I am a new gardener struggling to keep my lemon tree afloat. It is 2 years old. When it was shipped I had 2 lemons. I put it outside in Boston Ma all summer. I took it in this fall. Placed it in front of a sunny sliding door. Bought a plant light. Fertilized it with fruit fertilizer and did a epsom salt bath as well. I spray it every day to keep up the humidity. It is cold and dry here now. I have ~ 75 fragrant healthy blossoms. NO FRUIT. I see the tiny buds of fruit, but never a real fruit. What else can I do . I love this plant and want it to fruit and be healthy. Any suggestions would help. Shall I prune it? I thought it was best to wait until Feb.????
A lemon tree, in fact all varieties of citrus, produce many more blossoms than will ever become fruit. Of the blossoms that do produce small fruitlets, ONLY about 1 - 2 percent of the fruitlets will remain on the tree and eventually be come mature ripe lemons, the rest will be discarded by the tree. If every flower produced a fruit the tree would be crushed under it own weight. A couple of things: 1st. You have posted on the wrong forum. You should post this on the citrus forum. 2nd. You can continue to hand spray your tree if you so desire, but hand misting does no good. Tests by Purdue University,and the University of California have shown that hand misting is of very little value, due to the extremely short life span of a mist. A water tray is much more effective. 3rd. It is not wise to frequently spray soap/oil sprays, especially while the tree is in bloom. Soap is one of the oldest "insecticide" available for use by homeowners. Soaps work to control insects by removing their waxy cuticle, causing the insect to desiccate and die. Soaps don't work quickly, but they do tend to work well, especially against soft-bodied insects such as aphids, mealybugs, spider mites, and soft scale. However, keep in mind that the more concentrated, or the more frequently you spray a soap, the more effective the soap will also be at taking the cuticle off of the surface of your tree's leaves. Plants that have strong soaps applied to them can become damaged. 4th. Lemons, (all citrus) are very heavy feeders, that require a lot of nutrition. This is especially true when the tree is producing a crop. I would not apply cornmeal to a containerized citrus tree. Use a water soluble fertilizer that is higher in nitrogen and potassium (the 1st and 3rd numbers in the formula) and a smaller amount of phosphorous and that also contains trace elements. Fertilize your tree at minimum of once a month. If you wish to control insects on a citrus tree, the number one chemical used world wide are horticultural oils such as Ultra Fine or Volk oil. I much prefer Ultra Fine because of it high purity. Horticultural oils are 100 percent safe to humans and animals, and can even be used in organic gardening. Normally, one application will control aphids, mealy bud, scale and mites. Just be sure to spray early in the morning, or just before dusk. NEVER spray tree during the heat of the day. Lastly, NEVER EVER prune a citrus tree if you ever expect the tree to produce fruit. All citrus, including Lemons, ONLY produce fruit on the latest NEW growth. When you prune, you are removing the new growth, and doing so will greatly, or completely, reduces any possible fruit production for the following year. - Millet
Hello Millet: Thank you so much for ALL the great information. Sounds like I have a ton to learn. You have helped me so much. Thank you!!!!
