Citrus Variegated Eureka Lemon

You simply won’t believe how beautiful this Lemon tree is, from its variegated leaves to its ultra-fragrant white blossoms to its striped fruit! The ultimate ornamental edible, this little tree is about the most exciting thing to happen to Lemons since meringue!

There has never been a Lemon like Variegated Eureka. In spring, the leaves emerge with pink tints among the green. This quickly changes to rich cream, and these tints remain on the tree all season. In late spring, masses of fragrant ?-inch white flowers cover the tree. These are followed by baseball-sized fruit — but instead of being plain yellow, they are striped with green.

Eureka Lemons are found in supermarkets across the country, but this variegated type is very uncommon. It has been grafted onto grapefruit stock, creating the larger fruit which arises in clusters of 8 or 9. If you want larger lemons, thin each cluster to 2 or 3. Variegated Eureka is hardy only in zones 9-10, but when planted in a container and brought indoors to a sunny window before first frost, you can enjoy its beauty and fragrance all winter. As you might expect from a tropical tree, Variegated Eureka is exceedingly tolerant of heat and humidity. It needs no special soil to grow — just give it a well-drained container with premium potting mix. Feed it throughout the growth season with a gentle fertilizer, and if the leaves turn yellow at any point, apply Chelated Iron to the soil once in springtime.

We ship 2-year-old trees in one-gallon containers. They will bloom and set fruit the first year. Lemons take a long time to mature — 9 months is typical — but they will often flower again while the first crop is maturing, during late winter in a sunny room. Expect the tree to reach 8 feet tall after 5 years, with a mounding, upright habit.

Zones 9-10 in the garden; anywhere in containers.