Laura, sounds like you've done a very good job with your trees. If you can post up several photos, that would help us to give you a better idea of what direction to take with your tree. It could be that you just need to pot up, and use maybe a better draining potting mix. Or, you simply could need to fertilize more, due to the fruit load. Yes, Meyer lemons are very prolific, this is normal for this cultivar. But, you're right in that young trees may benefit from some thinning to keep them healthy. Most folks on this forum that do container citrus growing in non-citrus areas will fertilize with every watering, using Dya Gro's Foliage Pro (can be ordered online at a various number of places, including amazon.com). Most will use full strength dilution during the summer, then switch to 1/2 strength dilution during the slower growing winter months, but you may need to continue with full strength all year 'round with a Meyer due to its proclivity to produce fruit all the time (as you're seeing).

Patty S.

Thank you Patty!

I fertilized it today. I don't think I have been fertilizing it enough based on what you said. I need to get that Foliage Pro. I just noticed that it has more of those yellowing leaves, so it may be in a bit of trouble. I will take pics and post them from my phone. I also have a lime of some kind (maybe you guys can identify it?) that has some yellowing also, but has about five limes. I'm not sure when those will be ready to harvest....I'll be back with pics.

First pic

2nd pic

3rd pic

Laura,

We have successfully wintered over two large tree-type Meyer lemons plus a shrubby one, a lime, and a honey fig in Massachusetts for several years, and yes, those lemons just keeps on producing if they are happy. It is a bit of a challenge to meet their needs indoors though, especially in winter. And invariably, the tree is going to be full of fruit just starting to ripen when it's time to bring it in for the winter.

What we have found every year (this winter is our 5th or 6th at least since got our first Meyer lemon) is that the fruit that is on it will ripen and it will continue to bloom but it generally won't set new fruit until it's back outside in the spring. I have wondered if this is due to the blooms not being pollinated but I've not been able to find anything to confirm that. Regardless, the trees each usually have a couple of dozen lemons of various sizes when we bring them in, giving us plenty of fresh lemons all winter. They do ripen more slowly indoors but if they get adequate light, they will ripen.

As. Patty noted, feeding is critical when you are growing trees in a container and we don't change our feeding routine with this tree when we bring it in - we have just continued to do what we ordinarily do. We've always used plain old Vigoro Citrus and Avocado Plant Food which is a granular food. When we first got the trees, we transplanted them into very large pots (we had to move them in on a dolly, and thank heaven the deck is level with the room they are moved into). These pots are at least 24 inches in diameter and my thought is that they are quite possibly larger. (I'm on the west coast now; the trees are indoors in our east coast home so I can't measure the pots, but they were the largest pots the garden center had.) We sprinkle 2 level tablespoons of the granular food every other week around the circumference midway between trunk and pot and then water. We water 2-3 times a week... when the surface is dry. They don't want to sit in mud, but they don't want to totally dry out either.

The hardest thing to do indoors in winter is keep the temperature even and provide enough light. We had benefit of a triple glazed floor to ceiling arched window and the heating system is forced hot water with the baseboards on the opposite side of the room. But even in a southwest facing window, there wasn't enough light and the fruit didn't ripen so we added some grow lights. The lights we used were ones my parents had used in their greenhouses and were pretty old and somewhat large and well, in your face ugly. They bought them at Griffin Greenhouse Supply years ago. But they worked. My guess is that technology has provided for smaller, better, cheaper ones - probably more efficient too. ;) But if you don't give them at least 8-12 hours of very bright light/sun daily, the fruit is not going to ripen and the tree will languish. There was no way that they are going to get that much light naturally in winter, even in the brightest window, where we were in New England.

Keeping them watered and keeping the humidity up requires diligence. We sprayed with canola, clear soap, and water when we fed (it was just our routine) because you want to avoid spider mites and scale at all costs. In between watering, we kept a spritzer bottle handy and when I spritzed my orchids, I spritzed the trees. Also, we eventually put the trees on wheeled bases so we could rotate them in the windows. It made moving them around and in and out much easier.

The amazing thing about bringing the Meyer lemon indoors is that when it blooms, it smells like a bouquet of gardenias. The entire room is perfumed. The fig stayed green, produced more leaves but it dropped its fruit, the key lime tree seemed to stall - the fruit continued to grow and we harvested it, but it didn't bloom again until it was put back out in the spring, and we totally killed a kumquat, but the Meyer lemons did very nicely for us indoors.

I wish you luck with your trees indoors. I have no opinion about thinning the tree. We've never done anything like that and I'm not certain it would have made a difference for our trees. We do have a wonderful place to winter over these trees indoors but I do think that if you meet its needs, it will do well for you.

One other thing I'll just mention. We've probably broken every rule at one time or other. We generally put the trees back out on the deck on Mother's Day weekend, unless we are having a very cold spring and there is a danger of frost. Because the spot on our deck where they are planted is rather sheltered, I don't ease them into it. These things are so heavy, they get moved, period.

I wish I could find a picture to share with you of the trees with the lights, but this is a photo of one of our Meyer lemons on our deck garden, in full bloom. We have a hydrangea tree, several lilacs, a viburnum, fig, roses, and assorted other shrubs growing in pots on the deck in addition to herbs and some annuals and perennials for color.

Kathy, to save you some effort: First, citrus do not need to be kept at an "even temperature". My citrus trees planted outside in the ground most certainly do not experience that and in fact, if there are not some temperature fluctuations, you may find that your fruit will not color up. Doesn't affect the flavor at all, but the coloring of the skin occurs due to temperature fluctuations, which is why in certain areas of the world, their outside citrus really never colors up (like Hawaii). Last night, temps were down to the high 50's, and the day time high the next day was 91. So, fluctuations are perfectly fine, don't worry about that. If the tree is inside at your house inside temperature, you're just fine. If you've got the pot in, say, a 3-season porch, that is something else, as the winter temps will be too low in your zone.

Humidity. The myth that will not die a quiet death with citrus. Citrus does NOT need high humidity. Right now as I type, my relative humidity is 11%. It is wicked dry right now, due to Santa Ana wind conditions. Citrus grow like gangbusters in our Imperial Valley deserts here in S. California, as well as AZ. Both can be consistently this dry. So, not sure where this myth got it's start, so let's just bury it here. Now, does a citrus tree like getting sprayed off every now and then? Absolutely. Drag it to your bathtub or shower, and hose it off every now and then to remove house dust and discourage nasty pests like mites.

Lastly, Vigoro Citrus Fertilize is a great product for outside, where the soil microbes can help to break down the biurets that can form from a Nitrogen source that is mainly urea-based. In container culture, this can cause issues with biuret build up and burn. You'll see some issues with this on our forum - photos of citrus trees with tip burn. This is why many of our container citrus folks prefer to use a Foliage Pro, which has no urea N source at all, so no chance of biuret burn. Foliage Pro is specifically formulated for container plants. Vigoro Citrus & Avocado Food, is designed to be used with in-ground plants and does contain urea-derived nitrogen. It really isn't optimal for container plants. If you continue to use this, then you would need to flush your plant's pot out at least two, maybe three times a year, to try to flush out the biuret build up.

And, once your trees become very established and mature, the change in light source isn't as dramatic as it would be for a new, young tree, too, so you're right, you don't need to baby them with the transition to the outside as much as you might with a new, young plant. It is mainly the transition to inside that can be the most shocking (as long as you're not plopping an inside plant into full sun, which of course, would be a little too much of a good thing to start with.)

Patty S.

Thank you Kathy and Patty! I grew up in South Florida and attended university in Gainesville. I still have vivid memories of driving up the Florida turnpike and smelling the citrus groves. What an amazing smell! That is part of the reason that I bother with the citrus up here. I love the plants and the flowers (and of course the lemons!). Those are all excellent points. I think I have been underfertilizing my trees. I looked and found that I had purchased Leaf Grow (the one that you recommended Patty), but had forgotten to use it! I have four kids ranging from 3-13, so I am sometimes a bit absorbed with other things ;-) I do have a nice window, but not a lot of space. I will look and see if I can find growing lightbulbs that fit the fixture that is above my plants. They do get plenty of light. I do hope that the plant will still flower. Lets do an experiment....If it does flower, I will have my kids pollinate the plants indoors (that is what we have done before with a q-tip), and see if it sets new fruit. I will report back. Another question: when should I repot these plants? By the summer, they will have been in those pots about 2 years. The lime is in a much smaller pot. It was a pathetic little plant that I bought out of pity to rescue it from the nursery. It was the last one left. It has grown quite a bit!

Laura,

First, your flowers do not require any help from you, from bees, or anything else to produce fruit; if you want seeds, then you need bees, or hand cross pollinating.
Second, when you mentioned your children, I thought of the woman on Jeopardy; when Alex Trebek asked her what she did, she said, "I don't do anything... I just stay home and take care of my six kids"!!

Oh and Kathy: your tree looks lovely. I can't wait for mine to bloom again. I also move them out pretty harshly. Sometimes, I'll move them out and then back in if it is going to be too cold, but mine are heavy also, and I don't enjoy lugging them back and forth.

Laura, nearly all citrus are parthenocarpic - have the ability to set fruit without cross-pollination. So, just enjoy the flowers and they'll turn into fruit on their own. And, the pot size looks pretty good from what I can see in the photo. My only concern would be the density of your potting mix. If it is too dense, it can cause water to collect, and cause root rot. If you search our forum for gritty mix of 511 mix, you'll see good recipes for well draining potting mix that works very well for citrus. And, if your pot gets too heavy, there are great pot dollies made especially for moving container plants so you don't break your back as you continue to have to pot your tree up :-)

Patty S.

Oh! That is great to know Patty! It will save us quite a bit of time! If it is a warm day though, I will take it out and let my bees (I am a beekeeper) enjoy them! Thank you!

Laura

Your tree looks like it may be a beauty! It was happy outside for sure until it got much colder.

Where is it now? What kind of sunlight? Was it cold, like say colder than the 50's when it was outside for these past few weeks?
What kind of mix is it in? Can you take a pic of that?
How long does it take for your mix to dry out properly now that it is inside?

It is lacking fertilizer and I have a feeling it's do not not enough warmth, consistently warm, above 55, and less sunlight....

Please take a pic of that mix up close, ok?

Mike

Forget I ever posted the above....I posted way before all was said above mines, unless I posted on the wrong thread and although what I did say applies to all container citrus we grow up here..Have a nice day

Looks like many here were very helpful. Good luck with it.

Mike