Help with Meyer Lemon

I just bought a Meyer Lemon about a month ago. I was full of blooms and has some small lemons on it. It did really well the first couple of weeks and the all of a sudden I noticted that some of the leaves were turing yellow and falling off. I have lost maybe a third of the leaves and all the newest blooms and tiny lemons are falling off to...........What could the problem be?? This is just a photo of what it did look like. I will have to get one tomorrow of what it looks like now.
8o(
Dee

I'm not sure I can help much, WillowWasp. My Meyer lemon (six years now in its inground spot without winter protection) often has some yellow leaves and drops some blossoms and tiny lemons. It blooms so profusely that I've always thought that might be the tree's way of correcting an overburden. Also, the rejected lemons seem to be poorly formed - maybe not pollinated fully? However, a third of the leaves seems excessive. You indicate you've had it about a month...is it in a container or have you set it out? Yuska
.

WillowWasp,

Citrus self limits its fruit production. Since your tree lost 1/3 of its leaves, it might be dropping the fruit and flowers it can no longer support. My Meyer lemon, planted in a pot, overwinters in a cool greenhouse so it's already producing new leaves and flowers. If it were outside it would still be dormant. The yellow leaves could be due to overwatering. Lack of water makes the leaves look dry and drop off in a few days without bothering to turn yellow. I don't know if this helps. Two good reference books are:

All About Citrus & Subtropical Fruits by Ortho Books. It has lots of good color photos , shows best growing zones, gives information of varieties,as well as care and disease information. I find it a very useful book.

Citrus Complete Guide to Selecting & Growing ... by Lance Walheim, Ironwood Press It has a more complete list and description of fruit varieties. Not as many color photos, but excellent information.

BettyDee

Thanks so much for the informatiio. I will have to look up how to take care of this baby. I am trying to get it going and right now it is in a pot so I might need to pot it up to a bigger one. I can't put it in the ground since we will be moving pretty soon.

Dee

I would definitely suggest removing the small lemons that have formed, on the premise that your tree doesn't have extra energy to spare for fruit production while it's dealing with whatever is causing the leaf drop. It will bloom and set fruit again, but this isn't the time, especially if you'll soon be subjecting it to a move, which never makes my plants happy.

I assume you've checked for scale & spider mites, two of the most common problems for my lemon & lime tree, as both can cause yellowing & dropping of leaves. Both also seem to cause the formation of sticky sap droplets on remaining foliage, almost as though somebody has been dripping Karo syrup on the leaves.... If you see that, you definitely need to treat for infestation.

I did once have a problem with my lemon tree getting yellowed & dropped leaves when it wasn't getting enough water.... I thought the yellow leaves were from overwatering, so I nearly killed it before I figured out it had the opposite problem!

Good luck with your lemon tree, and best wishes for your upcoming move!

Mine loses most of its leaves in the winter, even in the greenhouse, but starts to bloom and then sprouts new leaved in the spring.
If you just received this plant, I could be stress related to shipping. If it is, It will stop growing until it recovers, Make sure the soil isn't dry, but Don't overwater it. I had one that went into stress from shipping and I watered it and it died. I really think I drowned it. So I had to start over. The next one I got I put in a shaddy spot and left it alone. It a few weeks, it started to rebound and its been growing ever since.

strangebob, How cold does your greenhouse get during the winter? Sometimes, sudden transitions, from outside to the greenhouse will cause leaf drop if the acclimation is not done slowly. My husband gave me a greenhouse for Christmas to house my citrus collection during the winter. The heater is set to come on when the temperature dips to 40. They don't lose any leaves. In fact, I worried because they started to put out new growth and blooming. I took this photo early to mid-February. These are some of my citrus trees.

WillowWasp, how is your Meyer Lemon doing?
BettyDee

WoW BettyDee I like your citrus............I am going to get a few more in the next few months if they still have them at work.

My Meyer has perked up, I repotted it and it is looking alot better. It was full of roots and past time to repot so I think that was the problem. It had so many blooms and fruits it just wasn't getting all it need to preform to its best. It still dropped some leaves but not at the rate it was dropping them. I see some new leaf buds on it this morning and a few more flower buds so I think the worst is over.

Thanks so much for asking

Dee

I have zone envy. In your zone and being by the Gulf Coast, you are within the citrus growing area. You should be able to grow all kinds of varieties. Your problem will be having enough room for them. I'm glad your lemon is on its way to recovery.
Veronica

bettydee

Its acutally a roofed structure with south facing windows, so it only gets morning sun. The rest of the day, everything is under flouresent lights, (1 cool white and 1 warm white in each 4' fixture). (On 16 hrs a day) I think it may be lack of sun causing the leaves to drop. All of them don't fall, about 75% do. It never gets below 55 a night and can get quite warm in the daytime 80+.. but it aways sends out blooms in the spring and new leaves. Beats Me? but it sprouts like that every year. Almost full of leaves now and flowers too.

Strangebob

strangebob,

Is it possible to add more light fixtures or leave the lights on 24 hours? This increases the total amount of light they receive and might be enough to prevent leaf drop. There are other lighting alternatives, but they are rather expensive.

Help!

i have a Meyers Lemon which lives in the ground. It has been producing well, but this year it had but one bloom, and then stopped pushing blooms. Do these trees have a proclivity for producing every other year?

I've never heard of a Meyer lemon producing every other year. When I lived in California, my tree produced flowers and fruit all year long. It was planted in the ground. Here in Texas, my Meyer Lemon seems to produce just one crop. Your problem could be lack of fertilizer. What do the leaves look like?

Bettydee:

Brand new leaves. Quite green. I goe one bud, which seems to have just dropped off. The tree (bush) is about four feet in diameter -- and quite healthy looking. It gets fertilizer, and faces due south. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Bettydee,
Actually I have [6] 4' fixtures in there. Its only 15' Long and 8 ' wide. I have other plants in there as well including orchids. All do real well, even the other citrus. For some reason the lemon just does its own thing. Beats me. But its now full of leaves and flowering again since I moved it outside.

strangebob

So if my citrus plants face north (deck in summer, walk-out basement in winter), will I ever get any blossoms or fruit? We've had our citrus trees for almost 2 years and haven't gotten a blossom yet. OTH, we haven't fertilized... only repotted in nice clay containers w/good soil when we got them (later I found out this may have been a mistake) and water...

GrayThumb

Citrus need at least 6-8 hours of sunlight preferably all day. You can give them the equivalent using florescent lights for at least 16 hours. Lack of sunlight may be part of your problem. Potted citrus need fertilizer and slightly acidic potting soil so use citrus fertilizer. You mentioned good soil. I hope you don't mean garden soil (dirt). Use a good potting soil only. Garden soil has a tendency to shrink around the rootball leaving a gap between the pot and the rootball. Water will run down the side of the pot leaving a dry rootball. Soilborne diseases can be devastating. Any earthworms or other animal life usually found in soil can damage the root system. When you repotted, had the roots filled the pot? Potting into a pot that is too large can cause other problems. Your citrus could be spending its energy trying to fill the pot with roots.

BettyDee

bettydee:
I'm back for expert advice. This year seems to be a problem year for a few of my citrus.
My Meyers still hasn't sent out a second blossom -- but it looks healthy. It''s been in the same spot for three years, and gave me a dozen fruit last year.
I replanted my Key Lime into a full-sun location and, for the first time, it had a couple of dozen blossoms (which I meticulously brushed with a Q-tip to spread the pollen) but only one fruit has set. (It's outside, buit the bees haven't found it, yet.)
I moved my grapefruit, and it started a slow, but steady, leaf drop. It lost almost all of its leaves, and only now (after four months) started to break out a few blossoms on almost bare branches.
Whaddya think?

Flyboy,

Transplanting the lime and grapefruit trees is probably the reason for the leaf drop and the small number of blossoms. Root systems on citrus trees extend out beyond the drip line and transplanting severed many of the feeder roots. You did the right thing by transplanting the citrus trees in the fall giving them time to re-establish their root systems over the winter. If the tops weren't pruned to compensate for the loss of roots, leaf drop is to be expected.

It takes a lot of energy for a tree to produce flowers and fruit, energy which was best spent on developing a good root system. Once fully established, the trees should put out new growth and flowers. If you haven't done so already, give your trees some citrus fertilizer. If you see active growth, use the recommended amount of fertilizer. Otherwise use a smaller amount. Later this season, resume feeding the recommended amount of fertilizer.

All citrus produce more flowers than they are capable of supporting to maturity. About 95% of all citrus flowers fall off. Of the remaining 5% that start developing into fruit, the majority will fall off by the time the fruit reach golfball size. Citrus bloom on wood produced the previous season so you need to look at what happened to your trees last year. Check your watering patterns. Irregular watering patterns could be responsible for most of your Meyer lemon's woes this year. And for some of the lime and grapefruit trees' problems as well. Were you in the path of all those hurricanes that hit Florida last year? Too much water can lead to root rot.

Citrus need a deep soak. Then allow the top 3 - 4 inches of the top soil to dry out before watering again. During the summer months when the demand for water increases, check youf trees in the morning for water stress. The leaves have a tendency to gray out a bit when they need water.

Another thing to look at is root competition by weeds and/or grass. Citrus trees should have no competition within 6 - 12 feet, depending on tree size, of the trunk.

I've enclosed a link to a citrus primer by Texas A & M. A great reference book on citrus is call Citrus Complete Guide to Selecting & Growing More Than 100 Varieties For California, Arizona, Texas, the Gulf Coast and Florida. Let me know if you have any more questions.

http://primera.tamu.edu/kcchome/homeowner/homeonerguide.htm#Melanose

Bettydee:
Thank you, thank you.
I'll let you know how they make out. I also have a new navel tree. It has so many baby fruit setting that it's scary. If most don't fall off by themselves I'll have to just flick them off. It was a small tree, but in a big pot. The root stock trunk is almost twice the diameter of the real tree trunk. That's why it's getting so much energy.

And, yes. A couple of the hurricanes swiped us. It knocked over my Persian lime, but I straightened it up and guyed it. It looks fine. Plenty of fruit setting.

Okay stupid question. I have had a meyer's lemon since last year. This year is the first time it has bloomed. Wow do those blooms smell great. I was wondering about how long it takes the lemon to ripen and when do you know when it is done? Do you pick them or wait for them to drop to the ground? Just curious. Thanks Kim

Maturity takes a long time. Here the blooms in April will produce fruit that begins to ripen about mid-November. Wait until the fruits are thoroughly yellow before pulling any of them. You don't need to harvest them all at once; citrus can be "stored" on the tree for several weeks. They can endure a moderate freeze. I love the fragrance!

One of the reasons that Meyer Lemon are seldom seen in a supermarket is because it is very thin skinned. While the tree can take a few hours below 32ºF, it will damage the fruit. Having said that, if you can find or make a microclimate for your Meyer Lemon, it might overwinter there in Round Rock. Somewhere in Bastrop, a little old lady has two fifteen year old Meyer Lemon trees planted in the ground. She doesn't take any special precaution to protect them during the winter. The trees are planted south and under the overhanging branches of a tall deciduous tree located south of the house. She's been harvesting enough lemons that for the past few years she sells the extra lemons at a local farmer's market. She and her trees were featured in the local newspaper this past winter.

I bought a meyer lemon tree in Feb it has now bloomed and started to grow alot. I had tons of blooms but the one of those BIG bees knocked half of the off the tree. I saw him do it lol.

I just bought a meyer-lemon a few weeks ago and have noticed that some of the leaves are yellowing. I was reading the posts above trying to figure out what my problem could be. I looked closely at it and noticed that only 2 out of the 3 branches had yellow leaves, I also noticed that some of the yellow leaves have brown spots that just developed. The other branch has very green leaves that look normal. At first I thought I was over watering so I cut back. Then I thought that I might not be watering enough so I started to water some more. I haven't seen too much change. If the problem is due to watering how long does it take for the leaves to take on their normal color again. If it isn't the water does anyone have any ideas as to what my problem could be?

This message was edited Apr 26, 2005 12:00 PM

When you bought your Meyer's lemon tree and then moved it to your location, it may just need to adjust to its new environment.

Be sure to check the leaves very closely for pests, especially if the leaves get yellow spots or splotches (from sucking damage by spider mites or scale). My lemon & lime trees are recovering now that they're out on the deck, but I had big problems with both these pests over the winter, and my lemon tree is looking pretty sad. However, it is a very optomistic little tree, and it is blooming like mad and putting out new leaves too!

Ok.....I have a stupid question. My tree has tons of new growth now, but I noticed that it is all a lighter green than the rest. The leaves are now the same size as the old ones, but all a light shade of green is this normal? I also had some fruit fall off this week, 3 to be exact. They came out very light green and then fell off, one of them turned yellow and then fell off. I was thinking maybe I should fertilize, but I wasn't sure what kind. All of the citrus fertilizers I have seen are stakes and my tree is in a container. Is there another kind I am just missing? Thanks. princess

Princess,
If you haven't fertilized since you bought it, the light green leaves would be the result. If you can't find the pelleted form of citrus fertilizer, you can use the Miracid form of Miracle Grow or any fertilizer made for rhododendrons and azaleas. I also give my citrus Ironite, a form of cheleated iron and it also contains the other micronutrients that citrus need.

Citrus self prune. Even when healthy, only a small percent of the flowers will develop into fruit and it will lose most of those. When stressed, the tree will lose even more.

Bettydee, do you do both? and if you do is it at the same time? and how often should I fertilize? Sorry for all the questions :)

I use the Miracid first and wait about 2 weeks. If the leaves haven't gotten greener, I use the Ironite.

It's difficult to give a precise fertilizing schedule because there are so many variables — plant size, container size, temperature, amount of water given, the list goes on, but I can give you a general guide. Plants in containers lose nutrients faster than plants in the ground so they require a consistant source of nutrients. Besides nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, citrus need the micronutrients: iron, zinc and manganese. Be sure the micronutrients are chelated which increases the citrus' ability to absorb the those micronutrients.

First dose of water soluble fertilizer should be given as the tree breaks dormancy and starts to bloom. Then fertilize monthly until late summer or early fall. Here's where I diverge from the recommendation given in my citrus reference books. I'm taking a suggestion from Four Winds Nursery in Fremont, CA. They fertilize year round. Reason: temperature don't go much below 30ºF for long, but the growth put out by the trees during late fall and winter more than compensate for the few leaves lost to frost. This especially true if you are going to overwinter your Meyer in a nearly frost free environment. My citrus go into the greenhouse for winter.

My potted citrus vary in height from just under 4 feet to about 7 feet. The smaller ones are in 24" pots and the larger ones are in 30" pots. You haven't mentioned what size pot your Meyer Lemon is in nor the size of the tree. If your lemon's leaves turn pale before it's time to fertilize them again, then fertilize more often. The more root-bound the roots are, the more frequent you may need to fertilize. Use the color of the leaves to guide you in making out a fertilizer schedule.

I hope this helps you.
Veronica

Veronica thank you so much for the help. i gave the first feeding today and hoping to see improvements. Thanks again. Fran

Just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to BettyDee and thop for all the help with the lemon & lime tree..here are my newest "babies" now those suckers need to get large enough for a me to eat!

Don't worry if a couple of babies yellow-up and drop off. The tree will keep to term only those fruits it can support.

Somewhat like the mother bird who will selectively push one of the baby birds out of the nest -- sort of triage.

My Mex Thornless is having a few problems, The some of the leaves are getting tipped in brown (like a dead leaf) as well as it has the yellowish cast and veins in the leaves. I've checked it with the moisture meter and the level is ok. I fertilized several weeks ago but not a lot since I didn't want to over kill, should I feed it a tad more?

I'm not sure how much of the veining you'll be able to see in this picture but maybe enough to get an idea.

It looks like your tree has a Manganese deficiency. Use a foliar spray that contains chelated micronutrients.

Thanks...I'll go and look for that at HD.

Veronica, I thought you would be the best person to ask about this...I hope you don't mind. I saw a picture in a book where a lemon tree was in a container, rather large, and had baby's tears planted on top. Do you know if this is possible? There were no instructions, just the picture. I wasn't sure if the roots would tangle or if it would interfere with the tree. thanks. Fran

Fran,

If you were to scratch the soil surface, you'd see roots just under the soil. Anything planted under the canopy of a citrus tree, will compete heavily with its feeder roots. All my citrus reference books recommend that the soil be kept clear of other plants whether the citrus are potted or growing in the ground, but I must admit one of my citrus, a small orangequat, has trailing lobelias in its pot. They have been self sowing themselves for 5 years. I do have to water and fertilizer more often. The other pots have no other plants with the citrus. I just don't have the heart to pull the lobelias out. Ideal conditions for a citrus would be to plant nothing under the dripline.

I don't have any idea how deep Baby Tears roots go, but I spent years trying to get it out of my shaded front garden. I wouldn't recommend it. Before you know it, you would have it everywhere. Besides liking shade, Baby Tears like lots of water. Having had the experience of digging out spades full of Baby Tears, their roots form thick mats that spread out in all directions. They would most likely grow right up to the tree's trunk. If kept constantly wet or damp, citrus tree trunks are suceptible to trunk and roots rots, all potentially fatal if not diagnosed early and treated properly. It might take the tree years to overcome any damage. If you want to plant something under your potted citrus, choose shallow rooted plants and place them near the rim of the pot. Don't get any creepers or plants that root where a node touches the soil. You want them away from the trunk. You'll need to check your citrus more carefully.

Veronica