Meyer's Lemon Tree 'Meyer' (Citrus x meyeri)

Meyer's Lemon Tree 'Meyer'
Citrus x meyeri

A Meyer's lemon just beginning to form in December. (San Antonio, Tx.)

That is fascinating! I never realized that it would be so elongated looking in the beginning!

Shirlet1md, I was going to move my container grown plant in the house because it was supposed to freeze last night and found lots of new lemons just starting to form. New blooms probably will be opening next week too. The green part at the base will just keep becoming larger forming the lemon and the long part will disappear. The camera lens was really up close for this photo. One would never think that a lemon formiing would be so interesting looking. Thank you for your comments,

To All,This is fantastic! Just looking for information on webb and found DG. I was given a Meyer's Lemon tree from Home Depot. It looks healthy, deep green color, but the top has been broken off and is dry even, my questions were what do I feed it and how often, found all answers right away. Now, the card on the tree says it gets15 feet tall and spreads 20 - 25 feet. If I keep it in a pot will it stop growing or do I have to plant it in the ground? I love growing things and have never lived in an area where you could grow tropical fruits. I am looking forward to this relationship very much.

january, welcome to Dave's Garden. I found this site last March or so and have been addicted to it ever since then. It is an obsession now, but a good one. My small tree is growing in a large container and is doing very well. I have had it a little over a year. It will not reach its true potential in heighth and width when growing in a container. The size of the plant will be controlled by the size of the container. Therefore, the number of fruit it produces will be controlled by the size of the container as well. A 5 gallon size (15-20 inch) container is the most frequently used and the tree will be able to stay in this size for a long time. Of course, you can keep it in a smaller sized container and repot it (in the spring) when it becomes root bound graduating it into larger sized containers.

Citrus are heavy feeders. Yellowing leaves usually indicate a lack of fertilizer or poor drainage. I found that there are all kinds of recommendations for the type of fertilizer to use. There are fertilizers made specifically for citrus trees which usually have a 8-3-9 or 8-2-10 ratio and it should have at least 3% magnesium. Some recommended fertilizers are Bandini Citrus Food, E.B. Stone Organic Citrus fertilizer and Arizona's Best (follow directions for potted plants) but some can not be used on plants in containers. If keeping the tree in a container, be sure to read the directions on the fertilizer container before purchasing it to make sure it is suitable. Use a balanced fertilizer which contains nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. Some recommend a fertilizer with a 3-1-1 ratio (18-6-6, for example) and trace elements, such as iron, zinc, and manganese. These trace elements are very, very important. A lot of the fertilizers are now not including these in their formulas. So be sure the fertilizer you purchase has these. Fertilize regularly, as directed on the label. Some recommend fertilizing lightly all year using a slow-release fertilizer with trace elements. However, I do not use slow release fertilizers anymore because I have had plants become overfertilized in periods of continuous rain. Some people have recommended Peter's Special fertilizer if you can't find the others I have mentioned.

Warmer climates - Fertilize in January, in May and early October. Cooler climates - Fertilize in February, May or early June and September. Magnesium deficiency occurs more frequently in potted citrus. In January or February, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of Epsom salt for every 3 gallons of soil on the top of the soil and water in well to be sure the plant has enough magnesium. This helps the plant hold its new blooms.

The tree will hold as many fruit as it can ripen. The others fall off which is a natural occurence. The fruit can take about nine months to ripen. As one crop ripens, the tree will bloom again so it's not uncommon to have fruit and blossoms simultaneously.

You should prune off the damaged part. Water about once a week when it is warm or when the top 2 iches of soil is dry. In the winter, water every 2 weeks or so.

I hope that this information helps. I love my little tree and watching the develop,ent of the fruit is fascinating. The lemons are wonderful. If you have anymore questions, please. If you intend to grow it in the ground, I have other information I can provide.

i bought a lemon trees and a lime trees from lowes about a month age and it has not growrd or dose not have any new leaves i put it out side in the day and bring it in at night but still not growing what should i do ? thanks!

Maybe they are just getting used to the new environment. They need a lot of light too. Are they receiving sun when you put them outside?

yes they have sun all day. is it bad to bring them in at night?

What are the temperatures at night now?

the temperature is about 65 or 70 at night but the air is on in the house to . some of the leaves drop off but no new leaves or blooms yet my son is doing the same thing and his has blooms and little fruit new leaves to i bought them the same time

I would leave them outside all of the time now. Are the leaves that are still on the trees turning yellowish?

We got our meyer lemon in march and much to our delight it has eight lemons on it right now. But a this week we had alot of rain and now I notice that on the branch's near were the lemons are the leaves have turned yellow. It is not all the way yellow it is more like a lines of it through the leaves. I have checked the soil and it is not soaked because i made sure when it got to bad i put it under the porch to make sure it wasn't soaked to bad. I am a little worried that we will loose the crop what should I do? PLEASE HELP!!!!!

chriselou, some leaf yellowing and droppage is normal at least with my tree. But it looks as though all of the leaves on this branch are yellowing which appears not to be normal leaf drop. When more than a few start to yellow, it is sometimes a sign that the lemon tree needs to be fertilized. I just checked my tree and the veins as well as some adjacent areas on some of the leaves are yellowing indicating a need for nutrients. I have had quadruple heart bypass surgery and have not been able to fertize mine when I should have. Give it some fertilizer (suitable for container plants). See the post above that tells what kind of fertilizer to use. I hope this will perk it up so you do not lose the lemons.

rdited for typos ...

This message was edited Aug 29, 2004 11:50 AM

thank you for the info. I did as you suggested and hope with some time it will perk back up again. We really enjoy our lemon tree and hope to have it for many years to come. By the way winter is almost here and our house does not get that good of sunlight. We have talked about getting a grow light, is this a good way to go if the light in the home is not good? If you have any other suggestions please feel free. Thanks

A grow light probably would be a good idea. Fortunately, we do not have consistently cold weather here. I am able to move the plant indoors for a few days when we have hard freezes and then put it back outside to let it have sunlight. I hope your plant does well for you. I love mine. :o)

Okay if its not one thing its another. I still have had no luck with the leaves getting any better but now i think i know who or what the culprit is. I keep finding that there are dig spots in the pot and im thinking that the baby kittens that a stray mom had is urinating in the lemon tree pot. should i change out the soil and start fresh and hope for it not to get pot shock, or should i just bring in the pot at night and put it back out during the day? I think those kittens are cute and all, but the little stinkers think the lemon tree is its personal litter box.

Gosh, I don't know what to do in this situation. The urine will eventually kill the plant. Flooding the pot quite a few times with water may help to dilute it, but you won't know if this helped. The plant will either get better or get worse. If it gets worse, then it may be too late to do anything about it. Removing the soil and replacing it may indeed cause the plant to go into shock. Try place lemon peels,nutshells or lava rock on top of the dirt in the pot to discourage the cats from using it as a potty. Maybe someone else knows what to do about removing the urine in the soil. Sorry I have not been much help.

thank you so much for your input it has helped because i am just very new at this i hope with a little patients and the new grill my husband rigged up to put over the pot will divert the kittens thank you again

I just wish I had better advice to give you with your new problem.