Improved Meyer lemon

Thanks much... I also suspected too large a pot would or could rot roots. Thanks for confirming that also... 8 )

podster. you're welcome.

Need to be on the look out for large pots on sale I guess. Mine aren't under stress but I haven't repoted in two years and they are not growning much right now. Thanks also for the links, check them out later.

Sheila, it is too far to drive but is another example of the different stock carried in certain areas. When we had lunch at planolinda's a couple of years ago I stopped at the HD not far from her home. That's where I got the 20 gal, plastic pots for all of $6.00 each. The stores in my area don't even carry such for any price.

This is such great info. We have several citrus in the ground, including a Meyer and a Ujukitzu. I will have to get some Epsom salts for them. One question. My Cara Cara is being eaten up but we can't find any catepillars no matter what time of day I look. None of the other orange or lemon trees are even bothered. What can I safely apply or do to help this little tree out. Right now it doesn't even have one intact leaf.

podster,

My answer would have been the same as htop's with the exception of withholding fertilizer for up to a year on newly planted citrus trees. I'm not too comfortable with absolutes. If the potting mix doesn't have fertilizer added, I would wait until the root system is established. In the spring that could be as little as 2 weeks, but could take longer. Then I'd see how the citrus is doing after that first spring spurt. Much depends on the potting mix used. When I lived in the SF Bay Area, I used a Brand called SuperSoil.

I loved using it for my citrus trees because it drained very well. The downside was that the organic particles broke down within a year or two. When you have your citrus trees in 24" or 30" pots, re-potting is back breaking. In pots that big, you should be able to leave the trees in the same pot and mix for 3 - 5 years. This is based on having dwarf citrus trees in the pots. Standard citrus are much bigger overall and will require more frequent re-potting or potting up.

Here in rural Texas, my choices of potting mix are very limited. The best of the lot is the MiracleGrow Potting Mix which unfortunately has fertilizer added. It needs to be amended with perlite to improve drainage for use on citrus trees. I use the same ratio as I use on my Brugmansias: 2 parts MiracleGrow to 1 part perlite. I use a mix of the fine and coarse perlite. There is one thing I hate about having to use perlite. If you are not careful when you water, the perlite will float to the surface and you end up with stratified layers of mix in the pot which could cause problems. The downside of using MiracleGrow is lack of quality control. Lately, the bags I've bought have been of higher quality. The particles in the mix appear to have been composted for a longer period. In the past, I've had to remove large painted chunks of lumber from the mix.

The following website gives an approximation of pot size in gallons compared to size in inches. Go by the inside diameter in inches when looking for pot size in gallons.
http://www.plantertomato.com/2011/06/container-gardening-container-size-and-soil-quantity.html

rouxcrew, If the caterpillars are green, they may be hard to see until they are fairly large. Sometimes, they hide under the pots during the day. Grasshoppers could be the culprits especially if you find that some of the tender bark is also damaged. I've lost entire citrus trees to them, but then I live in the country and am surrounded by tens of thousands of grasshoppers not just a few. They are really a problem this year because of the drought.

bettydee, I am in the country with you. Our farm is so dusty right now that I could grow things on my floors every day. I was wondering if it could be grasshoppers because I am seeing bark damage that I first thought was scale but it doesn't look right for that. I hate to give it to them, but they are not messing with any of the others so I may have to suck it up and plan on getting another next year.

Would spraying it help/hurt?

roux... The caterpillars are most likely the ones of the GST (Giant Swallowtail) Hope you allow them to remain...they will not kill the tree. If it is close to another they will leave it and go to the one with leaves.

They are rust brown at first then turn black and white.

This is the butterfly that they will become.

Sheila,

I haven't seen many butterflies or caterpillars this year especially as the drought get worse. Grasshoppers on the other hand are decimating anything green. Every time I walk outside, a cloud of them scatter out away from me.

rouxcrew, The only way I have found that works against them after they have reached the winged stage is a product called Ortho Max Flower Fruit & Vegetable Insect Killer. It's a contact killer, but enough residue remains that it protects the trees for a few of weeks.

Sheila, I haven't had any caterpillars at all this year, even on my tomatoes or cabbages. We have only had a little over 3" of rain since September. Normally we have lots of swallowtails, and other butterflies but we haven't had a one this year even with our flowers and fruits set out.
Betty I will look for the Ortho Max. This little tree hasn't gotten a full set of leaves yet this year, I may lose it anyway but I am going to fight for it.

Thanks guys,

Joy

I just bought my Myers lemon this spring. It is still alive with leaves and green lemons (amazing, given the heat we have had). There about 11 lemons, and only one has shown any signs of starting to turn yellow. What do I need to do so that the lemons ripen?

was your plant in a pot on in the ground?

The Meyer lemon tree I purchased back in March already had 10 lemons on it that were green. About two and a half months ago the lemons began turning yellow. Now the lemons are totally yellow on their top side that gets sun but the undersides are still green. What can I do to get the lemons to turn yellow on their undersides, turn the tree upside down so that part of the lemon is exposed to the sun?

My tree is in a pot, probably 20 gallons. I had it in afternoon sun until mid summer when I moved it where it received mostly shade. Now I have moved it back to afternoon sun. I suppose the sun is an issue but I was trying to protect it's young life (and my investment!)

There is really nothing you can do to hurry the ripening stage. It happens when it happens. It usually takes 3 - 4 months for Meyer lemons to ripen on a mature tree that gets watered and fertilized on a regular basis. Citrus trees also need to have at least 8 hours of full sun. It will take longer for the fruit to mature on younger trees and on trees that don't receive optimal conditions. Many plants went dormant this summer because of the heat and lack of humidity. If your citrus went dormant ( Didn't do any growing regardless of how much water and fertilizer you applied.) then you can't add the summer months to the total of months the fruit was on the tree. Be patient.

Meyer lemons are not true lemons, but a hybrid. The fruit should look a golden yellow at maturity not like the grocery store yellow Eurekas.
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/citrus/lemons.htm
http://meyerlemontree.com/lemonharvest.html

If conditions are to a Meyer tree's liking, it can produce fruit year round. One plus for having a Meyer lemon.

My Meyer lemon tree is in a 18 gallon container, gets 10 -12 hours of sun a day, gets watered almost daily, but I have not fertilized it yet although I just bought citrus tree fertilizer. Over the summer it has grown back all of the leaves that were knocked off by the April 14th hail storm, but none of the lemons were knocked off, so it looked a little strange for a while. I recently repotted it from the five gallon container it came in into the 18 gallon container. I hope my patience in waiting for the lemons to turn totally yellow will be rewarded soon.

When we lived in the Valley we bad a
yard full of citrus trees: orange tangerine
grapefruit mexican (key) 'lime and valley
(aka meyer) lemon.

When I was a young spry teenager I
worked at the leading local nursery
(way before Ho Depo) and the owner always
recommebded feeding wirh Cark Pool's
Citrus Food.

What wonderful information!! My fiance just purchased a Meyer Lemon and a Key Lime tree for me for my second Mother's Day this year. I love them so much! I potted them using Miracle Grow's Citrus and Palm soil. I know it isn't time for fertilizing yet, but does anyone use the Miracid by Miracle Grow on their citrus trees? Also, you all were discussing epsom salt. Since I've had my lemon tree, a few of it's leaves have "faded" yellow spots, for lack of better terms. Any thoughts on why this would be, or if epsom salt might help.
Thanks LouC for the epsom salt recommendation on roses!! I will definitely try it on those. :)

Look on Facebook the epson salts council has new info there every few days you can find it by typing epson salts in the searchbar

The optimum soil pH for growing citrus (The best soil pH that will allow citrus roots to take up all the nutrients they need) is between 6.0 - 6.5 (Slightly acidic). Miracid is really meant for plants that need more acidic soil, like rhododendrons and azaleas. Citrus fertilizer is formulated to provide all the nutrients citrus trees need.

Using epsom salts may help if the soil the tree is planted in is deficient in magnesium or sulfur. Remember it is a salt and one thing you don't want in a pot is salt build up in the soil.

You might consider getting an inexpensive pH meter to check the soil pH. Soil pH greater or lower than 6.0 - 6.5 prevents proper uptake of nutrients even if they are present in the soil. Check the pH before you add anything extra. If the soil pH is within the optimum range, then use the links I have enclosed that has photos showing the effects of nutrient deficiency on leaves. See if the yellowed leaves on your tree matches any of the photos in that link.

http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf62825998.tip.html
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ss419
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ch142
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_citrus_nutrition_and_fertilization

Hello, can someone recommend a place where I could purchase a meyer lemon tree, I live in Texas and have called around to several nurseries but no luck

Thanks!

savigarden
Where is Del Valle, TX? I know that here in Dallas some of the big box stores have Myer Lemon trees on sale from time to time (usually at the wrong time of the year that you should be planting them). I bought mine at a local independent nursery where I like to shop and once I even saw one at a Wal-Mart (Caveat Emptor).

Savi.....I see you live in the Austin area, so I am sure down that way you can locate one. Check for nurseries that specialize in trees for one. Maybe someone will pop in from that area and have more info.

Savigarden,
Monrovia is a commercial grower of citrus trees. I used my zip code to locate local nurseries selling their citrus trees. Here are the results of my search:
http://www.monrovia.com/find-a-garden-center/?zip=78945&x=10&y=3&item_number=&filter_type=
Enter your zip code to locate nurseries closer to you. Meyer lemons are commonly sold in box stores as well, but you have a better chance of buying a healthier tree from a nursery although you will pay a bit more for it.

Savigarden,
A few weeks ago, I bought some large wax myrtles from D & B Tree Farm in Austin. They had some nice good-sized citrus trees at that time. http://dandbtreecompany.com/

Bettydee- have you tried Microlife? It's organic, won't burn and works miracles in my soil. It's not found in the big box stores & costs around $40 per 40 lb. bag but completely worth every penny and the extra effort to find it. Several of my local nurseries carry it.

Sweetmommy, I haven't used it because I prefer to use a fertilizer specially formulated for citrus. There are a number of organic citrus fertilizer available on the market. As for the plants themselves, they can't tell the difference between organic and non-organic fertilizer. Give them the nutrients they need in the amounts needed, provide the proper pH so they can take up those nutrients and they will grow equally as well. I tried to find information on Microlife's nutrient formulation, but had no success. Can you take a photo of the nutrient label and post it?

Bettydee-I've just read this & it's late. I'll get a shot of the ingredients tomorrow & post it here.
My issue with organic v. non organic is preventing as many questionable chemicals as possible from going into my ground water (we're on a well) and into the fruits & veggies that my family consumes. I'm not adamant about it but try to take the organic way when it works, no GMOs, etc. and I've been amazed with the results from using Microlife. That said,I'm sure you are way ahead of me on all of this, we've only been out here for a little over 3 years and I still have a lot to learn!

for bettydee