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Blooms early, usually fruiting the first year. Hardy to 18 degrees F and ornamental, being slightly sweet with an excellent lemon flavor. The peal is yellow-orange and very juicy. This tree is a lovely container plant and will produce well in a pot. Zones 8b-10.

Plant Characteristics
Pest Resistance	Very Good
Disease Resistance	Very Good
Drought Tolerance	Good
Heat Tolerance	Very Good
Humidity Tolerance	Very Good
Sun Tolerance	Very Good
Wet Soil Tolerance	Poor
Shade Tolerance	Poor
No Spray	Fair
Salt Tolerance	Fair
Thorns	No
Plant Type	Tree
Soil Type	Well Drained
Edible Type	Fruit
Self Fertile	Yes
this information is accurate to the best of our knowledge, comments/opinions are always welcome

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Planting citrus in a container
The most popular planter for a tree is 16 to 20 inches about a five gallon size pot. This provides room for many years of root growth. Smaller containers may be used to graduate the plant to a larger size. Citrus are unique, having root systems that fit readily into containers of average depth. If your plant becomes root bound and you don't want to graduate to a larger pot, remove 1/3 of the roots and cut back the top approximately 1/3. Add new soil and repot in the same container. This makes an attractive bushy dwarf tree. Do this only before new spring growth starts.

Soil mix
Use a light, well drained perennial mix such as Fafard #52, Scotts Hyponex. Compost, rock phosphate, greensand and lime are fine additives to basic mixes. These soil mixes should not be boggy. Small composted bark chips can also provide good drainage. The graft should be well above the desired soil level.In the winter indoors, attempt to keep soil temperatures @ 70 degrees F at night. If this is not feasible, a horticultural heating mat is advisable.

Watering
Allow one inch from soil to top of container for watering. Water when necessary. Don't let the tree dry out or be too wet. Good drainage is essential. In the ground, maintain a deep basin as wide as the tree. Citrus need a moist soil and air for roots. Again, avid airless and soggy soil in the pots.

Planting citrus outside
In light, well drained soil, water established trees about once a week in dry weather. In heavy clay soils, the air spaces are tiny and excess water can't drain away rapidly. Water deeply every two to three weeks or more in dry weather. Allow time for it to drain and the surface to dry out but don't go so far as to let new growth wilt.

Fertilizing (potted and outside growing)
Use your own favorite all-purpose fertilizer or scatter balanced fertilizer as recommended on package only when plant is growing new leaves. Fish emulsion or other organics work fine. Nitrogen is the main requirement; use as directed and water it in. In a pot we use 12-month citrus fertilizer tablets. 2 tablets @ gallon of soil mix. Citrus fertilizer tablets (Citratabs) come in packs of 20 tablets for $5 each (plus shipping) from Edible Landscaping. A sign of lack of fertilizer or poor drainage could be yellowing leaves. Citrus trees can benefit from minor nutrients (i.e. zinc, iron and manganese). These nutrients may also be added to the soil in chelate sequestrene form, scattered in the basin with other fertilizers. I have found magnesium deficiency more frequently in potted citrus; this can be remedied with @ 1 Tsp of Epsom salt for every 3 gallons of soil.

Suckering
Know where the graft is on your tree (if there is one). Remove all growth below the graft; it is worthless and takes vitality away from the top. This is especially true with younger trees. Suckers are generally very vigorous, thorny and have quite a different leaf than the top. Remove them as soon as seen.

Pruning
Little is required. This is one of the basic qualities of citrus. However, some trees may develop erratic branches; if so cut them back at any time. Given time, the trees round out and shape up naturally, without much pruning. To hurry this you can pinch off the tips of new growth.

Pest Control
Keep the tree free of pest. Pests distort leaves which retards growth and fruiting. There is a constant parade of new insecticides on the market. Rather than recommend any as being 'best' I will just tell you what we use: for aphids: We have found for indoor citrus the over the counter rubbing alcohol 65% dilution controls every citrus insect and is safe and easy to use. A Windex spray top will screw onto the rubbing alcohol bottle so it can be most convenient to use. Spray bottoms and tops of leaves. If the insect has laid eggs repeat in 5 days; mites have an 11 day egg to adult cycle. We are using Azitin a Neem oil extract and Botaniguard with success on our citrus. We spray about once per month and it's a great safe insecticide/fungicide.

Murphy's Oil Soap works as a great indoor insecticide and shines the leaves. The oil in the product smothers insects such as mites and the soap kills soft bodied insects such as aphids.

Growing Indoors and Under Glass
Too little is know about growing citrus indoors in non-citrus areas. Suggestions are: protect from freezing, give all sun light possible, rotate trees to light, keep pest free, florescent growing lights enhance plant growth, as do high pressure sodium and halide lights. We use a full spectrum light. Avoid sudden changes in environment. If moving from indoors to outdoors place trees in semi-shade to harden off.

Winter
In cold weather areas citrus should be brought indoors when the season starts changing to winter. A warm sunny spot is best. Some of the hardier types like Satsuma and Meyer Lemon can tolerate colder winter conditions. A customer in Virginia Beach, VA, for instance, over wintered her potted Satsuma in her garage. Cold sensitive varieties like Key Lime would probably drop their leaves for the duration of the winter months. The citrus can acclimate slowly to its new surrounding.

In colder northern climates citrus would suffer from abrupt changes in humidity. Citrus will grow in low humidity areas of the country, i.e. southern CA, AZ, but a house in Chicago may not have a humidity controlled environment. The moisture of the outside compared to the inside could differ greatly, especially if you bring your citrus in from outside late in the season and your heat is on day and night. One can buffer low humidity with misting the leaves of the plant. There is less leaf drop to healthy green leaves. A dry cleaning bag draped over an indoor citrus at night in the winter will prevent leaf loss from humidity drops in the home In colder areas the roots of the citrus won't be growing much. Any repotting would usually be done when spring growth starts. Early in my gardening experience I learned good soil is 40% air. Too wet or compacted potting soil leads to root rot, especially with cool soil temperatures.

Is good common sense not to fertilize while the plant is not growing. Usually by the end of January the days are longer and citrus will start to respond by blooming and unfolding new leaves. Citrus scent fills the room Spring has sprung indoors! All blooms will not turn to fruit. The plant will carry what it can ripen. Most citrus will bloom again in the summer or fall. If you're new at citrus growing, you'll probably pick your first fruit before its time. That's OK because it will probably taste like the store bought fruit you are used to Waiting holds its reward. The fruit only gets sweeter. For instance, our Washington Navel was color ripe around Christmas, but we did not pick it till mid February. Some of the Key Limes dropped off before I knew they were ripe, so experience is the best guide.