/c/96/

World Wide Plants ($29.99): http://gardenwatchdog.com/c/2209/

Thank you Terry for the info. The links are very informative. Most all are out of my price range right now. And I was really looking for seeds or seedling that my son could watch grow and maybe one day get to eat some of the lemons from all his work in growing one. I was hoping this might get his interest up in container growing since he can't actually garden outside due to his disability. But I do appreciate all the info you sent. Thanks bunches! :)