Posts Tagged: Meyer lemon
Meyer Lemon Problems
Help for the Home Gardener from the Help Desk of the
UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County
Situation: Client visited the Ask A Master Gardener (AAMG) Help Desk at a recent Wednesday morning program at MGCC's “Our Garden” asking for advice on the black spots on the fruit of his mature Meyer Lemon fruit tree. MGs on duty that morning couldn't give him a definitive answer at the time, but asked him to make some further observations about the tree and posed several questions about the health of the tree for him to answer and to send an email with his findings to the MGCC Help Desk.
Client's Response and Request: I appreciate your effort in determining the problems with my Lemon tree,
1. The tree is approximately 25 years old,
2. I bought it as a semi-standard tree. it's 18 feet tall and has a 15' canopy.
3. it's a great -year round producer of fruit.
4. The tree is located about 20' from a building, and it now gets sun all day.
5. I recently cut down a large olive tree that partly shaded the tree and blocked a lot of early morning sun.
6. I don't recall ever seeing spots on the rinds before, I have seen the inside of the fruit that looks darkened and not much juice before. I assumed that it was due to lack of water or fruit being old.
7. I fertilize the tree probably once a year with fertilizer spikes.
8. The bark looks fine.
9. The spotting on the fruit is about 20% of the total, and the leaves look good.
I'll examine the tree closer, but it's been a fantastic tree. I'll send you this now and if you need anything else from me let me know.
MGCC Help Desk Response: Thanks for coming to the UC Master Gardener Program Help Desk at Our Garden with your request for assistance with your Meyer lemon tree and fruit. Quite a few of us have spent time researching your inquiry in the past few weeks; unfortunately, we have been unable to pinpoint a specific disease or cause in order to give you a confident diagnosis.
Here's a list of what we think could be causes for your fruit decline based on our research:
- The change in the sun exposure is likely to have been a culprit, but we don't think that it is the only factor causing damage to the fruit. This problem may be resolved next year after the tree has had some time to adjust to the new light exposure.
- The high continual heat we've experienced this past summer may also have contributed to fruit decline.
- The cold wet winter last year may have caused some of the damage to the fruit.
- Oddly enough, actions you have taken to care for the tree may also have caused problems. See information in the attached link below.
We found an on-line UC article that includes many photos of various types of rind damage on citrus. There is mention in this article of many causes of fruit rind damage including: cold wet weather and frost, copper sprays, fertilizer sprays, wind damage, etc. Please take a look at this article to see if any of these causes may apply to your situation.http://ipm.ucanr.edu/IPMPROJECT/ADS/Fruit_disorders_in_citrus.pdf
We think that the best thing you can do now is to remove all the damaged fruit and give your Meyer lemon the very best cultural care you can and then you'll need to simply wait and see. Citrus are usually very hardy in our area and we think you may see recovery and improvement by next year.
Here are some tips on giving your citrus good cultural care:
- Citrus trees require moisture for growth and fruit production. Apply enough water at each irrigation to wet the soil three feet deep. This requires three to six inches of water depending on the type of soil. Here is a link to information on how to water citrus: http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/GARDEN/FRUIT/CULTURAL/citruswatering.html
- A layer of organic mulch will help retain soil moisture and permits feeder roots to grow close to the surface. Mulch should not be placed close to the trunk of a mature tree.
- Mature citrus trees are given fertilizer to maintain their growth and fruit production. Nitrogen is the chief nutrient required by citrus and should be applied each year. Smaller quantities of phosphorus and potassium are required. These nutrients are held in the soil much longer than nitrogen. Here is a link to information on how to feed/fertilize citrus: http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/GARDEN/FRUIT/CULTURAL/citfertilization.html
- Citrus may occasionally suffer from a deficiency of zinc or iron. When these nutrients are deficient, the tissue between leaf veins turns yellow, but the veins remain green, at least initially. Foliar sprays containing chelated zinc or iron can be used to correct these deficiencies. Iron deficiency can also be caused by excessively wet soil or by very alkaline soil (pH above 7).
- Citrus is ready to harvest when the fruit has colored and is mature. Your 25 year experience should suffice to know when the fruit is ripe... i.e. dark yellow. Fruit should be left on the tree until it attains a satisfactory "sweetness". Mature fruit should be carefully harvested. Any break in the rind will promote decay. Use sharp clippers to cut the stem close to the fruit. Fruit can be stored on the tree several weeks to several months, depending on variety, after it is mature. As you probably have experienced, fruit left on the tree too long will become overripe and can reduce the size of the following year's crop.
We hope you find this information helpful in bringing your lemon tree back to full production. Please let us know if you have any additional questions.
Help Desk of the Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County (SLH)
Note: The UC Master Gardeners Program of Contra Costa's Help Desk is available year-round to answer your gardening questions. Except for a few holidays, we're open every week, Monday through Thursday for walk-ins from 9:00 am to Noon at 75 Santa Barbara Road, 2d Floor, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523. We can also be reached via telephone: (925)646-6586, email: ccmg@ucanr.edu, or on the web at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/Ask_Us/ MGCC Blogs can be found at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/HortCoCo/ You can also subscribe to the Blog (//ucanr.edu/blogs/CCMGBlog/).
/span>/span>The Improved Meyer Lemon
The Meyer Lemon, Citrus x meyeri ‘Improved’, is a colorful presence in the winter garden. The tree’s green foliage punctuated with oblong orange-yellow fruit fits easily into holiday season decorations.
The Meyer lemon was introduced to the United States in 1908 by a U.S. Department of Agriculture plant explorer named Frank Meyer. He found the plant, a hybrid cross between a lemon and an orange near Beijing, China. The Meyer lemon was quickly introduced as a home orchard and container tree and sold primarily in the western United States. Unfortunately most of the Meyer lemon trees cloned until the early 1970’s were symptomless carriers of the Citrus tristeza virus (Closterovirus genus) a virus which causes decline, stem pitting and seedling yellows in citrus species and threatened the California citrus industry. This prompted regulations by the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the US Department of Agriculture to destroy most existing Meyer lemons. Fortunately, Don Dillon, a nurseryman, at Westwind Nurseries in Fremont California found a virus-free specimen that was subsequently certified and released by the University of California in 1972. All current Meyer lemons are derived from this virus free budwood and are sold as the Improved Meyer lemon, Citrus x myeri ‘Improved’.
The Meyer lemon is a thornless, shrubby, semi-dwarf plant well suited for container gardening. It can grow to six feet in containers but can be kept shorter by pruning. The usual rootstock is the Yuma Ponderosa lemon. The tree flowers intermittently during the year, providing lemons year-round although the heaviest set is in the spring. The blossoms are purple tinged and highly aromatic. The tree has cold and heat resistance comparable to sweet oranges and can be grown over a wider range than standard lemons or limes. It is hardy to 28 oF and can withstand short intervals of even colder temperatures.
The fruit is medium sized, oblong to elliptical with a thin, smooth, fragrant and tightly adherent yellow-orange rind. The fruit will self-store on the tree and the rind will become a deeper orange with time. The flesh is yellow to a light orange-yellow and very juicy with numerous seeds. The aroma and flavor of the Meyer Lemon is distinctive and the juice slightly acidic. The fruit has ben promoted as a ingredient in California cuisine by numerous chefs including Alice Waters. Its distinctive flavor has been added to salads, glazes, desserts and even bread. The ripe fruit is too tender and juicy to be successful as a commercial variety without significant loss during handling and shipment. The primary source of Meyer lemons for culinary use is from home-grown trees making the improved Meyer lemon one of the most widely grown home citrus varieties for both its fruit and ornamental beauty.
Try growing a Meyer lemon if you are looking for a productive, decorative tree that is relatively easy to care for. Meyer lemon trees need moderate water, especially in summer and container grown trees should never be allowed to completely dry out. Regular application of a citrus fertilizer will keep the foliage dark green and the tree productive. Although the Meyer lemon is susceptible to many citrus pests and diseases, well tended trees are generally pest and disease free. Management guidelines for citrus pests and diseases can be found in UC IPM Pest Management Guidelines for Citrus referenced below.
References:
- University of California Riverside Citrus Variety Collection:
http://www.citrusvariety.ucr.edu/citrus/improvedmeyer.html
- UC IPM Pest Management Guidelines for Citrus:
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/selectnewpest.citrus.html
- Meyer Lemon Wikipedia Entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meyer_lemon
- Discussion of the Improved Meyer Lemon Program:
Reuther, Walter; Leon Dexter Batchelor, E. Clair Calavan, Herbert John Webber, Glenn E. Carman, Robert G Platt (June 1989). Citrus Industry: Crop Protection. University of California. p. 195. ISBN 0-931876-24-9.
Improved meyer lemon. (photo by Rich Zimmerman)
The Story of a Sad Lemon Tree
Sometimes gardening problems really stump me as this one has now, so maybe someone who reads this will be able to help.
I have a lemon tree that some of you might have heard me talk about, if not this is the story.
I was given this ‘Meyer’ lemon about 4 years ago. It had bright, healthy green leaves and over all, the plant looked good. I planted it just like I have planted my other citrus. However, about 7 months later I noticed it was losing its leaves. Not knowing what was going on, I looked in our California Master Gardener Handbook for an answer, and I also went on the IPM website (http://ipm.ucdavis.edu) for information on what the problem might be. I found no answers there either, so I contacted Lance Walheim who had written a book on citrus called Citrus: Complete Guide to Selecting & Growing More Than 100 Varieties. I figured he knows citrus and their problems, but it turns out that he was as baffled as I was and didn’t have an answer for me either.
During this time the tree had blossoms, but no leaves! The next year it had leaves on one side, no blossoms on the other side. Then the leaves fell off and blossoms on one side appeared.
This year again blossoms, no leaves. After exhausting all the places and people for ideas and being baffled I have decided to let the leafless, blossom bearing lemon do its own thing. I don’t know how long it will go on like this as it goes into its 5th year of life. Oh by the way it has never had fruit.
Citrus
One of the things I love about living in Solano County is that we can successfully grow all kinds of citrus trees. I've got quite a few in my backyard - a Meyer lemon tree (Citrus x meyeri), a Robertson orange (Citrus sinensis 'Robertson'), a Bearss lime (Citrus latifolia), and unknown varieties of a blood orange tree (Citrus sinensis) and a kumquat tree (Fortunella spp). They have all been planted over the last 10 years, and slowly, they've grown quite tall (save for the kumquat!). Production has slowly increased, too. In the case of the lemon and orange trees, maybe a bit too good.
Am I the only one who has this little dilemma? The orange tree produces so many oranges, and there are only so many oranges my family is willing to eat. The blood orange tree had four fruits last year. This year, about fifty. I'm a bit nervous to see what happens next year.
The one that amazes me is the Meyer. Our lemon tree has been pruned, hacked, topped, and chopped, yet it still produces what I would certainly call "tons" of lemons. What do I do with all of them? I've made lemon meringue pie (2 lemons), a pitcher of homemade lemonade (10 lemons), hot tea with lemon for a sore throat (1 lemon), bags of lemons for the neighbors (maybe 50 or 60 lemons). Yet still, my tree is heavily drooping with lemons.
Don't misunderstand, I'm glad to have such a bountiful harvest of citrus fruits every winter. There's nothing to brighten up a gray winter January day than to look out and see the orange and yellow fruits hanging sweetly on the trees. Unfortunately, they won't last out there forever, so we need to be creative and find ways to enjoy them without having to partake of them. I recently learned a great new decorating technique - fill a large glass vase with citrus fruits, and enjoy the sweet smell of lemons and oranges in your home as they slowly dry.
So…until I learn of another way to make use of my citrus fruits, my home will be filled with all sizes of glass vessels full of lemons and oranges.