If given the right temperature, light and soil conditions, will Meyer's, like calomondins, set multiple fruits year long and provide fruit year round? Or do they naturally go dormant at a certain time of year no matter what the conditions?

Meyer Lemons can bloom throughout the year. Therefore, some fruit matures throughout the year, but the main crop is from December to April (in Florida) - Millet

My meyer lemons bloom throughout the year just as Millet wrote.But main crope is from September to January here, in Turkey.

So Dec.-April in Florida and Sept.-Jan. in Turkey. I wonder what the crop yield is like in California? What's the climate like in Turkey, I wonder.

This could explain why I am having trouble finding Meyer lemons in the stores. We have one specialty supermarket here, sorta upscale, that carried them for about a month (in May, I believe), and then stopped. I've since then tried to get them to order more.

I also spoke to the produce manager of a national chain here, whose produce department is quite large and varied. I asked about them, and though they didn't have them, he said they would order them. He said they stocked them a while back ago (last year, maybe), but they didn't sell and they had to end up throwing a lot of them away! YIKES! I wish I'd knew they were there!

Meyer lemons have come into their own recently. You see them used a lot on cooking shows, and I've seen several different products in stores. I've seen Meyer lemon hand soap, dish soap, hand lotion, room deodorizer, Poppy Seed Quick Bread, Pound Cake, candles, cocktail mixer, infused olive oil. I think they have really become more popular than they used to be.

After checking back several times at the national chain supermarket I mentioned, I was finally told they didn't have the room for the Meyer's, which I think it just ridiculous. I mean, how much room does it take to put up a barrel with a false bottom and load it up with Meyer lemons and stick a sign in the middle? I think it might have more to do with the fact that they used to carry them and didn't sell well. Might be a different story now, though.

Until my trees become productive, I'd love to get my hands on some.

Thanks for the info guys.

Are Meyer the usual grocery store lemons?

All the stores here have them, but they are priced quite high- 3/$1

You can always go out to eat, ask for lemon with your soda or food, and hope for seeds! lol

susan

No Meyer lemons are not true lemons. Most stores sell Eureka or Lisbon lemons. Some stores will bring in Meyer lemons as a specialty item. Meyer is a cross between a lemon & mandarin.

Meyer Lemons are valuable for cultivation for home use, especially in areas that are too cold to grow the ordinary lemon. Commercially, Meyer lemons have a lot of strikes against them. Meyer Lemons are not as acid and sprightly, as Eureka or Lisbon, nor do they have the high clean crisp lemon flavor. As a commercial market fruit their color and shape when mature lead to their confusion with oranges. More importantly, because the fruit is so thin skinned, and the pulp is so tender, Meyer Lemons are not good shippers. The inferior character of the peel oil is the biggest handicap to the larger use of Meyer for concentrate. Just a small amount of Meyer peel oil gives an undesirable flavor to the juice. Although many people love Meyer Lemons, I doubt, you will ever see Meyers being sold regularly by large chains. - Millet

Thanks,
I knew Eureka was the common grocery store type, I must have gotten confused (comes from watching tv - a docu about ferrets! and playing on the internet at the same time)
But thanks for the additional information, more stuff I didn't know- thanks Laaz and Millet.

Millet, I agree. Most grocery store chains nationally do not sell Meyer lemons, they are a rarity and found usually only in specialty markets, probably for the reasons listed, and only then for a very limited time. It's too bad. I think of Meyer lemons are the gourmet lemon. I've used its zest with delight in lemon risotto, lemon pound cake, it's juice to the makings of a glaze for cranberry/orange scones or something as simple as a wedge to garnish a nice glass of ice water. Not to mention is makes one heck of a base for a Meyer lemon martini.

Whenever I get some, I cut some into wedges for ice water and keep in the refrigerator. The rest, I zest and freeze the zest in ice cube trays and juice, freezing the juice the same way for later use.

I really do hope one day to see it come into it's own.

Hi,

Since meyer lemons mature quite early here it became one of the most popular commercial lemon cultivar. I wrote September but actually, many of the fruits on trees are almost mature in August.So this is a big advantage for the market, many growers have Meyer trees here.

The climate here is a typical mediterranian climate in my city.It is hot, dry summers with mild, high humidty.It never snows here, we need to travel to see snow

Because of all the reasons Millet listed, 'Meyer' is seldom grown commercially in the us (last I heard, 3 acres in Fla; not sure how many in Cal). So if many grocery stores tried to get them, the supply would be quickly exhausted. Of course, with increased popularity, someone somewhere would likely plant more, but at the moment, there is no such demand.

Interestingly, in Turkmenistan, where winter temps can go to -30 C, Meyer is an important crop! They grow them in huge greenhouses, heated with the virtually free natural gas which is their great natural resource.

I should add that, assuming they DID become popular and someone DID want to plant groves/orchards, they would have to special-order the trees, since currently no commercial citrus nursery would have a significant number ready and available for planting. They would then be custom-budded, and the grower would pick those trees up year after next. Then plant them, and wait about another 3-4 years to get into good commercial production. So even with huge demand right now, we're talking a minimum of 5 years, more likely 6, until they could become significantly available in the stores. That's a big investment and a long time to wait, for a fruit for which there is no guarantee that the "fad" won't die out as quickly as it grew. It is less of a gamble to plant some "standard" variety of citrus, for which we pretty much know there will be a market when we're ready to sell them. So, disappointing as it may be, it seems to me that there is not much likelihood of 'Meyer' becoming a major grocery store item any time soon, even if there is customer demand.

Malcolm, you wrote:
"So, disappointing as it may be, it seems to me that there is not much likelihood of 'Meyer' becoming a major grocery store item any time soon, even if there is customer demand."

Which is probably the best reason I can think of that I bought trees of my own.

I do see the one specialty supermarket here continuing to carry them as they're available, though. So until my trees become "fruitful", I'll have to make do I guess.

I hate to think of the Meyer as a "fad" lemon, just because it's become so popular of late. I will always love Eureka and Lisbon lemons for their true citrus quality, but Meyer will always be my gourmet lemon.

And BTW...Malcolm....your Microsoft Word Doc on citrus identification was very much appreciated! A GREAT reference.

One of the major problems with Meyer Lemons is the poor shelf life due to thin skinned and they easily bruise during cleaning, handling, shipping...

BUT I would like to suggest that there is a trick to overcome that problem and I was wondering WHY NO COMMERCIAL GROWER EVER CAME UP AND USED THIS JOE's TRIED AND VERIFIED VERY SIMPLE TRICK: Take advantage of excess P application to make the rinds a little bit thicker. Simply apply more P to produce thicker rinds in your Meyer Lemons. I've done that and have proven it works with my citrus plants. Now that I've mentioned this, it cannot be patented anymore as this constitute previous literature and I have proof to show that intentionally it can be done. For your actual mileage you would have to do your own trial in your own area.

In case you would use this excess P-trick, don't forget that I first mentioned it here. Sometimes you will just have to think outside the 5-1-3 box and use those other responses to some advantage! So feel free to use this tip, that's one of the reason this forum is very useful for.

Of course, the major disadvantage is that you'll have a thicker rind whose side effect is better able to withstand rougher handling, shipping, and longer shelf life. With the thicker rind, I would have easily mistaken my Meyer as Lisbon at times except for the juiciness and milder lemon flavor. And simply, you can't have the advantages of thicker rind and advantages of thinner rind at the same time.

Forgive a newbie question, but I figure if you don't ask, then you don't learn.

The "P" you mention is Potassium and not Phosphorus, right?

And what's a good way to introduce more P into the soil without overloading it with other nutrients?

I like your idea about thickening up the skins. It would definitely be one step on making them more marketable. There is a whole list of other strikes against the Meyer, I understand, but the idea of "toughening them up" to make them more shippable is a good one indeed.