I need help. My little lemon was inside all winter, bloomed and started setting fruit. Moved it outside when it warmed up and all was fine. The fruit got a little larger then turned yellow and dropped. Here's one that dropped. It's flowering well again, but the new fruit setting is also turning yellow. What do you think?
BDunn
This is normal and is known as post bloom fruit drop. It is a self-thinning mechanism that adjusts the number of fruit to the tree's bearing potential. Fruitlets that are defective are also shed at this time. There are early fruit drops and again about this time of year. Only about 2% of citrus blooms set fruit and go on to mature. Such a young tree will not support many fruit and the fruit diverts energy away from tree growth. It’s hard to do but pulling all of the fruit off this young tree will allow it to grow stronger and produce more fruit in the years ahead.
Oldude
Oldude,
That makes sense and thanks so much for the info. It probably can use a little more water than I've been giving it also -- only watering about every 5 days and it is in a clay pot in full sun. Probably needs a little more moisture. I'll pull the fruit to let it grow stronger.
Thanks again!
Barbara
BDun
Is this a grafted tree and it that a graft union on the main stem near the top of the pot where the white tape is?
Oldude
