YOUR WELCOME, YOUR WELCOME, YOUR WELCOME!

I knew you could do it Jessica, I knew it! It is so nice to hear from you after all this time and see that you have accomplished something you thought you never once knew.
You were so knew when I first met you and so worried about loosing your tree and now what a success story you have to share!@!

Please remember me when you celebrate and pour one for me , will ya!

Fantastic work and such a beautiful lemon!

Happy for you! Now, I think Josh may be able to help you with the pruning part and when. We need to make the plant fuller now:-)

Thanks so much for taking the time to share your experience and success with us Jess!

Mike:-)

That's great. I hope you enjoy it. My advise would be to let the tree do its thing and not prune it. Just let it get bigger for a few years.

Mike

@ MKSmith-
If the lemon grew at the topmost position in the tree do you think it will try to grow taller? The leaves you see on the main branch have shown no desire to branch out this whole growing season. Just that one branch down low. I was thinking that a bit of a prune would force it to produce some more branches. But it sure would be nice if it were a little taller...

@ Meyer Mike- Sure is nice to hear from you too! Thanks, I owe this whole lemon to you! I will be sure to pour one in your honor! :)

Hey I am so excited to see your lemon! Just got my first tree also and waiting for my lemon to turn yellow. That was so encouraging! Thank you Thank you Thank you!

Hey, Jessica, congratulations!

You must take some credit for your committment to take your gardening to the next level.
The Thread you posted in the Container Forum on Gritty Mix has been very helpful to others, as well.

I would personally keep the lowest branch. And I would prune the top to encourage the
lateral nodes to push out new branches lower down - the concentrated growth hormone in
the top node (apical meristem) will be redirected to the lower nodes. The plant will always
attempt to grow taller, and you'll have to restrain it.

Prune later in the Spring so that the ensuing growth will be more compact and sturdy.

Also, I notice a little discoloration on one of the top leaves. Are you still fertilizing?

Josh

Hi Josh!

Yes, I use FP with every watering. Strangely, the leaves on the main branch have always looked like that. :( I bought the tree at the end of the season and it was a little neglected by then. I thought they would bounce back but never did.

I twas hoping that at some point they would drop off and be replaced with healthier ones, but no. Those are the original leaves. I thought for a long while that the tree was not going to make it because of the way those leaves looked. Then it flowered! It appears to have put all its energy into the lower branch and the lemon. I am not too worried seeing how the lower branch looks so healthy. I am just hoping that any new branches and leaves on those branches as a result of my pruning in the spring will look as good as the lower branch does now.

I agree with your suggestion. I think I am going to cut back the main stem to just above the second leaf and later remove the lower branch once a canopy is established. I am hoping to train it to a nice standard. But I will wait until later in the spring to do so.

I plan on doing a few Espalier and Cordon Apples and Pears in my back yard this summer so I bought a book titled: "The American Horticultural Society Pruning and Training" by Christopher Brickell and David Joyce. (It just came out in paperback in August of 2011. It is an awesome reference! I highly suggest checking it out). There is even a section in there on Pruning a Meyer Lemon whip into a standard, so I am pretty confident that I can do it. :) The descriptions in the book are very clear and helpful.

Hope you have a good harvest this winter too!

Thanks for the input, it is good to hear from you. Happy new year.
~Jessica

Thanks for the suggestion.

Congratulations, Jessica. I am so happy for you!

I think you were onto something in mentioning that you thought that your tree was putting all of its energy into the fruit and lower branch/leaves. Actually I wonder if the former isn't more a factor than the latter, since I'd read somewhere (especially for indoor grown citrus) that the amount of sun coupled with the number of leaves has a direct bearing on a tree's ability to carry fruit. I recall reading that something like 10-15 leaves are needed (plus ample light of course) to successfully produce 1 lemon. To that end, I know of some growers (such as a Bay Area grower called 'Lemon Ladies') who have removed all of the first year's flowers/baby fruit in an effort to force their trees to focus more on leaf and root production. Just a thought for you to consider in your quest to getting more green growth... Wishing you continued success!

Tim

Wow. That looks like a good lemon!
Congratulations! I hope that my plants continue to grow and bear fruit.
I have a meyer lemon and small navel orange plant that are starting to bud. I hope that at least one fruit develops.

And I just got a kumquat plant, but it already has 4 small fruit on it, just waiting for it to ripen.

But just wanted to say congrats and hopefully in the future I will have produced a nice fruit as well. Woohoo!

For now I'm just happy to see the leafs grow I have no idea how amazing it will feel when a bloom turns into a fruit and into something I can eat/enjoy.

Congrats from Massachusetts!

BTW do you have a website or blog?

Here is a link that might be useful: sunroomgardening.blogspot.com

Hi Dontommyg-

Thanks for the link, I took a quick peek at it the other day, I am really looking forward to spending more time there later today! Thanks.

I do have a blog, but it is just about silly things my family is up to so I can stay in touch with my family in other states. Nothing of significance.

I wish you luck with your trees as well!

~Jessica

Thank Jessica! If you have any more activity over please share. Feel free to comment or message me on my blog.

Here is a link that might be useful: sunroomgardening.blogspot.com

Hi Jessica,

I just wanted to say Congratulations on your beautiful lemon !!!

Your post on Gritty Mix has been one post that i have shared with many, you did a great job on your presentation and the way you explained what is needed.

Great job!!!

Take care,

Laura

What a cute little lemon tree, congrats! You succeeded under "adverse" conditions.

Hi Laura- Glad to hear my post has helped so many!