When most people say dwarf citrus tree, that means a tree that has been grafted onto a dwarfing rootstock. Basically the tree you want is grafted on top of another tree that slows the growth down. You can keep a regular tree small, it just takes more upkeep. I'm assuming this will be a container grown tree. The roots will grow faster than a grafted dwarf tree, which means you will need to do root maintenance more often, like they do with bonsai trees. And by pruning the top you can keep a rather nice small tree. I am just getting started in this, so I haven't had the need to do root work yet. I'm sure someone with more experience can help you better!

Kristopher

Citrus can be pruned into any shape or size you like, including espalier, topiary, and even bonsai.

Whether or not it will produce fruit is, as Mike explained, another thing entirely.

If you are successful getting a Meyer seed to sprout, please do report back. Between my neighbor and me, dozens of Meyers have fallen to the ground and rotted over the last 23 years, and a grand total of one seedling took root.

Mind you, that one seedling is a bush (an Improved Meyer is a bush, not a tree) some 7' tall and 9-10' across, located in a less-than-optimal spot. But all the other seeds that have fallen in nice sunny, fertile soil? Not a green leaf in sight.

Good luck and hope you get something started!

The Meyer seeds are quite fertile; but you have to take them out of the fruit and plant them. In trials I have gotten as high as 90% germination of fresh seeds; and sometimes the seeds will sprout inside the fruit if you leave them too long on the tree. Note that a Meyer grown from a seed will be very thorny and will not produce fruit for 5 years or more; also there is some debate about whether or not the seedling will be a true Meyer. In my trials the trees at least appear to be Meyers and the fruits appear to be Meyer; but I have not done genetic analysis. All the trees I produce other than early trials are budded onto Macrophylla rootstock. They will produce mature lemons in under 18 months; that means they set fruit at about 7 months from planting.

Just as an info here, you need to use a Meyer Lemon seed from an organic source to get it to seed. They usually will not just rot into the ground and germinate. The seeds need to be removed from the fruit, rinsed and planted in planting soil.

My interest in this thread is about trying to create a Meyer Lemon Tree in an atmosphere that would allow me to keep it houseplant size but producing fruit. Has anyone had success with this?

Dawn, you can use any old Meyer lemon seed, it doesn't matter if the fruit was grown organically or not. But, Meyer lemons are usually not polyembryonic, so you're likely going to get a hybrid of the mother Meyer lemon tree, and whatever the pollen parent was. We've had this discussion in the past on the forum about monoclonal citrus cultivars. If you're going to grow a Meyer lemon from seed, find the biggest, fattest seeds. Those most likely will be polyembryonic, and your first and strongest sprout will be your clonal seedling (clone of the mother plant - your Meyer lemon). So, that will be the one you want to keep, if a second sprout happens to pop up (which will be the hybrid). If you do end up with just one sprout, and you're not using a polyembryonic seed, the hybrid could be a cross between two Meyer lemons trees, since the fruit came from a commercial orchard, and most likely grown as a large block on Meyer lemons. Or, it could be a cross between the mother tree and another unknown citrus tree (bees can travel miles and miles, so these is always that chance).

To your question - yes, you can, you're just going to have to watch how you prune, since citrus are tip producers, and over-pruning at the wrong times can end up with you pruning away your blossom buds. Also, you will need to do some root pruning as well, and that will help keep your tree smaller. Meyer lemon trees grown on their own roots tend to be a little more compact that a standard sized citrus tree, and also tend to grow as a bush. So, you should be able to do what you'd like to try to do. Lastly, remember that it will take years and years for your seedling tree to produce fruit. LImes are about the fastest, can produce fruit in as little as 3 years, but more often around the 5th year. Lemons probably between 5 and 10 years. John Merr might be able to give you a closer estimate with the Meyer, as it is not 100% lemon, but has either some orange or mandarin in its genetic history.

Patty S.

The interesting thing (in my opinion) is that if two identical Meyer lemon clones crossed with each other (via pollination), the resulting progeny shouldn't contain the same genetic makeup as the two clone parents. Arguably, they should be similar but not identical to the parents (thinking from a simple punnett squares perspective). It could have slight variations from the parent Myers which could offer positive, negative, or just plain different traits than the two identical parents. I'm curious to see what the results of such a cross would give. I know that similar types of crossing in animals is discouraged (inbreeding in dogs for example) as detrimental recessive traits start to appear. Perhaps the same is true for citrus as well? Johnmerr's trials could be an experiment in action.

Zach