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Meyer lemon coming back from the dead...

12 years ago

I have a meyer lemon that almost wound up in the compost bin, but has come back to life. Where it was once completely barren, in the last 2 months it is now covered in leaves and blooms. My questions are first, when should I give it some fertilizer (I've heard that plants under stress shouldn't be fertilized, but I'm not sure if it's still stressed), and second, when should I repot it? Finally, every so often I find tiny little green insects and/or tiny little white insects on the leaves. I've been spraying with Captain Jack's Deadbug Brew, and the plant still looks very healthy, but should I be doing anything else?

Comments (7)

  • 12 years ago

    Well that's great news :-)
    Meyer's are especially sensitive to light and temperature changes, and they're also "hungry" Citrus plants. If it's blooming, it needs nutrients...so resume fertilization immediately. A fertilizer in a 3:1:2 ratio is excellent for Meyer's.

    Keep after those pests (aphid? whitefly?) and the tree should be fine. A healthy, regularly fertilized tree will be able to resist and recover from pest damage.

    The very best time to re-pot would have been between flushes of growth in the past two months (given your So Cal location), but I understand that the tree was recovering. If the plant is healthy enough now, it should be fine with a re-potting, though. I've certainly re-potted Citrus at worse times of the year. Can you post a picture of the tree?



    Josh

  • 12 years ago

    Yep, I'll take a pic tomorrow morning and post it!

  • 12 years ago

    mine did nothing for an entire year - it simply sat in its pot with a dozen scabby leaves throughout its first summer and all winter until finally, just a week ago - little green leaves appearing. It was days away from compost death....but now - revivified!

  • 12 years ago

    I think most on this forum are agreed that ALL container grown plants require regular fertilizer, and that citrus require more than most. Here we are expecting not only flowers but fruit, and if we do not fertilize the plant is left with only what can be produced by the leafs, which without fertilizer, will be few and far between. It is recommended at least a tablespoon per plant, of citrus labeled fertilizer, if available, monthly, year around. Most citrus will have fruit on the tree year around, and will not have a real dormant period. Al

  • 12 years ago

    Following the principles of the folks at Earthbox I've found a small amount of granulated slow release fertilizer works really well on most container plants including Meyers and Mexican limes. Chose your favorite organic or synthetic. Mine have blossomed like crazy this year and I'm expecting a lot of fruit. My wifes Malungai, Calamansi, Papaya, Guava also look to possibly fruit this year.

  • 12 years ago

    Awesome, will get fertilizing! I have some E.B. Stone citrus fertilizer that I'll use today! And here's a pic of said lemon, just leafing and budding out!

    {{gwi:28542}}

  • 12 years ago

    Coming back nicely!

    Josh