Newbie question - yield and tree size

[Youcantdothat]

I'd like to grow some citrus in pots in a greenhouse I have yet to build.  I'm a bit uninformed on the sizes and yield of various trees.  I want to make sure my greenhouse isn't too big or small and that my assumptions aren't way off base. 

I'm not sure about the exact cultivars but I'm planning on lemon (probably Meyer?), mandarins and grapefruit.  I'll have plenty of head room and would likely keep them in pots until I learn the microclimates in the greenhouse.  FYI, I'm in Wisconsin so they'd probably spend the whole year in the greenhouse.

So...  For each of these types of plants, are there different sizes available (dwarf, semi-dwarf, etc) or is their mature size just based on pot size?  Which size would give the best yield of fruit (ie does one 6' tree produce the same as ten 3' trees)? 

My hope is for 100-200 lemons a year, 100+ mandarins a year and a few dozen grapefruits.

Also, do any of these bear throughout the year or are they all seasonal?  Or can I get a few varieties of lemons so some ripen at different times?

Thanks in advance and sorry for the novice questions.....

[SonnyCrockett]

Since nobody else has stepped in here, I'll take a stab at it. 

The size of the tree is mostly influenced by the rootstock that it's grafted onto.  You're probably looking for trees on dwarfing rootstock to fit in your greenhouse.  I would grow the biggest tree you could fit into your greenhouse to max out your lemon production. 

I don't have much experience with lemons specifically or trying to stagger different lemon varieties for year-round lemons.  If I was you, I would try a few different varieties.  I have Ponderosa lemon, Meyer lemon and New Zealand Lemonade, but they are too small to be of much help here.  You can search for "best tasting lemon variety" and get a bunch of info to go off of. 

[Millet]

Any citrus tree, including lemons, will grow to be dwarf in size just by growing in a container.  You can also graft, or buy, many varieties of citrus that are grafted on dwarfing rootstocks from Four Winds Growers, which can be found on the Internet.  Their trees are generally high quality.  Lemons flower and fruit all year around, however their main crop is during the summer months. Citrus varieties can be easily found on either dwarfing rootstock or standard rootstocks which produce full size trees.  I grow many of my trees in the ground on dwarfing rootstocks inside my greenhouse.  Mr Cara Cara Navel orange was grafted upon Flying Dragon (dwarfing rootstock) is now 11-ft. tall and wide and is 12 years old.  Meyer Lemon is a very vigorous tree, and a larger tree should easily produce 100+ lemons.  To spread the lemon use year around, you can juice the fruit you can't use right a way, and freeze the juice in ice cube trays.  Mandarins, depending on the variety, fruit from September to March. Grapefruit require a lot of heat to produce high quality

[Youcantdothat]

Awesome, thanks folks!  So I'll aim for dwarfing root stock and grafted trees and put them in containers.  If the containers get big enough or if I develop enough faith in my greenhouse, I can plant them in the ground to let them get even bigger. 

Millet, when you say a large Meyer Lemon should produce 100+ lemons, how "large" is that?  16" pot and 6' high or in the ground and 10' high and wide?  20'?  Just trying to figure out the room I'll need.

And that's wonderful that mandarins fruit so long.  Luckily the grapefruits are just for the missus so they aren't critical

Thanks!!

[Tom]

I have a large in ground Meyer 8 to 10 years old that's growing on its own roots, not grafted. I grew it 3-4 years in a pot or two. I've had over 300 Meyer lemons each of the last two years and I've had to prune it back several times to make it fit in my seasonal hoop house. I put it up for temps below 30* F in case we get down to 28* F or below 'by accident'. The thorns are nasty and they hurt. I try to keep them trimmed off but it seems to be almost impossible. I don't know how many Meyer to expect on a dwarfing rootstock in ground.

In a half whiskey barrel [about 25 gallons] I think 50 Meyer lemons in a year is a good attainable goal for a good size bush that is very happy. Most of mine are picked in the fall. I would love to have the harvest spread out more but I haven't accomplished that yet. I've had at least 3 flushes but only one big one each spring.

The smell of citrus blooms inside a greenhouse would be wonderful. Meyer blooms smell the best to me with my some what limited experience. I guess all citrus blooms smell great but so far my Meyer is in a league by itself.

Tom

[Youcantdothat]

Thanks Tom!  How tall/wide is that Meyer lemon after you prune it back?  Or in other words, how tall is your hoop house?

[Tom]

Top of hoop is 8 feet high. The raised bed is 4 1/2 feet wide. It's not raised up very much. The trees are 10 feet apart but they have grown together quicker than I thought possible. I cut 2 feet off in several places on the top and on the sides sticking out of the bed. There are 3 grafted satsumas in the bed with the nongrafted Meyer. I wish they were all on flying dragon rootstock because they have grown so quickly. I'm not a lover of GMO but I'd love to get the thorns off the Meyer! That would be a public service.

[Youcantdothat]

Thanks Tom, that really helps.  So a mature 8' Meyer could supply all our lemons for the year.  I'll probably aim for the flying dragon root stock but it's good to know a non-grafted one can be kept that size (with some effort ).  I think I'll have a 14' ceiling in my greenhouse so I could let it go if I want to devote that much room to it.

[brian]

It seems very easy to end up with far too many lemons and limes.  Also good to think about getting multiple varieties or ones known to hold on the tree well, as the sweet citrus tend to all ripen at the same time so if you don't use the whole crop quickly they go bad. 

Right now I have dozen kumquat trees with fruit I can just barely eat it all.  Once they get larger I'll have to start giving some away.

[Youcantdothat]

Thanks Brian, too many lemons sounds like a good problem to have.  But I can see what you mean about the sweet citrus.  I'd love to have tons of mandarins but if they only are ripe for a month or two I shouldn't get too many trees.  Finding combinations of varieties that extend the harvest will help.  And if there's surplus I can always take it to the farmer's market or food pantry...