@Tracey Fry, this looks just like my tree! The droplets of water I believe are collected to make perfumes, likely they press the whole flower bud and those droplets too. I believe they are coming from the interior flower. Once the flower blooms and doesn't set fruit pull it all apart you will see what I'm saying. I have done this to the ones that are not female & male, but simply male flower parts and there are little water droplets or sticky secretions inside the flower, towards the bottom where fruit should have been. OK this is a second post or the first post about this on my Etrog tree (citron) that I have been having issues with. I forgot to update this thread as well. I now am seeing flowers that are fully functional on my citron. I am watching fruit begin on it now. So far I have 4 flowers that are setting fruit. I will grab pics & upload them from my other computer's hard drive in a few.

Julie I had a feeling it compacted. That is a sure sign of decline on just about any tree and sometimes it can take you by surprise and happen over time. I would also look for pests since almost always the two are very much related. If you want to go the easy organic route in lowering the pH solution you provide your trees, try 1 capful of vinegar per gallon of water. That should do the trick. As for fertilizer, there are many recomendations on this, but I say to find one that closely relates to a plants need. I use a liquid fertilizer with micronutrients in a 12:4:8 NPK ratio, which MG does have. It's in a yellow bottle. Foliage Pro is a great choice too which is what I use. You can either purchase a very porous mix, amend one, or make one. I make most of my own. I use 1 part peat or Turface, 1 part perlite, and 5 parts of bark. You can also purchase a good heavier mix which is primarily bark such as Fafard Mixes. Any of these options or others will dramatically improve your growing skills and the vitality of your tree. A mix that allows a frequent oxygen exchange is a must and this happens with a very porous mix. Whenever roots are deprived of oxygen (O2) they soon begin to die, so a mix that will compact rapidly should be avoided. Mike

Josh, no determination has been made as to Birdman's pH of his water. Just that it is municipal water. And he doesn't need to test it, just contact his municipal water district for the pH value. If his water is 7.2 or below, no need to add any vinegar. I consistently water all my container citrus with my municipal water out of a hose which is about 8.0 (acceptable range is 7.8 to 8.5 for my WD) with zero issues in micro uptake (see photos above). I pot my plants in EB Stone Cactus Mix, which I believe is on the acidic side with Fir Bark, Lava Rock, Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss, Sand, Redwood Compost and Mushroom Compost, and eventually, I'll have to re-pot, if the soil starts to degrade and compact, or the trees get too big for their current pots, so that will start the cycle all over again, as far as total soil pH goes for me. If you feel better about acidifying your water, you can do that, but citrus are remarkably adaptable plants. I think we are probably more guilty of "over love" sometimes, with container citrus. From what I see with Birdman's tree and fruit, I am still concerned that he is dealing with Phytophthora. He needs to contact his extension agent and get a definitive diagnosis. If it is Phytophthora, he really should consider replacing the potting soil (despite this perhaps not being the best time to re-pot, it now becomes essential to remove the organism from the soil and exposure to the roots), and then treat the canopy as well, with Agri-Fos, which actually travels down to the roots, and continues to protect the roots from any leftover Phytophthora. We're sort of swerving away from Birdman's original concerns of his infected fruit, and overall poor condition of his little tree. All fruit really should be removed to help the tree survive, which I know is hard to do, but the tree is struggling to be healthy and putting all its energies into trying to produce fruit at the detriment of the tree's overall health and vigor. pH isn't the issue here, I don't think. Patty S.

I don't consider myself a meyer lemon expert by any means, but I have one that's doing pretty well. I agree with lavernialadybug that placement is pretty important. But I live very close to San Antonio and mine has been in the ground and doing well for 3 years. Having said that, it did take me a couple of times to find a spot that was against a brick wall and doesn't get much wind before this one survived. If you just transplanted it last summer, I wonder if it's had enough time to settle in and get established. Maybe that's why it hasn't produced. And I also know they suggest not letting it set a lot of fruit at the beginning because the weight of the lemons can break the branches. Does it look healthy otherwise? Did it put out new growth after it was transplanted? If I remember right, mine didn't set fruit until the second year it was planted in the ground, and didn't set a lot of fruit til this year, it's third. Maybe someone else can chime in about the soil requirements. My soil is alkaline, but doesn't have caliche like most of SA. Hope this helps - Lisa