Oh boy. Even this "citrus nurse" is going to struggle, here. Okay, first off, let's get rid of all that grass under the tree. This poor tree is struggling enough as it is for nutrients, but the grass is simply using up any Nitrogen that might be made available to this tree's feeder roots. So, clear a very large circle under the tree. For this tree, I would suggest twice the drip line (edge of the canopy). Mike is right - paint the trunk white, never black. This may be the cause of the issue - you may have literally cooked the cambium layer with black paint. It is customary to use flat latex house paint cut in 1/2 with water to paint tree trunks. I would definitely try re-painting the trunk. The dog's damage may have girdled the tree, in which case nothing we tell you to do will save the tree. This tree is too small to have this many dead branches requiring pruning, so that clearly should be a clue something is drastically wrong. The leaves appear to be burnt. If you're applying any kind of oil to the leaves, you must make sure your outdoor temps do not exceed 35 degrees F (29 degrees Celsius), or you'll risk burning the leaves. Again, spiders are the "good guys". If you're referring to spider mites, that's an entirely different insect, and is often a sign of a stressed tree. Find out what insect you think is a spider, and get it ID'ed so you know whether or not you're dealing with a pest or a beneficial. CLM can be treated with Spinosad, with or without a hort oil added in (depending upon your air temps). You should be able to find it where you live. Be sure to use Spinosad in the later evening, when the bees have gone back to the hive, as Spinosad can kill bees. Spray every 3 weeks, 3 applications during your CLM season. You can use a hort oil to help the product stick better, but only if your air temps are low enough. Lastly, back to the watering issue. It looks awfully wet in the soil. We need to know what kind of soil you have. Is it clay, loam, sand, DG? You say you "water occasionally". Is this tree getting hit by lawn sprinklers? If so, that is certain death for citrus. They don't like their trunks constantly hit with water. It will damage the bark and leave the tree open for all kinds of fungal infections. If you're watering by hand, you want the roots to receive a good, deep (to about 18 - 24", or 7 to 10 cm) watering once to three times a week, depending on your ambient temps, humidity and type of soil. Check to make sure the tree actually needs to be watered, before you water it, so you can gauge your soil's water retention. I just use a cheap green plastic-covered plant stake, and push it into the ground. For me being on DG, if I can't push it in at all, my soil is dry (turns into cement when dry). If I can push it in, and the stake comes out moist, I'm good. You're heading into Fall now, but I think you can still get away with another application of fertilizer. Use a good quality citrus fertilizer with the proper NPK ratio (citrus require a lot of nitrogen, so you'll see the N will be higher than the PK, the best ratio is 5:1:3 in general for citrus), with the full complement of micronutrients as well (Ca, Zn, Mg, Mn, Fe). Stay in touch with your local gardening center, someone who knows citrus. Let us know how your little tree fares. I'm a little concerned about all the damage. I'm not sure if it is just how the tree is being managed, or if we're looking at something more serious, like a virus or infection of some sort. The good news - citrus are very resilient. Let's see if some better management allows the tree to spring back. It may take until next spring until you see some serious recovery, so be patient. And, remove all the fruit for now. Your tree cannot possibly support fruit production, it needs to use all its energies into recovery. Patty S.

No... I had them at work and they were not fed properly...I had no room in my home all winter, and least to say, because they were not fed and healthy in that enviroment, they came down with a BAD case of "THRIPS"!!!!! I actually posted for help on these on the pest side.. I had to remove every leaf, cut almost half the branches away also loaded with "scale" and "mealy" bugs.. These trees contracted them through all the plants were there infested, and I didn't know this till my plants were placed there for the winter for a month or more. So these are come back from a very torturous winter loaded with insects and hacked to death to rid them..Not bad considering ha? Now all the leaves are green, the ones coming back, I am getting a lot of flush growth, no insects what so ever, and loads of blooms..Nothing a little bit of Foliage Pro and lot's of outdoor fresh air and sun can't fix.. Thank God though... You were not rude at all..In fact I am glad you asked. You are actually looking at a plant that I survived through it all..It is about 4 to 5 feet tall, and I have had it for a couple of years.. So no, they do not end up bare in a container unless your cultural habits are not good, or pests like the taste of your trees and decide to attack all at once... Thank you... http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/pests/msg1209093125611.html?9 http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/pests/msg1011483311191.html?5 See these posts..It was a horrible time for my plants..But now you are seeing a FULL recovery... Mike Here is a link that might be useful: thrips on citrus

In 2017, I planted 5 lemon seeds from a bag of sweet meyer lemons and they’re all varying in growth. The tallest one had some flowers in spring but nothing more. Long, sharp thorns on all of them and the trunks are getting thick. I’m about ready to puts them on the curb because they are tough to bring inside for winters. Is there any hope they will ever bear fruit?

I am sorry you used the advice of the Home Depot "experts". Here is a quote from Al Tapla who developed the 5-1-1 mix: I can say that I haven't actually used cedar bark/mulch to grow in, so I can't comment on the practice directly or from actual experience, but I can say that because the tannins, as well as terpenoid and phenolic compounds cedar is rich in are known to be allelopathic (inhibit growth) to many other plants, I have discounted the likelihood that it would be a suitable choice for me. :-(