Meyer lemon from seed comes up completely yellow?

Newbie gardener.

I'm trying to grow a Meyer Lemon from seed indoors, the poor thing is coming up completely light yellow - stem, leaves, everything.
Obviously something is wrong, how can I fix it? (first image)

It took quite a while to get the seed to sprout and I really don't want to kill it - especially since I have to wait a few years for it to actually bear fruit (if it survives).

I do have another regular lemon that also is a bit on the yellow side, I don't remember if I added peat to the soil mixes of the yellow ones.. could that be it? (second image, not as yellow as the Meyer, but definitely not dark green)

I don't think I'm over-watering, I've got another citrus from seed in a different pot that is nice and dark green on the same watering schedule. - third image

If it's too acidic, can I add chalk? (or.. milk? or something with a base pH?)

Also, I've googled on yellowing leaves a lot but couldn't find anything on grown from seed citrus, but it seemed they are pretty picky about their food and possible deficiencies. Should I fertilize my citrus seedlings right away, or should I wait until they're bit bigger? Can I just throw some compost on from the compost bin or should I get citrus specific stuff?

Thanks in advance!

 

It might be an albino, that happens fairly often with Citrus seedlings.
Yellowing on the other tree is unlikely to be from too acidic conditions
as that's what citrus prefers. Might just need a shot of nitrogen.

 

Welcome to the forum.

The seedling in the first picture could be an albino. They lack the ability to produce chlorophyll which leads to eventual death. The one in the second picture could be nutritionally deficient. The plants should be fed using a fertilizer that contains micronutrients. An NPK ratio of 5-1-3 is recommended for containerized citrus. The following document may be of interest: A Guide to Citrus Nutritional Deficiency and Toxicity Identification.

 

Wow, that was quick! Thank you both!!

Albino - eh? I'd never have guessed that! My previous Meyer seedling - sown at the same time as this one - had the same color (until I accidentally killed it) so I thought it must be the potting-soil or something. Guess I'll let it live for as long as it wants to.

This does mean I have to start over, so I just got 10 more Meyer seeds on Ebay.. let's hope I'll get at least one green one from this batch.

I've looked all over for an indoor Meyer tree but it seems they don't really sell those here (Netherlands). I've got one nearby garden-store left to visit, can't find any Meyer's online. I'll buy some citrus food/fertilizer then too, hope the ratio is listed on the bottle?

Thanks for the article too, nice to have handy for when the trees are a bit bigger!
Those both are from store bought lemons/orange/tangerine though, I forgot to label the seeds, so god knows what kind of tree it actually is (and if it ever will flower/fruit.. maybe sprout spikes.. etc - I've read the seed will be the same kind of three the stem of the three is on, and that store bought citrus is usually grafted on different kinds of trees? )

 

You should be aware Meyer lemon seed is monoembryonic and will not grow true to type, in case that matters to you. The probability of seed from a store bought fruit growing true to type depends on the variety of citrus; some are monoembryonic while others exhibit various degrees of polyembryony.

The NPK formulation (as opposed to ratio) will appear on a fertilizer's label. Again, be sure it contains micronutrients.

 

What, wait, my Meyer seeds won't even grow Meyer Lemon trees ?! That indeed was the only reason I got them.
So... They're pretty hard to get to sprout, I've got a bunch of albinos, and it takes at least 3 years before I'll see if I've got anything edible.

I'm buying that plain regular grafted lemon tree that was my backup plan, found a cheap 40cm tall one too :).

I was willing to take a gamble with store-bought seeds because they are free (as in: paid for the lemons, seeds included) and it's fun to see them grow, but those Meyer seeds are expensive!

I often make hot water + sugar + lemon juice as 'tea' and thought a Meyer would eliminate the need for sugar. Guess I will stick with regular lemons, and an indoor tree hopefully means I have a chance of lemons out of season. If I get really sour lemons I think I can just add less juice or more sugar? And apparently the flowers smell really nice - so I will probably plant a few more Meyers to see if I can get one to grow, but I won't count on it for anything edible.

Will get some good micronutrient NPK citrus fertilizer to keep the regular one happy. Should be here in 2 days - together with a yellow flowered trachelosperum jasminoid.

Thanks for all the quick help and advice!

 

Pokon Citrus fertilizer ( NPK 10+3+7 with micronutrients) sound like it's close enough ratio-wise and it should be widely available here.

 

The seedling tree will have similar characteristics to a Meyer lemon tree but won't be the same and the fruit quality will likely be inferior.

 

:( So a Meyer isn't a 'breed' of tree, where the seeds are true to 'breed', but some kind of grafted (this is what it's called when they put tree A on a tree B stem, right? ) tree?
Looks like I should have done a little more research.

 

Meyer is a variety of lemon as is Lisbon and Eureka. A grafted tree has two parts: the scion and the rootstock. In the case of a grafted tree the desired variety (e.g. Meyer) is grafted onto a rootstock (e.g. trifoliate orange). Typically, top growth is limited to that of the scion so that any fruit (and seed) produced by the tree will have its characteristics. Of course a tree can be grown on its own roots as well. Grafting has no impact on whether seed will grow true to type; that is determined by the variety of citrus.

 

If seeds from a Meyer Lemon won't produce good quality/nice Meyer lemons.. how do people grow new Meyer Lemon trees?
Not to sound stupid, but did this really start with one fluke/created Meyer tree that was cloned or grafted over and over again onto rootstock? And does that mean there are no Meyer lemon trees out there that have their own roots?

I googled monoembryonic - 1 seed, 1 seedling. Guessing polyembryonic is 1 seed, multiple seedlings (not sure how that works), or does that mean 1 seed -> tree produces fruit that has different varieties of seeds?

If you have time to explain (or point me to a link), how does this work?

 

The following is my understanding. Meyer is not a true lemon but a hybrid between a lemon and either a mandarin or an orange. The tree that was discovered in China in the early 20th century must have begun as a seed, the result of chance cross-pollination. Since propagation of this variety is by vegatative means all Meyer lemon trees must be descendants of that one tree. As mentioned earlier, seedlings will have similar qualities but won't be exactly the same. Yes, Meyer lemon can grow on its own roots; the tree would have been started by rooting a cutting.

A polyembryonic seed will contain one zygotic embryo and a number of nucellar embryos. The latter produce trees that are genetically idential to the parent tree. The following document may provide some answers: Seed Reproduction: Development of Gametes and Embryos.

 

Thanks! Reading it with a dictionary nearby (and: who knew the plant's anatomical bits had the same names as mammal ones - eg placenta, embryo).

My lemon tree got here today too, I'm really happy I bought one instead of waiting for my own seedlings to get big enough.

 

Nice looking tree. So you were then able to find a local source? Have you considered ordering trees from a neighboring country? I noticed Flora Toskana in Germany sells citrus trees, including Meyer lemon. Are the relatively high prices typical of European vendors?

 

Thanks! High prices indeed seem to be common, my tree was €35 which was on the high end of what I was willing to spend, €50 is a bit much - especially plus shipping (they'd probably ship here for around 15 euro, but the total is a bit out of my budget for 'just a tree'). I've seen 1m tall citrus trees going for around €150. I don't want one that badly. But depending on my tax return next year I might get a Meyer from Germany, so I'll save the link.

My citrus came in Italian heavy clay. Looks like I'm going to have to replace that with something better draining soon, but I will let it recover from being shoved into a cardboard box first.
I clearly did not pay for packaging ;) two smaller top branches came off. The Jasmin looks even a bit more crumpled up, but I'm sure that will recover fine too - it's camping outside at 15 Celsius, when it gets over 20 the lemon goes out too.
It's got a few mini lemons on it as well as what I guess will be flowers/ buds.

 

Here in Vancouver mandarins are sold with leaves and stem attached around the time of Chinese New Year. Cuttings can be made with the longer pieces of stem while they're still fresh. It's a cheap way to get a mandarin tree.

 

Sadly I think customs disagrees with shipping anything other than seeds..
I live in a pretty small town (1600 people), there is very little citrus around. I've never seen any citrus anywhere outside or inside here come to think of it.
Haven't noticed any activity around Chinese New Year either, I'd get a mandarin for sure then!

When it comes time to prune my lemon, could I try to get a cutting to root that way?

 

You may want make an inquiry for European sources at the Citrus Growers Forum. I believe there are a few members from the Netherlands.

Yes, you can use cuttings to start new plants. Lemon cuttings are easy to root.

 

Google returned a few citrus vendors in the Netherlands:

• De Italiaanse Oase
• Hoveniersbedrijf Riedijk
• Citytree
• Palma Verde
• A Touch Of Green
• Vreeken
• Plantenbakken en Planten

 

Thanks!! Most of those link sell only the €100+ trees, none seem to sell Meyers.

The Vreeken site is really cheap, but doesn't list the height/size of the trees. Will email them first when I decide to get another citrus (likely ;) ).

I did find http://www.barteljo.nl/ which has 35 euro citrus trees and marktplaats.nl (national free Ebay) has a few good listings too. I'm considering adding a Mandarin or a Kumquat. But I would like to see how the lemon does indoors in winter first, see if it survives my indoor conditions.

I also might add a Pomegranate, but I've got a really small living room and only have space for 1 or 2 trees. So unless the pomegranates can stand some frost and stay outdoors protected with straw or something, it's probably a no go. I've got 2 pomegranate seedlings of my own, but it rained last night and they really, really hate having wet feet. The pots are draining well with holes etc, but soil is still saturated. So they're drying up indoors.

And in an attempt to stay somewhat on topic: I re-potted my lemon tree into better draining soil last evening. It was unhappy for about 1 hour after but seems to be doing fine now. 2nd flower opened. And I threw out the albino Meyer.

 

In spite of the high prices it's good to know there are local sources for citrus trees. It follows that there's a supply of plant material in the hands of other citrus enthusiasts with whom you could potentially exchange with.

It's likely at least one of them will be willing to special order one for you from their supplier. Doesn't hurt to inquire with an email.

Good plan. I find kumquats to be much more temperamental as an indoor plant than other citrus varieties. (I've had many die on me.)

 

Small update - a new Meyer Lemon seed is coming up after I planted all my remaining seeds. And - yay - it's a green one!

My lemon tree is not showing much activity after blooming 4 flowers (which fell off after 3 days or so, but I guess that is normal?). The weather hasn't been very sunny though, and I only got to put it outside again yesterday, and then back indoors today since it's cloudy and much colder.

Is it best to drag the lemon tree indoors every time I find it too chilly to stand outdoors in short sleeves, or can I leave it outside overnight as long as it's protected from the rain and not close to freezing? It would get a little more light then, but also more cold and wind.

 

Also, this 'deep watering' thing, is that really where you completely soak the soil, and then let it dry out?
Because I just did that and it takes days for the soil to go from soaked to somewhat damp..

 

It's normal for a large percentage of flowers to either abort or to fail to produce fruit. The planting medium may be too dense if it remains wet for a long time between watering. Of course that is affected by the level of activity in the tree. With my trees there's a big difference in how much water they draw between sunny and overcast days.

 

One of the flowers is growing into a mini lemon, and I removed another one since I read that that would promote new growth and I'm OK with the 4 lemons that it's currently growing.

I repotted the whole tree from my "old clay- new soil mixture" into "mediterranian soil only" that according to the bag was perfect for citrus. Added a few cm layer of hydrokorrels at the bottom of the pot for drainage.

I probably added too much water for the first watering (about 2 liters - new pot is 15-20 liters or something?).

I also added part of a garden hose into the pot with big gaps cut into the sides for easier watering in the future - when I pour water down the hose it will now come out at all levels, so I don't have to soak the top soil layer first and wait for it to 'drop'. At least that was my theory when after adding the 2 buckets I still did not get water dripping out of the bottom holes of the pot even though the soil was soaking wet.

Thanks again J ;)