stretch

Can anyone give me some advice on caring for a lemon tree (not a Meyer's Lemon--unsure of which variety). Right now it is about 2 1/2 - 3 foot tall. There are no blooms on it and it has recently been transplanted, it looks healthy, should I prune it back to encourage it to spread out or what? Literature that I've read says to keep them under 12 foot...thanks for any suggestions!

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stretch

Richard

The general rule for citrus is not to train them by pruning. However, citrus do sprout lanky, spiny, flowerless suckers from just about anywhere on the plant. These need to be removed at the source. If you want your tree to grow to true size, also remove all fruit that forms in the first 3 years in at least the mid- and top-portion of the plant. Finally, citrus trees planted in the ground need skirting: prune any drooping branches so that there is a 12” to 18” clearance from the ground to prevent pests and mold from coming up the tree. If you top your citrus tree to control the height, be sure to cover the spot with 50% shade cloth until new leaves sprout to protect the inner bark from sunburn -- or prune in early spring or mid Fall when the sun is not intense.

Lemons are vigorous. I would keep the height under 8 feet. Here's some more information on feeding and watering:
http://www.plantsthatproduce.com/gui...mmonCitrus.pdf

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bencelest

The general rule for citrus is to leave it alone. Prune only the dead branches. It will take its normal shape sooner or later. The roots take most of its food on the lower branches so don't touch them. It needs all the leaves for photosynthesis.
And I agree with Richard to thin all your fruits for the first 3 years if you want good growth for as he said a fruit left on the tree is equal to 4 feet of branch growth.

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Banana Nut

xavierdlc61887

thats true, i leave mine alone and they have by themselves got bushy and round just trimmed the dead leaves . heres a pic i just water and fertilize



now they are more rounded and bushy

bencelest

Wow! Nice plants.

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xavierdlc61887

thanks but yeah u just let them grow and they fill out by themselves so its pretty easy to maintain

stretch

Thanks for all of your responses...my lemon has several branches at the bottom and it gets kinda tall and leggy toward the top and has just divided at the top. I plan on keeping it in the pot and putting it in the sun when the weather is tolerable for it here...so should I just top it off when it gets just around 8 feet or so?

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bencelest

Yes. But you have a long time waiting. In a pot?
I don't think it will get that tall if it is planted in a pot. Imagine your plant having a girth of 8 feet. I have not seen one yet.
Actually you can do anything you want to your potted plants. There's no yes or no answer. Only recommendation.
I'd be happy if I can harvest some fruits year after year that's all.
My worry is to keep the leaves green and free of bugs.
One way or another you'll have that problem. Lots of it.

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xavierdlc61887

im starting to get fruit every year but the winds here knock alot of the flowers out so well see as it grows more mature and has more protection

stretch

I don't care that it gets that tall...I would just like for it to bloom and bear some lemons. I'm new to lemons, don't really know much about them! Those are some nice pics! When do these bloom? (I'm guessing winter)

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Mustang

As an aside, I was in Rome recently, and there were loads of lemon trees all over the place. I wanted to bring one home, so bought one with a good, think stem, about 1 m tall.

It didn't fit into my small case, so I wrapped it in a black bin liner and headed for the airport with it as hand luggage. Right now, security in Europe at airposts is what can only be described as anal. I'm sure it's the same elsewhere. Anyway, you can't even take water through customs now. But I put my wrapped lemon tree into the xray machine, and the Italian security guys looked at it, and then just said ... "Oh ... it's a lemon tree. Go ahead". The workers in the aircraft looked at it a bit warily, wondering where it would go, but it fitted into an overhead locked - just.

So, now it's in the greenhouse, recovering from it's journey. And it only lost 1 lemon along the way.

Richard

Hopefully, you did not bring any eggs or spores of pests into the UK with it ...

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xavierdlc61887

mine started flowering in the begining of march and now the fruit.....whats left of it is growing and growing so its all good

mskitty38583

But I put my wrapped lemon tree into the xray machine, and the Italian security guys looked at it, and then just said ... "Oh ... it's a lemon tree. Go ahead". The workers in the aircraft looked at it a bit warily, wondering where it would go, but it fitted into an overhead locked - just.


that sounds like something i would do!!! i would have held it all the way home. just like you would a baby.

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momoese

How soon after the blooms set fruit do you remove them?

buzzwinder

Nice lemon trees Fernie, What variety are they? I have Improved Meyers in pots and they are really temperamental here in N. Illinois. Wish I could plant in the ground!

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Bill for my friend

xavierdlc61887

they are mexican lime nothing speacial here :P um im actually germing about 50-60 right now, some are germing so ill have some later on this may or june um usually the fruit ripens pretty fast cuase of the heat and all but i usually let them fall to the ground and i check about 2-3 times a day before the birdies or insects can get them um ok well hope ill have some seedlings going by next month and offer them here on nanas.org

xavierdlc61887

i also have a improved meyer lemon they get about the size of grapefruits dont know why but they do hahaha nothing speacial is fed except city water :P its my 3rd year with it and the first year i got 3 lemons 2nd year i got 12 and this year well see how many i get i even germed a seed and is 2 feet tall already...no thorns so got lucky :P

Richard

Since my family and I do lots of cooking and baking, we prefer to use Eureka Lemon or similar, instead of the evil Meyer which is Lemon x Orange

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xavierdlc61887

either way its a good plant to grow