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Lemon or calamondin: a cooler porch or a 13°C room

Updated: October 2026

You have space for one bright pot and two living plants that both get sold as mini citrus. Lemon or calamondin is a room question first and a fruit question second. Buy the lemon if the porch is the cooler one and you want lemons. Buy the calamondin only if you can hold nights around 13°C and you want small acid fruit for marmalade or a garnish. The [citrus plants comparison](/hub/trees-and-palms/citrus-plants) lists the pots. This page decides the pair, not a faux tree and not the whole winter routine. That routine is on [citrus winter care](/hub/trees-and-palms/citrus-plants/sub/citrus-plants-winter-care).

You have space for one bright pot and two living plants that both get sold as mini citrus. Lemon or calamondin is a room question first and a fruit question second.

Our top picks

Carbeth Plants Carbeth calamondin

Best overall

Carbeth Plants Carbeth calamondin
5.6/10about £27.99
View offer
Carbeth Plants Carbeth mini lemon tree

Rank 2

Carbeth Plants Carbeth mini lemon tree
7.5/10about £26.99
View offer
Gardens4you Gardens4you lemon and orange

Rank 3

Gardens4you Gardens4you lemon and orange
6.7/10about £34.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.When the lemon is the one to buy
  2. 2.When the calamondin is the one to buy
  3. 3.What you should not decide on
  4. 4.What arrives, and the pair

When the lemon is the one to buy

Choose the lemon when the brightest place you can offer is a cool porch or conservatory, and the kitchen job is lemons. The RHS grow guide says some lemons are fine near 5°C, and the problems page says lemons should not sit below 10°C at night. The Duchy leaflet uses 10°C for lemon and lime. The Carbeth rows are not confirmed as Meyer, so do not order them under that name. The top pick in this set is Carbeth B09R4RLNQH at £26.99, about 20–30 cm in a 12 cm pot, and it may arrive without fruit. The matrix shows 4.4 from 629 reviews. That score is not a clean lemon sample, because part of the text is another plant. The gift-wrapped lemon, B0BT1Y4K82, is £29.99, with 3.7 from 99 reviews and fewer lemons than the photograph. Pay for the wrap if you are giving it. How the two jobs sit in the wider set is on best citrus plants.

When the calamondin is the one to buy

Choose the calamondin when you can hold about 13°C at night and you want small acid fruit. The RHS grow guide, the problems page, and the Duchy leaflet all set that floor. The BBC Gardeners’ World plant profile agrees: nights of at least 13°C, and sour flesh. Fruit on the RHS plant page is about 3–4 cm. The peel can be sweet. The pulp is very sour. Use it for marmalade and garnishes. Carbeth’s plain pot, B09ZJ5JDBJ, is £27.99 in 12 cm, with 4.7 from only 6 reviews. The hessian gift, B0FXH3X4FZ, is £28.99, with 5.0 from a single review. Ignore the 2 metre height that fights the 12 cm pot. The wrap is the only difference you should pay for. If the porch only reaches 5–10°C, refuse this plant.
Carbeth Plants Carbeth calamondin

Testsieger

Carbeth Plants Carbeth calamondin
5.6/10about £27.99
View offer

What you should not decide on

Do not buy the calamondin because someone called it the hardiest citrus. The Duchy sheet says relatively hardy in the same PDF that sets 13°C nights. An H3 badge on the RHS page must not be read as survives a British winter outdoors. The cultivation note still says conservatory or greenhouse. Do not use the −5°C line on one BBC Gardeners’ World how-to page. It fights that site’s own plant profile, and the RHS and Duchy floors. Kumquat, down to about 7°C on the Duchy sheet, is not a confirmed row in this set. The night minimum you can hold, and the fruit you will use, are the deciders. Neither plant belongs in the open garden from October to May.

What arrives, and the pair

Both plants in this decision are young 12 cm pots, not the crop in the photograph. Expect something around 20–30 cm, possibly with no fruit on the day it arrives. Ripening can take up to a year. If you want one lemon and one orange, and delivery only from 1 January to 31 May is acceptable, Gardens4you B00EAP9XUY is £34.99, with 4.1 from 354 reviews. An orange is not a calamondin. The UK plant passport on a Great Britain distance sale is on the citrus plants buying guide. Order the lemon for a cooler bright porch. Order the calamondin only for a room near 13°C and small acid fruit.

Common questions

Should I buy a lemon or a calamondin in the UK?
Buy the lemon if your bright place is the cooler one and you want lemons. In this set that is Carbeth B09R4RLNQH at £26.99, or the gift wrap B0BT1Y4K82 at £29.99 if the wrapping is the point. Buy the calamondin if you can hold about 13°C: B09ZJ5JDBJ at £27.99, or the hessian B0FXH3X4FZ at £28.99.
Which one copes with a cooler porch?
The lemon, within the RHS band, not the calamondin. Some lemons are described near 5°C on the grow guide, and the problems page says not below 10°C at night. Calamondin stays at 13°C. A porch at 5–10°C is a reason to skip the calamondin, not to leave either plant outside all winter.
Is calamondin the hardiest citrus?
No. RHS, the Duchy leaflet, and the BBC plant profile all ask for nights around 13°C, and the plant is still a conservatory or greenhouse subject. An H3 badge does not mean it stands a UK winter outdoors. A −5°C figure on one Gardeners’ World how-to page is the line this page rejects.
Can I eat calamondin fruit like a sweet orange?
No. The pulp is very sour on the RHS plant page, and the BBC profile calls the flesh sour. The peel can be sweet. Fruit is about 3–4 cm. Cook it as marmalade or use it as a garnish.
What is the difference between the plain calamondin and the hessian gift wrap?
The pot size and the fruit are the same job. B09ZJ5JDBJ is £27.99 with 4.7 from 6 reviews. B0FXH3X4FZ is £28.99 in hessian, with 5.0 from 1 review, and a 2 metre attribute you should ignore. Pay the difference only if the wrap is the gift.

Related pages

Lemon tree comparison

Citrus plants

Artificial or live citrus plants: décor or real fruit

Best citrus plants: lemon, calamondin, or faux tree

Citrus plants buying guide: UK checks before you pay

Citrus winter care: room, water, and going outside

Sources

Public UK sources used for this comparison, last checked in October 2026.

  1. RHS, How to grow citrus (retrieved October 2026)
  2. RHS, Citrus problems (retrieved October 2026)
  3. RHS, Meyer’s lemon (retrieved October 2026)
  4. GOV.UK, Issuing plant passports (retrieved October 2026)
  5. Clifton Nurseries, citrus (retrieved October 2026)
  6. Duchy of Cornwall Nursery, citrus leaflet (retrieved October 2026)
  7. Cats Protection, citrus fruit (retrieved October 2026)
  8. Consumer Rights Act 2015 (retrieved October 2026)