How to Plant a Ponderosa Lemon Tree

• 1). Prepare a newly purchased ponderosa lemon tree transplant by gently rinsing the root ball in a stream of water from the garden hose. An inch or two of the soil-free growing medium needs to be washed away so that some of the roots are exposed before setting into the ground.
  
  
• 2). Dig a hole that is slightly larger than the root ball and place the rinsed root ball into the hole. Back-fill the hole halfway with the loose topsoil, using the shovel to tamp in around the root ball.
  
  
• 3). Water thoroughly to settle the soil and fill the rest of the way making sure that the root ball is covered sufficiently with soil so that it does not dry out. The soil needs to be at the level of the surrounding ground.
  
  
• 4). Make a watering ring around the tree that is several feet wide and a few inches tall. Use dirt from an inconspicuous area of the yard or garden. Water the tree as soon as it is planted and then look for holes around the roots that need to be filled in with more soil.
  
  
• 5). Water the newly planted ponderosa lemon tree every day for the first two weeks. Increase the watering interval to once each week over the next few months.
  
  
• 6). Remove all weeds and grass that are inside of the watering ring because they will compete for nutrients with the young tree and starve it out.