Garden Inventory is a series where I begin an inventory of all the plants and trees in my garden. Along with some of my own pictures, I will link to various sources of information about each plant and tree so we can learn a little more together.

I would also like to highlight your special plants and tress. Pass along your favorite plants in the comments and I will use them for future Garden Inventory posts. — Douglas

Garden Inventory: Lemon

“The lemon (Citrus × limon) is a small evergreen tree native to Asia, and the tree’s ellipsoidal yellow fruit. The fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world, primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind (zest) are also used in cooking and baking. The juice of the lemon is about 5% to 6% citric acid, which gives lemons a sour taste. The distinctive sour taste of lemon juice makes it a key ingredient in drinks and foods such as lemonade. – Wikipedia.org

This sad, little, lemon tree has been in the garden since our ownership began 16 years ago. It was planted in a bad location and heavily shaded and crowded by other trees. We recently removed one of the main trees shading this spot, so I am interested in seeing if the tree gets a little more robust. I am seeing many more flowers than previously, as you can see in some of the pictures below.

Here in Southern California, citrus trees are in almost every yard, but it is relatively few people who use even a portion of the fruit they produce. Lemons are probably the worst offender tree, as recipes use so little lemon juice of lemon rind that it can be difficult to put all your fruit to use. For me, I use about 15 lemons in my yearly batch of limoncello (see video on making your own limoncello here) and a few pitchers of lemonade, but a heavily producing tree, even a dwarf one, which I believe this is, can produce a grocery bag full of lemons very quickly.

Photos of Lemon tree with closeups of leaves, flowers,  growing habit, trunk and bark

More information on Lemon:

• Lemon at Wikipedia
• Detailed lemon info at Purdue University
• Lemon Recipes at Bakespace

Previously on Garden Inventory:

• Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)
• Ficus benjamina
• Ash Tree (Fraxinus)
• Black Pine (Pinus nigra)
• Snowflakes (Leucojum)
• Ming Fern Asparagus (Aspargaus retrofractus)
• Paperwhites (Narcissus papyraceus)
• Azalea
• Nandina domestica (Heavenly Bamboo)
• Eucalyptus