The best lemon trees, compared.
Top pick: Carbeth mini lemon tree Best value: Carbeth mini lemon tree – Lowest price for one lemon in this set, about £26.99, with a stated pot and an honest fruit warning. Updated October 2026.
A lemon tree for a UK buyer is a container evergreen, × limon, not a tree you leave in the ground all winter. Grow it in a pot, with sun and shelter in summer, and move it to a bright frost-free greenhouse, conservatory or glazed porch in winter. A centrally heated living room is a poor long-term home. The air is warm and dry, and winter overwatering then drops the leaves. On a listing, quality means a living plant, a stated pot size, an honest fruit warning, and either a named cultivar or a clear acceptance that the name is unknown. This page lines up three living plants on amazon.co.uk. None of the three names a cultivar or a graft, and none is scored as hardy outdoors. What to read on the listing before you pay is in the [lemon tree buying guide](/hub/trees-and-palms/lemon-tree/sub/lemon-tree-buying-guide).
A lemon tree for a UK buyer is a container evergreen, × limon, not a tree you leave in the ground all winter.
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Personal buying guide
Question 1 of 2
What are you buying?
The Carbeth mini lemon at about £26.99 is one living plant, stated as 20–30 cm in a 12 cm pot, and the seller says it may arrive without fruit out of season. The amazon.co.uk line is 4.4 from 629 reviews, but the first 50 texts include tradescantia, pink stripes and a trailing habit, so that star line is not a sample of this lemon. One review dated 9 February 2026 describes a well packaged plant with fruit already ripening. No second lemon-only praise, and no lemon-only complaint, shows up in that sample once the other houseplant is set aside. The bullets call the fruit fresh edible lemons, ask for full sun, and say to keep it frost-free in a greenhouse or a bright room in winter. Cultivar and graft are not named, and the listing asks whether it is safe for pets without answering. A 12 cm pot is the pot it arrives in, not a finished container, and a fruit-covered photo is a different object from a young plant in February.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want one young lemon at the lowest price in this set, and you will treat a bare plant as normal when the seller has already said fruit may be absent.
Less suitable: You are choosing by the 4.4-star line, or you need a named cultivar and fruit on the plant the day it arrives.
Specifications
Common questions
Does Carbeth say this lemon can grow in low light?
The listing asks the question. The specification says full sun, and the bullets do not say it will grow in low light.
Will this plant arrive with lemons on it?
The seller says that out of season the plant may arrive without any fruit. The stated size is a 20–30 cm plant in a 12 cm pot.
Does the listing say the lemons are edible, and is it safe for pets?
The bullets call the fruit fresh edible lemons. The listing asks if it is safe for pets and does not answer.
The Gardens4you listing is two living trees, one lemon and one orange, at about £34.99, with a delivery height of 20–30 cm including the pot. Dispatch is only from 1 January to 31 May. The amazon.co.uk line is 4.1 from 354 reviews, and the UK texts describe living citrus, including dates from 2015 to 2024, even though the sales rank sits in Decorative Artificial Plants. Buyers often say the plants arrived packed, moist and alive, and that the orange was already further ahead than the lemon. Several report later fruit after repotting in a greenhouse, polytunnel or conservatory. The lemon is the plant reviewers call scrawny, dry or slower, fruit falls off in the box, and sometimes one of the two dies. One buyer was sent a lime instead of a lemon, and one said a label marked the fruit as not edible, which the bullets never resolve. Pot size, water, winter place and cultivar are all unstated.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a lemon and an orange together, and you can order inside the January to May dispatch window.
Less suitable: You want only a lemon, a named cultivar, or a plant posted in summer or autumn.
Specifications
Common questions
Is this one lemon tree or two plants?
The title is a lemon and orange combo of two trees. The unit count is 2. Delivery height including the pot is 20–30 cm.
When does Gardens4you say it will dispatch?
The bullets say delivery from 1 January until 31 May.
What soil does the listing specify?
The listing asks what type of soil it needs. The bullets do not answer. Sunlight is given as full sun.
The gift-wrapped Carbeth lemon costs about £29.99, £3 more than the plain Carbeth plant, and it is one lemon in a 12 cm pot with an expected height of 30 cm. The amazon.co.uk line is 3.7 from 99 reviews, and those texts are about a lemon rather than another houseplant. Buyers who were pleased report fruit on arrival, careful wrapping, and a plant that perked up or opened flower buds. The same file often says there were fewer lemons than the photo, or none, and that fruit fell off in the box, sometimes within a day. Other reviews describe a much smaller or more pruned plant, dried or black lemons, leaf drop, whitefly, a plant that died within weeks, and one refund that was refused. The bullets list sunny windowsills, conservatories, greenhouses, patios and balconies, and they do not promise fruit, name a cultivar, or give a winter temperature. The seller’s low-maintenance line is not what those reviews describe.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You are sending a living lemon as a present and the recipient can cope with a smaller, barer plant than the photo.
Less suitable: The fruit in the picture is the gift, or you need a plant the reviews describe as reliably leafy on arrival.
Specifications
Common questions
Can this gift lemon be kept in a conservatory?
The listing asks that question. The bullets include conservatories, and also sunny windowsills, greenhouses, patios and balconies.
Does the seller promise lemons on the plant?
The bullets do not promise fruit. They describe a gift-wrapped plant in a 12 cm pot with an expected height of 30 cm.
Does the listing say it is pet friendly?
The listing asks if it is pet friendly. The bullets do not answer.
This comparison uses the three amazon.co.uk listings kept for lemon trees, and the review notes already stored for those listings. It is not a lab test. A seller line such as edible, low maintenance, or will grow and fruit in the UK is the listing claim, not an RHS verdict on the unnamed plant that arrives. None of the three names a cultivar or a graft. The weights sum to 100.
Amazon evidence
25%The star line on amazon.co.uk, then a deduction when the written sample is not this plant. The plain Carbeth listing’s 4.4 from 629 is the shelf line only: the first 50 texts mix tradescantia, so it is not scored as 629 lemon reviews. The gift-wrapped plant’s 3.7 from 99 and the lemon-and-orange pair’s 4.1 from 354 are texts about citrus.
Listing fit
35%A living plant scores above a faux tree, a book, or seed. Points come from a stated pot or height, a winter place, and an honest fruit warning. Points come off when cultivar and graft are absent, pet safety is asked and unanswered, and water or a winter place is missing. Two plants score as two plants in one order, not as two lemons.
Review outcome
25%UK texts that match the plant and describe a living arrival score up. Fallen fruit, a plant smaller than the photo, death within weeks, whitefly, a lime sent as a lemon, and a not-edible label score down. Tradescantia texts are excluded, not counted as lemon faults.
Value
15%Shelf price in GBP against what the listing actually states. About £26.99 is the lowest price for one lemon. About £29.99 buys wrapping on a similar 12 cm plant. About £34.99 buys a lemon and an orange, about £17.50 a plant, only if you can order from 1 January to 31 May.
Three living lemon trees from amazon.co.uk sit on this page. The top pick is the Gardens4you lemon and orange at about £34.99, and only if you can order from 1 January to 31 May. The best value is the Carbeth mini lemon at about £26.99. The gift-wrapped plant costs about £3 more and does not add a winter note. Price is a weak guide on its own: a 12 cm pot is a young plant, a fruit-covered photo is not a promise, and a heated living room is a poor winter home.
A lemon tree for a UK buyer is a container evergreen, Citrus × limon, not a tree you plant in the ground and forget. The RHS rates it H2: it can take cold, but it does not survive being frozen, and citrus will not reliably overwinter outdoors even in the mildest parts of the UK. Grow it in a pot. Give it sun and shelter in summer. In winter it needs a bright frost-free greenhouse, conservatory or glazed porch. A centrally heated living room is a poor long-term home.
H2 means the plant can take cold and does not survive being frozen. Citrus will not reliably overwinter outdoors even in the mildest parts of the UK. A bright frost-free greenhouse, conservatory or glazed porch is the winter place the RHS grow guide describes.
The plain Carbeth listing says the plant may arrive without fruit out of season. Gift-wrap reviews often say the fruit was missing or fell off in the box. A 20–30 cm plant in a 12 cm pot is a young plant, not the specimen in the picture.
The Carbeth mini star line of 4.4 from 629 mixes tradescantia into the first 50 texts. Those texts are not lemon faults. A new pot should be only slightly larger. Moving a 12 cm root ball into a much larger pot, or watering all winter as in July, is how leaves drop.
A lemon you cannot house through winter is the wrong plant, even if the photo is covered in fruit. The RHS rates Citrus × limon H2. It can take cold, but it does not survive being frozen, and citrus will not reliably overwinter outdoors even in the mildest parts of the UK. The pattern in the RHS grow guide is sun and shelter in summer, then a bright frost-free greenhouse, conservatory or glazed porch. A centrally heated living room fails that test.
Start with what is in the box. This set kept three living plants and left out faux trees, books and seed. A 20–30 cm lemon in a 12 cm pot is a young plant. The plain Carbeth listing says it may arrive without fruit out of season. The gift-wrap bullets do not promise fruit, and the reviews often say it was missing, smaller than the photo, or knocked off in the box. The Gardens4you pair states a height of 20–30 cm including the pot, and dispatch only from 1 January to 31 May.
Three typical situations, each with a recommendation from this comparison.
You can follow the RHS pattern of sun and shelter outside in summer, then a bright frost-free room in winter. The plain Carbeth lemon is the listing that names that frost-free place, at about £26.99, and it warns that fruit may be missing out of season. A 12 cm pot is the arrival pot, not a finished container.
You want a plant that looks like the photo on the day it arrives. The gift-wrapped Carbeth lemon is about £29.99 in a 12 cm pot. Reviews of that file often say the fruit was missing or fell off in the box. It fits if the recipient can cope with a smaller, barer plant than the picture.
You want both trees in one order, and you can buy between 1 January and 31 May. The Gardens4you pair is about £34.99, with a height of 20–30 cm including the pot. Reviewers often find the orange further ahead than the lemon. Pot, water, winter place and cultivar are unstated.
The top pick is the Gardens4you lemon and orange at about £34.99. It is two living trees, 20–30 cm including the pot, with 4.1 from 354 reviews of living trees, and dispatch only from 1 January to 31 May. Pot, water, winter place and cultivar are unstated, and the lemon often arrives weaker than the orange. The best value is the Carbeth mini lemon at about £26.99: one plant, 20–30 cm in a 12 cm pot, with an out-of-season fruit warning and a frost-free winter note. The 4.4 from 629 is mixed with tradescantia, so it is not treated as 629 lemon reviews.
Carbeth mini lemon tree
Lowest price for one lemon in this set, about £26.99, with a stated pot and an honest fruit warning.
Editorial
Peter F. is the editor for DIY & tools at productscompared.co.uk. Comparisons in this category are checked against amazon.co.uk listings, review evidence and public UK sources.
Guides on what to look for, how to use a product, and common mistakes.
Public UK sources used for this comparison, last checked in October 2026.
This page contains affiliate links to amazon.co.uk (tag pcuk26-21). If you buy through one of these links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Scores use the listings and review notes in this comparison. They are not a lab test.
