Meyers do best in pH 5.5 to 7; although they can be grown at 8, needing more nutrients and minerals at the higher pH. As for the eggshells (Calcium), it is one of the essential minerals that Meyers need, along with Sulfur, Magnesium, Zinc, Iron, and Manganese. Most container growers use a good quality foliar fert. spray that mostly takes care of the mineral issues; I use it as well on my garden trees,but it's a bit pricey for 7,000 field trees. Apart from minerals, I find that bearing Meyers do best with NPK of about 6-3-4 ratio. Definitely put it in a larger pot; it has likely been pushed to make it salable looking and is probably a bit root bound; as for the mix, there are lots of experts here on that subject; all mine are in the ground, except for my nursery stock.

Perlite will improve "drainage" if the mix is mostly Perlite.

3 parts of perlite with an added 1 part of the mix you speak of sounds just about right.

Your very observant to understand what your plant needs to have a healthy roots system and it is nice to see that in a container grower, What a great start to growing happy citrus:-)

John is an asset here too to understand Meyers needs.

Mike

I called around looking for Foliage Pro or anything with the 9-3-6 balance - no luck so far. The local Agway suggested Jack's Classic for orchids, 7-5-6. What do you think?

John and Mike are both excellent Meyer Growers....!

Sunnyside, don't go with the 7-5-6. If you can't find Foliage Pro (check a hydroponic shop),
you can use Miracle Grow with the same ratio - 24-8-16. The issue you'll have with the main commercial
fertilizers is that they lack micronutrients, as well as appropriate Calcium and Magnesium.

The way to know if the plant needs a larger pot is to judge by the amount of root-congestion.
However, I am of the opinion that a 3 foot tree is too big for a 1-gallon container. Bump it up to
a 2 or 3-gallon container, or larger if you can ensure that your soil-mix is fast-draining.
I think I would play it safe and only go up a gallon or two, since you're in zone 5 and have the
whole winter ahead of you. Aim for a mix that dries out between 2 - 4 days to maximize aeration.

For the next few months, you'll be fertilizing *lightly* - as we near Spring, a heavier dose
is recommended.

Josh

Well, if you can find it Ortho Citrus and Avocado food is excellent; I use it for my garden trees. If not, 7-5-6 will be fine.

Has anyone tried Jobes organic granular fertilizer for fruit and citrus ? I'm thinking about using it on my lemon tree. Well, ok, not actually in the tree but on the dirt lol! :)

Here is a link that might be useful: A link about the fertilizer I'm talking about.

John, the 7-5-6 is a strange ratio that would supply much, much more P and K than the plant will use.
We know that most plants use 6x as much N as P, so that 5 is wildly off the mark for, well, pretty much
any plant this world has to offer.

A plant can't use more P than its genes dictate, nor will it grow more as a result,
so it makes no sense to spend money on chemicals that will simply wash down the drain.

Josh

I have had my fare share of the fertilizers with those numbers other than the nicely ratio ones as suggested by Josh, and I can tell you that I have had no success with them at all.

For the reason Josh decribes is why I refuse to rely upon them and use one such as the Foliage Pro which has been a blessing. Everyone of my plants, not just citrus thrives with this Foliage Pro.
One thought I would like to share is that if you decide to choose a different fertilizer than the ones Josh suggests, then I would look to see if it provides 'Calcium' and 'Magnesium' and any other Macro and Micronutrients.
You may want to think about ways to providing them if they do not.

Spot on again Josh and thank for for all you do here. You are much more patient than me lately:-0)

Mike

Hey, Mike! Thanks for the vote of confidence! ;)
I was out of town all weekend, clearing land and burning piles of dead branches and undergrowth.
I'll give you a call soon so we can catch up.

Josh