I have two Myer lemon trees. They are treated exactly the same. I have had them for about four years. They have both borne fruit. However, one tree loses all its leaves in the winter, and the other doesn’t. They live outside in the summer and inside in the winter. What’s going on?
There are several possible reasons, e.g. one may have a bit of root rot, or phosphorus (or other nutrient) levels may be insufficient in one but not the other. You may want to check the drainage is good in the tree losing leaves. If it is then you may want to give it some fertilizer. A reasonably complete fertilizer with micronutrients is probably a good choice. Regular MiracleGro is probably good enough. Something with extra phosphorus might be good to add as well to ensure phosphorus levels are adequate.
I just fed them both with a citrus fertilizer. I admit I hadn’t fed them before. The one with no leaves has a huge amount of buds! The leafy one has some also. When you rub the flower bud to get it to grow a lemon, is it the stamen or pistils that you rub?
Most citrus do not need pollination to set fruit. However, if you want to pollinate you can use a brush on the stamen first to pick up pollen, then brush on the pistil as desired.
