Are you by any chance watering it with water from a water softener? Where do you live, what kind of rootstock is the tree grafted to, do you know the pH of your soil and your water, what kind of fertilizer do you use, and how often do you feed it.... all those things will help you to get a good answer.

Is water softener water not good? If so what could i add?

Thanks for the response.

Water Softener - No. Just using straight Irvine Municipal tap water.
Live - Irvine, CA
Rootstock - No idea. How would I figure this out?
pH of soil/water - Not sure. Probably need to buy a tester if required.
Fertilizer - Vigoro. I just fertilized the plant a few days ago. Before that, probably 3 months.

Well, if you are using Vigoro Citrus and Avocado food, that is good; be sure you are putting the right amount according to the label The pH of the soil and water are important, as too high a pH of either will inhibit the uptake of some minerals for citrus. Your municipal water provider can probably give you the pH of your water and your local UC Ag Extension agent can probably give you a pretty good guess as to the pH of your soil; if not, a cheap test kit can be had at almost any garden store.
The rootstock is good to know as it may impact what soil problems will affect your tree, as well as growth characteristics. If you bought your tree at HD in California, it is likely on semi-dwarf rootstock.
The reason I asked about the water softener is because so many plants and trees are killed that way. The softener replaces hard minerals with Sodium Chloride (table salt/rock salt); so using that water is like putting salt on your plant.

Yes, the soil will make all the difference with pH..

It coudl be quite psosible that lime is being leached into your soil from all that cement if that is what it is causing you many issues..

I have many friends that have had to move their acid loving plants away or use acidifying ingredients to offset the problem with cement or stones..

Definitely have your soil tested as John recommends..

Mike:-)

So I looked up the pH of my water. There are 3 sources

8.2 (avg. treated local ground water)
8.0 (avg. imported treated water)
7.4 (avg. treated surface water)

Is there anything I can do in the short term to help out the lack of new leaves and the yellowing of the existing leaves?

stuckinthemiddle,

I don't know about CA, but I know that a lot of citrus trees here in FL have been struck down by the Citrus greening disease which is caused by the Asian psyllid bug infestation. They have destroyed many citrus farms here and unfortunately the damage is also extended to a great many if not all of the backyard orchards. I don't say for sure the problem of your citrus tree is caused by the same bug, but since this is a major problem faced by the citrus industry here now in the U.S. especially here in FL, I thought you might like to learn more about it.

One good news though is that some lemon trees seem to have more immunity against the disease than the orange trees. I'll have to read more about it though. I do hope that CA is not as affected though and do wish for some trees to survive elsewhere in the U.S. Anyway, here's the link if you're interested in reading more about it. All the best to your Meyers lemon and I hope you'll be able to find out for sure what is bothering it.

http://www.saveourcitrus.org/index.php/citrus-greening

Did you by any chance happen to see what I said about the cement?

If it does not matter, no worries...Good luck:-)

Mike

Meyers do best at 5.5 to 6.5 pH; if your water... and likely your soil has pH that high, you will have problems with Iron absorption; and in the winter with Manganese deficiency. You can add phosphoric acid to your water...or common vinegar to lower the pH of the water, and eventually the soil. You can add sulfur to the soil. You can give your plant a shot of chelated minerals, especially chelated iron. There are more things, but that's the general idea. You don't say how you water your tree; that is also perhaps a contributing factor.
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This is not CItrus Greening - we do not have any reported cases of Citrus Greening (HLB) in the state of California, and your tree is not demonstrating any symptoms of Citrus Greening, either. It appears to be a little chlorotic, and I would say normally, our pH here in California is nothing to worry about - water or soil. We are the "citrus belt", and commercial growers do not amend their soil nor their commercial water. But, you do have your tree very close to a cinder block wall, and as Mike has mentioned, it could be leaching lime into the soil, causing the soil to have an artificially higher pH. It is a very, very simple fix: Simply work in a small amount (about 1/4 to 1/2 a 1lb. coffee can) of soil sulfur. I like to use EB Stone's Soil Sulfur. Work it into the top layer of the soil. Put down some mulch. Fertilize and I would also apply at least one application of chelated micronutrients (such as Ferti-Lome's Chelated Liquid Iron). The soil sulfur takes a little bit of time to work, so be patient, especially as we head into our cooler weather, when that, in combination with our slightly higher soil pH's can cause some lock out of the micronutrient uptake for our citrus. Frankly, I would not waste time testing your soil. If we had issues here in S. California, you'd know it, as we'd not be able to grow citrus here commercially. You may not see dramatic results until our temps warm back up, so just be patient :-) But, I think Mike has made a very good point. And, the Meyer lemon really does seem to demand more fertilizer than other citrus cultivars - John has confirmed this, and I for sure have found this to be true for my one lovely Meyer lemon that is the most prolific producing tree in my entire collection. I honestly can't put down enough fertilizer for this tree.

Patty S.

Updated Pic. The yellowing of the leaves is getting worse. Maybe the decrease in the amount of sunlight during this time of year?

I also purchased a pH tester. I tested in 2 areas around the base of the plant (maybe 8 inches apart). Got a read of 5.5 in one area and 6.0 in the other area. Tested on 2 different days to make sure reading was accurate.

There are probably 8 or so lemons growing on the plant and a few additional flowers so it seems pretty alive. Just the yellowing of the leaves and lack of leaf growth is bothering me.