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Photo Credit: Courtesy of Acornsprings.com

Meyer lemons are sweeter than store-bought ones.

You may think the only way to get homegrown citrus fruit is to move to Florida or Southern California, but that’s not the case. Citrus trees are now available in varieties well-suited to life indoors. Not only do these plants provide plenty of fresh fruit to use in your kitchen, they make striking houseplants.

Citrus trees can be grown quite well outdoors in containers in warm climates, as well as grown indoors when winter temperatures dip below freezing. You decide: Grow your container citrus year-round inside (if you’ve got adequate bright light of eight to 12 hours a day), or move your indoor plant outdoors in spring when the danger of frost has past.

Under the proper conditions, there’s no reason why any citrus tree wouldn’t grow indoors, but you’ll want to stick to the varieties that growers have developed for small spaces. (Growing bigger varieties indoors requires continuously cutting the roots back and repotting, or keeping the plant somewhat root-bound so it doesn’t grow too big. Also, some citrus varieties have to reach a certain height before they can flower and fruit.)

The plants

Citrus is a subtropical plant that can be divided into two types: acid (lemons and limes) and sweet (grapefruits and oranges). Sweet varieties often require considerable heat for the fruit to ripen, so growing oranges or grapefruit indoors can require patience, as the fruit may take a long time before it’s fit to eat. That said, remember that oranges have been grown indoors successfully for centuries. In fact, King Louis XIV of 17th century France had a fabulous orangerie – an indoor facility where the temperature was regulated year-round – built amidst the gardens of the Palace of Versailles because he wanted to smell the fragrance of orange blossoms all yearlong.