Meyer lemon buds going black and falling off

9 years ago

Newbie here in Livermore, CA, looking for some advice from you pros.

I picked up an improved Meyer lemon tree at Costco back in March. It has looked pretty healthy and I get excited with all the flowering going on (there have been multiple waves) but they haven't been turning into lemons yet. They turn into nice yellow pea sized lemons, then start turning brown/black, shriveling and dropping off. Not one single lemon yet.

I used standard potting soil, and it gets 5 minutes of water every 3 days on a 1gph flag emitter. I've given it a couple feeding since purchasing of miracle-gro all-purpose shake 'n feed.

Any ideas? Is this normal?

Featured Answer

BarbJP 15-16/9B CA Bay Area

9 years ago

5 minutes at 1 gallon per hour is 10 oz of water every 3 days.

Livermore averages 86*F in the summer, and we've had lots of heat waves where it's gone into the 90*F quite often.

It also looks like you've lost leaves too. I suspect that is not enough water for your tree in your climate. I'm in the Santa Clara Valley, not far from you, and I water my container citrus quite a lot more than that. I've been watering them with probably a half a gallon (32 oz) every 3 days, and more when the temps go over 90*F.

Citrus will drop fruit if they are too dry or too wet. I'm betting yours has been too dry. It's also lost leaves too. So, I think it's not getting enough water,imo .

Now if you increase your water, I suggest re-potting in a better draining mix. If you try and water more in your average potting mix, you may have drainage issues, which can cause your mix to not have enough air in it, which can cause other issues.

There is a mix that is favored by a lot of folks on this forum for growing citrus in, it's called the "5-1-1 mix". Put that name into the search box for this forum and you'll get the recipe. It supports more frequent watering than you've been doing while allowing the better drainage and air retention that that level of irrigation needs.

Miracle Gro shake and feed is OK, but it's not a good ratio for citrus. I prefer Osmocote Plus. It works pretty much the same as the MG shake and feed, but has a better ratio for citrus. You can get it at most good Garden Centers.

Comments (6)

dhopman
Original Author
9 years ago
Here's another pic of the tree. Never mind the tomato plant sneaking in on the left.
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hoosierquilt USDA 10A Sunset 23 Vista CA
9 years ago
Whoa. That tree is stuggling to say the least. The least of your worries are the fruit falling off. Barb did the math for you. Not nearly enough water. I would be flooding that tree until the water runs through it. Then, come back and do it, again. The soil is now probably so dried out it is hydrophobic, so you're going to have to really soak it well a few times to get it to absorb any water. And agree with Barb, bigger pot, better potting medium. I would not use 511, as it is probably too drying for 100% outdoor container citrus in California. I use a modified version: 3 parts MiracleGro Vegetable Soil (has to be this one), 1 part small bark chips (I like either coarse Orchid mix, or reptile bark from Petsmart) and 1 part perlite. You can get the MiracleGro and Perlite at Lowe's or Home Depot, as well as the coarse orchid mix or go to Petsmart and get a big back of reptile bark.

I would NOT use MiracleGro Shake and Feed. I use Osmocote Plus (MUST be the Plus formulation to get the proper NPK ratio and all the micronutrients), and apply it twice a year. I also will use Dyna Gro Foliage Pro full strength once a month.

Barb has given you excellent advice. See if you can get your little tree revived and a nicely developed canopy. Once you have that, it will be able to support fruit production, but not until.

Patty S.
silica
9 years ago
The actual fear of over watering a container citrus tree, thinking that by doing so could be the tree's demise has itself caused an untold number of problems. Over watering has never killed a citrus tree. What actually kills the tree is a lack of oxygen at the tree's roots - which is caused by growing the tree in a poor draining medium. When a citrus tree is planted in a highly areable medium, with good dranage it is VERY hard to over water. The blame rightly belongs on a poorly constructed medium and not the water. -S-
meyermike_1micha
9 years ago
Well said Silica!

What awesome advice you got
Dhopman...Good luck with your tree)

Mike
uncle molewacker z9b Danville CA (E.SF Bay)
9 years ago
Bravo Silica - nicely worded.... !

I have damaged multiple citrus from too little water; irrigation failure, heat waves and fear of overwatering. In only one case was there root rot - - - and that was due to a soaker line placement error (too close to the trunk). Recovery can be quick if it was a short duration - or a year. [i have both cases active].

I am not too far from Livermore and so share the climate. I need to water my potted citrus every other day minimum and every chance i get with a heavy soak/ or better yet a saucer under the pot so that they can soak up the water from below. Any extra water in the saucer after an hour or two ... i tip the whole thing over to drain the water out of the saucer.

Good advice given above - - - good luck and be patient.
-George