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Hi everyone
I just bought my first Meyer Lemon tree from Home Depot the other day.
I was so excited and over the past few days I have been doing some research to make sure I can keep it happy and healthy.
While I was reading up on them I noticed that alot of places say they have nearly no thorns!!!
Well thats definetly not the case with mine,I have HUGE almost inch long thorns on most of my branches
Does this mean that it was labeled wrong and its not an Improved meyer lemon tree
Most all citrus trees you buy today are grafted onto a hearty disease resistant rootstock. Most of the rootstock is sour orange tree stock which are highly resistant to diseases. This means you'll get a better stronger producing tree without the worries of it sucumbing to a disease.
Even those that advertise lemon trees with little or few thorns, as these trees mature they will grow more and more thorns. Lemon trees are notorious for having a lot of thorns. Many thorns can grow as long as 6 inches on mature trees. This keeps the kids and animals from climbing up the trees.
The tradeoff is you'll get great tasting lemons. Enjoy...
Have a few thorns on my Meyer Lemon tree, but no blooms. Tree is in very large pot and gets mostly sun with shade in late afternoon. What am I doing wrong?
Have a few thorns on my Meyer Lemon tree, but no blooms. Tree is in very large pot and gets mostly sun with shade in late afternoon. What am I doing wrong?
There are a lot of factors at work here, including sunlight, pot to tree size ratio, age of tree, temperature, watering, and nutrients. You may not be doing anything wrong, but if you are, here are a few things to consider.
The size of the pot should not be to the point of dwarfing the tree. The trees need some room to grow, but it should not be "lost in the pot." You should fertilize your tree in the spring/early summer with a slow release pellet form fertilizer such as Miracle Grow's Citrus Fertilizer. I also use their citrus/palm/cactus soil. Both have worked very well for me. If your tree is less than 3-4 years old, it may not be old enough to bear fruit. In the summer months you should be watering about 2x a week, depending on temperature and sunlight. The soil should be getting fairly dry between waterings. Also, meyer lemons love to be misted on their leaves fairly regularly. You can use a spray bottle or hose attachment if outside. During the winter only water once a week. Finally, you should repot your tree once every 2-3 years with new soil, and removing any dead or rotting roots. Here is a website I found to have a lot of helpful tips. Meyer Lemons, Meyer Lemon Tree: Everything you would ever want to know Good luck!
About how much do these trees cost? How much money do you save, in contrast to buying at the store?
I think I paid about $40 for mine from Home Depot, which is about average. I don't think people buy these trees so much for cost benefit, but more as a conversation piece, convenience, and/or a hobby (not to mention the room-refreshing scent when in full bloom!). Eventually you will save money buying the tree vs. lemons from the store, but by that point you will have all but forgotten about the cost savings.
My potted lemon tree has many strong branches with thorns. I am told that the branches with thorns will not bare fruit and should be pruned off. It is true that my lemon tree did not produce as many lemons this year. Anyone have suggestions?
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