Back to plants
Lemon tree with ripe yellow lemons and white blossomTrees

Citrus limon

Lemon Tree

lemon treecontainer plantMediterraneanfruit treefragrant

The lemon tree is an elegant evergreen that can bloom and bear fruit almost year-round. Its wonderfully fragrant white flowers appear in clusters and give way to bright yellow fruits. As a container plant it is popular on sunny terraces and in conservatories.

Want to see Lemon Tree in your garden?

1 minute, no credit card

Start free design
Free design

Want to see Lemon Tree in your garden? Make a free design now.

Upload a photo, pick a style, and get a photorealistic design with plant list in under a minute.

See your garden free

400+ gardens designed already

No credit card required

Before
After

Characteristics

Sun
Full sun
Water
Medium
Height
300–600 cm
Spread
200–400 cm
Hardiness zone
9–11
Family
Rutaceae
Evergreen
Yes
Flower colors
white
Wildlife value
bees, butterflies

Bloom period

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Care guide

Place in a warm, sunny, sheltered position. Keep the soil evenly moist but never waterlogged. Feed fortnightly from April to September with specialist citrus fertiliser. Bring indoors before the first frost to a cool, bright spot (5-12°C).

Pruning tips

Prune lightly in spring to maintain shape and remove dead or crossing branches. Cut water sprouts (steeply upright shoots) immediately. Avoid heavy pruning as fruit grows on two-year-old wood.

Good companions

Blooming lavender with purple-blue flowers in summer sunlightShrubs

Lavandula angustifolia

English Lavender

Lavender is a beloved herb with aromatic silver-green foliage and purple-blue flower spikes. This evergreen plant blooms profusely from June to August and is remarkably drought-tolerant, attracting butterflies and bees to the garden.

Full sunLow30–60 cm
Blue flowers and needle-like foliage of rosemary in springHerbs

Rosmarinus officinalis

Rosemary

Rosemary is an aromatic, evergreen sub-shrub with needle-like deep-green foliage and small blue flowers in spring. The plant gives off a warm, resinous scent and is prized both in the kitchen and the ornamental garden. Rosemary thrives in warm, dry spots and is highly drought-tolerant.

Full sunLow60–150 cm
Ancient olive tree with silver-green leaves and gnarled trunk in sunlightTrees

Olea europaea

Olive Tree

The olive tree is a majestic, long-lived tree with distinctive silver-green foliage and a gnarled trunk that grows increasingly characterful with age. In warm climates it produces edible olives following a modest white bloom in June. As a container plant it can bring Mediterranean charm to cooler regions too.

Full sunLow500–1500 cm