The Improved Meyer Lemon, otherwise known as the Citrus Limon ‘Meyer Improved’ or Meyer’s Lemon, Dwarf Lemon, Citrus × limonia ‘Myer’s Lemon’, Citrus × meyeri ‘Meyer’, Citrus ‘Meyers’, Citrus ‘Meyer’s Lemon’, Meyer Lemon, Valley Lemon, Meyers Lemon, is a rather well known shrub plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its average maintenance and moderate growth, this shrub will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
This is why all the topics you need to know in order to achieve this will be covered in this Improved Meyer Lemon Care Guide. Ready? Let’s go!
The fundamental caring guidelines for every Improved Meyer Lemon can be summed up into the following:
- Water: The Improved Meyer Lemon needs evenly spread moist soil – try to avoid letting the soil dry out.
- Light: Keep your Citrus Limon ‘Meyer Improved’ in an environment where it can receive full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Improved Meyer Lemon in soil with moist but well-draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of sand, loam, and clay.
And as with many other plants, these are the only three care factors you need to remember to make sure your Improved Meyer Lemon is, for the most part, healthy and well to survive.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Improved Meyer Lemon belongs to the Rutaceae family, the genus Citrus and the species X Limon, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Citrus Limon ‘Meyer Improved’ (SIT-rus LEE-mon).
As with other Citrus’s, the Improved Meyer Lemon is an evergreen plant, which means it will be present year round in your garden.
Growing Region
Knowing your plant’s native region is very useful, as it can give you tips on which environment is best for your Improved Meyer Lemon. If you keep it in mind, you can try to replicate these conditions at home, and you’ll likely end with a healthier plant.
With this in mind, the Citrus Limon ‘Meyer Improved’ will be most used to regions where the plant hardiness level falls between 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b, 11b, 11a and the ideal climate zone is between 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, H1, H2.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Improved Meyer Lemon is a relatively moderate grower, which makes things somewhat easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But, how big does the Improved Meyer Lemon actually get? What should you expect in terms of size? Let’s dive right in…
The Citrus Limon ‘Meyer Improved’ can grow up to 6′ – 10′ (180cm – 3m) in 6′ – 10′ (180cm – 3m) and 4′ – 8′ (120cm – 240cm) in 4′ – 8′ (120cm – 240cm).
Also, expect it to grow in a wonderful rounded shape, which is something worthwhile to remember when making your garden landscape plans.
Water
In terms of watering, the Improved Meyer Lemon is a fairly complicated plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a not so straightforward watering schedule and somewhat irregular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Citrus Limon ‘Meyer Improved’ needs evenly spread moist soil – try to avoid letting the soil dry out.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Improved Meyer Lemon in soil with moist but well-draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage, and moist properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
In our experience, the famous ‘thumb’ or ‘finger’ test is what works best for the Improved Meyer Lemon since with it, you will be able to give it the right amount of water, every time – regardless of the environment or placement where you do decide to keep it.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Improved Meyer Lemon prefers to have soil with good drainage, and moist properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of sand, loam, and clay.
This is why most experts agree that the Improved Meyer Lemon requires soil with loam (silt), and sand, which will give you the right conditions it needs.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably neutral to acid soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Improved Meyer Lemon requires full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this shrub will do well as long as you keep it in partial to full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Citrus Limon ‘Meyer Improved’ in little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to full and direct sun (more 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being an evergreen plant, the Improved Meyer Lemon will be present year round in your garden.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the spring (early, mid, late), the summer (early, mid, late), the fall, and during the winter.
Flowers
You can expect your Improved Meyer Lemon to flower around the spring, summer, fall and in the winter months from April to June (spring), from July to September (summer), from October to December (fall) and from January to March (winter).
In particular, this shrub is well known for its fragrant around the plant enthusiast community.
The Improved Meyer Lemon produces some beautiful white, or purple/lavender and white flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Improved Meyer Lemon have a beautiful green color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a simple arrangement with a alternate organization in its leaves.
You can expect the leaves from your Citrus Limon ‘Meyer Improved’ to be around (3-6 inches) in size.
Garden
How should you then organize your garden to include your new Improved Meyer Lemon? Here are some recommendations by expert gardeners.
Most Citrus Limon ‘Meyer Improved’ owners agree that this shrub will look great in most tropical gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of informal and cottage, and in mediterranean garden styles.
In particular, the Improved Meyer Lemon’s best location within your garden is in patio and containers, others use it for landscaping in a houseplant, container, espalier, or a specimen.
Companion Plants
Improved Meyer Lemon’s do well with some other plants beside it. One good companion plant is the Olea, which will pair up nicely with your leafy friend.
Others consider that a nice Punica will work well too, so choose whichever you find works best for you!
Conclusion
And we’ve come to an end. Fortunately, that’s everything you need to know about your Improved Meyer Lemon to keep it safe and sound in your garden or home. Enjoy planting!
