# My neighbor's lemon tree . **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [February 13, 2021, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-lemon-tree/932810 "2021-02-13T02:35:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2021, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-lemon-tree/932810/21 "2021-02-13T15:30:46Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Lemon trees have thorns? As a lifelong northerner, I don’t think I have ever actually seen a lemon tree up close and personal. The old Meyer lemons have wicked wicked thorns. The newer cultivar “Improved Meyer” are supposedly thornless but I seen thorns on them too. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2021, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-lemon-tree/932810/22 "2021-02-13T15:35:44Z")
I have several lemons ripening currently on my indoor tree, a Ponderosa lemon. The fruits can become enormous, weighing up to several pounds, and are borne on plants only a couple feet high or less. Ponderosas, which apparently derive from an intergeneric/interspecific cross in the 19th century, are about as tart as conventional supermarket lemons but easier to grow in cold climates as a tubbed plant. > **[Ponderosa Lemons](https://specialtyproduce.com/produce/Ponderosa_Lemons_10906.php)** > > Ponderosa lemons are a medium to large citrus variety, averaging ten centimeters in diameter and two pounds in eight, but the oval to oblong fruits can grow up... My tree may be a descendant of the famous tree in Danielson, CT at the Logee’s greenhouses, which is over 120 years old. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2021, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-lemon-tree/932810/23 "2021-02-13T15:36:31Z")
Wow, can’t believe I made it to 56 without knowing that. You really do learn something new every day here. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2021, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-lemon-tree/932810/24 "2021-02-13T18:48:58Z")
Meyer lemon meringue pie is Food of the Gods territory, just sayin’. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2021, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-lemon-tree/932810/25 "2021-02-13T18:59:44Z")
I’ve never had a Meyer lemon that was better than either a plain lemon or orange. I found them quite disappointing. They were less lemony than a lemon, but without any real orange-ness to make up for it. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2021, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-lemon-tree/932810/26 "2021-02-13T22:47:00Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > But is the tree very pretty? And how do the flowers smell? > [@naita](#): > > Is that relevant now that we know the fruit of the poor tree is quite possible to eat? Yes, it’s relevant to me. This tree is right outside my back door, and I tend to keep my doors open when the weather is nice. So I get to look at the tree and flowers and smell them throughout my apartment. > [@solost](#): > > Uh, what’s up with the steel spikes? > [@MrDibble](#): > > I think Senegoid may be using humour to describe thorns. Just barely! These javelin-like projections are better described as spikes than thorns. “Javelin-like” may describe them even better still. See pic below. > [@solost](#): > > Lemon trees have thorns? > [@romansperson](#): > > Most citrus trees have thorns, . . . > [@Ulfreida](#): > > The old Meyer lemons have wicked wicked thorns. No shit Sherlock! See close-up pic, from [this web page on lemon tree thorns](https://www.garden.eco/do-lemon-trees-have-thorns): [![](https://www.garden.eco/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/do-lemon-trees-have-thorns.jpg) ](https://www.garden.eco/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/do-lemon-trees-have-thorns.jpg) > [@Ulfreida](#): > > I grew up with Meyer lemons, always had a tree. They are a very common backyard shrubby tree in many parts of California. This tree here is a full tree, not shrubby at all. It is taller than the adjacent one-story apartments. It needs to be trimmed regularly when the branches grow over the roof, otherwise they will scrape and damage the shingles. The lower branches over the walkway need to be cut away too, lest an unobservant pedestrian bump into one and the javelin-thorns put an eye out. Seriously, this is a hazard. > [@needscoffee](#): > > I’ve never had a Meyer lemon that was better than either a plain lemon or orange. I found them quite disappointing. They were less lemony than a lemon, but without any real orange-ness to make up for it. These are mildly sour and moderately sweet, and good for eating. They are definitely lemonish and not at all orangish beyond the general citrus flavor that all citrus have. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-lemon-tree/932810/27 "2021-02-14T00:21:54Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > > [@Chronos](#): > > > > But is the tree very pretty? And how do the flowers smell? > > > [@naita](#): > > > > Is that relevant now that we know the fruit of the poor tree is quite possible to eat? > > Yes, it’s relevant to me. This tree is right outside my back door, and I tend to keep my doors open when the weather is nice. So I get to look at the tree and flowers and smell them throughout my apartment. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MLhYghzNfII/hqdefault.jpg "Peter, Paul & Mary - Lemon Tree") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLhYghzNfII) ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-lemon-tree/932810/28 "2021-02-14T00:41:14Z")
I just checked out this thread, and now I’m getting ads from Michigan Bulb for, among other things, Meyer lemon trees. (I have to keep my ads enabled or I can’t print address labels for my Amazon business.) ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-lemon-tree/932810/29 "2021-02-14T00:51:45Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > I’ve never had a Meyer lemon that was better than either a plain lemon or orange. Meyer lemons are not ‘better than’ either. They are ‘different from’ either. Sometimes they are a better choice for certain things than either lemons or oranges depending on personal taste. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-lemon-tree/932810/30 "2021-02-14T01:22:35Z")
Right, but I can’t think of any place where I’d prefer a Meyer lemon to either a lemon or an orange. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-lemon-tree/932810/31 "2021-02-14T01:54:31Z")
So, your personal taste, then. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-lemon-tree/932810/32 "2021-02-14T03:01:39Z")
Every time I make this recipe I use regular lemons, but I do occasionally wonder if using Meyer lemons would make any difference… > **[meyer lemon and fresh cranberry scones](https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/11/meyer-lemon-and-fresh-cranberry-scones/)** > > The fresh cranberry gets no love. I can’t tell you how many recipes I have sifted through recently that boasted cranberry in their titles only to find out that they were actually calling for … ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-lemon-tree/932810/33 "2021-02-14T03:32:38Z")
> [@romansperson](#): > > So, your personal taste, then. Obviously! When did I say otherwise? I thought I was pretty clear it was to my personal taste. How could any opinion on food tastes be otherwise? ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-lemon-tree/932810/34 "2021-02-14T04:27:54Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > No shit Sherlock! See close-up pic, from [this web page on lemon tree thorns](https://www.garden.eco/do-lemon-trees-have-thorns): Ooohhhh yeah… that is what I call a citrus tree. Growing up in rural Puerto Rico in the 60s it was pretty common to have various citrus trees around that were not “commercial” cultivars… so yeah, by the time I was 5 I knew these formidable defenses. Let granddad pick the orange. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-lemon-tree/932810/35 "2021-02-14T06:34:20Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I just checked out this thread, and now I’m getting ads from Michigan Bulb for, among other things, Meyer lemon trees. You will understand, of course, that I get a piece of the action on all purchases, right? > [@JRDelirious](#): > > . . . so yeah, by the time I was 5 I knew these formidable defenses. Right, this tree is better self-defended than the M-5 “Ultimate” Computer was. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-lemon-tree/932810/36 "2021-02-14T07:33:00Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > I can’t think of any place where I’d prefer a Meyer lemon to either a lemon or an orange. Medieval orange salad. The oranges called for are not as sweet as modern varieties, so I usually make do with a mix of orange segments and lemon juice. Unless I can find Meyers, which work perfectly. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-lemon-tree/932810/37 "2021-02-14T08:35:23Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > > [@needscoffee](#): > > > > I can’t think of any place where I’d prefer a Meyer lemon to either a lemon or an orange. > > Medieval orange salad. The oranges called for are not as sweet as modern varieties, so I usually make do with a mix of orange segments and lemon juice. Unless I can find Meyers, which work perfectly.  So does a Meyers lemon taste more like an orange or a lemon to you? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-lemon-tree/932810/38 "2021-02-14T08:37:10Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > So does a Meyers lemon taste more like an orange or a lemon to you? To me, it tastes like a lemon, only milder on the sour and moderately sweet. It doesn’t taste orangey at all. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-lemon-tree/932810/39 "2021-02-14T08:41:32Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > > [@needscoffee](#): > > > > So does a Meyers lemon taste more like an orange or a lemon to you? > > To me, it tastes like a lemon, only milder on the sour and moderately sweet. It doesn’t taste orangey at all.  Yes, same here (albeit less lemony than a lemon) . I wouldn’t think to use it as a sub for an orange, flavor-wise. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-lemon-tree/932810/40 "2021-02-14T08:45:08Z")
Like a sweet lemon. Which works great for the salad. Just segmented, with shredded mint leaves and salt. > [@needscoffee](#): > > I wouldn’t think to use it as a sub for an orange, Not for modern oranges, no. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-lemon-tree/932810.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighbors-lemon-tree/932810.md?page=3)