Growing Lemons in Arizona: How to Plant, Care for and Harvest a Backyard Lemon Tree
If you live in the low desert, you have probably noticed the neighborhood lemon trees starting to look a little different right about now. The fruit that has been hanging there green all summer is plumping up, and here and there a few are starting to turn yellow. Lemon season in Arizona runs roughly from November through early spring. Once these trees get going, they produce like crazy.
A lemon tree is one of the best edible plants you can put in an Arizona yard. It is evergreen, the blossoms smell amazing, and it fruits in the cool months. It does need a few desert-specific tricks, though, and most of the trouble I see comes from following advice written for California or Florida.
Here is everything I have learned about growing, feeding, protecting and harvesting lemons in Arizona.
Why Lemons Love (Most of) Arizona
Lemons want long, warm seasons, lots of sun and mild winters, and the low desert delivers all three. Phoenix, Mesa, Tucson, Yuma and the towns around them are solid lemon country.
The catch is cold. Lemons are the least cold-hardy of the common citrus. Grapefruit, oranges and tangerines can take a little more frost, but lemons start to get leaf and twig damage when temperatures dip to around 29 to 30 degrees, and young trees can be hurt worse. That means:
Low desert (roughly under 2,500 feet): Lemons do great in the ground. Plan on covering young trees on the handful of frosty nights each winter.
Middle elevations (Tucson foothills, Wickenburg, parts of Cochise County): Lemons can work in a warm microclimate, like against a south- or west-facing wall, but expect to protect them more often.
High country (Prescott, Flagstaff, Show Low): Grow lemons in large containers that can roll into a garage or sunroom for winter. A Meyer lemon is your best bet here.
Choosing the Right Lemon Variety
You will mostly see three lemons at Arizona nurseries, and they are pretty different trees.
Lisbon is the classic Arizona lemon. It is vigorous, upright and thorny, and it handles both heat and cold a little better than most lemons. The fruit is the sour, juicy, grocery-store type, and the tree can get big, often 15 to 20 feet if you let it.
Eureka is the other true lemon. It has fewer thorns and a more open, spreading shape, and it tends to flower and fruit through more of the year. It is a little less cold-tolerant than Lisbon, so it is better suited to warmer neighborhoods and protected spots.
Meyer is not a pure lemon. It is a lemon crossed with a mandarin or orange, and you can taste it. The fruit is rounder, with thin, deep-yellow skin and a juice that is less sharp and slightly floral. Meyer trees stay smaller, usually 6 to 10 feet, and they are more forgiving of cold, which makes them the go-to for patios, containers and higher elevations.
If you have room for one tree and want maximum lemons, go Lisbon. If you have a small yard or want to grow in a pot, go Meyer. Honestly, plenty of us end up with both.
When and Where to Plant
The best time to plant citrus in the low desert is in spring, once the danger of frost has passed, usually from late February through April. That gives the roots months to settle in before summer, and you avoid putting a tender new tree through its first frost. A second, smaller window opens in early fall once the worst heat breaks. If you buy a tree now, you can plant it, but be ready to cover it on cold nights this winter.
For the spot itself:
Full sun. Lemons want at least six to eight hours. In the low desert, a spot with some protection from the harshest late-afternoon summer sun is a bonus but not required.
Warmth in winter. South- and west-facing exposures stay warmer on frosty nights. Low spots where cold air pools are the worst place for a lemon.
Good drainage. Citrus hates soggy roots. Dig a test hole, fill it with water, and make sure it drains within a few hours. If you have caliche, break through it or plant somewhere else.
Dig the hole about twice as wide as the root ball but no deeper. Set the tree so the top of the root ball sits level with or slightly above the surrounding soil, and keep the graft union well above ground. Backfill with the native soil you dug out. Arizona citrus experts generally recommend skipping heavy amendments in the planting hole so the roots do not stay in a little pocket of fluffy soil. Build a low watering berm a little outside the root ball and water deeply right away.
Watering a Lemon Tree in the Desert
This is where most lemon trees get into trouble. The goal is deep, infrequent water, not a little splash every day.
Water should soak down about 2 to 3 feet, which is where citrus roots do their work. Use a basin or a ring of drip emitters, and move it out toward the edge of the canopy as the tree grows, since that is where the feeder roots are.
Rough low-desert guidelines for an established tree:
Summer: Every 7 to 10 days, deeply.
Spring and fall: Every 10 to 14 days.
Winter: Every 3 to 4 weeks, depending on rain.
New trees need water more often in their first summer. Check with a soil probe or long screwdriver; if it slides in easily a couple of feet down, you are fine.
Feeding: The Three-Holiday Schedule
Lemons are heavy nitrogen users. The easy way to remember when to fertilize citrus in Arizona is the holiday schedule many local growers use:
Around Valentine's Day (late January to February), the biggest feeding of the year, right before spring bloom.
Around Memorial Day (May), to support the young fruit.
Around Labor Day (late August to September), a lighter feeding to finish the season.
Use a citrus fertilizer and follow the label for your tree's age and size. Spread it out around the drip line, not piled at the trunk, and always water it in deeply. If the newest leaves come in pale with green veins, your tree may need micronutrients like iron or zinc, which is common in alkaline desert soil. A citrus fertilizer that includes micronutrients usually covers it.
Sunburn, Pruning and Mulch
The most desert-specific advice here: let your lemon tree keep its skirt.
In wetter places, people often prune citrus up so you can walk under it. In Arizona, those low branches shade the trunk and roots and protect the bark from sunburn. Sunburned bark cracks, and those cracks invite borers and rot. Leave the canopy full and let it hang close to the ground.
A few more tips:
Prune lightly. Remove dead wood, crossing branches and suckers growing from below the graft. Do bigger pruning in spring after frost danger passes, and avoid big cuts in summer that suddenly expose branches to the sun.
Paint exposed trunks. If the trunk is exposed, coat it with white latex paint diluted about half and half with water, or wrap it with a commercial trunk wrap.
Mulch, but not against the trunk. A layer of organic mulch over the root zone keeps soil cooler and holds moisture. Keep it a few inches back from the trunk.
Protecting Lemons from Frost
Even in Phoenix we get a few nights each winter that flirt with freezing, and lemons are the first citrus to show damage. Watch the forecast from about December through February.
When a frost is coming:
Cover the tree with frost cloth or an old sheet in the late afternoon, draping it all the way to the ground so it traps heat rising from the soil. Avoid plastic touching the leaves.
Add a little heat for young trees. Old-style incandescent holiday lights strung inside the canopy give off gentle warmth. Many newer LED lights do not.
Water a day or two before. Moist soil holds and releases more heat than dry soil.
Uncover in the morning once temperatures rise so the tree does not cook under the cloth.
When to Harvest Your Lemons
Lemons do not ripen any more after they are picked, so timing matters. They also hold on the tree for a long time, which is one of the best things about them. The tree is basically your storage shelf.
Here is how to tell when lemons are ready:
Color: Most lemons turn fully yellow when ripe. Meyers go deeper yellow, almost orange-yellow.
Feel: A ripe lemon gives slightly when you squeeze it and feels heavy for its size. Rock-hard, light fruit is not ready.
Taste test: The real test. Pick one, cut it, and taste. If it is juicy and properly tart, the rest of that batch is ready.
In the low desert, Lisbon and Eureka lemons generally start coloring up in fall and are picking well from about November into early spring. Meyers follow a similar window. Pick by clipping the stem with pruners or giving the fruit a gentle twist and lift. Yanking can tear the peel.
You do not have to pick everything at once. Harvest as needed through winter, but finish before summer heat, when fruit gets dry and puffy.
Eating and Using Your Lemons
Once your tree is producing, the problem changes from "how do I get lemons" to "what do I do with all these lemons." A few favorites:
Fresh lemonade sweetened with honey or simple syrup. Meyer lemons need less sugar.
Lemon vinaigrette: lemon juice, olive oil, a little Dijon, salt and pepper. Great on the winter greens you already have growing.
Preserved lemons: pack quartered lemons tightly in a jar with lots of salt and their own juice, then wait a few weeks. They add a savory punch to chicken, beans and grains.
Lemon zest in muffins, roasted vegetables and pasta.
Freeze the juice in ice cube trays, then pop the cubes into a freezer bag for summer.
Lemons keep for a week or so on the counter and several weeks in the fridge.
Growing Lemons in Containers
If you are in the high country, renting, or short on yard space, a Meyer lemon in a large pot is a great option. Start with a container at least 15 to 20 gallons, with drainage holes, and use a fast-draining potting mix made for citrus or cactus.
Container lemons dry out faster, so check soil every few days in summer and water until it drains out the bottom. Give the pot morning sun and afternoon shade in summer, and roll it somewhere protected on cold nights.
Final Thoughts
A lemon tree is a long game, but it pays you back for years. Plant it in spring in a warm, sunny spot, water deeply and not too often, feed it on the three-holiday schedule, let it keep its low branches, and cover it on frosty nights. In a couple of seasons you will be the one handing out grocery bags of lemons.
If you already have a tree, now is the time to start watching for that first yellow fruit. And if you do not have one yet, start shopping this winter so you are ready to plant when the frost risk passes.
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