Re: [gardeners] Lemon Trees/Meyer
George Shirley (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Sun, 13 Oct 2002 17:08:32 -0500
Yeah, the CTV was the reason the Meyer Lemon was completely changed. As
I said earlier the original ones were round and orange in color, looked
nothing like a lemon at all but were very sour. I was totally amazed a
couple of years ago when people started telling me I was crazy, the
Meyer was yellow, looked like a lemon, etc. Looked them up and read the
story as to why the Meyer was changed so completely. Reckon Arizona
hasn't gotten around to certifying the "new" Meyer as yet but Florida
and some other citrus states allow them no as I understand.
I grow the Ponderosa lemon myself, much harder here in SW Louisiana and
only gets bitten back by frost about every 5 to 6 years, particularly if
I forget to cover it. Have harvested lemons up to 3 lbs from the thing
and 2 lbs is common. It's not very attractive, grows sort of sprangly
but sure is productive.
Thanks for the cites, very informative.
George
olin wrote:
>
> At one time, nearly all of our orange trees were grown on sour orange
> rootstock which is particularly susceptible to a severe strain of citrus
> tristeza virus that can be transmitted by brown citrus aphids. In recent
> years, root stocks are being used that are less susceptible or immune to the
> disease. We no longer see many sour orange trees being planted, but there
> are still a lot of older orange orchards on the sour orange rootstocks.
> Meyer lemons sometimes are infected with CTV.
>
> It is covered under the current "Arizona Administrative Code, Department of
> Agriculture - Plant Services Division, Chapter 4, Section R3-4-230, Tristeza
> or Quick Decline of Citrus". See
> http://www.sosaz.com/public_services/Title_03/3-04.pdf
> and scroll to page 20 of 70.
>
> There is also a descriptive article at
> http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/general/resrpt1996/stopping_killer.html .
>
> Last year our local paper carried an article by the formerly popular M.
> Stewart extolling the virtues of the Meyer lemon and people were trying to
> buy a tree a learned that is was not available and that is was illegal to
> sell it or bring it into the state. Could be that the Dept. of Ag. just
> hasn't gotten around to looking at the new variety. But unless, or until,
> it's approved, it is prohibited.
>
> Olin
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "George Shirley" <gshirl@bellsouth.net>
> > Why? The new variety called Meyer doesn't carry the problem that they
> > banned the old one for. The Meyer I grew twenty years ago was round and
> > orange in color, the new ones actually look like lemons.
> >
> > olin wrote:
> > >
> > >... In AZ ( lots of zone 9 regions and lots of lemon trees)
> > > , Meyer lemons are illegal. -Olin