Hello everyone, hopefully someone here can help me with a citrus tree(possibly lemon?) that is about 9 years old. The problem is is that it's growing taller and taller, about 9 feet tall actually! It's not bushy, just straight up mostly. It has never had a flower or any fruit and i was wondering if there was anyone with any advice. Thanks!! Oh yeah, I have a few pictures of it if anyone is interested. -Tara (my tree has been indoors in a pot for it's whole life and it goes out to the deck for the summer usually)
Hello everyone! First of all i'm new to this site and i think i may have posted a message in the wrong area. Anyway, my question to anyone who might know, is about a 9 year old citrus tree (possibly lemon) that keeps growing taller and has never had a fruit or flower. I keep it potted inside and it visits my deck outdoors during the summer months. Any advice on pruning, or anything that might help it bare fruit would be great! Thanks!! *Tara, New Brunswick
I am not an expert on citrus, but I know they can take some time to bloom. I think nine years might be about the time blooming normally begins for plants from seed. Where did your plant come from? If it was from a saved seed, it may not never bloom. The tree does not look to be 9 years old.
Plants that keep going straight up are often looking for light. Ralph (definitely not a citrus expert)
Well, The tree is definately 9....it was much fuller once and then everything fell off. Since then it just started to grow straight up.I'm not sure if it was from a saved seed because it was given to my boyfriend from a family member and it was a few years old at that time. I know I should put it somewhere that has more light but it's so tall that it doesn't fit anywhere else!! And even though it won't produce fruit or flower I still really like it and I'm afraid to cut it! I really don't want to chop back the top and kill it. Do you know if it's ok to cut them to make them shorter? This tree has literally stumped me....I don't know what to do next.
Citrus trees do respond well to pruning, so if you want to cut it back there should be no problem. You may be able to put it in a position where it will receive more light after reducing its size. Have you considered a small grow light? Small fluorescent bulbs (the kind that screw into an ordinary incandescent socket) are available now that can be used in ordinary (attractive) fixtures. I have found them very useful for providing extra light. You tree looks green and healthy overall. I don't know about fertilizer for citrus, but I think they are heavy feeders. Try the search function on the green bar at the top of the forums page, to search the forums for info on citrus. I know there are some good threads about citrus on the forums.
