Are you on an even watering schedule? I had problems watering haphazardly (starve then drench).

Is it in a pot or in the ground? Medium / location / amount of sun / irrigation? We do need more info.

Why and how are you pruning? I suspect you may be cutting mature nodes and fooling the tree into thinking its too young to bear fruit. The lime cultivar has different growth traits than the Meyer.

Why not just let it be and stay on a regular feed and even watering program (as Serge said).

With so many thorns it just might be a seedling; which may still have a couple years to go before it bears fruit.

Lemons and limes are thorny naturally. Meyer lemons not so much, but Mexican limes are pretty darned thorny. New sprouts are almost always more thorny. That is a normal mechanism citrus use to protect their tender new shoots from becoming fodder for grazing animals. Water sprouts will settle down and fruit. It may take a year. Citrus are tip bearers, so over pruning may end up causing you to not have fruit. Meyer lemons are probably not the best to compare other citrus to, due to their extremely heavy bearing tendencies. They are just fruit manufacturing machines. I am leaning towards the same conclusion that Becauseican has stated. Citrus really don't need to be pruned. An occasional branch for shape. And dead wood pruned out of mature trees. I really don't prune any of my young citrus, except for the errant crazy water sprout, which I just prune back to the edge of the canopy so it can settle down then behave like a regular branch. Do please let us know more - potted or in ground? How frequently are your fertilizing and with what? How much sun exposure during the day? How are you watering? And photos, of course are always helpful, too.

Patty S.

THanks all for the helpful thoughts and guidance on how to get the best out of the site. Here is my lime tree - it is in the NW facing corner of a deck. I've put a manure fork next to it for frame of reference. As to some f/u questions you asked me:
Fertilizer - 2x/year Spring & end of fall
Water - hmm, not regularly, thought it was on a drip line, but figured out the line is not working.
Pruning - 1x / year - mostly clearing out the center crossing branches.
Like I mentioned, it will form little fruits - then they will drop off without finishing.
Are one of my timings wrong? Do I need more water - like my Myers lemon (my only real citrus point of comparison).
Thanks for the further advice.

That tree looks great. What kind of fertilizer are you using? Not enough fertilizer, or the wrong balance will result in few fruits.

I am using EB Stone's Organic Citrus

Well, then, I don't see any problems at all; I guess it is just a matter of patience. If it were a Meyer, I would give it a little more food and a little more water; here in Guatemala, that Mexican lime tree would produce flowers and fruits the whole year with the right care.