What To Do With a Lemon Tree in October – 6 Jobs to Keep Fruit Ripening Beautifully

Your lemon tree is heaving with juicy fruit just as the weather is starting to cool, but take the right steps to look after your lemon tree in October and it'll all still ripen very nicely, thankyou very much! Regular lemon tree care such as full sun and good drainage doesn't change in fall, but you'll need to give your tree some extra TLC if you're to enjoy all those lemons at their plumpest, and it's time to start preparing your tree for winter, too.

Lemons are among the least cold-hardy citrus trees, which means the first cold nights of fall can damage leaves, fruit and new growth, so it's vital to know what to do with lemon trees in fall. But primed and protected from plummeting temperatures, your tree will survive perfectly well through winter, ready to grow another bumper crop next year. And if you're planning on bringing your lemon tree indoors over winter, the right care means you won't move a heap of pests inside with it!

Whatever zone you garden in, and whether you're planning on keeping your lemon tree indoors or outdoors over winter, here's exactly what to do in October.

1. Pick Ripe Lemons

In October, lemon trees will be holding fruit at several stages from hard green lemons that won't be ready for months to ripe ones that should be picked now.

Color isn't a good way to tell if a lemon is ripe: a lemon can be completely yellow before the juice is ready, and a ripe lemon can still have a little green on it. The only way to know for sure that it's truly ripe is to cut it open and taste it, but there are plenty of indicators to guide you. Ripe lemons will feel heavy for their size as they're full of juice, and will still feel firm but yield slightly to your touch. Scratch the peel lightly with a thumbnail near the stem and a ripe lemon will smell fresh and sweet.

Cut lemons from your tree with hand pruners rather than pulling, as this can tear the skin and fruit with torn skin rots faster. Lemons don't keep ripening after they're picked so a sour lemon is going to stay sour, so leave any that aren't ready on the tree. Follow the other steps to care for lemon trees in fall, and you'll keep lemons ripening a treat.

2. Cut Back on Watering

Reduce the amount of water you give your tree now, since cool soil stays wet a lot longer than it did in summer. Now fruit is formed, your lemon tree will use up less moisture, too. In rainy areas, you can probably stop irrigating altogether and a long-probe soil moisture meter such as this from Amazon takes out the guesswork.

3. Prune Suckers

While you shouldn't prune a lemon tree in fall as this can cause it to put out tender new growth that'll be vunerable to winter cold, you can get rid of suckers. These are shoots that grow from the rootstock below the graft union (the bulge near the bottom of the trunk) and are often thorny and fast-growing, stealing valuable energy from the tree. Any fruit they make is usually sour and seedy, so prune lemon tree suckers by cutting them off flush with the trunk, using a sharp pair or hand pruners such as these Fiskars pruners from Lowe's.

4. Check for Pests

Of course, it's always a smart move to keep an eye out for pests but if you're planning to move a lemon tree indoors, it's especially important. Common lemon tree pests that were kept in check outside by rain, wind and predators can quickly take over a lemon tree once it's sheltered indoors.

Look for sticky leaves which are a sign of brown soft scale (Coccus hesperidum) and citrus mealybugs (Planococcus citri, above), as are ants crawling up and down the trunk. Scale look like small flat bumps on stems and leaf veins. To check for two-spotted spider mites (Tetranychus urticae), tap a branch while holding a sheet of white paper beneath, then watch for specks that start moving.

As you're going to be eating fruit from the tree, use a plant-derived solution such as Bonide Captain Jack's Neem Oil, available from Amazon. Neem oil is effective against scale, mealybygs and spider mites, but be specific. For scale, scrub with a toothbrush or scrape with a fingernail before spraying. Before spraying for mealybug, dab a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol on the pest clusters first to break through their repellent coating. If you suspect spider mites, use a strong hose jet to rinse off most of the mites, then spray the undersides of the leaves with neem oil.

Repeat once a week to break the pest's lifecycle.

5. Move Potted Trees Inside

Roots in a pot are a lot more exposed to cold than roots in the ground, so don't wait until frost is forecast before moving your lemon tree indoors. Instead, when nighttime temperatures start dropping to around 40°F (4°C), it's time to take action. A waterproof thermometer that alerts you when a set temperature threshold is breached, like this the nifty GoveeLife Thermo-Hygrometer, available via Amazon, takes any worry away.

Big pots are heavy so use a heavy-duty plant caddy such as the Vigoro Metal Plant Caddy, available from The Home Depot, which holds up to 119 pounds (54kg). Position your lemon tree in a south-facing window where it will get at least six hours of sun a day, well away from heating vents. Don't be alarmed if the tree drops some leaves after it's moved inside as this is a common reaction. Water less than you did outside, and only when the soil is dry about 2 inches (5cm) down.

6. Get Frost Covers Ready for Outdoor Trees

If you're planning on leaving your lemon tree outdoors for the winter, you should have a frost cover ready, well before cold weather shows up in the forecast. One option is to use a heavy-duty cover like this DeWitt Ultimate Plant Winter Blanket from Walmart that you can cut to size. Push a few stakes around the tree so the blanket doesn't touch the leaves, and let the cover hang all the way to the ground so it traps heat coming up from the soil.

Another option if you're growing a tree in a pot is to cut a regular frost blanket like this Cover Protection, also from Walmart to size and leave permanently wrapped around the pot to protect the roots, then pop a plant protection bag on the tree itself when cold weather is forecast. Breathable plant protection bags such as these Frost Jackets from Walmart have a zipper and drawstring that means they're simple to slip on and off when needed.

Don't use plastic, because leaves that touch it are more likely to freeze, and take the blanket off the next morning once the air warms up. Before a forecasted freeze, water the soil and pick any ripe lemons.

If you've seen folk adorning their lemon trees with a string of Christmas fairy lights to bring a little protective heat over winter, then it's good to know that only old-school incandescent bulbs release warmth, and modern LED lights don't.

Look after your lemon tree in October and there will be fruit on the tree for months that'll keep ripening all through late fall and winter. Protected from falling temperatures, your tree will survive through winter, ready to grow another crop of juicy lemons next year.