CyndiRuth
Newly Registered
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Mar 19, 2015 11:32 pm

Why is my lemon tree dropping very young fruit?

We just planted a Meyer lemon tree about 8 weeks ago and didn't think to cage the root ball (we have a resident gopher or two). Luckily, the tree has appeared to do pretty well and has flowered nicely. There are a number of silver dollar to golfball-sized green lemons growing...and also a large number of tiny (1/2 inch in length) yellowish baby lemons that I keep finding on the ground. They are just falling off without having a chance to grow. Some of the leaves are yellowing and falling as well. The tree continues to flower and the fruit that remains on the tree looks good...

Should I worry? Perhaps just related to the recent planting? Or should I worry that the gopher is gnawing on the rootball or that the tree has some other problem?

(We live in Southern CA zone 10 and I am new to gardening.). Thanks!

imafan26
Mod
Posts: 13962
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

It could be several things

1.Since the tree was recently planted it may be to stressed to hold on to fruit now
2 Poor pollination will cause fruit to drop
3. If there are more fruit than the plant can support, the plant will drop a lot of them. That is normal. Mine does that all of the time.
4. Yellowing leaves
a) could be from the transplanting maybe in more light, different soil, transplant shock.
b) citrus are heavy feeders. Yellowing leaves on the bottom may be nitrogen, yellowing leaves on to may be phosphorus.
prominent veins can be iron deficiency.

5 Citrus likes acidic soils and will drop leaves if the soil is alkaline.



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