PlantFiles: Variegated Lemon Tree
Citrus limon 'Pink Lemonade'

I'm in the mountains of East County San Diego, elevation about 4,300 ft. I've had this lemon tree about 9 months now, and it did very well here, despite the extreme heat we had this summer. A little leaf-scorch, but it hung in there!

I brought the lemon tree into the greenhouse at the first sign of frost in mid-October. Since then we've had a nasty, freezing, snowy winter, and it has EXPLODED with blooms! I have groups of flower buds bursting off of every leaf node, and the greenhouse smells like HEAVEN!! Just started seeing the first tiny green fruits, and I can't wait to bite into my first lemon!

With all of the snow we've been having, coming into the greenhouse to water is like walking into a jungle paradise! My boyfriend and I brought in some wrought iron chairs to be able to share a pot of tea and enjoy the winter greenness and intoxicating fragrance. This is also where I study (and work on my laptop) ;).

I love the character this tree has. It's natural growth habit is very pleasing to the eye, and the leaves look as if they've been painted on, using every color and hue of green. The white flowers are gorgeous and highly fragrant, and are brushed with a pretty dusty-rose pink on the underside of the petals. I also dig the wicked-looking thorns.

Remember everyone, you have to hand-pollinate the flowers if this tree is growing inside! If you take bees out of the equasion, then you have to do their job! I had not considered this until about a month ago. Here's a link, if you need to learn how. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrHUaUmBWSM

I'll update as progress continues!

After the big freeze of 2010/11 here in Tucson, the tree regained it's original bush form. Now after 3 years in the ground it is over 5 feet high and 4 feet across. Abundant, very fragrant blooms and this is the first year I have fruits, A beautiful pink inside (much like a pink grapefruit). See my picture in the database.

I have had mine in the ground for over 5 years. It is about 10 feet tall and gets plenty of sunshine. However, it has never bloomed once so I have gotten zero fruit from it. It gets plenty of water and I fertilize it regularly with organic citrus food. Any suggestions???

Live in Jalisco, Mx. I bought a Varigated Lemon tree in Oct 2011. I tasted the first fruit the other day. It was a very pleasant experience. I squeezed all the juice out and drank it all. Almost a sweet flavor. This fruit came on the tree when I purchased it. Took quite a while to mature but at this point I have 19 more fruit with some almost the same size as the first. Many blooms but alot fell off.

Finally have flowers on my Varigated Lemon tree. The tree's about 10 ft tall and 4 years old. First time I'm expecting fruit from it. I used a Bayer systemic product a little more than a month ago (mixed with water and poured around the base of the tree) to fight off the leaf borers (psyllids sp?). And sprayed it with copper fulgamate (sp?) to fight off canker. And I'm using organicide (won't kill bees) instead of sevin (will kill bees) for fighting off other pests. Citrus in S. Fla is a lot of work. I think the Bayer product is the reason it's finally flowering and hopefully fruiting.
Update: 7/16/12--Have four lemons. Lot of work for four lemons. Hopefully, next year will be better.

I bought it in January, it's growing like a weed and has got about 20 striped lemons on it. It's now mid-July, and I can't tell when these are are ripe. Any suggestions?
anyway...grows great in SW Florida.

I purchased one of these trees from Home Depot, what I think is at least 2 years ago, it is about 10 feet tall and yet no fruit yet?? It is now January. When should it first start to blossum? Is it possible I have a tree that is not going to produce fruit? I bought an orange tree the same time & it hasn't grown much bigger than when I first got it & no fruit either.

This tree was doing quite well in a pot until it got snowed on - barely survived, but had full foliage within a year and made some fruit the following year. It was thriving, growing like crazy, but became top-heavy so kept blowing over. I reluctantly agreed to put it in the ground, and it lost almost all its leaves. It is in a spot where it is getting summer afternoon sun - NOT recommended. Put lattice around the bottom to protect it more.

Here in Tucson it did best on the east side of the house where it got sun until about 1pm.

The poor thing has been tortured but keeps coming back!
Leaves are great for baking fish on - fragrant even after dried (my new "bay leaf")

I grow several dwarf citrus trees in large containers and this is, by far, my favorite! It flowers and fruits year round. The new growth is pink which turns to a medium green/light green/cream variagation and is very attractive. The flower buds are also pink and much more fragrant that those of oranges and limes. Most of the fruits are yellow and green striped, although some are completely yellow. The striped fruits begin to loose their stripes when ripe, becoming mostly yellow. The lemon flesh is pink and a little sweet with a hint of mandarin orange taste. Prefers a little afternoon shade in the blazing mid-summer sun and full sun Fall-Spring. This little tree attracts a lot of attention due to it's exotic look -- and the abundant and practical fruit make it a no-brainer for a warm climate or a tiny garden.