Lemon

Lemon fruits are maturing this month bringing splashes of cheerful yellow into our winter gardens. They are a great specimen tree as well as useful. There are many different types of lemon – Eureka is the variety we see commonly in the supermarkets, Yen Ben & Lisbon are Australian cultivars. They grow taller and have less seed than Meyer – our most popular back yard tree. Meyer is not a true lemon – it is thought to be a cross between a lemon and mandarin or orange. They are popular because they are a smaller growing tree, tolerate colder temps, have a fairly continuous supply of fruit and are thornless. All types are easy to grow in Auckland – plant in compost enriched soil  to keep the nutrients up and don’t prune in the summer months when our native  fruit tree borer is flying. Lemons are great in the garden – they look good all year with their glossy green leaves (ideal in a tropical theme), and are useful in so many recipes from hot lemon & honey drinks for winter colds, through to lemon meringue pie for desert. Try googling lemon uses and you will find all sorts of cleaning recipes as well.