Your link does not load; and without seeing the original bag of "Baby lemons"; it is quite impossible to guess what they were. Sunkist is a bit unscrupulous in selling "baby lemons"; which can be anything from Eureka, Lisbon, or even Meyer, which have been over-cropped and are too small for the typical fresh market and are usually sold in bags. I have seen them sell Meyer lemons that were smaller than hen's eggs. Judging from the semi-winged petiole of the leaf, you do not have a true lemon; from that I can only surmise that what you have is a seedling from a Meyer, which could be any of a number of things; but almost never a Meyer; as the Meyer is a cross of mandarin, lemon, and orange. The only way to know what you have is to wait for a mature fruit; which could take as long as 10 years to achieve... maybe more in a container, not in full sun. Best of luck, if you just want the experience; if you want something more reliable, I would buy a grafted tree of the variety you want.

https://www.sunkist.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2015/08/P1765_Lemon_SellSheet_Downloadable.pdf So according to Sunkist's website and the baby lemon's SKU/UPC, the lemon should be a conventional lemon which is either Lisbon or Eureka. My plant does have thorns, so I'm not sure if it is a Meyer. But, the type is plant is the least of my worries. I'd rather learn whether my plant is healthy or not, and how to prune the plant so that it would grow like a tree rather than a bush. Is leaf discoloration, which you can see in both pictures, normal? Are semi-winged petioles normal?

My first thought is the roots need a little more space. More root space will help make the plant less vulnerable to fluctuations in soil moisture. (It's important to keep the soil from drying out, but at the same time chronic overwatering can lead to a slow decline in the plant's health) When the top of the plant is much bigger than the container, that's a clue that the plant may benefit from a larger container.

The plant could also use a little more sun, but I would not give it more sun until you move it to a larger container with more soil space, because there's a good chance the plant will get too dried out being in that container. A larger root system can more easily supply the tree with necessary water.

Thanks! Yeah, I'm definitely potting up from an 8in pot to a 12in pot. Are there any stems that I should prune off though? Like I've been saying, I want this lemon plant to grow vertically like a tree rather than horizontally like a bush. Should I prune off all the stems, but leave one main central stem that I stake up and train to grow vertically? I'm not sure what I should do.

Leave it alone for now; it needs all the leaves it has to make food and promote growth.
As it grows larger, you can nip back the horizontal growth to encourage apical (top) growth; and as it grows still larger you can prune off horizontal brances at the trunk, until you get the kind of shape you want.

Do you also think the leaf discoloration is from the plant being root bound? I'm going to move it to a larger pot tomorrow if that will help with the health of the plant.

It's hard to say what the yellow discoloration is from the photos. It could be some early signs of a lack of certain minerals, or it could be salt burn, or some sort of disease, or just a transition in environmental conditions.

In any case, your tree does look very spindly. Many citrus varieties are not thought to do very well on their own roots which is why most trees you buy are grafted. It definitely needs more light.

I've put my lemon plant in a larger pot. How does this look?

Can you explain why citrus plants don't do well with their own roots?

Some do; and actually most do well in containers. When planted in the ground the roots of many citrus are simply not resistant enough or aggressive enough to withstand the soil borne diseases or physical conditions that they must grow through.

Hi johnmerr, I've been looking into Meyer lemon forums and noticed that you are very knowledgable about this plant. Is it true that you started planting 500 grafted lemons and 500 lemons from seed, and now you have over 7000 plants? The reason I ask is I've been interested in growing a Meyer lemon plant. This time, instead of growing from a seed, I want to grow from a Meyer lemon cutting. Do you know where I can acquire some fresh Meyer lemon cuttings? I would rather root the cuttings myself for the experience.

Hi johnmerr,

Would you happen to know any reputable grower who sells Meyer lemon cuttings? People mostly sell Meyer lemons grafted onto a different rootstock and some sell Meyer lemon trees from cutting, but I can't find anyone who sells just the bare cutting. I want to grow from a cutting because I want to grow the exact same fruit, but I want the experience of actually growing it myself and I like to watch things grow from the start. Growing from a Meyer lemon seed is unpredictable, as you have already noted, so a cutting is my best option.

I have a bunch of seed grown trees and not one has flowered yet except my 4 year old Montmorency sour cherry and 11 peach trees. But then again the later 2 varieties are not citrus. I do have 1 tangerine, 2 Fukushu kumquat, and 9 seedling Meiwa kumquat trees I am waiting on flowering.

Here is a picture of someones seed grown lemont tree that has fruited

6b Steve

Nick,

I am in Guatemala; so I probably cannot help you. The best source for a cutting is a good friend who has a tree; preferrably one that is already bearing fruit. Aside from that, you might find a local nursery that would sell you a cutting.