Jenn, you'll want to dig a hole that is the depth of your potted tree and about 3 times as wide (I know, I know, you're going to need a pick ax or impact shovel, I own both). Fill it with water. Let it drain. Do it again. If your soil is not draining well, plant your tree about an inch or so above the soil line, but not TOO high, or the top roots will be exposed. Backfill with your native soil. Do not amend. It is not recommended here in S. California to amend the soil. Your commercial citrus growers didn't, and you can see that the trees are growing quite successfully. Redrac is correct in that you'll just be creating a "pot in the ground" if you do. Our soils here are not that alkaline and really don't need any adjusting for pH for citrus (or we'd never be the #2 citrus producer in the country.) Top dress with compost (and put compost in your well at least once a year to help improve your organic matter) and a little chicken manure (VERY little, as it is quite high in Nitrogen). Refrain from fertilizing for a month or so, to give the roots some time to grow and support new vegetative growth. Then you can fertilize. Be sure you've dug a nice large well that slopes down to the drip line, so your water will collect along the outer ring of the well, where the feeder roots will be (edge of the canopy). John is correct in the concept of how roots collect nutrients. It is important to fertilize along that outer ring, where the feeder roots are. For us here in California, if you've got sparse soil that has small amounts of organic matter (as in clay soils or DG soils like I have), you may find you'll need to fertilize a little more frequently - every 2 to 3 months - and then hit your tree in the winter with a micronutrient foliar spray or root soak, if we get lots of cold rains (like we did last year, not really so much this year) if you notice your trees getting chlorotic. I prefer to use Grow Power Citrus & Avocado Food for my fertilizer, as it has humic acid in it, which is very helpful for us here in S. California. For my micronutrient foliar spray/root soak, I like to use Grow More Citrus Grower's Blend: http://www.amazon.com/Grow-Citrus-Grower-Blend-Fertilizer/dp/B004AGTEQ6 It most likely is not an iron deficiency for us here in S. California that causes the chlorosis, but more often a magnesium/manganese deficiency. Once your trees are well established, that chlorosis in the winter will be much less pronounced. If you're interested, and close enough to go, UC Riverside Extension is offering an excellent 2-day course for citrus growing this coming February: UC Riverside Extension: Citrus Trees in the Garden Well worth the $65.00 fee. I will be attending, and so are several of the Citrus Growers Forum folks: http://citrus.forumup.org/ Lastly, I've included a great Internet resource for us in S. California - UC Davis Home Orchard link. They have some info about citrus growing, as well as lots of great information about growing any other producing trees, bushes, vines, etc. Definitely will want to bookmark this site. Patty S. Here is a link that might be useful: UD Davis Home Orchard: Citrus

Please help me. I received my Meyers lemon tree in February two years ago. The first year I had 30 lemons and because there were so many lemons, most of my branches broke (I did try to support them). After that my tree never seemed to come back to its beauty. Several times all the leaves dropped off. Finally I cut it back to try and start fresh. Now I have new growth, some beautiful and some (on the old branches) very small; those are not growing and the leaves are curled. I love one bloom and no evidence of future blooms. I have truly enjoyed my tree but now find myself very frustrated. Do I need perlite in my soil? Should I cut down on the water (I have two of the "bulb" watering glasses? I leave in Tidewater Virginia. Help. (MeyersMike feel free to call me 757-289-8899 with any and all advice. Thank you everyone for sharing advice.

As a Meyer Lemon grower, it scares me a little that there are still "Original" Meyers existing; virtually 100% of them are silent carriers of Citrus Tristeza... it is the reason they were destroyed. Hopefully the owners of originals understand that and are not propagating them. As for seed -vs- grafted/budded, a number of years ago I planted 500 grafted Improved Meyer Lemon trees alongside 500 trees grown from seed...yes they are true to seed... but the grafted trees produced flowers in 12 months and fruit in 18, while the seedling trees did not produce the first flower for 5 years. Luckily for me my trees (7,000 now) are in Guatemala where we don't have Tristeza and there are NO original Meyers.

No, I think your Meyer looks very typical of its growth habit. Just make sure all the scale has been removed, and see about slowly moving it to the outside, so it can get sunlight. Patty S.