Hello everyone, I have just moved into a house in california with a lemon tree and could use a little guidance. Its producing a lot of lemons, but the flowers are starting to bloom and there are still lemons on the tree. Do you just leave the lemons on there or do you prune? Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Hi It is quite common for many citrus to have flowers starting when the previous seasons fruit is ripening. It also depends on the variety of lemon. 'Eureka' Lemon will produce lemons throughout the year. Other varieties will have all the fruit ripen at once. Citrus are heavy feeders, so cut out any dead or diseased wood and give it a good feed in spring. Also make sure you keep it clear around the base of the trunk to avoid collar rot. Regards Andrew
Hi, with my lemon tree (I have no idea of the variety), I think I get a slightly smaller crop if I leave existing lemons on. The tree will probably "self-prune" to the number of fruit it can sustain - so some developing fruits might fall off if you leave existing fruits on. Most of my neighbours remove existing fruits and shake their heads at me. However, they have a period with no fruit available for harvest, whilst I always have lemons to eat. Overall last year, my tree (which is perhaps 3m (10 feet) high ) produced between 400 and 500 fruits....so I was never short of lemons! good luck Brian
