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Ponderosa Lemon Tree for Sale - Buying & Growing Guide

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Citrus x limon 'Ponderosa'
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The most impressive quality of the Ponderosa lemon tree, or Citrus x pyriformis, is its ability to produce gigantic fruits. These fruits are oblong in shape and greenish-yellow in color, and they can weigh as much as 5 pounds when they are ready for harvest. Amazingly, this plant also manages to offer ornamental value along with being edible. The best example of this is the blooms of the Ponderosa lemon tree, which arrive at a similar time as the fruits and have a vibrant purple tint. 

  • The Ponderosa lemon tree grows hybrid citrus fruits that can weigh up to 5 pounds.
  • Purple flowers appear around the same time as the fruits.
  • This tree stays at a smaller size when growing in containers.

Plant Care

Sunlight

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The Ponderosa lemon tree requires a lot of sunlight — at least six hours or more per day.

Watering

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Water your tree about once per week during the warmer months of the year. Reduce watering during winter.

Fertilizing

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Fertilizer should have high amounts of potassium and nitrogen. Apply twice per month.

Planting and Care

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by Mary Van Keuren | Gardener (30+ Years Experience) – last update on May 26, 2022

Planting instructions

In nearly all cases, the more sunlight a Ponderosa lemon tree receives per day, the better it will perform. Six hours of direct light is a good starting point, but increasing daily exposure to eight hours or more will only improve the results. If you grow this plant outdoors, choose a location that has a high volume of soil nutrients and adequate drainage. If you’re growing your Ponderosa lemon tree indoors, choose a container that provides plenty of space for the entire root system and fill it with a nutrient-rich potting mix.

Watering and nutrients

During the spring, summer, and fall months, when the weather is hottest, you should give your Ponderosa lemon tree water about once per week. During winter or other cooler parts of the year, you can reduce your watering frequency significantly. Ponderosa lemon trees are also relatively heavy feeders, so you should give them fertilizer about twice each month. The fertilizer you provide should have a high ratio of potassium and nitrogen. Fertilizer blends made specifically for citrus trees will likely work well, too.

Pollination

You won’t need to grow more than one Ponderosa lemon tree if you want to produce fruits, as these trees are self-pollinating. When these plants bloom, they attract insect pollinators, including bees, which initiate the fruit development process. But while these plants are self-pollinating, it’s important to mention that cross-pollination is often preferable as it often leads to more fruits of better overall quality. If you grow multiple Ponderosa lemon trees for the purpose of cross-pollination, make sure that the plants grow close to one another.

Pruning

The best time to prune a Ponderosa lemon tree is in the early spring. When pruning, you can remove dead, broken, or diseased branches, as you would with any other tree. You can also prune to thin the canopy of the Ponderosa lemon tree. Thinning the canopy makes for better air circulation, lessening the odds of excessive moisture accumulations that can lead to disease. You may also prune to promote a stronger branching habit to give this plant a better chance to support its massive fruits.

Pests, diseases, and animals

Perhaps the most prevalent concern for someone growing a Ponderosa lemon tree is a disease called citrus stubborn disease. This disease often reaches the plant via pests, such as leafhoppers, and can cause distortion and discoloration to the foliage and fruits. A disease called huanglongbing is also a critical problem for many citrus plants, causing a wide range of negative symptoms. Along with those threats, the Ponderosa lemon tree can also contract various viruses, and it can have issues with insect pests, such as whiteflies, aphids, mites, and scale.

Harvesting

It may take a while before the fruits that appear on your Ponderosa lemon tree mature into a harvestable form. But there are some visual signs you can use to tell that the time has come. A Ponderosa lemon that is ready for harvest will have a light greenish-yellow color. These fruits will also be several inches long and weigh multiple pounds. When these fruits are ready for picking, they should be somewhat easy to remove from the plant using just your hands.

Achieving maximum results

Most who live in the United States will need to grow this plant indoors for most or all of the year and will face some specific challenges. First, you’ll need to ensure that your Ponderosa lemon tree gets the high humidity it prefers, either by misting it regularly or running a humidifier in the room where it grows. Indoor growers will also need to hand-pollinate their plants, as natural pollinators will not have a chance to reach your Ponderosa lemon tree.

FAQs

What is the difference between a Ponderosa lemon and a regular lemon?

The most important difference between a Ponderosa lemon and a standard lemon is that the former is not technically a lemon at all. Instead, a Ponderosa lemon is actually a hybrid fruit that arose from a cross between two existing fruit plants, the pomelo and the citron. The Ponderosa lemon gets its name more because it looks like a lemon rather than from being a true lemon.

How long does it take for a Ponderosa lemon to ripen?

Harvesting a Ponderosa lemon requires plenty of patience — these fruits can take several months to ripen fully. At times, your Ponderosa lemons could take as long as nine months before they are ready for picking. During this ripening phase, you'll notice the fruit gaining size and taking on a light yellow-green color while also gaining a lot of sweetness. If you're willing to wait, you'll find that Ponderosa lemons are not only large but incredibly delicious and well worth the time it takes for them to develop.

How large does a Ponderosa lemon tree grow?

The final size of your Ponderosa lemon tree will depend on the location in which you grow it. For example, if you live in a region warm enough to grow this plant in the ground outdoors, you can expect the plant to reach about 25 feet in height when it is fully mature. However, most gardeners will need to grow their Ponderosa lemon trees indoors in containers. In those scenarios, the plant will be considerably smaller.

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Mature height
12-24 ft.
Mature width
10-12 ft.
Sunlight requirement
Full-Partial
Growth rate
Moderate
Botanical name
Citrus x limon 'Ponderosa'
Shipping exclusions
AL,AZ,CA,FL,GA,LA,OR,TX
Grows Well In Zones
4-11 patio / 9-11 outdoors
map
Growing Zones: 4-11 patio / 9-11 outdoors i Growing zones help determine if a particular plant is likely to grow well in a location. It identifies the average annual minimum winter temperatures across the U.S. provided as a map by the USDA.
(hardy down to -10°F)

Ponderosa Lemon Tree

Citrus x limon 'Ponderosa'
  • Ships in 1-2 days
  • 1-Year Warranty Eligible
  • Pots or accessories are not included unless specified in the product options.
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