Did the fruit that was on the tree fall off or did you pick it and are wondering why more haven't started to grow?

I picked it and am wondering why more hasn't started to grow. Yesterday there was a single lemon and orange - so not zero, but close.

BTW, it has been a couple of months I think since we had more than one or two on the tree.

While I have seen people claim to have 2-3 fruit sets per year, the citrus don't constantly put out fruit. I assume you are somewhere near the flower blooming stage. If so, look at the flowers that have bloomed and you will see some that have only the stigma left with a small green ball at the base. That is the beginnings of your new citrus.

I took a quick look and saw what looked like flower buds but didn't see quite what you described. I will look more carefully.

If I understand correctly, you are saying that the fruit comes in batches. Is that correct? You said people "claim" to have 2-3 sets per year. What is normal?

And one more question: Should we expect fruit year-round in So Cal or is there a season? I have done research and have seen different answers.

Thanks.

I don't have a meyer so I can't tell you how many sets you can expect, just what I've read. My Washington navel orange and kumquat both set once a year. If you see flower buds that aren't open, your bloom is just starting and it will take several weeks till you can see the first pollinized flowers.

And yes, the fruit sets come in batches called sets. The trees don't fruit year round but if the meyer can indeed put out 3 sets of fruit a year, you may be able to have year round fruit on it by picking the fruit slowly enough that you still have lemons while the new ones are growing.

This picture shows pollenized flowers from my orange tree. The small green balls will grow into oranges.

Great. Thank you for all of the information.

First, Meyer lemon would not be used as rootstock by a commercial grower, so was this tree top-grafted by the previous homeowner? If not, then I suspect the "bitter oranges" you had were actually rootstock that has overtaken the tree. You need to know what branches were each cultivar, and mark them. Photos of your tree would help us determine the health of your tree. Also, photos of the various branches and the leaves will also help us determine if you've got rootstock overgrowth or not, as most likely, the rootstock is some sort of trifoliate rootstock ("leaves of three" a dead giveaway). If so, you'll want to prune out any of the rootstock that has taken over, to allow any surviving grafter cultivars to recover and bloom. Citrus for the most part (except lemons), tend to bloom late winter into spring, then produce fruit starting in early winter through summer (depending on the cultivar, again.) Photos would go a long way for us to help you here.

Patty S.

I was guessing the Meyer lemon was the rootstock based on looking at the tree but that was a highly uneducated guess. The tree came from a commercial nursery and was planted during the time we have lived here.

The branches have tags indicating what they are. BTW, the last orange I picked was not bitter but was not sweet either. Is it possible that they have just not reached the final stage yet?

I took several pictures. I was not able to post them here, but they are all on this page: http://www.smsafaris.com/citrustree.html.

Let me know if you need different pictures, or better quality pictures and I can do that.

Thank you.

That tree has some great varieties. The pic I posted were blooms on my Washington Navel, as good of an orange as you can wish for. Maybe a bit hard to peel. Yours is very small yet to be producing much fruit. I would purchase some good citrus fertilizer , use as directed (no more, no less) and plan on the tree taking another year or two to build a root system and branching system. The Washington navel can be picked around early Jan. but flavor intensifies early Feb.