Meyers Lemon Tree - I think I killed it.. You tell me

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onecoolcad Gilroy, CA(Zone 9b) Feb 16, 2011

I recieved a Meyers Lemon tree as a housewarming gift 2 years ago, 1st mistake I made was I planted it to deep, It survived and I harvested a good amount of Lemons.
2nd mistake and "I think a grave one": The tree grew really close to the ground, so I decided to prune the tree. But I didn't stop at just pruning, I wacked it, All of it (except for 3 little leaves on the top of the stump)
I will post a picture if you need to see it.

The leaves are still alive after 3 months, But I am wondering, What kind of damage did I do? Should I dig it out and start a new one?

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ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) Feb 16, 2011

Do you know if it was grafted? If so, when you whacked it back you probably cut off the grafted Meyer lemon part and whatever re-grows will be the rootstock which usually has bitter nasty fruit. If it wasn't grafted and it's still alive then it could come back, but it'll probably be quite a while before you see fruit from it again so getting a new one will definitely get you fruit sooner.

Post #8375569
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onecoolcad Gilroy, CA(Zone 9b) Feb 16, 2011

I don't know if it is grafted, It came from Home Depot (if that helps).

Curious... Why would it regrow with bitter fruit? isn't a lemon, A lemon?

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ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) Feb 16, 2011

If it was grafted, the top part of the plant is a lemon but the roots are not. The rootstock plant that is used most often for creating dwarf citrus (Poncirus trifoliata 'Flying Dragon') produces bitter fruit. So if you cut off the lemon part that was grafted on top, then all that's left is the bitter orange rootstock so if anything regrows, it'll be that and not the lemon. Lots of citrus trees (including all the ones that I've ever seen at my Home Depot) are grafted onto the dwarf rootstock, so I think it's very likely yours was grafted.

Exactly how close to the ground did you chop it off? If there's a decent amount of stump left you might take a look and see if you can see if the graft it still there. If you can still see that and the leaves that are growing are coming from that part above the graft then you've still got some lemon left. (if you're having a hard time telling if the graft is still there or not, post some closeup pics of the trunk and someone else may be able to tell you)

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