Lemon Tree very pretty .....

 

Lemon Tree Very Pretty, and the Lemon Flower is sweet, but the fruit of the poor lemon is Impossible to eat – who remembers that song by Peter, Paul & Mary in 1969?

 It is hard to beat the perfume of the flowers of the lemon tree, or any citrus tree, and there’s nothing better than being able to pick your own fruit!  The climate here is not ideal because some winters we have periods of freezing weather, so “in-the-ground” trees are prone to dying back to their roots.  They don’t have much of a chance to growing to full maturity and bearing fruit, but it is always fun to try!  

 I have one nursery-bought Improved Myer Lemon in a large container, which I can put on the porch or in a small greenhouse if the weather threatens, and several other trees which I have grown from seed in the ground or in containers.  The Myer produces every year, and when it is on the porch for the winter it’s blossoms perfume the whole house. 

Making Marmalade is one of my favorite things to do, so I always have lots of lemon seeds to play with because my recipe calls for half as many lemons as oranges.  Marmalade is in my blood; did you know that the French have been known to call us Brits “Les Marmalades” (as well as “les Rosbifs”)?  Countless pots of “Kitchen Lemon” seedlings have been shared with friends, and every new batch of Marmalade yields more seedlings!  They are incredibly easy to germinate and make wonderful little ornamental trees, which would be even more wonderful if they matured enough to bear fruit!   I have no “recipe” for sprouting these seeds – sometimes I wash them, sometimes I don’t, but usually I just stick them in a flowerpot with potting soil, add water and stand back to see what happens!  At this time of year, when every day the temperature is around 100F, little sprouts will appear in 10 days or less.  This last batch I just laid the seeds on wet kitchen towels and kept wet – they germinated in 2 or 3 days, at which time I carefully picked up the whole towel (cut in a circle to fit) and placed it in a pot filled with potting soil,  and added a little soil every day as they grew.   

Growth is rapid.  In another 10 days they will be big enough to start potting up in their individual pots, and from then on, with water as necessary and a little fertilizer, it is “onward and upward” for all these new little trees!   Even if they never graduate to fruit-bearing, you can always use the leaves to add a lemony flavor to your favorite dishes 😊