Hi elleau! I grow all types of fruit including citrus. I suggest you hop right over to the 'Citrus' forum as this forum is for pome, stone, and assorted berries (and other fruit, but citrus). Hope this helps. Mrs. G

yep, citrus forum is better
but the short answer is....
M U L C H
fixes most any problem soil so you don't really have to worry

All gardening is local, so where you live will dictate the level of care you need to provide. In my locale lemons are dead simple for the most part. Just plant in a sunny spot, water and feed as needed. Check out Four Winds Growers for excellent citrus advice.

They seem to grow quite well in the unamended caliche in Arizona. I've never seen one with a mulch. It probably wouldn't hurt. Resist the urge to trim the tree into a "tree" shape. Let it grow into a globular ball.

Lemons like warmth, of course, but not too much. They grow them around San Diego in this country.

You can't judge the ripeness of citrus by color;they change color when the temp drops below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. You basically taste test for ripeness, as in dry climates, most varieties hold on the tree extremely well.

I suspect that they are well suited to Sydney. You might want to consider 'Bears' lime if freezes are rare. They have yellow fruit and are a stunningly beautiful tree even by citrus standards. Kumquats are highly ornamental with their decorative (and hugely expensive in the supermarket) fruit. Thy also happen to be the most cold tolerant of the citrus family.

If you want to grow citrus in partial shade, you should start it off in a big planter where it can get full sun for 1-3 years.
Lemons are fairly easy to grow, once they get a good start. The biggest problem I've experienced is leaf miner infestation. It doesn't kill the plant, but it's a terrible plague that is difficult to permanently get rid off. Try to make sure it doesn't spread to your citrus in the first place.

You live in Australia, so freezing should not be an issue, but be sure the lemon tree gets enough water in the dry part of the year.

This post was edited by Socal2warm on Wed, Jan 28, 15 at 18:26