Lemon

Sowing: Lemon trees are propagated by seed, grafting, or budding onto rootstock, and because the plant dislikes root disturbance it should be set into its permanent position while still young, with particular care taken when container-grown plants are moved to larger pots.

Siting: The tree needs full sun sheltered from wind and a well-drained, sandy loam soil with a pH of roughly 5 to 7.5; it tolerates drought far better than waterlogged ground and is very sensitive to freezing, so in cooler climates it is often grown in containers that spend summer outdoors and winter indoors in a bright but not overly warm spot.

Watering and feeding: Plenty of water is needed during the growing season, with young trees watered every few days and given light monthly fertilizer in their first year, while mature trees do best on regular, small applications of nitrogen fertilizer to support growth and fruit size. Pruning is minimal, limited to maintaining shape, and mounding soil around the trunk in winter, then removing it in spring, helps protect the roots from cold.

Lemon is attacked by a range of pests including mealybugs, red spiders, scale, and aphids, and by diseases such as citrus canker, sooty mold, anthracnose, fuzzy gray mold, and lemon scab, the last of which can show up as brown spotting on fruit and leaves.

Harvest: Lemons are available for picking year-round, spanning spring, summer, fall, and winter, and a single tree can yield up to 600 pounds of fruit annually.

Storage: Once picked, ripe lemons keep best refrigerated in a loosely sealed plastic bag.

Culinary: Lemon is grown chiefly for its juice and zest rather than for eating out of hand, since the fruit itself is tart and rarely consumed fresh; the juice and zest flavor lemonade, carbonated drinks, marinades, sauces, dips, vinaigrettes, salad dressings, pies, tarts, cakes, cookies, icings, puddings, sherbet, hard candy, and preserves, and lemon slices serve as a garnish for fish, meat, and tea.

Industrial and cosmetic: Oil pressed from the peel is used in furniture polish, detergents, soaps, and shampoos, and bergapten extracted from the fruit is used in tanning lotions to promote skin pigmentation.

Ornamental: The dark green, lemon-scented leaves are also cut for use in wreaths and bouquets.

Medicinal: In traditional medicine, lemon juice was historically used as a remedy for scurvy before vitamin C was identified, and folk traditions in places such as Romania, Trinidad, and India have used the juice, essential oil, or grated peel for coughs, colds, fevers, high blood pressure, and to induce menstruation.

Lemon is an ancient hybrid derived from the citron and the bitter orange, and while its precise origins remain uncertain, evidence points to northeastern India, in the eastern Himalayan region, during the first millennium BC. Further crossing with other wild citrus species over its long history of cultivation contributed to the range of lemon types grown today.