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Have you ever been asked to babysit a lemon?
I was.. and can now scratch it off the things I never thought I’d do bucket list.
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The lemon in question belongs to this little lemon tree owned and lovingly pampered by my neighbor who went out of town for a week. Though indoors, it’s a thirsty devil and requires a full pitcher of water every two days.
Living in the often frozen north, you don’t see many tropical fruit trees thriving in my state, even if they live inside… but this beauty is doing wonderfully well.
.
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If you look closely, you’ll see there are actually two lemons. And while I’m not sure what her plans are for these two precious pieces of citrus she’s been obsessing over for the nearly six years it’s taken for them to arrive…. but I hope it’s something special.
Never having grown a lemon tree, I was floored by the power of their blossom’s scent. It was positively divine.
.
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Ooh la la! I wish I could have bottled it and brought it home… but I dared not. With my luck plucking a flower would have disturbed some delicate balance and I’d be blamed for ruining the harvest.
😉
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River's world..... 
Who knew that you could grow citrus indoors? I thought all you could grow were ficus plants; and, I KNOW I don’t want figs.
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She puts it outdoors in the summer… but only for the few warm months. And she has another smaller one for cross pollination. As for figs, don’t knock them. I had fig infused vodka once and it was wonderful…
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I did the same, sheltered against a warm wall and protected from winds.
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A few feet from me sits a lime tree we’ve had for probably 20 years. It’s the same foot tall it’s always been, and I think we’ve gotten maybe 8 limes from it the whole time we’ve had it. It’s probably crying that it has to live in Minnesota.
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It’s a struggle in northern climates.
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My lemon tree is a year old, and is still one inch tall, with two leaves. It had three keaves but a cat picked one off. It is still alive, but not growing for some reason. Now I’m jealous!
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They need a lot of light. Our neighbor has a grow light shining on it all day.
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My “tree” sits geshide a window with lots of lignt
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Maybe it’s too cold?
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Shouldn’t be. We had a very hot summer here. If anything, it was too hot.
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Except we are going into winter, only 4 hours of light a day in January, That was what it began its life with.
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Not nearly enough for what’s basically a tropical plant.
🥴
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This brings back memories! I once to stuck a lemon seed into a pot of soil when I was living off campus at University. The tree grew to almost a meter in height but never flowered. I moved it three times (from University to an apartment and then another apartment) until it finally died in my then apartment. I blame the drafts in the winter time…
It’s absolutely gorgeous!
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That’s too bad. I know my neighbor spends a lot of time caring for this one…
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That’s a huge feat to undertake, especially up north. But oh what a great thing to see that lemon hanging there to prove, nothing is impossible!
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Just get the gin ready
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I would … but it’s not my lemon.
😉
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Ok. I know what you’re saying. It is a question of priorities. Ditch the lemon!
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Citrus blossoms smell amazing!!
There was a time when my front yard smelled of citrus blossoms and the backyard smelled of star jasmine. Sadly, both are now gone.
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Omg… that must have been wonderful.
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It truly was… evenings/nights smelled heavenly!!
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I want to do this, grow a lemon inside the house I now have a new goal. This is cool.
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I’ll check back with you in a decade or so…
😉
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“Fruit? What fruit? The tree was bare when I got there, I swear!”
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She has two cats, I could have blamed it on them…
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It wouldn’t have been a stretch.
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I am now jealous I’ve not been asked to babysit anyone’s lemon tree. Maybe you’ll be invited for some kind of lemon gin concoction one day.
My mother has a lemon, but she’s in Florida, so that makes much more sense.
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You must endeavor to make more citrus themed friends.
😉
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I love citrus trees. I applaud your neighbor for having the courage to have her citrus in the cold tundra. Job well done by both of you. 🙂
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If there’s lemon chiffon pie… I’d better get a piece.
😉
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