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Citrus ×meyeri
Also called Lemon, Canton Lemon, Chinese Dwarf Lemon, Otaheite Orange, Rangpur Lime, Balotin Bergamot, Chine Lemon
Meyer lemon is a small, sweet-fruited citrus hybrid, usually grown as a tree of 2 to 3 m or kept smaller in a pot. Its key to success is plenty of sun with some afternoon shade in hot weather, and well-drained soil that is allowed to dry slightly between waterings.
Citrus × meyeri, the Meyer lemon (Chinese: 北京檸檬; pinyin: beijing níngméng), is a hybrid citrus fruit native to China. It is a cross between a citron and a mandarin/pomelo hybrid.
Mature trees are around 6 to 10 ft (2 to 3 m) tall with dark green shiny leaves. The flowers are white with a purple base and are fragrant. The fruit is rounder than a true lemon, deep yellow with a slight orange tint when ripe, and has a sweeter, less acidic flavor.
The Meyer lemon is popular as an ornamental plant for its compact size, hardiness, and productivity. It is decorative and suitable for container growing. It is one of the sweetest lemons, and even the skin is edible. Growing a Meyer lemon tree can either be done in a pot or straight from the ground, but the plant requires plenty of sunlight. However, too much sunlight is possible and can burn the plant if exposed for long periods. This is why summer sun, morning sunlight, and some afternoon shade are ideal for taking the best care of the lemon tree. The tree is reasonably hardy and grows well in warm climates. It is fairly vigorous, with a plant grown from a young graft usually beginning to fruit in four years, yielding thousands of lemons over its lifetime. These plants require an adequate amount of water but well-drained soil is crucial. However, allowing the soil to dry out slightly between watering keeps the plant moist enough, but not too moist or dry. Along with watering and sunlight, Meyer lemon trees need high nitrogen fertilizer that is slow-releasing.
The Meyer lemon is sweeter than other lemons with only a slight tartness, and is said to taste a bit like a tangerine, or a navel orange. It is often used to season fish and seafood.
Calamansi · Citrofortunella · Nasnaran Mandarin · Ada Jamir · Key lime · Bitter orange · Bergamot orange · Ichang Lemon or Ichang papeda · Celebes papeda · Clementine · Heen naran · Daidai
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Meyer lemon by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
