improved meyer lemon tree,help!!
devinisagemini
11 years ago
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johnmerr
11 years agodevinisagemini
11 years agoRelated Discussions
Meyer Lemon VS. Improved Meyer Lemon
Comments (3)Meyers Lemon was introduced to USA from Asia and later found to be a symptomless carrier of the citrus virus Tristeza. This does not affect Meyers Lemon in any way, but can allow the disease to be passed on by aphids to commercial citrus varieties which are affected. The virus can be eliminated by various laboratory procedures such as heat treatment and shoot-tip grafting. Clean Meyers Lemon was propagated on a large scale in, I think, the 1960's and all old line Meyers should have been replaced with the new 'Improved Meyers Lemon'. Certainly, no old Meyers should now be sold in the USA. There is no difference between 'old' and 'improved' Meyers (apart from the lack of Tristeza). They are the same variety....See MoreMeyer Lemon tree help
Comments (27)Okay, let's start at the beginning. First off, where are you located? That helps us a bit. Secondly, you indicate that you have clay soil. For those folks on clay, you really should do a percolation test before you plant a tree (or any plant, especially a cultivar that will not tolerate wet roots). Dig your hole, then fill it with water. It should drain in 3 hours or so. If not, then you have drainage issue. I suspect this may be the case for you, and your tree is actually demonstrating being suffocated from too much water (which can look very much like not receiving enough water). In most "rescue" cases, I will usually tell folks to keep your tree in the ground. However, I agree with MeyerMike here - dig your tree up. Plant it in a well draining mix. I would opt to use a high quality Cactus Potting Mix (EB Stone makes a good one). It is not quite as well draining as the 511 or Gritty Mix discussed on this forum, but we're going to try to re-transition this tree to back in the ground, so I think going with something a little less well-draining is going to make for an easier transition. Plant in a container, and then water enough to moisten the soil, then do not water until you can feel that the soil is starting the dry out - stick your finger down into the pot and check so you know. Then water thoroughly. Keep your tree in a location that gets afternoon shade. Enough sun for recovery, but not so much that we're going to burn your defoliated tree. If you're in S. California, in a moderate temperature area, this might be once a week (or possibly less while the roots are working to repair themselves.) After about two weeks, start watering with 1/2 strength DynaGro Foliage Pro. Once your start to see some flushing of new leaves, you can also add a time release higher nitrogen fertilizer. I use Osmocote Plus, but I do not believe it is available any longer. See if you can find Dynamite Citrus & Palm, or Dynamite Select. Either will help your little tree to recover a little faster, along with the Foliage Pro. Allow your tree to recover in a pot for at least a year. I had to do this with two of my rarer citrus, as they were ravaged by Phytophthora (too much water for me as well, but the results created a proliferation of this fungal infection, I do not believe this is your issue, fortunately). Once your tree has recovered, let's try to plant it back in the ground, but this time, let's find out how well or poorly draining your soil really is, first. If you find that your hole takes longer than three hours to drain (don't be surprised if you find water still in it the next morning, if you truly have clay soil), then you will want to plant your tree on a mound. Normally I do not advocate amending your soil. This is not the current thinking with trees. With one exception - HEAVY clay soils. So, take a large wheelbarrow, and mix 1/2 native soil, and then 1/3 high quality soil mix high in organic material (Kellogg's GrowMulch is a good choice), as then a handful of gypsum. Make a nice, tall mound, at least 2' taller than your soil level. Plant your tree on the top of the mound. Don't bury your tree too deeply - seeing the root collar will be a good thing. Then, make a well at the base of the mound so that the water will collect at the bottom of the mound. Water once a WEEK, to a depth of 18 to 24" as John has mentioned. Then, next week, before you water, check the soil moisture. You can use a garden stake (I use one of those cheap green plastic covered stakes you can get at Home Depot). See if the soil really is dried out. Your tree will tell you if it's dry - the leaves will start to cup upward. If your tree is getting dry, water again, deeply. You may need to water more frequently if temps go way up next summer. Fertilize in ground citrus 3 to 4 times a year with a good quality fertilizer formulated for citrus. I usually fertilize in February, April, June, and September. Always water your tree first, then fertilize, then water in the fertilizer. Clay soil is actually very rich in minerals, and if you manage your water and drainage, is a great soil for growing citrus trees in. You just must identify your drainage, and then adjust your watering accordingly. Mike,just as an aside, I rarely protect my young citrus from the sun here where I live. Unless I have a tree that has a lot of trunk exposed, I don't need to do that. But, I'm in a fairly moderate climate for S. California, compared to those who live more inland. Not sure where jplee lives. He's in zone 10 like me, but that could also be in Florida (thought I doubt it). In areas of more intense sun and heat, it is a very good thing to protect young citrus from the afternoon intense sun. But, I'm guessing jplee is maybe from my neck of the woods. We have areas here in San Diego county (mostly further south of me) where they have very dense clay soil. I am fortunately on DG here in N. San Diego county. Patty S....See MoreNew Meyer lemon tree help?
Comments (0)I just bought a small Meyer lemon tree from my local Covingtons nursery. The plant is very healthy and has a lot of unripe lemons. I have a few questions about the plant though. I live in Texas, (Google says I'm in hardiness zone 8a) 1. The unripe lemons have some "dusty" looking spots on them, is that a problem? 2. I need so repot it out of the nursery container, how big of a pot should I get? 3. Any tips I should know about keeping this kind of tree?...See MoreMeyer Lemon Tree Help!!!!
Comments (9)I suspect it is Winter Leaf Drop (WLD) caused by cold roots not being able to provide the tree with nutrients and water in sufficient amounts which the tree needs because it is actively photosynthesizing. To minimize WLD: Irrigate with warm (77 – 90F) water Decrease amount of light Maintain root temps at 59 – 64 F If WLD continues, increase root temp to about 70F The above information from: http://www.steffenreichel.homepage.t-online.de/Citrus/lime2.pdf http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=13332.0...See Moremakalu_gw
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