I would search gritty mix and go with that recipe.

Also, meyers are such finiky lemons trees. I would think for your first couple times growing to grow something a little more user friendly. I have heard that satsumas are hardy...I think. But you know what I mean?

Hi Thanks for your response. So you would recommend the gritty mix? I will go out searching tomorrow for the components. Hopefully I will be able to find them all. The only reason I was thinking about the 511 mix is because I have read it is easier to know when to water. Do you have an opinion on that? I have read from others about how Meyers can be picky. Which is a shame because I would love to have tried growing one. Any other lemons that you would recommend?

Regarding the gritty mix does anybody have step by step pictures or instructions for that?

Kristopher

I would definitely stick with the Meyer... but what do I know, I only have 8,000 of them. They are not so finicky as people make them out to be; and the fragrance of the flowers and the divine-ness of the fruit is definitely worth the little extra attention you give it; it will be your favorite in short time -- the one you want to tell everyone about and show everyone who comes to your house.

A word of caution vis-a-vis container growing... the Meyer is quite sensitive to light changes; i.e., moving it from sun to indoors or vice versa can cause the tree to drop most or all of its leaves; to be replaced with leaves better suited to the new light. This small problem can be alleviated by gradual moves; in the Spring move it from indoors to full shade; after a couple of weeks move to partial shade; and a couple weeks later to full sun; do the opposite in the Fall and you should have good luck with your Meyer.

I authored a recent "finicky" Meyer Lemon question, and I bought one from 4 Winds. It came in beautiful shape, I'm keeping it inside right now...but ( maybe 3 weeks later?) while most of the leaves still look OK, many others are turning faintly yellow and falling off. Bought a kumquat the month before, also still indoors, and it looks awesome.

I decided to answer my own Meyer Lemon question by getting a variegated Pink Lemon, which should arrive tomorrow...to be continued.
Meanwhile, I don't think it's any more or less difficult to determine watering needs between 5:1:1 or gritty mix. I was using 5:1:1 but substituting turface for peat, and my mandarin tree seemed happy. Now I'm using gritty mix, still seems happy. Just make sure you water all areas of the soil surface as it's very different from potting soil. The water goes right through it! I tend to catch the water in a basin and pour it back through a couple of times to make sure I got it all.

Yes meyers can be grown with ease but Im talking about NEW GROWERS. Meyers have a tendency to be very sensitive to certain situations and turn yellow at the drop of a hat. So a new grower thinks their plant is dieing and does a bunch of things to over correct a situation that would of corrected itself with the proper technique but gets worse due to too much beginner "love". We have all been guilty of that one Im sure:-)

Johnmerr its good you have 8,000 meyers but you obviously know what your doing. So you cannot compare yourself to the grower who is just beginning.

Im not saying dont grow a meyer. I was merely suggesting to try something a little more user friendly and know when your growing a meyer if things start to "look funny" dont panic! It will pull through! hehehe

Hi Kristopher,

I'd have to (respectfully) disagree with blazeaglory by saying you SHOULD try to grow the Improved Meyer Lemon (IML), [particularly if your heart is set on it, which is what it sounds] and not let others' difficulties dissuade you.

In regards to whether to plant in the 5.1.1. or gritty mix, I've attached an older but useful post on the merits and perils of each; it also has a nice picture from greenman on the size/type of bark you should look for to use for either mix.

Like you, I was a new IML grower last summer and I couldn't decide on the 5.1.1. or the gritty. I finally decided to bare root my IML into the 5.1.1. mix since I found the ingredients so much easier to source AND this mix is lighter overall, which has proven useful in transporting my tree to and fro. BTW, if you do go with the 5.1.1., you'll need to use dolomite lime and NOT gypsum (for recipes of either, do a search for "5.1.1." or "gritty" on this forum.

Here are some pictures of what my tree looked like from the onset (starting July 2011) to the present.

My tree immediately after planting in the 5.1.1. mix and top dressed with about an inch of the bark. The tree was a rescue from my local nursery and was on the decline when I potted it.
{{gwi:585120}}

Within a short while after potting (a couple weeks or so), I lost all the leaves which seems to be very common and causes a lot of people useless grief.
{{gwi:565471}}

Within a couple months (and keeping the plant away from sun and using only water/no fertilizer), I started to see new growth and commenced my regular fertilizing regimen of 1/2 tsp of Foliage Pro (can be found on Amazon) + 1 capful of vinegar per gal of water at each watering. I only watered when, after sticking a wooden dowel all the way into the "soil", it came out dry (which was anywhere from a few days to a week).
{{gwi:585122}}
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Late this past Winter/early Spring (on advice from a friend on this forum), I removed all the leaves in an effort to force more dense growth on the tree during the coming growing season.
{{gwi:573005}}

...And fortunately, the new growths (pics taken earlier today) have just come in and it looks like there will be tons of new and denser leaf growth and some flowers as well this year.
{{gwi:585124}}
{{gwi:585125}}

I hope this encourages you to give a try to the IML. Best of luck!

Tim

Here is a link that might be useful: Gritty vs. 5.1.1. mix - older post

What the hell?

I never said NOT TO GROW A MEYER! STOP SAYING THAT!

I just said they can be a finiky plant is all...GEESH!!..LOL

You would have thought I offended Christ or something by suggesting to try a less finiky plant...

I never said "Dont grow one". Simply, beginners beware. And dont be put off by the plants tendency to go yellow during certain situations.

So by all means GROW AHEAD...lol Just dont panic when your meyer turns yellow by over watering and feeding too much.

Thats all. God forbid someone trys to warn someone that a certain lemon plant might take a little more care than others.

Lol, overwatering or overfeeding is not required for IML's leaves to turn yellow! Also sensitive to light changes, not much one can do about that. Sensitive, period. But with good care, persistence and patience, it will adapt (as Tim so clearly demonstrated, what a great job!).

I wouldn't personally recommend Meyer Lemon as a "learning tool" for container citrus to a friend *unless* made aware that it *might* present more of a challenge than other choices, and why. That leaf-dropping habit is real, and it can be discouraging.

Yikes! Didn't mean to start something LOL. Thanks for the advice everybody and thanks for the great pictures Tim! I'll keep thinking about the Meyer. In the meantime, today I am going searching for the ingredients for the gritty mix. I have a source for the turface, I just need to find the grit and the bark.

Also, am I under the right assumption that if I use foliage pro I don't need the Gypsum?

Correct. Foliage pro has all the minor elements needed.

Mike

Lol. Sorry krismast but sometimes people mis read other peoples posts without fully reading into them I think. I did not try to de rail you thread and sorry if it has somewhat left the topic but at least your getting some good info huh?

Because I never said that "over watering and over feeding" causes meyers to turn yellow. I simply said that when meyers turn yellow, beginners usually try to correct the problem by watering more and over feeding. So Mandarin, please dont confuse what I wrote. Maybe the way I phrased it was a bit confusing. So let me re phrase.

When your meyer turns yellow, please do not begin to over water them or feed them more thinking this will solve the problem. Please come here first and the happy pros of gardenweb will help you in your path to grow beautiful lemon trees.

So my final words on this, which I hope no one will take out of context or confuse. I find this funny that people are so passionate about a lemon tree that has been around for 60 years...lol

I have a meyer as well. It is easy to grow but has a sensitive nature. If you are a beginner I would suggest you try growing one but know that you might need to spend a little more time and patience with your meyer. Not much more time but just a bit. They are wonderful lemon trees. You will enjoy your extra time and patience immensely. That is what I have been saying since the beginning and I think alot of "meyer growers" can be just as sensitive as the lemon tree they are growing and love so much...Lol OMG did he just say that???

Great work everyone! Go containers!

By the way!, Tim, looking real nice.tjere. Fantastic work:)))

Mike

Well in my quest of locating the ingredients of the gritty mix I found a nursery that had potted Meyer Lemons. My question is, if I would get one of these I would probably have to remove as much of the soil in the container as possible before planting into the gritty mix? If that is the case I would be afraid of damaging roots. I would say they looked about the same size as four winds three year old trees. Also they said they were Semi Dwarf. Should I be just buying dwarf trees for container growing? Oh and they came from Hines growers. Does anyone have any experience with their quality?