Fertilizing Lemons: Learn About Fertilizer For A Lemon Tree

Single Lemon On Tree
lemon
(Image credit: Jeff Manes)

Growing lemon trees adds interest and delight to a garden. Cheery yellow lemons are wonderful to look forward to, but if you're growing a lemon tree and it hasn't produced lemons and still looks healthy, it is possible that the tree is lacking in nutrients or it has not been given the correct fertilizer for lemon tree growth. Keep reading for tips on fertilizing lemons.

Lemon Tree Fertilizer

Most of the time, people know the basics of how to grow a lemon tree, but they are uncertain about lemon tree fertilizer. Fertilizer for a lemon tree should be high in nitrogen and should not have any number in the formula higher than 8 (8-8-8).

When to Apply Fertilizer for Lemon Trees

When growing a lemon tree, you want to make sure that you apply fertilizer at the proper times. Lemon trees should be fertilized no more than four times a year and should not be fertilized in the coolest season when it is not in active growth.

How to Apply Lemon Tree Fertilizer

Knowing how to grow a lemon tree that produces fruit means you need to know how to apply fertilizer for a lemon tree. You want to apply the fertilizer in a circle around the tree that is as wide as the tree is tall. Many people make the mistake of placing fertilizer just at the base of growing lemon trees, which means that the fertilizer does not get to the root system. If your lemon tree is 3 feet (1 m.) tall, apply fertilizer for the lemon tree in a 3-foot (1 m.) circle around the tree. If your lemon tree is 20 feet (6 m.) tall, fertilizing lemons would include an application in a 20-foot (6 m.) circle around the tree. This ensures that the fertilizer will reach the entire root system of the tree. Growing lemon trees in the garden can be rewarding. Understanding how to grow a lemon tree and how to fertilize it properly will help make sure that you will be rewarded with lovely yellow lemons.

Heather Rhoades
Founder of Gardening Know How

Heather Rhoades founded Gardening Know How in 2007. She holds degrees from Cleveland State University and Northern Kentucky University. She is an avid gardener with a passion for community, and is a recipient of the Master Gardeners of Ohio Lifetime Achievement Award.