Hello,

I am interested in purchasing a dwarfed lemon tree. How long does it take for the tree to produce fruit?

Breyn, Our semi-dwarf Meyer lemon trees can produce within a year, if they have proper light, fertilizer, and water. Our trees are 2-3 years old when sold. A 4 year old tree is considered a “mature” tree. We have even had fruit from trees in their first year http://groworganic.com/organic-gardening/articles/lemons-in-december

Hope this is helpful!

Hello,
I have a Meyer Lemon Tree that is about 4’-5’ tall and I’ve brought it indoors for the winter. ..I’m in CT.  It only has one flower blossom and I’ve already maually pollinated it.  My questions are:
1) Is it okay to fertilize? I have an Citrus Tone that I use during the summer but want to know if I can fertilize it indoors as well:

2) How do I get more blossoms?  It’s in a sunroom on the southside of the house…does it need fertilize or a grow light?

Thank You!
Cynthia

Cynthia, The Meyer lemon needs more light and more fertilizer to give more blossoms during the dark of the winter months. Our favorite “fertilizer” for the winter is Thrive Alive which is a kelp, vitamin B based all-purpose plant tonic. It helps to promote flowering without heavy nitrogen.

Hello, I have an improved Meyer lemon that I bought last summer. It flowered in late fall and I am hoping for some lemons!  Now it has what I believe to be scale (brown bumps that I have been picking off using a paper towel soaked in dish soap).  The sticky substance from the scale is getting thicker each week. It also has what appear to be spiderwebs, although I can’t see any spiders.  Now some of the leaves are turning yellow and dropping.  I have it in a small south-facing greenhouse and I water it once a week, which is when I pick off the scale.  I’ve read that others put lemon trees in their garage to kill scale.  Should I move it to a colder, darker space?  Please tell me what I am doing wrong!  Thanks!,

Lisa, Oil smothers the younger, softer shelled scales before they can reproduce. Green Light Neem (neem oil), Organicide (fish and sesame oils) are labelled for use against scale. Bugshooter is a citrus based spray and Safer 3-1 is a sulfur/soap combo - both also labelled for use against scale.

You can put the lemon in your garage if there is sufficient light, as the cooler temperature will help. Warm greenhouses are prime pest habitat. You will need to still be aware of the night temps and possibly cover your citrus if you are in a colder climate.

Hope this is helpful.

I have enjoyed Meyer lemon trees for 14 years. I don’t know how long they will live though. I have rooted these special trees from cuttings (tops of the young trees) as well as from seeds.  Wow, do they ever take quite a bit of time to sprout, about 45+ days on a damp papertowel in a closed container (rinsed regularly to avoid mold, etc.)  But the fruit ripens in Dec. I will leave some fruits on til April and they get darker and sweeter.  I am happy to help anyone who wants to get started with Meyer lemons. Great growing wishes, Rawd  

Rawd, Thanks for your interesting suggestions!

Hi,
I recently bought a grafter improved meyer lemon tree from the local garden center. It has lots of buds and it had holes in it’s leaves. I asked what they were from and they told me that it was from being watered from above…I have brought it home and the holes are getting bigger.  I don’t see any bugs at all.  A couple of the leaves have turned yellow and dropped off. I am getting worried…also can I fertilize it with Miracle gro?
Thanks in advance,
Lisa

Smart Pot for Meyer Lemon/Citrus?  Can I use a Smart Pot to grow a citrus tree?  How to move?  Can I use a plant lifter?

holes in my leaves, My first guess was that the holes were caused by birds trying to get to any bugs that might have been on the plant.  But if they are getting larger, there must be some kind of bug or caterpillar - look on the undersides of the leaves.  Usually citrus critters work from the outside of the leaves inward, but…

I do not know the composition of Miracle Gro products.  Citrus usually like something with a higher N than P and K (E.B.Stone 7-3-3 or Dr. Earth 8-5-4) so they need to look at the N-P-K of the Miracle gro product they are thinking of using. We recommend organic fertilizers that support both the plant and the soil.

The holes in the leaves could be a sickness the plant gets. We’ve had problems down here in Florida with it. Look it up its called a Citrus canker. Hope that’s not what it is!
Best of luck