Hi Luis..Meyer's fruit throughout the year, more in spring till fall.
Has your Meyer's flowered? Perhaps it needs more sun? More sun, appropriate fertilizer and watering should do it. Toni

Wow!?! Really? Throughout the year??? Well that is schocking news indeed, Toni. Then I have a problem. Are you saying it should continuosly bear fruit on/off thru the whole 12 months of the year or on-off from spring until fall?

Oh, wow. For sure it has not done that ever. Oh wow! I assumed it would bear fruit once a year but I was way off.

Let me think now... I do not think the shrub has bloomed or had fruit since ... since last year I think. It was inside during winter and was moved outside in March or April. I have not seen indications of fruit or blooms for quite some time.

It does seem to get some sunscald at times in a few leaves (yellowing throughout including the veins) and, at other times, I have added sulphur for iron chlorosis symptoms. But those have been minor episodes or problems.

While inside during the winter, the plant was located near some french doors so it would get some sun so it was in part shade. It now gets full sun outside from 6am until 5-6pm so I doubt it needs "more" sun.

However, I will consider the other two points as areas for improvement. Can you suggest a fertilizer or watering schedule? Since I do not have the plant label with instructions, I have been applying some cottonseed meal monthly and watering on weekends.

TIA,
Luis

PS - Just wondering about winter protection too... I bring the plant inside when temps will go down into the mid 40s and bring it outside in spring when the lows are at or above that point. Is that adequate for this type of citrus?

What size is your plant and its container? Its possible that your plant needs a larger container, or conversely, that the container is too large and holding excessive moisture. You should be feeding regularly now in the growing season. I feed either with a high acid or a 5-10-5 fertilizer. Citrus really prefer drying out some between watering so make sure you are not over-watering. They can almost seem to thrive on a certain amount of benign neglect. Having said that, all my citrus get hosed down about every day (in this heat), as they are not in excessively large containers and dry out rapidly! Mine flowers heavily anywhere from April through May. Now the fruits are developing. But with better winter conditions they are supposed to flower sporadically throughout the year. PS. Your temperature guidelines are fine (I personally use 40 F. as a minimum temp guideline).

The shrub is about two feet tall and is planted in a 17" container. I have attached a picture that was taken minutes ago (the colors came out too bright though).

Considering that this shrub gets watered weekly and my temps are probably higher than yours, it may also need another watering during the middle of the week (someone told me to water weekly when I lost the plant label information).

How often do you feed? Monthly or more often? I am also starting to wonder if the cottonseed meal is (1) not applied often enough and (2) is not of the right type of fertilizer because it is high in nitrogen. Its NPK is usually 6-2-1 or 8-2-2 compared to your 5-10-5 fertilizer.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:606858}}

I use citrus food once a month in my potted trees. The trace minerals seem to make a big diffence. Also, a high nitrogen fert may be preventing fruiting.

Yes, that is why I was asking about the type of fertilizer. But what do you mean by "citrus food", gardenerme?

When you say lemons "fruit throughout the year" that's not exactly accurate, because that implies they are in various stages of ripening, like tomatoes. Maybe that happens for people in the north, growing them like houseplants??? But in citrus country, Meyer lemons can be picked starting around January, and will hang on the tree until about June/July. But the quality of January is very different from July, they can be pithy and even rotten. They will bloom in late winter/early spring, which means they can have blooms and ripe fruit on the tree at the same time, unlike a lot of fruit trees. It also means they can have little green fruit and almost-too-ripe fruit at the same time. And occasionally they can bloom again in summer, if stressed. Mine has only done that once, when I repotted it.

For feeding, they make "citrus food", also Ironite for when the leaves are yellowing. Don't overdo it though, that's worse than not fertilizing! Read the label, I think it's like a tablespoon for a large pot.

As for winter protection, I'm not familiar with your weather in Texas, but my Meyer Lemon (also in a pot) has happily stayed outside year-round for 9 years now. If it goes below freezing for more than a couple of hours, I put a sheet over it (not plastic--that won't do much) and remove it when it gets above 32. When we have real cold snaps (i.e. talk on the news about citrus farmers losing crops, 20 degrees, etc.), then in addition to the sheet over, I drape old-fashioned christmas lights around my delicate trees, under the sheets. They generate enough heat to keep them above freezing inside. The only plants I ever bring inside when cold are my gardenias.

Carla in Sac

Thanks for the idea of using a string of lights to keep the tree from freezing. This is something I will try next winter as my tree is outside on the deck all winter and our temps here at the coast are similar to yours, Carla.

I had been thinking of constructing some sort of "umbrella" to protect the plant and including a single light bulb for heat, but an entire string would be much better.

Make sure they are the OLD christmas lights with the big bulbs, because the new "electricty-saving" ones don't generate heat. If you don't have any, they usually can be found on e-bay, garage sales, etc. Another benefit is they are designed to be exterior, out in the rain, etc.
Carla in Sac