That would be "make do" (not "due").

I was looking to grow meyer lemons but, seeing as how I don't have balcony space, I'll just have to "make do" with what I have. Luckily I've read that they can do well indoors if they receive enough light. Pruning the plants while they are young encourages the branches to grow more densely and more capable of bearing the weight of the fruit while keeping the tree just the right size for an apartment. After reading this article though, I am a little concerned the scent will be overbearing/dominating in a confined area. Luckily citrus is such a clean smell.

I grew a miniature orange tree in a range of sunny (and not so sunny) windows for six years (then I had to toss it when the woman that gave it to me dumped me) but it blossomed beautifully each year and I used the three dozen or so sour oranges for great gin drinks. I highly recommend getting a miniature citrus. (and pruning it every year as jick says).

Thanks allisonlindsay. I was wondering if you could grow citrus indoors! I just wonder if I could even find one out here in upstate NY. I want to get an indoor shrub/tree that I can put outside in the summertime.

Mine dwarf orange has been dropping its leaves for the past few weeks AND flowering. I think it is stressed. No idea why! It is indoors in my Boston apartment.

I tried to grow a dwarf Meyer in a large container on my sunny porch but it got attacked by these weird grubs. They would use a secure-ish (slightly curled under) part of the leaves to spin a little cocoon into and then the grub in the cocoon would eat the leaf to its maturity. I'm guessing all of this. But I wasn't able to keep up with the insect attacks and now there is just a stump with dry twigs sitting on my porch. Maybe I'll try it indoors this time. I wouldn't mind the smell of lemon blossoms, it's one of my favorites.

We have a drawf orange tree on our patio and it smells amazing right now! But it would definitely be overpowering indoors, hoooo! We have a dwarf lime in the ground. It's an adorable tree and a mega lime producer!

We planted a full size lemon tree before we knew better. We have tons of lemons but the poor guy has no room.

can someone give tips on how to care for these? I just bought 2 of them, and I have a notorious BLACK THUMB!!!

Has anyone found these for less than $50? That is about the price that I have found them for... is that average or can I get a better deal elsewhere?

I am filled with envy at all you people with successful lemon trees. I have two (non-Meyer) lemon trees that I started from seed a year ago, and they're in pots in my living room. They're each about a foot tall and seemingly healthy looking -- although let's face it, I have no idea -- but they've never flowered. Their growth has slowed down since winter, which I thought was some sort of pseudo-hibernation, but it hasn't really picked back up again.

I have a huge emotional attachment to these plants for various reasons, but I have ZERO idea what to do to make them flourish. Right now I feel like I'm just preventing them from dying, which is not the same as having thriving lemon trees. I've tried to find some sort of source on container gardening for citrus, but most resources I've found seem to assume it's only temporary and you'll be transplanting them outside once they've started to grow -- which is obviously not the case here.

@CAREYSCH - My kumquat was losing it leaves last year. Turns out I was UNDER-watering it. It soon perk'd up and put on new leaves and flowers.

Lemons do need sun and that's difficult to provide in sufficient quantities indoors.

Depending on the size of your patio, you may want to go with the full-size Meyer, which tops out at around 10' tall. It can easily be pruned to stay shorter.

Interesting history: The Meyer was popularized in the 1970s by Alice Waters, of Chez Panisse restaurant fame.

i've grown a lot of indoor trees over the years and the two that were easy care & gave the most joy were meyer lemon and bay laurel.

i still have both :)

I just chucked mine out today - it kept getting little buggy type things that would leave a syrupy film on the leaves. I washed it, sprayed it, it had lots of sun and organic fertilizer, and it still croaked. They are tough to grow indoors.

Good timing! I just moved into a place with a small courtyard, and an even smaller balcony. The balcony isn't suited for potplants but the courtyard is, albeit all concrete and fencing so I can't wait to get it looking green and healthy. I really wanted a lemon tree, but didn't think it was possible without ground to plant it in, thanks for the info!

I would love to be able to do this. I wish there was a place I could find one already started. :)

You can find baby lemon trees on Gurneys.com - though they will probably take another year or so to actually grow fruit. I have dwarf lemon, lime, and fig trees right now (growing in the "self watering" pots from IKEA). They LOVE the sunlight so try to give them as much as possible. I can't wait to see mine actually grown fruit!

wow, easyenough glad she didnt give you a puppy.

If you grow citrus indoors do you have to pollinate it yourself with a paint brush?

I'd like to grow one. Self sufficiency for my g&t.

@Heatherette, my husband and I started some Rangpur limes from seed over two years ago. It took them two months or so to germinate, and until this summer, each of the five only had one or two leaves. We kept watering them, though; then, this spring, we pulled them out and put them in fresh pots with citrus soil (it's a lot sandier, and we just got a bag of the mix from the store) and put them outside in direct sunlight. I think that they had fallen into dormancy and needed the sunlight and a week of 80º+ days to wake them back up. They now have five or six leaves each and are getting taller and thicker every day!

I know for key limes they like hot days and nights about 65º (we kept our house at 67º until recently), the way things are in Florida. Maybe that will help!

Heatherette, I thought I'd read that lemons can be slow to fruit when grown from seed, and sure enough: "In any case, you should have a lemon tree, and it will very likely produce tasty lemons in about 15 years! I thought you would want to know that it will take a long time unless you graft from the seedling to a mature lemon tree." Info from here: http://aces.nmsu.edu/ces/yard/2000/040800.html.

I've been growing a dwarf meyer lemon tree for almost two years now and have only gotten one stinking lemon. It was the size of a kumquat and never fully ripened. Does it take a few years, or did I get a dud, or am I just terrible in general? Any tips? I keep it outside on my porch late spring to mid-fall (to avoid frost) and then give it to my mom for the winters because she has nice sunny windows.

@portlandvegan: I got mine for $5 at Lowe's at the end of the gardening season when it was 90% off.

I was truly inspired by the following post a few months ago. I'm still planning on giving this a try myself soon. I'm restricted to local trees only in Texas. If anyone finds dwarf trees for sale in the SA area, please let me know.

http://littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com/2011/06/calamondin-indoor-orange-trees.html

I've managed to grow Meyer lemons and Key limes in a pot on my balcony in Chicago! I brought them in for the Winter and they held up. I'm still a beginner when it comes to plants so if I can do it, anyone can!

Mine have never, ever survived in Seattle. I always think I'll be able to provide for them and I'm always wrong. I'm finally learning.

Citrus really REALLY need warmth and sunlight. I've never seen them thrive in the PNW, where I grew up, which is why I now have six dwarf citrus as a Californian. Even so, I've heard its hard to grow oranges, except for a couple of specific varieties such as blood oranges, in Northern California unless you are inland. Lemons take less warmth-it is the sun that makes the fruit sweet.

That being said, I've had to baby the heck out of my citrus. I get the same grubs that @jamjaree described-so I am constantly monitoring the plants and picking them off. The ants love to farm scale on them-lots of ant traps, scraping off of scales and insecticidal soap. They need more water than you'd think, but not too much. They won't thrive on just organic fertilizer because they need iron (I was told you can drive a stake of rusty rebar next to them and they'll like it). AND I hand pollinate them with a fuzzy QTip or paintbrush when the bees aren't around. Its a lot of work. And then my kids eat all the tangerines before I even get to them.