Genoa Lemon Tree

Growing your own lemons is a great idea because you don’t need a lot, so one tree will satisfy all your needs. They flower and fruit over a long period of time, so there is almost always one there when you need it. Plus, the flowers smell beautiful, the leaves are glossy and rich green, and the hanging fruits – waiting to be plucked – look great too. For an excellent variety, full of Italian flavors, the Genoa Lemon Tree is a great choice, and it’s a true Italian tree. Bushy and dense, it’s semi-dwarf, so doesn’t need a lot of room. The large fruits have high oil levels in the skin, so great for baking with zest, and perfect for home-made limoncello. Plus, this variety is a little more cold-resistant than other lemons, so if you are right on the edge of citrus-growing territory, you have a good chance of success with this one. It’s compact size is perfect for growing in a pot, moving it outdoors for the summer and indoors for the coldest months. Oh, and it’s thornless, so no nasty jabs and great around children.

• Compact, bushy tree ideal for pot cultivation
• Large, yellow fruits packed with juice
• Has fruit and flowers year-round, so always ready to pick
• High oil content in skin is top-notch for baking and flavoring
• More cold-resistant than other types of lemons

The Genoa Lemon Tree is easy to grow in a pot – water regularly but let dry a little in between; use liquid citrus fertilizer from spring to fall; keep outdoors in the sun when night temperatures are above 40o F; hand-pollinate flowers, moving pollen from one to the other with a soft artist’s brush, when flowers open indoors, and enjoy the delicious results of these simple efforts. Hardy outdoors year-round in zones 9 and 10 – plant in a sunny spot in well-drained but rich soil. Not eaten by deer and relatively pest and disease-free – that time outdoors is when natural predators will clean your tree of pests.