Fruit Stripe

Several years ago I saw a variegated Lemon at another Master Gardener's house. It was so cute and I knew I had to add it to my collection of container grown citrus on my back patio. For several years it was there but certainly didn't thrive. Frankly I was a little disappointed. Patience has never been one of my virtues.

This year has been different. Suddenly, the little tree looked positively perky Interestingly, all my citrus did well this year, something I've confirmed with other master gardeners who also had good years for citrus in their gardens. This year the cream and green variegation became even more pronounced. The variegation extends to the fruit which have tiger stripes although the books say that when fully ripe the fruit will become all yellow on the outside. Inside the flesh is pink. The experts say that this lemon is actually derived from the 'Eureka' form of the lemon. It's certainly a fun addition to the collection.

Striped lemon. (Photo by Karen Metz)

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