Here's the whole tree

Doesn't look so great. See the fruiting turning yellow? Any help is appreciated!
Barbara

Barbara, is this an Improved Meyer Lemon? It's rather small. How long have you had it? Citrus trees are self pruning. What they can't support, they will drop. I wouldn't expect it to retain fruit at this size.

The soil in the pot looks dry. The little tree is sparcely leafed and the tips of some of the leaves are brown and dry. If conditions are stressful, this will also cause the tree to drop its fruit. Citrus prefer moist soil.

Hi bettydee,
I got this little guy off the clearance rack last Nov. or so and he looked EVEN worse! Then he got cottony cushion scale and I treated several times for that while inside during the winter. It did get some winter blooms that dropped. And I lost lots of leaves from the bugs. He's just had a hard time ...... the poor little guy.

Since he's been outside I found a few more of the cottony cushion scale nasty bugs and sparayed again with Neem. He's really trying to bloom. You're right - maybe he needs more water. Should the soil be moist all the time? I've been doing a good watering about every 5 days.

I used to have a large lemon that would produce a few lemons while potted. I didn't know they wouldn't hold the fruit if they weren't strong enough.

Any other tips?

Thanks so much!
Barbara

They do seem to prefer moist soil, but not soggy. In hot weather, like what we are having here, 5 days is too long to go without water. Use your finger to test the top 1" - 2" of soil, water when it is almost dry. You might also check to see if it is root bound. It's common to see root bound old stock in box stores.

Thanks! I'll get right on it.

It looks like it needs to be stepped up to a larger size pot. Then you won't have to water it as often.