What variety of Lemon?

[marlingardener]

My husband has an interest in having a lemon tree. We have no idea what variety will do well under the following conditions:
Large pot since we will have to move it into the barn during the winter months.
Does well in zone 8b.
Full to part sun.

I'd also appreciate advice on how and how often to fertilize, and what fertilizer to use. I have composted chicken manure which I use on the vegetables, but I'm not sure about how much or even if it is good for a potted plant.

He is so helpful with the vegetable and flower beds that I'd love to have a lemon tree for him!

 

[Rajesh Sethi]

Interesting thread.

I guess it depend on what type of lemon you want. Mostly you can get a grafted one.

My place we have lime, which is small, strong aroma, bitter peel, sour, green or yellow in colour.

On other hand another variety commonly known as mousambi , they are large, sweet, mostly green inside faintly orange color.

It depend on type of lemon you want.

 

[marlingardener]

Rajesh, I should have said what type of lemon we are looking for. Basically, a lemon of any size that is juicy. I use a lot of lemon juice in cooking--making marinades, viniagrettes, and for basting chicken and fish on the grill.
We have lots of limes available at the grocery--cheap and available almost all year around. Limes have a different flavor than lemons, and the zest (finely cut peel) is completely different from lemon zest.

 

[Chuck]

The best lemons for this area are Myers Improved and Ponderosa. The Ponderosa has very large fruits and is a hybrid cross between a Citron and a regular lemon. The myers is also a large lemon but not as big as a ponderosa. I planted my Myers in a 32" diameter black plastic/rubber container that a tree came in. I attached castors on the bottom to enable moving it. It finally froze a few years back. I fertilized mine once a year in December with regular pelleted organic fertilizer. 4-2-3 IIRC. Before it froze I was about 6' tall and 4' wide and produced dozens of lemons per year.