If you have made room for it in your garden or orchard, you are probably now wondering How long does it take for a lemon tree to grow?. Because you surely want to enjoy some delicious home-grown lemons now.
As always when it comes to getting results, we recommend that you be patient, because things don't happen overnight. But let's look in more detail at how much you'll have to wait, more or less.
The growth pattern of the lemon tree
The final size that this tree reaches depends on many factors such as the variety in question, the climatic conditions to which it is exposed, the type of soil or the care it receives.
On average, these trees can reach a length between four and five meters height if they are planted in the ground. Growing in pots limits the expansion of the roots and, therefore, the height of the lemon tree.
However, if you don't want your tree to get so tall because this could become a problem when picking lemons, you can control its length through pruning.
If you have recently planted a lemon tree, this is the growth pattern you will see:
- First year. You won't notice much increase in length, because the tree spends most of its energy developing its roots and establishing itself in the ground. Give it time and in a few months you will begin to notice the changes.
- Second and third year. At this stage, aerial growth begins to be more important. The branches grow both in length and number, and the first flowers and fruits may appear, although these first lemons are not usually of very high quality.
- From the fourth year onwards. The tree is reaching maturity and you will notice that it is growing, although it will do so at a slower pace as time goes by. However, in exchange you will obtain an abundant and quality lemon harvest.
How long does it take for a lemon tree to grow and bear lemons?
As we have seen, this tree takes about three years to start growing significantlyHowever, don't expect it to "grow" in the third year, because these trees have a slow growth pattern.
Even if it doesn't look like there's much growth to your eye, you can see that there is. Take a photo every year at about the same time and you'll see with your own eyes that there are significant changes.
As time passes, the tree matures, its trunk becomes thicker and develops strong branches that coexist with younger ones.
Depending on the weather and care conditions, the lemon tree is ready to start producing fruit after three years. But, as we said before, these are small and of low quality. This phenomenon occurs because the tree is still in the stabilization phase and has to distribute its energy.
Between the fourth and fifth year Now we have a much more mature and resistant tree, and you will appreciate that in the fruits. At this moment the Harvest begins to be more abundant, the lemons are larger and also have higher quality.
This is what usually happens, but you already know that no tree is the same. There are varieties that mature faster and produce quality fruit at an earlier age. Other trees, however, are not exposed to the most suitable environmental conditions for them and take longer to grow and produce fruit.
What is a general rule that applies to all cases is that the Quantity, size and quality of the fruits will improve over time, for the following reasons:
- Greater amount of nutrients. As the tree's root system grows, it has a greater capacity to absorb nutrients from the soil, resulting in larger, tastier fruits.
- Hormonal balance. The ripening of the tree leads to a hormonal balance that favors the production of higher quality fruits.
- Greater amount of flowers. As they age, lemon trees produce more flowers and this means more fruit.
The key is to be patient and let time pass. Although there are some tricks that can help us stimulate the lemon tree to bear fruit, and of them we have already talked to you previously.
Can you make a lemon tree grow faster?
If you want to speed things up a bit, here are some care guidelines that can help you achieve this:
More light
Exposure to light is essential for all plants, but even more so for fruit trees. Because the formation of fruit requires a lot of energy and to obtain it they have to be able to carry out photosynthesis.
Place your tree in a location where it will receive, at a minimum, six hours of direct light each day.
Irrigation
Observation is the best way to know how much water your lemon tree needs and how often.
Water deep so that the water reaches the roots, but without causing puddles.
As far as possible, try to keep the substrate at a certain level of humidity, without allowing it to dry out completely. This is especially important during the settling stage in the ground.
Land
The lemon tree grows best in soils rich in organic matter. You can enrich the soil through compost or worm humus.
During the period of active growth (spring and summer) you can further reinforce the dose of nutrients that your tree receives through a specific fertilizer for fruit trees.
Pruning
In this case it is important that you do Training pruning during the first years to achieve a good distribution of the cup. Afterwards, it will be enough to make a annual maintenance pruning to stimulate the emergence of new branches.
Now that you know how long it takes a lemon tree to grow and how to help it grow a little faster, you'll be sure to be enjoying some delicious lemons in no time.