Hi all, I have some questions about my meyer, it has some interesting new growth. It is lighter in color then the rest, and has started to wrinkle slightly. The only thing I can think of is that it has seen some high temp's recently. The plant has seen the mid 90's for brief times, and avg was 90. I have since brought the temp down to about 85, 80 on a cool day. Hopefully thats it. I checked very well, no aphids, no thrips. I have attached 2 photos. One is the growth, and the other is the new growth, and some old growth for comparison. Please let me know what you think the issue can be. No recent ferilizer, so thats out. I appreciate the help guys (and gals). Also, the plant is several years old, and about 4 feet tall and healthy, is there anyway to induce flowering?
There is nothing wrong with your tree. New growth is always lighter green than the old growth. It will take approximately a month or so for the tree to allocate the nitrogen needed to darken the leaf color. You wrote that you have not fertilized the tree in a while. Citrus are heavy feeders, especially at this time of year as the tree is producing new growth. A containerized citrus tree should be fertilized a minimum of once a month, twice a month is much better. To answer your question, about how to induce flowering, it is needed to know if your tree was started from a seed or if the tree is a grafted tree. Being a Meyer Lemon, it is most likely that you purchased a grafted tree. Lastly, temperatures in the 90F is not detrimental to a citrus tree in the least. - Millet (1,296-)
I would imagine it is from a grafting, is it possible to do something to help induce flowering? My newest question, is it possible to clone my lemon tree from a cutting?
Luckily, Meyer lemons are among the easiest variety of citrus to root from a cutting. Cut a 8 to 10 inch cutting from the next to the last growth flush, remove all but the top two or three leaves, and cut an inch off the bottom at a 45 degree angle. Dip the bottom into a rooting hormone. Stick the cutting, or cuttings, into moist soil and keep in semi shade. Do not use the latest (newest) growth. As to flowering, citrus bloom as a result to some form of stress. In temperate areas like NY, the stress is normally from cooler temperatures during the winter months. During the late fall and through the winter months keep your tree at temperatures below 68F (below 60F) is MUCH BETTER. Keep your tree at the low temperature for an accumulation of 600 to 800 hours. Then in the spring raise the temperature up and your tree will bloom. In tropical countries where the temperature never fall low enough to provide cooling, the stress for flowers comes from the dry season. Then when the rainy season return their citrus trees bloom. The best of luck to you and this tree. - Millet (1,296-)
Thanks Millet, your the man! My plant is growing indoors, either through the window when its sunny, or under a HPS light when its not. Even on nice days the best the tree gets is sun through the window, because I live in an apartment, and outside the courtyard they use some nasty sprays, that kills the bugs, as well as my container tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, and cayenne pepper, so my precious meyer is NOT going out there! Considering this situation, how would you recommend inducing some flowering, maybe leave em in front of the air conditioner for a while? While waiting for your advice, I grew impatient and tried planting a few cuttings as I would any other plant. My cuttings are a good deal shorter then you recommended, but the 2 leaves, and the cut below the internode is the same. Should this bring any problems, or should I cut a few more a bit longer.
Meyer lemons are easy to root, so I would wait and see how the cutting you are now rooting do. Take care. -Millet (1,296-)
