That's what they do.
And when they flower on the more upright stems, the weight of the fruit pulls the branches down.

Beyond that, it's a young tree. It's still getting in gear.

Most citrus tend to grow as bushes unless you train them to a tree form. If you want the tree to look like a tree you would pluck all the blooms off the upright growth anyway. If you don't the upright branches will droop just like jean001 said.

This is why some people pay big bucks for larger trees that are already trained into a tree shape.

If you bought an Improved Meyer, it's a bush grafted to dwarf treestock. The original Meyer was a vase-shaped tree. The IM (which is what it looks like you have) tends to grow somewhat irregularly.

I wouldn't prune those higher branches off. They will continue to branch outwards as well as upwards - IMs have heavily crossing branches by nature. Yes, it looks awkward, but that's how IMs respond to conditions. When favorable, it puts on a 'spurt' of growth.

If you want to prune back the lower branches to force the IM to grow more vertically, you can do so. But you'll lose fruit for at least a year, so it's your decision.

I have 3 I.Meyers - one grew from a dropped seed, two were purchased as dwarf standards. The seed-grown plant is an irregular bush, roughly 8x8'. One standard wasn't watered as regularly as I should have, and also I didn't stake it well. It leans drastically, and also has a very irregular shape.

This second standard was planted in optimal conditions in 2002. It gets a little more sun on the LH (west-facing) side than the right, but is surprisingly symmetrical for an IM. Note that the fruit has, as jean001 mentioned, pulled the branches down. When the tree was younger, it looked like a 'weeping' form with all the fruit dragging on the ground! When not heavy with fruit, it has a bit more upright shape, but the IM is never going to be a classic vase-shape unless you are willing to prune heavily and forego fruit.
{{gwi:566743}}

jkom, NICE Meyer lemon...I love the "weeping" way its growing and how short and wide it is. I am trying to grow my dwarf mango to look like yours one day...you're my hero. Beautiful tree!

greendesert, your tree looks great for such a young tree. I have a potted one and I can honestly say it does grow very irregularly. I cannot tell you how many times I have pruned this tree to keep it in check. I've had it for almost 5 years and this last time gave me the most fruits. Good luck!

Hello Pug,
Looks like mango is not the only thing getting me into trouble. I just ordered a chamapagne cocktail grapefruit. I am also considering the IM lemon. Do you think the fruits are sweeter then a regular meyer lemon? I actually heard that they are not sour. From these pics, I have to say that this tree looks like it would do great in a pot. Currently I have the dwark keylime, and dwarf moro blood orange. I originally ordered a dwarf honeybell but changed my mind and went with the champagne cocktail grapfruit which turns out not be a grapefruit all but a cross between th frua mandarin and the chinese pummelo. It looks like it is not a common fruit but from what I hear, it is an excellent fruit. Now the dilema, do I really have room for the IM? I hope your tropicals have made it thru this last cold blast in FL. Good luck Nancy!
Andrew

Hi Andrew, thanks for the well wishes. I cannot wait till the middle of March so my trees will out of danger for frosts, hopefully by June I will be able to see which ones are going to make it...some of them are just too early to tell...they have suffered severe damages, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed(just in case).

Tropical fruits are quite addicting arent' they,lol...My DH just bought me another Mango for Valentine's...Pickering variety. This one I will leave in a container, I just can't protect another one in ground. It is a lot of work and I have too many to protect now,lol...

I believe the IM and meyer are basically the same in taste, I'm no expert but I believe I've read that somewhere. They are good container plants...you can trim the heck out of them and they keep coming back in full force.
Here's mine...taken summer of 09
{{gwi:69243}}

Yep, looks like I am going to have to buy one now. Crap! I am going to have to fork out for at least 2 HID light setups! LOL! The thing that turns me on about the IM lemon is that they can grow and bloom more then once a year. I did have a nice ponderosa, and it croaked on me. It had a softball size fruit and the closer it got to being ready to harvest the more leaves it dropped. I picked the fruit before it was yellow and it was to late for the small tree. I am going to have to ordr one now. QVC has them right now for around $25.00 and they are over 2.5ft tall. To me it is well worth the cost, especially with it being a dwarf tree. That makes it so much easier for me to drag in each fall. I really can't mess around with hauling in huge trees anymore. I had disc replacement surgery last on the 11th of the month and feel much needed improvement. I wonder how easy this tree would be to grow from a cutting. Hmm something to look into. By the way Pug, great looking tree. Looks like you can harvest several fruits from your lil tree. I lost my lancetilla mango :( I over watered it and it rotted out but that is okay, I really wanted a diffrent one anyways. Glad your DH got you the pickering. Sounds like a great tree. Good luck with your tropicals this spring! It blows me away that you have to worry about frosts till March in cental FL. My frost date is somewhere around April or May. I believe that living next to Lake Erie really gives us a nice head start, last spring I had the majority of my trees outdoors in the middle of April. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it weill be the same this year!
Andrew

Great looking trees. I have a couple of those growing in containers but they don't look nearly as healthy as yours. What are you feeding them? I am in zone 4 and my trees are kept indoors from October to early May and hardly fruit. I wonder If that holds them back from fruiting. Any advice will be welcome.
thank you, Catherine

Hello Northfiglady,
What kind of light do they get and are they kept warm during the winter? The size of the tree is also critical. To hold fruit I would say that they should be at least 2ft tall and then there is the soil content. I use the MG palm and citrus. I have had good luck with it but I also mix in MC organicsoil which I think helps with the soil acidity. Fertilizing is something you need to do and if your not sure what to use and how much just ask here. Could you maybe post a picture?
Andrew

Andrew thank you for your response. The trees are about 4 feet above the planter and about two inches wide at the lowest part of the trunk. The only potting soil I can find locally is MG regular potting soil.In the winter I keep them in aroom that is naturally lighted and the temp stays about 50 t0 55 degrees. There was a few flowers recently but they just fell off. What kind of fertilizer would you recommend. The nursery was not very helpful and I put that down to the fact that they dont handle too many citrus trees to even have any support products for them. Finding citrus fertilizer will be difficult but I will look to im provize with a fertilizer that is suitable for other acid loving plants. What do you think. Catherine

Hi Catherine, I use Dynamite slow release fertilizer...I added it to the soil(I mixed it in the soil when I repotted it). I like it because its a 9 month formula and it slowly releases it so it doesn't burn the roots. You can also add fish emulsion at half strength when you bring it outside in the summer as it doesn't smell very good,lol...Or you can use Miracle Grow liquid all purpose at 1/2 strength during the growing season. BTW, I have mine planted in a very porous, free draining soil...this makes a difference so that the soil doesn't stay wet all the time,which can cause root rot. Good luck!
Here's the dynamite ferilizer I use...H.depot carries it.
I've used the red, blue, yellow or red container.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dynamite Fertilizer slow release

I just wanted to say that you all have some beauty of Lemon Meyer plants here! Beautiful. I only wish I could plant mine in-ground..;-(

Nice!

Mike

Thanks Puglvr1 for the detail explanation on how to fertilize and improve my citrus problem. Thanks again Catherine