Ponderosa Lemon Tree for Sale - Buying & Growing Guide

Planting and Care

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.

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