Lemon fruits not maturing Hello, I was trying to search online for some solution and came across this forum. I bought a dwarf lemon about 4 months ago. It's been staying out on the balcony since (Northern California). The flowers bloomed in two different spurts about 2 months apart. Both times many baby fruits started to form (thanks to the bees around the neighbourhood). But once they got to about twice the size of a dime, they just started to die and fell off. I am completely puzzled and have no idea what to do. I water it when the top appears dry, and only use generic house plant fertilizer once in a while as per instruction. What did I do wrong, and how can I advert the situation so that it can actually bare matured fruits? Thanks
You probably did nothing wrong. The vast majority--over 95% of citrus flowers-- do not produce fruit (and most do not need pollination). Keep your tree healthy, fertilize properly with as close as you can get to a 5-1-3 NPK ratio with trace minerals, use a fast draining media with lots of air space and water like you have (when the top few inches are dry) and it will produce fruit. There is one point that may help retain some fruit--once it has bloomed and has small fruitlets--provide a little more frequent water for 2-3 months. During that critical period is when the tree decides how much fruit it can support--if it gets too dry during that time it may drop the fruit. If you have a good fast draining media, there won't be much risk of overwatering--if your media has too much peat and retains a lot of water, you have to be very careful not to over water.
Thanks skeeterbug. Based on your reply, I might have done something wrong actually. I wasn't aware of the need for fast draining soil so I opted for regular potting/top soil mix after I re-potted it from the store-bought condition. I take it the regular soil can't be too good for lemon, or citrus in general?
yeah regular soil mixed with overwatering is pretty much the biggest citrus killer. the roots need oxygen to live and grow, and soil alone compacts and holds water, leading to no aeration and rotting roots. not good! citrus need ultra fantastic draining soil! before i learnt the basics i had mine in multi-purpose compost with a couple of handfulls of perlite. in pots faaaaar to big. realizing my mistake, i downsized three of them, and put them in a different potting mix - one part ericaceous compost (they like it slightly acidic, and adding this to a mix is quite a popular way to put unhealthy trees back on the right track), one part perlite, three parts bark chippings. the water just floods out in seconds now its fantastic! and theyre not sitting on four inches of drenched compost anymore! they are all thriving from the transplant, except my meyer which is pouting and dropping leaves, but thats meyers for you! regular soil not good. fast draining potting mix excellent :D dan
Hmm... Thanks Dan. I got some the work cut out for me then. Need to change the soil for sure. So far, about 4-5 months in, the plant has looked healthy without any sign of illness (whew). It's just the fruits that I am worried about at this stage. The leaves have been looking alright too, it seems. And yes, mine is a Meyer
how old is the tree? as stated by someone more experienced than me, you will get hundreds of flowers and dozens of fruit, but usually only 1%-2% actually mature in ripe fruit. while they grow, the tree will drop them if it feels stressed, so watering issues could be a problem, as well as light and humidity. dropping fruit is the trees way of saying 'im not cut out to spend this much energy' my small meyer couldnt support dozens of fruit, so it would drop them until it grew enough it could sustain. like stated previously, if a fruiting tree suffers from drying out too much or overwatering, the tree will not want to spend all of its energy on fruit so it wont hold them all. from what i have learned on citrus forums, fruit drop is one of those things that happens whether we like it or not, and itsnt usually that big an issue. its unhealthy leaves that seems to be the bigger problem as you can tell much more about the condition of the tree from the leaves. if yours look good and healthy, fantastic :) i bought my meyer in pretty bad condition, but it was reduced so i bought it - its suffering leaf burn and curling :( im not sure what the best thing to do about potting mix is. a lot of people wait until spring, but my opinion, and it is just mine (im not overly experienced!) is that transplanting out of poor soil is a priority, regardless of whether your tree feels disgruntled by it and drops all of its fruit. better that than risking root rot! if it were me i would repot -check the roots, dont disturb them too much and get it into a much better potting mix! water well to establish the roots to the soil, ensuring a good amount of water drains out of the bottom. this should be done each watering - wait until top 2 inches of soil are dry (they like to dry out a bit between waterings) then water it with lots of water - i think its meant to be equal or more than the pot size, so like a three litre pot would need three litres water minimum...i think - dont quote me on that have heard it said dont fertilize when just repotting. i would hold off a couple of weeks then start to fertilize. follow instructions on fertilizer, or reduce the dose by half if its a monthly feed and feed it twice with the half strength in that month. try to make it a citrus fertilizer if you can with trace minerals like iron, copper and magnese. if any of that is wrong im sure the experts will correct me. like i said, im no pro! just trying to offer what i think i understand so far :) best of luck! hope the addiction continues :) dan just to add, have you heard of superthrive? it might be worth trying. i have never used it myself, so i dont have an opinion, but i have ordered it. i am sick of sitting on the fence wondering if it is really as good as people say (i know some who SWEAR by it) or whether its really just a load of rubbish. so i am going to try it, i will let you know if its rubbish or worth it, maybe it will help both our trees :)
Dan is right about the soil and repotting--if you don't damage the roots the tree will hardly notice. What happens with regular commercial potting soil is that it decomposes and packs down filling the few air spaces that were in the soil initially--citrus roots must have oxygen or they will die. I would do it now, since winter is a time that plants do not use much water--so chances of overwatering are increased. When you water, you don't need to add the volume of the container in water, but you do want at least 10% of the water to go through the pot.
i knew i remembered 10% from somewhere lol glad thats been clarified! do any of the experts recommend repotting into a better mix? i did, and my meyer is dropping leaves. thankfully, only the ugly leaves that were twisted or salt-burned that were on it when i bought it - it is being left with healthy leaves only :)
Old leaves do eventually fall--most only last 1-2 yrs. If the leaf falls with the petiole, it is probably normal drop, if they fall and the petiole stays on the tree --it is a sign of stress--it you just repotted in a media with lots of air, it could be it needs a bit more water for a while. Another possibility, and probably more likely, is due to declining light levels--citrus trees often drop leaves as days get shorter.
oh its pouting, i can see it sulking from here :) doesnt seem to accept its in better soil, just needs time to adapt :) got the superthrive through the post today, shall see if its a miracle or a pile of rubbish at long last!
Many citrus will drop young fruit as they produce this is not uncommon. The root system of you tree will control the fruits. It has been said to remove young fruits, for better root growth, I have mixed feelings on this issue. Dale
