If you were going for growth over fruit, it's a bit late for removing the fruit ... they appear to be pretty much ready. Fruit culling is generally done before the plant spends the energy on growing and ripening it ... at this point, you may as well let them finish if they haven't already.

It looks pretty good, not big, but it doesn't look like its struggling. I'm no expert on citrus, but why do you say it's 'barely alive'? Is it looking worse than last year, or were you just hoping it would be bigger already? Isn't this plant supposed to be like 8' tall at maturity? Is 3' or so that unusual for a new plant?

1. You tree looks fine to me. p{ick the fruit when you are ready to eat it.

Fruit is ready to pick, so you might as well pick and use the fruit. Citrus trees grow in spurts 5 or 6 times during the year. However, if they do not have enough nutrients, they will skip the growth spurt and just kind of stop growing. Probably do not want to fertilize this time of year, but add a fertilizer with nitrogen in the early spring. If you fertilize now it might decide to have a growth spurt in the middle of winter and cold weather could damage the entire tree.

@BlueberryBundtcake - 6a/MA Hi there, thanks for the comment. I am delighted it's not doing as bad as I thought. I am comparing it with an identical tree that we planted at the same time but in full sun. See picture. It has developed completely differently. Looks like a mini

tropical tree so bushy. But the strange thing is that the fruit on the full sun tree is LESS ripe than the one in the shade. See pic. Shouldn't fruit sitting in full sun be more ripe?

To answer your other question: the label says it should get to 12'T x 15'W. Maybe by the next decade the way it's going.

So you really think there is a good future for the one in shade? The difference with the full sun one is so striking that I was sure it is hopeless.

Is the sun tree multistemmed, or am I seeing something else through it? Multistemmed vs single trunk will definitely look different.

@BlueberryBundtcake - 6a/MA Hi there, yes i see multiple stems very close to the ground. See pic. It's a different type of tree? The label is the same as the other tree.

Is it your recommendation to chop away thinner stems so energy goes into growth a single trunk? My goal is height.

They're not necessarily different varieties, but they will have different growth habits if one is single stemmed and the other is multistemmed, however:

Looking at the picture you just posted, I'm concerned that that is the graft union just above the green tie, which would make the trunk to the right below the graft ... is it producing different fruit and/or leaves? or is it thornier? These could be signs of a sucker rather than actual meyer lemon growth. I can't tell where the one behind is branching from.

Oh, and as for what to do ... suckers definitely need to be removed if you want the graft to survive ... rootstock suckers are usually more robust and will outcompete the desired plant grafted onto their root.

@BlueberryBundtcake - 6a/MA Hello, thanks for all the info.

I checked and the only stem of the three in you see in the phone is the skinnier one in the back. The two others have no fruit and are far more bushier.

So the thicker fruitless stems are suckers and I should cut them, correct?

Cut from way in the bottom?

Now is fine or when it gets colder? I live in LA. It's like summer right now.

Only the one on the right needs to be removed. The leaves should look different if any of them are a suckers. See just above the tape, the bark looks different. That would be where the graft is. Anything above that would be Meyers.

@garybeaumont-gw Hi there, thanks for the clarification. Should I wait till it's really cold to do the cutting, like in Jan or Feb? Also do I need to sterilize the cutting blade? Just things I've heard here and there but confirming because it's something I've never done before. I'm in LA

Not sure, but I would think you would want to wait to just before it warms up, like late Feb. If you did it in January it might make it go into a growth spurt and make it lose it cold dormancy. That is the way it is with roses and stone fruit.

You can disinfect with lysol, make it easier on the blade. But really if you are only cutting one tree, not as critical. You do not want to trim one tree and then trim another. That could spread any disease the first tree had to the next tree, and all others that were trimmed that day.